How many dead/zombie trailers and vans are out there?

In the northeast, it is amazing how many companies have old decrepit trailers in the rear areas of their lots. If they got rid of those old junkers, they would have the room for overnite parking and could solve the lack of available spots to park.

 

They sell them for storage

 

That Mervyn's trailer was actually the one I was thinking of when I wrote my earlier reply. I laugh when I see it too because my wife always shopped there until they closed. That's about the only place I've seen that name since they went out.

 

Here in Commiefornia we now have to deal with the rolling blackouts in late summer and early fall. My dad jokingly told me a couple weeks ago while their power was out that I should rent out storage space in my reefer to keep frozen food from spoiling for restaurants and any homeowners who would be interested. I have to admit, I thought about it.

 

This is the story of more Swift trailers than you want to know about. There are day cab drivers in that company that do nothing but recover abandoned trailers for 11 hours a day, making like 16 an hour or something like that

 

Exactly this^^^ I've had a few very un roadworthy trailers in the past as storage.

 

Unless the owner authorizes it, yes it's theft.

 

A few years ago with a previous carrier I spent 3 straight days bobtailing around eastern PA to various customers hunting misplaced dry vans they knew were dropped in the area, but weren’t properly updated in the system to reflect where. Ended up finding all of them but 2, and not sure they ever found them. This was not a big carrier either, probably 120ish trailers total

 

Lady has 6 storage buildings rented full of stuff. Couldn't rent anymore close by so she bought 2 old semi trailers for them to deliver to her place. Lol.

 

Intermodal containers and chassis get stolen all the time, a good portion of those you see with original markings sitting in a field someplace are probably stolen. The new Love's in Brush, Colo., a 53' Pacer container and chassis were stolen, someone kept the container, then dropped the chassis at the Love's. It sat there for 6 or 7 months, you would think Love's would do something, nope, one of my coworkers called in the chassis number to our dispatcher, he checked on it, found out it was stolen and notified the railroad and trucking company. Still took another week before anyone did anything. Guy I used to eat breakfast with runs a used restaurant service and supply shop. He has 3 CF trailers sitting beside the building, they were delivered to his place, full of new equipment, two weeks before CF closed. They unloaded the trailers, called them in as empty, 3 days later CF filed BK and closed, in 17 yrs, no one has ever bothered to come looking for them. When he retires and sells out in January, the trailers go to a scrap yard.