Rental truck nightmares
Where I work, we rent the 24'-26' Penske and Ryder rental trucks so we can haul around product without having to buy our own truck (which is more expensive to buy & maintain, overall, than renting). I work in an area that isn't a demilitarized zone or gang territory. It's in an 8-block section of industrial park, with a lot of bigger, well-established companies in the area (Impax, Target, Ceva Trucking, etc.). In other words, it's not Detroit by any means.
Over the weekend, we'd parked one of our Penske truck rentals in our gated and locked (with a heavy duty combination lock) parking area. On Monday morning, we discovered someone had broken in without damaging the lock or gate, and had stolen the rental truck's battery. They left the expensive furniture in the locked truck alone, as well as the rest of the engine. They simply took the battery.
To fully appreciate the sheer determination and stupidity something like that would take, let me tell you that this particular truck battery weighed in around 88 lbs. and is situated UNDERNEATH the truck, not in the engine cab. Someone managed to somehow haul this battery out of its location, drag it to some sort of sled or dolly, lift it over the gate, and drop it on the other side without damaging it (presumably, since we didn't find it lying around broken open anywhere). BTW: no one knows the combination to that lock aside from the owners and myself, and since we were all shocked by the theft, I can assume none of us unlocked the gate.
I still can't figure out why anyone in their right mind would do something like that. The thief must REALLY have wanted or needed (or both) that particular battery.
In summation: yes, apparently, our economy has become so bad for some that people becoming that desperate.
Over the weekend, we'd parked one of our Penske truck rentals in our gated and locked (with a heavy duty combination lock) parking area. On Monday morning, we discovered someone had broken in without damaging the lock or gate, and had stolen the rental truck's battery. They left the expensive furniture in the locked truck alone, as well as the rest of the engine. They simply took the battery.
To fully appreciate the sheer determination and stupidity something like that would take, let me tell you that this particular truck battery weighed in around 88 lbs. and is situated UNDERNEATH the truck, not in the engine cab. Someone managed to somehow haul this battery out of its location, drag it to some sort of sled or dolly, lift it over the gate, and drop it on the other side without damaging it (presumably, since we didn't find it lying around broken open anywhere). BTW: no one knows the combination to that lock aside from the owners and myself, and since we were all shocked by the theft, I can assume none of us unlocked the gate.
I still can't figure out why anyone in their right mind would do something like that. The thief must REALLY have wanted or needed (or both) that particular battery.
In summation: yes, apparently, our economy has become so bad for some that people becoming that desperate.