Securing ATV at the cottage
 

Hey folks,
first timer here. Lookin to buy 1st ATV for use at cottage. (ie. for work, fun). Only thing that concerns me is how best to secure it. I dont have trailer or truck at this point so was kinda thinking of getting it to cottage and leaving it there.

But how to lock it down? We have quite a bit of land so was thinkin of buiding a shed way back in the bush somewhere. Then put a U-lock of some kind sunk in concrete under the shed and chain it down. Get insurance too. Does this sound reasonable?? Any other ideas out there??


thx much!!
Sean

No matter what you do if someone has time and they want it they will get it.
THats risky being out there all by itself for long periods of time.

Get PLPD I live in Ontario and its $250 per year for only comprehensive, fire and theft. No matter what the ATV or year. When you ask for collision also then get the wallet out.

I would build a concrete bunker, sink chains and lock with big locks, and still have theft insurance. The fewer the people that know about the quad the better.

Where the heck do you live to need to go through all that? Around here I could park my Sportsman in the front lawn right on the highway key in it and leave for a week and it'd be right where I left when I got back!

I haven't done it, but what I have done is left my 3 snowmobiles in my front yard on the road with keys in them all and don't think anyone even gave them a passing glance.

thx guys. What i do have working for me, is our place is on a private road (8 people on it) in the middle of the woods(quebec). I also have some fairly dense woods in which to hide it. Would be possible to find, but you'd need to know about it and then find it. I like the concrete bunker idea. Can you expand on that a bit Moose??

I've got the material for the shed coming this weekend ... need to put the concrete in the ground prior obviously. Was thinking cinder blocks, 2-3 high (2-3ft in the ground) filled with concrete and some kind of anchor ... ?

thx again.

My thought was to have a concrete form guy come out and make a concrete walled shed. Have him pour so that the concrete walls go up 6.5 to 7 feet above grade and put a regular sloped roof on top of that. For a door I'd go with a steel garage style door. They resist cutting but if someone were determined enough they can steal anything. If you dug a hole in the floor a couple feet deep and put a chain in it with a couple feet sticking out you'd have something to lock a good security cable to.

Luv the concrete wall idea .. just think it might be a little impractical given the remoteness of the site. Also, would rather not have even the concrete guy know about my spot.

Think I'll go with a big solid chain or some other anchor (guess I'll go and see whats available at the local shop) sunk under the wood floor and well into the ground. Cable to that, then buy the full-on insurance and hope I never need to use it ...

thx guys, cant wait to get the quad now!!

Chains can easily be cut, no matter what size they are. For about $300 at harbor freight or other similar stores, you can get one of these and cut through it in less than 5 minutes. Even though it is in a remote location, someone will probably stumble across it eventually.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/pho...5899/65818.gif

Depending on what car you have, you can purchase a trailer hitch at U-haul or some other place like that for around $100. You can then purchase a used trailer for around $500-$600 from eBay or something. That will be cheaper than building any type of secure location or structure and much safer since you can bring it home with you.

Don't have a place to keep it at home, rent a storage unit big enough to store the atv on the trailer. Most of them are attended 24x7. They also have insurance there. I did this for 4 years while I had to live in an apartment. It cost about $100 per month in a big city.

Being out in the woods, you will have to worry about fire, theft, flooding, trees falling on it, rodents getting in and eating the seat (I know this one from experience), wind damage, and just the general poor conditions that it will be kept in an un-air-conditioned area.

Leaving it out in an isolated area is a double edged sword.

Fewer dirtbags, but also they would have plenty of time to defeat whatever lock system you choose, and they can use methods that make noise (like an abrasive cutoff wheel).

A once or twice used 20' steel shipping container isn't all that expensive. Many dealers offer putting on a hasp where the lock ends up inside the bottom of a steel box (so you can't get to it with bolt cutters).

Personally, somehow I'd feel more comfortable taking it home, but things can get ripped off from your own house just as easily as they can from out in the sticks.

well, I went ahead with the shed build last weekend (got the floor in). Thx for the input, and I agree. I will be getting insurance to be sure. I probably would have gone the 'tow back and forth' route if I had a truck, something doesn't sit right w/me leaving it out in the bush, but i got a toyota corolla and not sure about towing w/it.

Also, started looking at cost of trailers/hitch etc. and along w/the hassle of lugging it back and forth every other weekend, just didn't seem worth it (I'm only gonna be using the thing at cottage).

I got the dangerous trees around the shed cut out, just need to make sure I get the shed as mouse-proof as possible. Do they have ATV covers out there I could get to keep the mice off the seat ??

cheers,
Sean

There are a variety of ATV covers out there, but I don't know if they are mouse proof.

Making the shed as tight as possible, along with some decon set somewhere where dogs and other animals can't get to it.

must be nice. where im from if i walked into the store for coffee came out itd be gone with the chain cut laying on the ground.

I'd just put up a cheap shed, put a lock around the chain & rear sprocket(if its chain drive) & buy insurance.

mice love a hiding spot, under the seat is where they like to hide and chew and do damage, just take the seat off, and hang it on the wall, then stuff tin foil in the air box intake, another favorite spot. I left 2 quads sit in an old wooden shed for 2 weeks while moving into a farm place, and when I checked them out I found they had built a nest under the seat of one quad, chewing up a lot of foam to do it, and the othe quad had the air box almost full of seeds and nuts !! So don't give them a place to hide, and you should be ok, but a small box of poison in the corner should take care of any intruders.

scented dryer sheets also work to keep the critters out.. stick a few under the seat & gas tank.

Any hole bigger than a dime and the mice can get in. I've heard of the scented dryer sheet. I've been told it works.