Sticky situation--first post

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I bought this land to hunt and fish on but I keep having trouble with vandalism. In particular, my gate keeps getting run over. I assume they are drunk but who knows? Several gates later, this is my solution. By the way, I only weld for fun and by no means claim to be an expert. Attached Images
Reply:Might wanta warn friends and family but that should do the job!(Retired) Professional firefighter, amateur everything else I try to do...Oh yeah:  Go Big Red!   (You know: one of the 12 members of the Big 10 cuz we left the 10 members of the Big 12...)
Reply:Great Idea....
Reply:might also put up a sign so you dont get sued by some idiot way the courts are these days cant be to careful if a burglar can sue for falling off the roof of the house he was trying to rob well i think it explains it self350P 30A spool gun cut master 51  syncro 250 other stuff " take a dog off the street and make him prosper and he will not bite you sad the same cannot be said for man" i didnt use punctuation just to piss you off
Reply:I know of a gate made of 8" or 10" verticals and ~6" horizontals which has triangular spikes like yours on its front to stop vehicles from ramming it; so far it shows no signs of attack. I think it is also coated with thick grease to keep people from even trying to climb it. Your 'stealth' defense might work better in the long run; you might find out from some local tow truck operator who needed to have all his tires replaced while out in the woods. Any other previous damage beyond the gate, like breaking into a hunting cabin?BTW, Welcome to the site!
Reply:Originally Posted by umahuntermight also put up a sign so you dont get sued by some idiot way the courts are these days cant be to careful if a burglar can sue for falling off the roof of the house he was trying to rob well i think it explains it self
Reply:Can they see the spikes?  How do they leave/drive with flat tires?  What if the freeze to death cause the can't drive?I think a more visible deterent would be better.   From the placement of the spikes in the last photo, it doesn't appear you would save the gate anyway.
Reply:Truthfully, my goal is to flatten their tires in hopes that they will be stranded long enough to catch them or at least prevent anymore stolen cars from being dumped in my pond. The closest town is roughly 3/4 of a mile away so I  am not real concerned about them freezing to death. I have replaced 7 gates in 2 years and its getting old.  I have hunting cameras all around but these are usually vandalized or stolen.  There are hundreds of pictures of trespassers but no one has been caught destroying my property. For the right amount of money I would be more than happy to sale the property, but I do not want to lose a significant money as all of the offers have been very low. It is a wonderful place to hunt and fish except for these vandals. Obviously, I am stubborn.
Reply:http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/SH005124.htmlI would build many copies of the above, scaled down and connected by chain.A row 2' tall would break more than just tires.Last edited by cnywelder; 12-24-2010 at 01:18 AM.------------------------------Lincoln 175HDLincoln AC/DC225Smith O/A
Reply:They deserve to freeze if it so happens.  If they are full blown car thieves, vandals and pochers you better be ready to kill something other than deer if you catch them.  Most likely they won't blink an eye about you.  You ought to dig a pit and cover with 1x4s and a tarp... that will stop em and I don't think they will be able to get out.  Big sign... WARNING! PRIVATE PROPERTY! DO NOT ENTER!
Reply:That's funny, I thought I was the only one that came up with weird stuff like that. I made something like was described above by Oldiron2 for a friend. All we did was weld ½ inch square tube to the front of the gate, sticking out like spikes. I believe they were about a foot or so long and angled down just a hair. We also put private property no trespassing sign on the trees next to the gate. Figured it would take out the radiator and maybe some other things too if anyone tried to run it down again. Since it's up we only had to repair it once, and that was a few days after we first put it up and that was a few years ago. I think they learned there lesson. Never found out who it was but it made them stop.I hope your spike strip works for you.
Reply:Great idea! Is it attached to the gate post? Dont forget to move it or one day you will have flat tires lol.
Reply:You might want to check with the DOT. There are laws against road side "bobby traps" with in a certain distance from road edge, i.e....mailbox posts that will not break away under a certain applied force. I like the stop spikes but would go alot larger and paint safety yellow. You want to detour trespassers, not in-trap them...lawful view any way. In my perfect world, me and a few buddys would grab the shot guns and a few bottles of crown, camp out, wait for offenders and call it a hunting trip.Last edited by wagin; 12-24-2010 at 02:57 AM.Reason: more thoughtMiller TrailBlazer 251Miller HF-250-1Miller MaxStar 150 STLHyperTherm PowerMax 380 plasmaLincoln PowerMig 180Millermatic 252Miller Diversion 180
Reply:Originally Posted by cnywelderhttp://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/SH005124.htmlI would build many copies of the above, scaled down and connected by chain.A row 2' tall would break more than just tires.
Reply:I assume you have no tresspassing signs up?Run water over the area all of the time & make it into a quagmire that they can't get out of.  Once trapped they'll be calling for a wrecker.Give the wrecker driver some xmas beer & tell him to call you when they do,  & then the fun starts.Buy American, or don't whine when you end up on the bread line.
Reply:Interesting. I'd have just built a stronger gate myself. That and poured a couple yards of crete and set a few heavy bollards that could be removed in it. Yeah access for you would be a PITA with the bollards in, but I assume you don't need access all year round. If you do Then I'd beef up the gate even more..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Nice project! I hope they flatten their tires and leave the car! People have no respect anymore!!!I would sit and wait one weekend! Attached ImagesYou have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else. Albert Einstein
Reply:Dad set out some bridge nails with some 2" washers welded on about 2" from the pointy end.  Drive them in the ground with the pointy end up.  The washer keeps them from getting pushed in the ground when they're driven over.  Be sure to measure where you put each one!!!  We caught the sheriff once.  He didn't say a word, but he was pissed since he got 4 flat tires and had to sit for a while for someone to pick him up.  We used to have lots of people dumping trash.  The nails solved the problem fairly quickly.Dynasty200DX w/coolmate1MM210MM VintageESAB miniarc161ltsLincoln AC225Victor O/A, Smith AW1ACutmaster 81IR 2475N7.5FPRage3Jancy USA1019" SBAEAD-200LE
Reply:I like it, your property and if you don't want anyone on it that's the way it should be, no questions asked....Mike
Reply:Looks easier than our back gate, had people driving in and trying to steal steel all the time.  Planted a bunch of trees along the fence line and dug a trench for a "water line" for them - 3 foot wide and 3-4 foot deep, with all the dirt sloped on the tree side. Have it covered with a sheet of tin until we get around to putting a line down (its on the agenda - mid 2025 i think) Left ourselves a narrow drive with a single piece of 6" drill collar ((6in OD 2 3/8 ID)) as a gate.  Have it sitting on triangular racks on each side of the drive also made out of drill collars set in concrete, easy to open - WITH A FORKLIFT -  luckily we only use it with long stock.Have had 2 geniuses try to slip between the trees, first one the sheriff just hauled off to county and called the impound wrecker.  Second one the game warden spotted - got to love Texas game wardens.  Not only did he confiscate everything in the truck, fine them into the next century, take them to jail but also - made them responsible for damage to the "natural ecology" i.e. tracks in my dirt.  Told them if they wanted their truck back they would have to pay an approved conservation contractor (landscaper not using illegals i guess) to come in behind the wrecker and fix things. LMAOWarden came back a little while later and told me that if they did not make suitable arrangements to retrieve their truck in a couple days he would come back by and tag it as abandoned for me and help me get a title.
Reply:Originally Posted by jreynoldswelding... People have no respect anymore!!!...
Reply:Really sucks when people can't just leave someone else's stuff well alone. How about a sign that says " Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again." If the gate is in from the road a ways, then put the spikes 20 yards out so you nice gate doesn't get screwed. Make them 6" high, angled forward ( if your going to go for the tires, you don't want to ***** around. Totally shred them) . Paint yellow and put up signs. Bury a 20 gal. bucket of concrete, on either side, with 1" pins in them. Tabs on each end of the spike bar go over the pins and pad lock through a hole in the pins. Keep the key in your vehicle. Put up signs at the spikes, and another distance in from of them as a warning. And beef up that gate. 3-4" sched. 40 should do. Or........ you could dig a trench across the road, maybe 5' wide. 3+' deep. Build yourself a pair of crossing ramps. Keep them in your truck when you go there or hide them off and up the road a bit. Cheap and easy. Don't give up the property if you enjoy it. Land is forever. Keep it in the family. Don't give the priks the satisfaction.200amp Air Liquide MIG, Hypertherm Plasma, Harris torches, Optrel helmet, Makita angle grinders, Pre-China Delta chop saw and belt sander, Miller leathers, shop made jigs etc, North- welders backpack.
Reply:I have no trespassing signs/private property posted every 50 feet and on each side of both gates. Before I bought the property, it had no fence and the locals used as their swimming hole/hunting area and dump. I did not know this when I bought it. I put up the gates because I got tired of hauling off old refrigerators and other crap. I like the idea of welding spikes/posts on the gate itself to take out something on their vehicle. I am on a first name bases with the sheriff as he calls and tells when my gates get knocked down. He has seen the spikes and did not say anything. Im sure there is liability in the spikes but I tired of the property damage. I did use chain and locks to attach them to the post so I can easily remove them.
Reply:Originally Posted by Clunker While I can certainly understand your frustation with tresspassers; devising a means to inflict either injury or damage while unattended and then publicising it's existance, creates an awful lot of liability.
Reply:One other device that seems to help discourage unwanted visitors is a tire pit to go with some iron uprights.If you excavate a pit the size of tires, then the entire front end will settle to the ground level.  If there were a series of bars similar to the ones you've shown they will usually pierce the oil pan and sometimes the transmission housing of some vehicles.By placing a blue foam panel over such a tire pit, covering it thinly with dirt, and leaves and so forth, most vehicles, even very able 4x4's will be there when you 'run your trap line'.If these events happen in the winter and you have snow cover white styrofoam panels will work better.I like the old Alaskan cabin sign " Set guns are illegal, so is stealing: I've made my choice - you make yours"In the same vein snow machines can be "trapped" by pouring water on rebar set just about the surface of snow in the dip of a trail.  Not that I've ever been involved in any such practice.... but I've heard of people being bothered by  sleds running too close to their cabins and having to set traps to eliminate such noise pollution.Cheers,Kevin MorinYou might need a sign like the local scrapyard in my town:"If you are caught here at night, you will be FOUND here in the morning.."Buy American, or don't whine when you end up on the bread line.
Reply:I understand the frustration you feel and wanting  it to stop BUT..The problem that I can see with most of these posts is that animals could be unwittingly hurt and to me that is unacceptable. But by all means do as you think best.Miller thunderbolt 250Decastar 135ERecovering tool-o-holic ESAB OAI have been interested or involved in Electrical, Fire Alarm, Auto, Marine, Welding, Electronics ETC to name a just a few. So YES you can own too many tools.
Reply:Originally Posted by dumb as a stumpI understand the frustration you feel and wanting  it to stop BUT..The problem that I can see with most of these posts is that animals could be unwittingly hurt and to me that is unacceptable. But by all means do as you think best.
Reply:Sounds to me like your local sheriff probably already knows who's running your gate over but is unwilling to prosecute because you haven't gotten a license plate number... At least that's what my LEO's would tell me. Had some a**hole burn cookies in my front yard at 1:30 am with his Camaro, went by my kitchen window at roughly 50mph while I was standing there getting a glass of water. Gave the "officer" a COMPLETE description of the vehicle. First words out of his mouth, "Did you get a plate number?!" I feel your pain. Dig a hole, build a bunker for a tracking camera that they can't break into, IF that don't work PM me we'll set a date for redneck hunting party. Everybody's invited! I'll bring the beer and the ammo..."The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it." - Thomas Jefferson If the Lights are a Flashin', STAY OFF the tracks!!! It might be me at the Throttle...
Reply:Originally Posted by Oldiron2 Maybe you can explain your reasoning, but I see little chance of any injury being caused by anything suggested here with the possible exception of the one immediately before yours.
Reply:Here's a simple solution. Nobody gets hurt, no animals get hurt. You could easily make it yourself with some simple engineering. Easier to hide and makes a hell of a lot more work to repair the mess. It's a patented technology so you can't sell it to make a profit for a while, but you can make it for your own private use. The car will be disabled and cant make it to the pond even if it could with flat tires. Run flats wont help either. http://www.exponent.com/tread_product/I can remember in the 7th grade my mom said "people will offer you drugs" by the 10th grade I was like, "where the hell are these people?"
Reply:By the way, you could just spread out the net instead of installing it as a speed bump. These things when put together right can do some serious damage to just about any vehicle. I have one on a plot of land that I've got. It's never been used but I'm hoping someday to have some pictures emailed to me from the local LEO's.I can remember in the 7th grade my mom said "people will offer you drugs" by the 10th grade I was like, "where the hell are these people?"
Reply:Originally Posted by Broccoli1Some one could slip and fall on the Spikes just saying... the possibility for injury exists.Friend has 100 acres out in Anza Borrego- same problems with scumbags.Not much problem with big item Dumping since it is wide open Desert but we end up cleaning up the regular trash from folks hanging out on the property