Wahawk Loc: NE IA

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Ahchu Loc: Northeast PA

Hi Look at Lowe's or Home Depot and get a lockable job box. There are very strong metal boxes that are used on constructions sites to store tools in. there are some small ones available . Good luck

Armadillo Loc: Ventura, CA

Your friend had, at hand, two invaluable tools to help prevent the theft of his equipment. If only he had taken a few seconds to use them.

Thefts, like the one, your friend experienced are "Crimes of Opportunity". The criminals depend on the right opportunity to smash and grab whatever is in sight.

The two tools he could have used are:
1. Observation. Look around before grabbing the equipment and leaving the car.
2. The Trunk of the car. Leaving valuables out of sight is the greatest deteriorate to Crimes of Opportunity.

It is not the loss of equipment, and the damage to the car that hurts so much; it is the willful invasion of our privacy that hurts.

Michael G

Mudshark Loc: Illinois

This simply not possible for a working pro...especially a photojournalist...

nicelights Loc: 30 miles east of LA

I've gotten through page 3. Enough of this. The suggestion of a gun safe is most likely the best idea. Maybe a pistol box too. A photog friend in Pasadena,Ca had her studio broken into by some thugs-for-life. They kicked in the front door and ran with what they could carry. She got her laptop back because some legal aid clown found it and brought it back to her. Apparently he was "helping out" one of the thugs-for-life and found her laptop with her business card in it. Not for nothin', while she was on the phone with the legal aid guy I tried to contact the Pasadena Police by cell phone and got a huge run around from the L A County Sheriffs Department (where the 911 call went in). If you are going through the effort of secure boxes and alarms how about installing a mini camera that activates when the trunk is opened. I'll bet that the police have mug shots of most of this low life.

deanc2006 Loc: lancaster ohio

this was going to be my recommendation as well.

Mudshark Loc: Illinois

First, at one time I worked for a large metro newspaper where we drove company cars with the name of the newspaper painted on all sides and a small forest of antennas on the trunk and roof. Nothing like advertising who you are and what might be in your car....I left as soon as I could afford to...idiots...and then they bitched when someone would get their car broken into and gear stolen...bitched at the photographer...
Several decades ago I read a really funny article written by a working photojournalist who had his car busted into and gear stolen several times. He bought a beat up looking car had a beefed up box built into the trunk but that wasn't his big secret. As most news photogs know...you eat fast food junk often in your car on the run...this guy started just throwing the grease bags in the back seat and floors. He said the car took on a oder all it's own and eventually, since he practically lived in it, he said he came to sort of like it...old grease smell....at any rate...NO ONE ever touched his car again. The thefts stopped...He made it really funny...said no one would even touch his car and you could smell it from a distance, etc.
I don't suggest this solution but I do think if you go to a truck stop where they work on a lot of over the road trucks you will often find people who could help you with an aluminum gear box custom built for your trunk. I always keep an old blanket or shirt or some junk of some kind for cammo in my back seat area...if your put a domke bag or some such on the floor and throw something ugly on top of it...it just isn't there. The big thing is to be aware of your surroundings and make sure your car doesn't advertise what might be in it.
When I was much younger, my wife and I used an old camera bag as a diaper bag and one day someone broke into our car in St. Louis and stole the bag of DIRTY DIAPERS!!! The image of the asshole ripping open the bag expecting a big payoff at the pawn shop and finding my daughter's dirty diapers still makes me very happy........

RocketScientist Loc: Littleton, Colorado

Too funny

Lancer W/A Canon Loc: atlanta

They will just take the car if they think the "BOX" is valuable enough. Don't leave expensive items in the car to start with.
If that isn't possible, move everything to trunk BEFORE you get to destination.

skidooman Loc: Minnesota

Love it. Made me smile :)

Mudshark Loc: Illinois

Much as I loathe them...in this case...INSURANCE IS THE ANSWER....excellent insurance, if there truly is such a thing...

Dryart38 Loc: Carlsbad, NM

BigD! I know the feeling! Many moons ago, I lost everything except a cheap lens and a flash - 3 different size cameras, plus lenses and accessories! I wasn't real busy, but it was my living, and I had taught a class, explaining equipment, and had my good stuff with me. I was delivering prints to a band at a local bar - I think I was spotted and they knew what my car was! There are times when you have more equipment with you - mine was worth, in the seventies, about $2000! I immediately got a loan on my life insurance, and bought a Nikkormat and lens, so that I could still stay in business! It kinda gives you a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach! Good luck getting yours re-newed! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

0627ramram32 Loc: Orange County, CA, USA

The box is the best idea. Go to a sheet metal shop with your design and have it made. A good sheet metal man will know about the toughest aluminum he can work with, closures, sturdy hinges, etc. Your auto dealer or a repair shop should have the carpeting on hand. Once the box is installed, put it on EBay and Amazon; you'll sell a bunch because you're not the only guy with yummies in the trunk.

chrishove123 Loc: South Wales

On a serious note why doesn't/didn't he get all his gear data tagged with a label on the vehicle saying that i is data tagged. That way is a great deterrent. Most of my friends have data tagged their bikes on the expensive easy to remove plastic bits. Hardly costs a thing for the major amount of security it provides.

ngc1514 Loc: Atlanta, Ga., Lancaster, Oh. and Stuart, Fl.

My question is - why his car? Was he seen pulling a bunch of equipment out of the trunk or was he just unlucky and his car hit among a bunch of others?

I never pull hardware out of the trunk and then walk away. I prefer to figure out what I'll need at the next stop and have it in the back seat. That lessens (but never completely eliminates) people wanting to see what else might be in the trunk.