Steal this checklist. It is the only thing in your yard we want taken.
It is eight steps, and once a crew has done it twice, it takes about ten minutes at the end of the last shift of the week. Each step comes from what the national equipment theft data says about what gets stolen, how, and why it does not come back.
Print it. Tape it inside the shop door. Put one person's name on it every Friday.
The weekend is the longest stretch most yards sit empty, which makes it the longest possible gap between a theft and the moment someone notices. That gap matters. The first factor the NER/NICB 2016 Equipment Theft Report lists for low recovery rates is "delays in discovery of thefts and subsequent delays between time of the occurrence and reporting."
And the stakes are real. Of 11,574 equipment thefts reported in 2016, only about 21% were recovered. Riding mowers and garden tractors were the largest category stolen, at 41% (NER/NICB 2016 Equipment Theft Report).
1. Get the mowers off the trailers. The NER report says equipment "should also never be left on trailers." A loaded trailer lets a thief take everything in one hookup. If you cannot unload, chain the mower to the trailer frame.
2. Lock every coupler. A trailer sitting on its jack with an open coupler can be gone in the time it takes to back a truck up to it. A coupler lock or hitch pin lock makes the thief bring tools.
3. Disable what you can. The report recommends disabling machines with "hydraulic cylinder locks or ignition or hydraulic system lockouts or simply by removing battery cables." Take the keys home. Do not leave them in the truck or on a hook by the door.
4. Bring it home from the job site, or lock it down there. The report notes work sites "usually have lower levels of physical security" than a company's own premises. Anything staying on a job site over the weekend should be chained, disabled, and out of sight from the road.
5. Check the serial number list. "Equipment owners' inaccurate or nonexistent ownership records" are on the NER list of reasons stolen equipment is not recovered. Make sure every machine, every trailer VIN, and anything new this week is on the list, with a photo of the plate. Keep it on your phone, not in the truck.
6. Take a 30 second walk-around video. Show every trailer, machine, and lock. If something is gone Monday, you have a timestamped record of what was there and how it was secured.
7. Confirm your alerts are on. If you use GPS trackers, open the app and check that every trailer is showing up at the yard and that after-hours alerts are set for the weekend. A tracker that is not sending alerts is just a record of where the trailer went.
8. Put one name on it. Assign a person, not a crew. "Everybody" means nobody. That person signs the sheet and texts a photo of the locked gate before they leave.
Copy this into a note or print it for the shop wall:
FRIDAY LOCK-UP Date: ________ Name: ____________
[ ] 1. Mowers off trailers, or chained to the frame
[ ] 2. Every coupler locked
[ ] 3. Machines disabled, keys out of the yard
[ ] 4. Job site equipment home or locked down
[ ] 5. Serial number list current, with photos
[ ] 6. Walk-around video taken
[ ] 7. Trackers showing at the yard, weekend alerts on
[ ] 8. Gate locked, photo texted
Steps 1 through 6 make a theft harder. Step 7 is what tells you if one happens anyway. Alertrax is built for that step.
For what to do if a trailer moves over the weekend, see Saturday, 7:14 AM. Trailer 3 Is Moving.
You can equip your fleet with Alertrax for a low monthly rate, no long-term contracts, no hidden fees.
(Want to own it outright? We offer a $599 Lifetime option for permanent, subscription-free tracking.)
Every Alertrax order comes with a 30 day money-back guarantee.
National Equipment Register (NER) and National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), "2016 Equipment Theft Report," published 2017, retrieved October 2026: 11,574 equipment thefts reported to NCIC in 2016 and a 21% recovery rate; riding mowers and garden tractors 41% of stolen equipment; recommendations to disable machines with hydraulic cylinder locks, ignition or hydraulic system lockouts, or by removing battery cables, and that equipment "should also never be left on trailers"; observation that work sites usually have lower levels of physical security than an owner's premises; listed factors in low recovery rates, including delays in discovery and reporting and inaccurate or nonexistent ownership records. This is the most recent edition listed on NER's annual theft report page as of October 2026, and its figures are a decade old
This article is provided for general informational purposes and is not legal, insurance, or security advice. National theft statistics describe reported thefts and may not reflect your area or your risk. No checklist or tracking device can prevent every theft or guarantee recovery of stolen property.
Ten minutes on Friday afternoon is cheaper than any Monday morning that starts with an empty spot in the yard.
Visit www.buyalertrax.com today and make step 7 automatic.