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

I had seen a trailer of one of these companies that filed for bankruptcy sitting at some small truck stop in no where usa , I wondered how long I could work it until I got in trouble lol

 

There are likely thousands of missing trailers dropped here and there across the country. Many have GPS transponders and when the batteries die they can't track em anymore. I've been on recovery missions a few times.

When you think about the price of a trailer you realize just how much money trucking companies have. Sure, lots of them were lost after bankrupcy but I bet every mega carrier has a huge number they 'accept' as being lost every year. I bet it's hundreds of em.

If this stuff seems strange don't look hard at maritime shipping. They go out of business and abandon ships and freighters too or just let them drift off to sea. There are several empty ships found every year all over the world just floating around. I read about this somewhere. I don't know why but it really spooks me.

 

I watched a special once that covered the dismantling of a ship for salvage, just the price of being epa compliant to dismantle one, plus the red tape involved, makes it much easier for them to decide to just abandon one.
It is also the reason the govt has ship grave yards, they have to do a lot of the same stuff before they can even put a retired ship in the graveyards, though.

 

Welfare Express?

 

India is the best place to scrap a ship. They do it for cheap because no pesky OSHA or EPO to deal with.
The workers wear flip-flops and use cutting torches without wearing goggles. It the workers get injured, the scrap companies simply fire them and kick them off the property.
Bangladesh is as dangerous as India.
Turkey isn't much better with their ship scrap yards.
India, they put ballast in the rear of the ship to get the bow high then go full speed and run it aground on the beach, then the scrap yard workers go at it with cutting torches.

 

YouTube
The Dark side of the Shipping Industry - Ship Breakers
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TOP 5 SHIPS CRASHING INTO SHORE

 

I wish I had enough return on investments to buy up an old ship and keep it stocked with food and fuel. I’d never work or sock other then to re-up my supplies

 

We had one, an old 40 foot van abandoned in the back row of the lot, no plates.

Went to NJ MVC back when they had an 'agent's window and found out we could title it as home made and get a trailer plate. They issued a serial number that we were supposed to stamp on it...filled it with stuff and took it to a customer's bar and left it...wonder if it is still there?