Working on our land but not there yet-how to store tools?

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I have a question that I'm sure lots of you can answer from experience: we own 20 unimproved acres about 1 1/2 mile from our present house, which is on my father-in-law's 130 acres. I've recently started spending a lot of time at our land clearing brush and putting up a gate. There's never been a gate there and people have occasionally dumped trash on the land, hunted (even put up a deerstand), and had campfire parties. Just before we bought it from the state, the former owner sold the timber off of it, and most of the pine trees were pirated. All this to explain that lots of people are aware that the land is not lived on.

I would like to be able to leave some tools (rake, shovel, machete, scythe, etc) as well as some chairs and a table there. Nothing expensive or flashy or new. What's the best way to do that? First of all, once I get the gate up I'm sure that'll take care of most of the trouble. My instinct is to leave our oldest tools there out in the open rather than put a storage building up there and lock stuff up. The driveway goes up a steep hill and there's a plateau on the top, so once up there you can't be seen from the road. That would make it easy for a thief to work on breaking down the door or whatever. If it's locked they'll think for sure there's something worth stealing. I know we should move there as soon as possible but until then, am I doomed to truck this stuff back and forth every time??

-- Elizabeth in E TX (kimprice@peoplescom.net), July 17, 2001

Answers

Have you considered digging a root celler in an out of site location? You could line it with mulch plastic and timbers and native stone to keep it water proof and reinforce the walls and roof. Install a couple of ventilation pipes to minimize moisture and throw some brush over the doorway to conceal it.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), July 17, 2001.

Hi, Elizabeth. When you put the gate up, post the living daylights out of the place all up and down the road frontage and from any other access routes. Don't give anyone a chance to think "oh, they don't really mean it". There are always going to be some people who act that way. Personally, I'd never leave a hand tool anywhere. I don't leave farm machinery EVER within easy walking distance of a road because of vandalism, and I leave no tools of any kind with the machinery. It's just too easy for people, and so many people can't say "no" to a hand tool. I'm sure these people wouldn't rob their neighbor's garage, but put it out in the country with no one around and away it goes. Think about the kind of people who are going to walk on your place AFTER you put the gate up (and there will be some as long as you aren't living there) and then think about whether they will leave your things alone. At the very least, wait some time for everyone who normally has had access to the place to get used to the fact that it's now private before leaving anything there. Good luck. It sounds like a very nice place you've bought! I love the sound of the hill and the plateau. :)

Jennifer L.

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@imcent.net), July 17, 2001.


In our experience, locking away items just cause damage to the storage facility. We own a ranch in south Texas where a lot of illegal immigration travels through. Our cabin was broken into at least 20 - 30 times a year! Bars on the windows helped, but they just kicked down the door. Our nearest neighbor is about 1/2 a mile away. They weren't into senseless vandalism, they were looking for basic things like matches, canned food, water,etc.. We stopped locking the door and the breaking in stopped. Oh, they still come in and look around, but at least replacing the lockset and fixing door jambs is not in the cards anymore.

Basically, unless you hide the item (hard - you wear a path to the 'hiding' place) well, some ninny gonna take a liking to free stuff. How about a used, lockable grain storage tank, one of those 8' - 10' diameter metal grain storage units? You can place it in a spot hard to load onto a truck, maybe. One of my uncles, given to him by another relative, has one on a hunting lease that sees lots of uninvited guests. My uncles uses it as a impromptu cabin for his use; sez it beats heck out of pitching a tent every time. You might get 'tagged' by spray paint, but it should come through petty theft. Sorry, sometimes having property beyond the sidewalks means dealing with the undesirables.

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), July 17, 2001.


Elizabeth,

I agree with Jennifer regarding posting the property well. As to leaving tools outside, I'd think that's just begging for a lawsuit if someone gets hurt on one. I'd go for secure storage. For some hand tools and lawn furniture I'm afraid my suggestion is borne out of the business that I'm in, but here goes. In a similar situation I used an old utility company van (bad engine, pretty much junkyard material) that had the divider between the driver passenger area and the back end. It was cheap and very functional. I stored in the back end and put some external locks on the side and rear doors. I just towed it out there and put it where I wanted it. A casual passerby might even assume someone was there. When I finished with it and didn't want it around any more I sold it for scrap to a salvage yard that came and hauled it away. My net cost for was well under $10.00 a month for the time I used it.

If you need or want more storage space, consider either a land/sea/air cargo container (available primarily in 20x8x8 and 40x8x8), a semi trailer (with or without tandems) or a box off a delivery truck. You can even find some of those boxes with translucent roof panels.

I bought a relatively small box (14')off a truck rather cheaply on the condition that I remove it. I wouldn't necessarily recommend that unless you really know what you're doing. Suffice it to say I learned a lot with that one (mostly how NOT to do it). There should be plenty of places around where those are readily available already on the ground. Most will deliver for a fee.

If you don't see any advertised where you are, call new and used truck dealers, truck equipment sellers, salvage yards, etc. When you're looking at them, the two biggest things to consider are how tightly the doors seal and how watertight the roof is. I hope this helps.

-- Gary in Indiana (gk6854@aol.com), July 17, 2001.


Posting property will only keep honest people out .Your signs often disappair too .Best bet is to take the tools back and forth , and leave the chairs and table.I feel sorry for folks like you .We bought are house and left thousands of dollars in tools at it and we lived 6 hours away ,nothing was ever touched .

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@slic.com), July 17, 2001.


I'd also vote for taking the tools back and forth... especially since you're very close. Leave the old table and chairs there... if they do get stolen with a gate in place, you know you have a problem.

cheers,

-- Max (Maxel@inwindsor.com), July 17, 2001.


Put up signs that read "Warning - Traps: Enter at Own Risk".

Another sign that strikes fear into many theives (which I will be utilizing soon here at my house) is a sign that says "Venomous Snake Breeder - Enter at Own Risk). This one works best if you actually have a residence on sight that looks like a breeding facility (an old trailer or storage shed would be about right. Simply set up a few cracked aquariums (available for a few bucks from flea markets or yard sales) set them up terrarium-like, and then set the lids just visibly off of the tops of the "cages", as if the snakes have either gotten out or are let out to roam. A few realistically painted piece of hose (see snake ID books for assistance here) place where they can be just barely seen, but not really well looked at (under the "breeding table" or some such) will go a long way toward reality. Move the "snakes" everytime you're there. Store tools in back of shed, under tarp. Lock door. Relax.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), July 17, 2001.


Whoa Soni . . . GOOD Answer! I for one would not go near any building which warned of that danger; everybody, even the bad guys do not want to get bit.

-- j.r. guerra (jrguerra@boultinghousesimpson.com), July 18, 2001.

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