How to Prevent Trailer Theft?

[tx2sturgis]

Cargo trailers are a different story. They often contain thousands of dollars worth of tools, or expensive motorcycles, or other valuable items. 

If you change categories a bit, and think about commercial semi trailers, you are sure right! Hundreds of thousands of dollars in flat panel TVs, meat, cheese, canned goods, furniture, pharmaceuticals, baby food and infant formula, even disposable diapers. I kid you not...diapers. Non-traceable, non-perishable, and easily sellable by the case loads.

Cargo theft is a real problem in the transportation industry, but there a few very simple, and relatively inexpensive, deterrents. For trailers left unattended overnight in vendor and warehouse yards, one security measure is a kingpin lock, and the other is a single gladhand lock. Of course a large padlock on the rear door is a given.

These three things reduce cargo trailer theft by a huge percentage.

Thieves will see that kingpin lock and wont try to hook up to it...they will usually move on. Unless they have been tracking that shipment and KNOW its worth the trouble, they will pick an easier target. Security cameras show this.

If you can look at your trailer from a thieves point of view...you are half way to securing it.

But..HDR,...I do like the 'guns and shovels' idea....maybe a large sticker proclaiming the owner has both and not afraid to use them in sequence!

 

[tx2sturgis]

As to not stealing travel trailers, yes they do, and with pets inside. 

I assume you know the primary destination for stolen travel trailers....

Hint:

It will smell weird afterwards, that is, if it's not eventually seized by the feds, or burned to the ground in the boonies.

Fido will not fare any better.

 

[DuneElliot]

The hitch connector on my 5W is unusual so while it is removable with the right tools it makes it that much harder to just back up to it with a standard 5W or gooseneck hitch and drive off. It is also almost impossible to back under it without it being jacked up and those controls are behind a locked panel, albeit an easy one to break into if so desired. While only 10 years old nothing about it says "valuables inside"...especially with the silver tape on the corners for higher visibility!!!

 

[Travelers Rest]

My 7' x 12' cargo trailer is gray, with 30"x15" slider window on each side. 6' 9" roof, straight axel and rear barn doors.
I like the "level it and remove tire put in back of truck." and " deflate and remove valve stem."

Just wished M18 claymores were legal. 

Think I'll add some traveling stickers. Don't want "ten finger discount Joe"(no offense to honest Joe's) thinking I had goodies inside. 

And h#ll no. No you tube sticker's. lol.

 

[Boyntonstu]

Apparently, ANY of those locks can be easily cut by a battery powered tool with a diamond cutting blade.

I would also say a removable coupler, but a few people have told me that it could still be dragged using a chain.  I dunno.

Instead of removing the wheels, I've thought about just letting the air out of the tires and taking the inner valve stem with me.  What are the odds some thief will have a compressor AND new schrader valves?

Another idea would be to have the trailer wire modified so it has a plug on the trailer like on the vehicle.  Take the wire with you.  Driving down the road with no turn signals or brakes would attract the attention of any cop who sees it.

I do like the gps tracker.

 I've thought about just letting the air out of the tires and taking the inner valve stem with me. 

What if the bead broke?

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

If professional thieves go after your trailer about the only deterrent will be guards 24/7.

If anyone wants your trailer bad enough to study your patterns before stealing you need someone watching it.

Ordinary thieves are opportunists, they go after easy prey.  The more difficult and time consuming you make stealing it the less likely they will bother.  They also hate noise unless it won't be noticed.

GPS tracking will enable you to recover you trailer (or what is left of it) after you discover it's gone.

 -- Spiff

 

[Florida boondocker]

If professional thieves go after your trailer about the only deterrent will be guards 24/7.

If anyone wants your trailer bad enough to study your patterns before stealing you need someone watching it.

Ordinary thieves are opportunists, they go after easy prey.  The more difficult and time consuming you make stealing it the less likely they will bother.  They also hate noise unless it won't be noticed.

GPS tracking will enable you to recover you trailer (or what is left of it) after you discover it's gone.

 -- Spiff

most GPS tracker you can set to notify you if it's moved
even jacking it up trips a mercury switch

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

 I've thought about just letting the air out of the tires and taking the inner valve stem with me. 

What if the bead broke?

My experience has been that beads don't break loose if a tire goes flat while it's parked.  Only trying to drive on a flat will cause it to break loose.

 

[Travelmonkey]

I store my trailer at my friend's yard along with a few other 5ers and trailers. There are a couple of families that live on site and the yard is fenced with a locked gate. It is not secured like a traditional RV storage lot with razor wire and the families living there aren't security guards (just regular tenants). I go back and forth whether I'm better off at a real storage place or here.

One of the things I'm considering is a Spot Trace https://www.findmespot.com/en/

This is a similar technology as the personal locator beacon that some folks on this site use to keep in touch with family. The Spot Trace will alert you if it moves. It can send text msgs and you can set the interval for tracking. Battery life is pretty good and you can connect to an external battery.

 

[Vagabound]

I don't even own a cargo trailer, but I thought about what I would do to secure it if I were to buy one in the future.

The first thing that popped into my head came from an image of hurricane anchors on mobile homes. Large galvanized eye hooks with an auger on the bottom.  After somehow magically drilling this thing into the ground, you could use a lock to secure the frame of the trailer to the eye hook. And then when ready to depart, magically unscrew it from the ground and take it with you for reuse.

I also thought that the way to do it would be to put the anchor or anchors in the ground, and then drive the trailer over top of them, and then lock it in place. That way the anchor couldn't be removed from the ground in any way, such as digging.

I'm sure this is just a loopy idea, but maybe one or more common tools mixed with some ingenuity might make this feasible enough to be practical. 

Any ideas?

Tom

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

All of these suggestions have merit.

Unless you are parked out in the boonies away from everyone, your trailer locking/securing methods do not have to be bullet proof. They only have to be better than the ones used. Y the person parked near you. Thieves will take the "easy target." That should be the "other guy."

Just my opinion . . .

This line of thinking also works as bear protection.  As long as you're faster than the slowest person with you, you should be safe.

 

[jim1521]

This is a company from my boating world that makes some serious locks and chains.  

http://www.1st-chainsupply.com/chain/security_maxx/security-chain-3-8/index.htm#padlock

If they want it bad enough, they're going to get it.  My job is to make it as unpleasant as possible, to get them to give up on mine and go after yours! 

 

[TrainChaser]

I was looking at gypsy-style vargo trailers last night. I wonder if thieves would steal one of those, as they're usually rather distinctive?

Lots of good ideas have been provided, thank you very much!

 

[Oswegatchie]

Are we talking travel trailers, or cargo? Regardless, locked behind a gate and out of view in a fenced yard would be my first choice.
Cable and hitch locks are good too, but not guaranteed against a determined thief.

We are towing a cargo trailer behind our truck camper and it will have most of our stuff. We will be leaving it in order to get into more remote areas for a few days at a time. We also may take some extended trips without it. We will take all important paperwork and other items with us at all times and the trailer will only have basics in it. We thought of short term storage in a facility. Are there short term rentals available in those locked storage areas?

 

[Oswegatchie]

For me i use[font=verdana, geneva, lucida,] this lock [/font][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]http://provenlocks.com/products[/font]

[font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]and this GPS [/font][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]http://gpsandtrack.com/trailer-track-gps/[/font]

plus when i am not using my trailer it's parked at my warehouse with video security and alarm

That's great having your own secured warehouse. Would you like to rent out space for short term cargo trailer storage for fellow nomads? What town are you in (hopefully near Yellowstone, but I think your name says Florida)? I would think the thief could just remove or break the GPS unit if it is visible on the trailer.

 

[Oswegatchie]

Apparently, ANY of those locks can be easily cut by a battery powered tool with a diamond cutting blade.

I would also say a removable coupler, but a few people have told me that it could still be dragged using a chain.  I dunno.

Instead of removing the wheels, I've thought about just letting the air out of the tires and taking the inner valve stem with me.  What are the odds some thief will have a compressor AND new schrader valves?

Another idea would be to have the trailer wire modified so it has a plug on the trailer like on the vehicle.  Take the wire with you.  Driving down the road with no turn signals or brakes would attract the attention of any cop who sees it.

I do like the gps tracker.

The tracker looks easily disabled, or am I seeing it wrong?

 

[Oswegatchie]

Well now this means its a professional thief or ring of trailer snatchers....and yeah, if they think that trailer is worth it, they will take it no matter what you do.

But the main point is that we try to make it difficult, time consuming, and noisy for the normal run-of-the-mill thief that wants to take advantage of an un-protected trailer.

The glass windows on my van can be broken by anyone with a rock...but I still roll them up when I leave the van un-attended somewhere.

Same principle.

We just had ours smashed in while picking blueberries in a state park. I locked the door which I don't typically do. Now, I make sure there are no valuables and I leave the doors unlocked. They will look quick and go on to another vehicle with something valuable in it. If they want to get in, like you said, it only takes a rock or crow bar or something else.

 

[Oswegatchie]

A regular travel trailer isn't really valuable enough to attract professionals, I would think.  An exception might be something like Airstreams, which can be quite collectable and valuable.

Cargo trailers are a different story. They often contain thousands of dollars worth of tools, or expensive motorcycles, or other valuable items.  Plus even an empty cargo trailer can be sold for a few grand.

We bought a used cargo trailer on Craigslist for $750 and it looks a little beat up, just like I wanted it to. I firmly believe if you don't look rich, you will have less issues. It is mainly stocked with excess stuff like TP and coffee. I guess they could barter those things but I don't think it is what they are looking for.

 

[Oswegatchie]

All good ideas. Here's another approach, file it under, "If I can't have it then neither can you".

Things you will need...

Grenade.
Length of wire.
Stake that won't pull out of the ground easily.
Really good strong ducktape.(the kind that will secure a grenade to the underside of a trailer)
Tarp(so you won't get your clothes dirty while under trailer).

See where I'm going here? Best plan eva? Possibly, but I might be missing something important. Who knows.

EDIT: For clarification, you booby trap trailer so if it drives away.

Plan breaks down quickly if you forget to disengage it when you come back and try and drive it away. You may make national news though.

 

[Oswegatchie]

Okay, thanks for all of the tips!  Personally, I would prefer to have an ex-military sharpshooter in a tree nearby, but people seem to fuss about that.

As to not stealing travel trailers, yes they do, and with pets inside.  And every other type of trailer that exists.  OR WA State is the scumbag center of the country. *shrug*  Which it may be.

And I thought the town we are in (for 10 more days!), Nassau, NY was scumbag central. I think the competition for that title is getting fiercer.