That's good, it's important we play nice here. A few minutes wrenching on an truck can smooth out a lot of problems but again, it can also cause a lot more.

 

I suppose if you live in a state that has ALWAYS had titles and you stay there and don't look for stuff anyplace else your system would work for you. Problem is, a lot of us look everywhere. For instance, the State of Georgie didn't issue titles before 1963. That stuff never had a title. They still go by Bill of Sale for pre 1963 vehicles. This game IS NOT all black and white. Just because something has no titlle doesn't mean it can't be titled after being restored. You just have to be smart enough to know how to do these things. There are legal means for these proceses. If you aren't smart enough to do it or too lazy there are companies that will do the work for you. Either way, it's a stupid mistake to let parts or a restorable truck go just because you don't want to, or can't figure out how to do the paper work.

As for new looking stuff being in scrap yards, THAT IS NOT an absolute indication that it was stolen. I know of a lot of construction contractors that routinely dump left over stuff from jobs at the scrap yard. Another source is stuff insurance companies have paid for. Those aluminum steps you mentioned could well have been faulty or they did not meet OSHA standards on a major construction project. I have worked industrial construction for forty years and I have seen lots of perfect stuff thrown away. Sometimes it's a matter of just not enough space to keep the stuff. If a company is working hundreds of miles from their home base they won't pay to haul the extra stuff back. That truck you saw... I was on one job where they had a leased truck that blew an engine. The lease company told them to just keep it. They gave it to a guy for taking it away. Apparently you don't realize that there are cases where there is so much money and precious time involved that the stuff you think is so valuable means nothing to them. I was on one job where they gave me over 2,000 lbs of heavy copper wire just to get rid of it before a visit by company big wigs. They thought it looked trashy and wanted it gone. Even then I got over 2 grand for just hauling it to the scrap yard.

Point is, just because it looks like it's stolen, it may not be. By far and large, most scrap dealers are legit and will not risk their business buying stolen stuff. They can loose their license and face criminal charges. Considering that they are making big money doing things right, they are not likely to risk loosing everything.

I have dealt with the same yard for 30 years and they have always kept records of sellers. Even though they know me, they still write my name and address down every time. I have bought a lot of perfectly good three phase motors there that a local plant routinely get rid of. Some of the stuff is still in the shipping packing.

The people you criticize here on this site for skirting the law as you put it probably aren't doing anything wrong and I seriously doubt if they have to worry about getting their truck stolen. It's more likely that they are skirting the ridiculous beauracy. The reason governments require titles has nothing to do with protecting you or your ownership. They just want the taxes and fees. That title won't do you any good if a professional theft ring steals your nice ride and ships it off on a container ship to some drug lord is South America. Don't believe it??? Ask your insurance company. All that so-called protection you think you have means nothing to the pros.

Basically, it all comes down to having enough common sense to know what is legitimate and what isn't.. If some 50 year old truck is sitting out in some field for years, it ain't stolen. If some druggy hauls one to you and tries to sell it it to you, that's different. That One sitting out in the field is not likely to have a title. That is why there are legal processes by which to get a title. I know this because I have done it.

 

Read this and decide if you will need a new car or truck in the coming years -- if so, now would be a great time to buy!

BHP signs iron ore deal in line with Rio-sources - Forbes.com

Understand why scrap is so high?!?!

 

I'm an old geezer and I probably have enough good vehicles to last me until I croak. Given the cost of fuel, I doubt I'll wear them out. I do feel for those who will need them though.

 

thay the thives stole all the copper names on the vet cemetary wall were thay put the ashes off the dead. thats as low as it gets. in the twin citis someone was cutting power poles down and takeing the transformers i'm a coax splicer and the underground crews would coil up the cable at the bottom of the poles till i could run them up thay were takeing them hours after now i have to be there when thay finish

 

In northern Indiana, a buddy lives by a high school. They built new stadium seating, with concrete uprights, and aluminum seats. Now, all that's left are the uprights!! ALL the seats are gone.

On the junkyard - depends on how close they are to hauling stuff off, what they might take. If it's later today, they have been known to turn the other way. Sad, but true. Not that ALL are like that, but enough are, or we wouldn't be IN this mess.

I got a piece of railroad track, because they knew I wasn't going to scrap it. They told me there are LOT'S of people that want a letter, saying they "own" the railroad stuff they stole!! They just tell them to bring it back, and our local scrapyard won't take ANYthing railroad, even the spikes...

They have taken to welding the manhole covers in Boston. I'm sure other places will be doing it as well....

R

 

A little digging on Ohio.gov yielded this tidbit..

"With certain exceptions concerning a manufacturer’s or importer’s certificate or a salvage vehicle, no one may buy or otherwise acquire a motor vehicle without obtaining a certificate of title, or sell or otherwise dispose of a motor vehicle without delivering a certificate of title. R.C. 4505.03; R.C. 4505.05; R.C. 4505.11; R.C. 4505.19. Similarly, no one acquires any right, title, claim, or interest in or to a motor vehicle without a certificate of title or a manufacturer’s or importer’s certificate. R.C. 4505.04. No one may operate a motor vehicle that does not have the required certificate of title. R.C. 4505.18(A). Hence, both the buyer and seller of a motor vehicle have an interest in complying with provisions governing certificates of title."

I wonder if the person who "gave" you $2k worth of copper expected nothing in return? I wonder if they truly had the authority to do so?

Don't you?

Beings you are "Forty years in construction" you should be aware of the risks to your trade licenses in Ohio for receiving stolen property.

That is if you are a licensed contractor in Ohio.

Perhaps just stolen a long time ago, and you aren't going to worry about it, apparently.

I didn't intend for this to be some big deal, I was just trying to make a point about verifying ownership of our parts trucks. OK?

The dumb and lazy bit is uncalled for, and reflects poorly on you.

Jamie

 

Here in Ohio it's almost impossible sell rail related items for scrap. You have to supply verification of where it came from. We scrap a lot of old spikes, joint bars and tie plates but we can prove ownership.
We had about 100 tie plates stolen from an unused section of our line. The crackheads were arrested when they tried to sell them. Thieves routinely empty our scrap dumpster of things that aren't rail related, many know that rail scrap is hard to sell.


2 years ago, someone stripped a half mile of rail from our line. It wasn't for scrap though. It was a rail demolition company stealing it for reuse. We caught those scumbags.

 

Yeah, I misspoke - it's the same here, with paperwork showing ownership, you can scrap rail stuff, but of course, no one has it but the railroad. Mine is about 3' long, a cut-off from the end. Don't know what I would do without it! It could be worth $1000, but I wouldn't part with it!!

R

 

Let me put it like this... I really don't care what you think about me. Your pitiful attempts to belittle me are pointless. If you really didn't want this to be a big deal as you put it, you should not have insinuated that people here on this forum are breaking the law and accusing me as well as others you know nothing about of stealing scrap. If anything, that is the only thing you have done to offend me. It sure wasn't your pointless rant. So far as the Ohio law you quoted, it was incomplete and out of context. Obviously you either don't live here or you have never worked within the system. I have.

You can reply or don't reply. I don't care because this is the end of this sensless crap so far as I'm concerned. From here on it's a moot point and I'm done with it.

GAME OVER

 

Just to touch on something Dave mentioned in his post, I also work in the industrial sector doing industrial control assembly and installations. I get to go into the bowls of many manufacturing plants and I find the security in most of these places amazing. First, in order to talk to a project engineer I have to usually to go to the front office and register, then I have to fill out paper work to verify who I am, then I usually have to wait for the person I need to see to come and get me then escort me to the work site. OK, after I see the work sight I need to bring in my equipment and supplies, using another entrance in the rear of the plant. I sometimes have to tell the guard in the front office where I need to go and they'll notify that gate. Most of the time once I have made my initial entrance up front all I have to do to gain entrance to the rest of the plant is honk my horn and they'll remotely open the gate. I can enter and leave numerous times throughout the day and no one will ever come out to check my truck. I could be hauling truck loads of scrap out the back gate. I know I could get caught with a random check but just think if my intent was to steal something, maybe valuable equipment, not just scrap. The guys who have the intent to steal don't seem to worry about getting caught when they are someplace they aren't suppose to be, why would I? Other than I'm a honest person and wouldn't want to break the law.

 

Rail makes a great anvil. That chunk may not be worth much for scrap, but I'll bet it's worth about a Million as a tool in your garage.

 

Rails do make great anvils, unfortunately, my kid broke the one I had. You wouldn't think it would be possible but I had him pressing in some small aluminum standoff in a small aluminum box and he went a little overboard with the press. Talk about a bang! Luckily no one was hurt but the rail was broke in three pieces.

 

Bob,
I see you know the drill... You are quite right about there being some that will and do steal. I think you know as I do, they are a minority. I have always thought it was a terrible risk and not worth the prize. I think the is especially the case considering the fact that I have quite often been able to go through propper channels and ask for something. Most of the time they said OK, and went through the bother of getting me a pass for whatever it was. What is really strange to me is the fact that I have seen people get caught for something and fired, when they could have simply gone through proper channels and the stuff would have been given to them with a pass. As I said before, I've been in the game for forty years and in that time I have done my share of dumpster diving. I have been able to get a lot of stuff that was very useful to me, and I didn't have to steal it. I realize that there are people who don't understand how these situations work. I do take particular offense at those who call it stealing when they have no idea what they are talking about. I would wager that there are members here that have also acquired stuff in similar ways. We are not thieves and law breakers. We are people who hate waste and have the intelligence to go through channels, and are not afraid to ask for stuff that is otherwise going to waste. It's just a classic case of people who say, "I don't know, but...", and then they go on to great lengths to tell you what it is the don't know. Where does that come from? Go figure...

Later Man...

 

It wasn't that long ago that most scrap didn't bring enough per # to be worth stealing, they were glad someone was willing to haul it off, so high security measures were not needed. The sudden change in value and economy caught many companies (and governments) off guard (pun unintentional) and they still haven't caught up with the times. (edited to remove political comment)