Who's sugarhouse is on vacant land?

[heus]

I have the choice of putting my sugarhouse at my residence (4acres) or down the road a half mile away in the woods where I will be tapping. I realize that it would be more convenient to be closer to the trees, but I worry about someone breaking into my sugarhose, since it is 26 acres of vacant land. Anyone ever have any problems with stolen equipment?

[Haynes Forest Products]

My shack is 150 ft from my log cabin that rents during the summer and then sits 3/4 of the year. People have hunted the land for along time before I owned it so there was always traffic. I never had problems untill scrap prices hit the all time high 3 years ago. I lost a 400 gallon round SS tank and a square 200 gallon tank both very nice tanks. I think having the shack in the woods would still be the best bet. Lock it chain it and keep an eye out but what happens if you sell the house and dont want to sell the rest of the land? I dont think we should live our lives always in fear of the worst build your dream sugar shack and get insurance and guard against the rest. I board up all my windows and remove all the small stuff that they would walk off with.

[3rdgen.maple]

I'm with Haynes on this one. If we live our lifes in fear of the worst life would suck. All I can say from experience with owning a hunting camp over 60 miles away and about 200 yards in from a seasonal road things are gonna happen. My brother lives in the fear mode. Only had minor vandalism once in 10 years until my brother decided to put up gates and cables with locks, put excessive signs along the driveway or should I say mudway, police patrol signs, no trespassing signs, alarms on the door etc. That is when we started having problems. Seems like it is challenging them at this point. I think it signals something in peoples brains that we are trying to protect something that is of great value that they gotta have, versus before where it just looked like a hunting camp. If people want to get in they are gonna get in it will just take them longer with more damage. Keep receipts of your equipment and insure the place and assets and you are covered.

[Russell Lampron]

My parents old sugarhouse is in a remote location like that. Within the first 2 years of them getting out of the maple business the sugarhouse was broken into many times and the best stuff was stolen. Chains, pad locks and boarded windows and doors did nothing to keep the thieves out. It was 1965 when they sold off the dairy hurd and stopped sugaring. The building still stands but someone tried to take it down one board at a time to build a hunting blind in the sugar orchard.

Times are tougher now than they were back then and the thievery is much worse. My father never got to get back into the sugaring business, because of the thieves, like he had hoped. I built my sugarhouse as close to my house as possible so that I can keep an eye on things. I have never had a problem but probably will now because I typed this.

[NH Maplemaker]

The main reason that I think home is best is that when you make the big improvements (RO, UV, New Evaporator, Vacuum pumps) You have the voltage to work with ! The other thing is that you can have insurance, but if the theft or damage happen just before or during sugaring you are out of luck for the season ! I trust 99% of the people! It's that 1% that screws it up for the rest!! Right Parker? Having a releaser stolen in the middle of the season during your best runs can't be replaced by insurance ! Some people don't have choices, they have got to be in a remote location. But if you have the choice build at home, you will not regret it, the convenience is worth alot, as Russ found out this year. You will also sleep better !! Jim L.

[KenWP]

We have probbably most of the sugar cabins here out in the bush someplace. One fellow here has the sap come to the house to a huge SS tank and then hauls it way out in the bush to boil it. You would have to drive thru his yard to get to the sugar cabin. couple are right out in the open beside the road with nobody living close by for miles and no power going to them even.

[Maplewalnut]

Build it close to home. Not only the power convienence but I would rather truck sap daily than worry about the safety of my belongings nightly.

[heus]

Lots of good advice. Thanks