Theft protection?

[highdesertranger]

Search, Trailer Coupler. Highdesertranger

 

[Camper]

The Proven lock is pretty good, but a guy could remove it with a battery grinder in a few minutes.

I saw on the net where guys are hooking the safety chains together, throwing them over their hitch ball and taking off. They do have to take time to raise the jack a little though.

My cargo trailer has a good lock plus a home security system which will call me, and also a well hidden GPS tracker.

 

[BelgianPup]

So is the Proven Industries lock what you were looking for?

Sorry for the slow response!

No, that isn't what I saw, but it does look like it might be useful. Thank you!

 

[Carla618]

HDR said to look up trailer coupler. Is that a pretty decent anti-theft device?

For those with trailers, what are you using for locks?

And do you use a supplemental door lock on the trailer?

Edit: trailer couplers aren't locks, though. So why did HDR say to look them up?

 

[bullfrog !]

There are all sorts of theft deterrents. Removable couplers and locks that prevent coupling the trailer to a tow vehicle. Usually a general search will show many as there are several different ones. I don’t own anything that can’t be replaced. A good emergency fund along with insurance is the best plan as anything can be stolen or damaged. The primary thing for me is to not have anything that looks worth stealing or will require more work than it is worth to steal.

 

[maki2]

I just have a basic padlock on my trailer hitch. If some one is determined to steal it they will. Locks can be cut off by determined thieves and my trailer is small enough that it could be dragged up onto a flat bed trailer. Bit as it is 51 years old and not high a high value model as well as being very small in size it is not a desirable trailer that gets targeted. Cargo trailers on the other hand are more frequently stolen because they have a lot more utility value and a lot of them look very similar to each other going down the road.

I had friends who had been to a trade show and on the way home stopped for lunch at a cafe. When they came outside after lunch someone had unhooked their small white cargo trailer and taken it away because it was small and light enough to lift up the tongue and walk it over to their own vehicle. They lost more than a years worth of labor and materials in the inventory that was inside that small, unmarked, white, commonly sold, cargo trailer. They hand crafted custom dollhouse miniature items and were on a cross the country trip to various shows where they sold. The trailer itself was the target and it was never recovered.

Even a basic padlock lock on the hitch would have stopped that particular, very fast, grab-and-run theft. So do get a lock for your hitch and use it when driving and when parked and do not leave a wheel on the trailer tongue that makes it easy to move around.

People choose all white trailers for being stealthy and hard to identify. But that very same characteristic can also make them very desirable targets for theft as few people pay attention to them when passing by one so that makes recovery unlikely.

 

[Malamute]

A habit from motorcycle days was never park or sit where you cant see your vehicle. I do the same with motel rooms, if I cant get a room where i can park right outside the window Id rather stay in a rest stop. Having a lock on the hitch is good, locking hitch pin, and anti-rattle clamp on the hitch all help or make it more work and trouble to remove a rig. A lock on the safety chain may help, Ive done it before, and locked the safety chains so they cant be used when the trailer is unhooked. I also have a removable trailer jack and stow it so its not available to steal or use on the trailer to remove it from the vehicle. Its the type that uses a round piece welded to the side of the trailer tongue and rotates or removes with a pin.

 

[hipsterreplacement]

Some time ago, I ran across an odd thing, and wonder if anyone could identify what it is.

It was a still photo of the front end hitch of a trailer, but the caption was not talking about the Odd Thing.

It looked like a smooth, fitted metal cover for a trailer hitch, maybe brass, possibly to prevent theft.

Does such a thing exist? I have often wondered if it was possible to unhitch a trailer and do something to prevent someone from hauling it off.

Any thoughts?

I first found out about trailer locks when I was looking into the Altor SAF lock for cycles and saw they make a trailer lock as well. It is humongous and deters thieves who use an angle grinder on a lock by simply exhausting angle grinder blades/motors trying to cut through all that metal. https://altorlocks.com/products/icon-trailer-lock

 

[bullfrog !]

^^^Put nice big choke chain behind it coupled with a nice big clevis, hook it into a pintle hitch and off you go. Easier and much cheaper to jack the trailer up and take off the wheels and tires on at least one side, lock them inside your truck. Put the lug nuts in a baggie so you don’t lose them and store with the wheels. After all you should carry a jack and tools and be prepared to change a flat tire. Get whatever tools you need to make it easy for you to do.

 

[RonDean]

^^^Put nice big choke chain behind it coupled with a nice big clevis, hook it into a pintle hitch and off you go. Easier and much cheaper to jack the trailer up and take off the wheels and tires on at least one side, lock them inside your truck. Put the lug nuts in a baggie so you don’t lose them and store with the wheels. After all you should carry a jack and tools and be prepared to change a flat tire. Get whatever tools you need to make it easy for you to do.

Yes, I had a converted cargo trailer that I had to leave in an unsecure location for a while. I had already installed a heavy duty door latch (see below)
Then I removed one wheel and put it inside the trailer.
When I returned the tonge box (which I had also emptied) had been broken into but otherwise the trailer was still there and undamaged.

 

[tradesman]

Here's another tongue lock: https://gladhandlock.com/shop/trailer-hitch-lock/
It uses your own padlock of whatever security level you feel it needs. Made in USA

 

[RonDean]

I think many locks and security items are sales gimmicks. Too often they are no protection from a thief with portable power tools. The more tool-resistant locks might make thieves move on to an easier opportunity, but it has been said that every other lock on the market can be cut in 6-90 seconds. I have watched demos of someone cutting through different bicycle locks (just as an example) in mere seconds. If they can get a battery-powered angle grinder situated on the lock or chain it's a done deal.

I depend more on security in-depth (having multiple locks and chains at multiple locations on the trailer) and trying to park in the open view of as many people as possible. I've also used motion-detecting security alarms they can't get at easily. If I can park where I know there are cameras - even better. I try to imagine if I were looking for something to steal where would I prefer it to be and then I park in just the opposite place.

 

[CosmickGold]

In addition to keeping my interior hidden, I also added a plastic coating to the inside of every window's glass to make them virtually un-smashable. And I invented my own deadbolt -- added to each door -- which only I know how to release by hand from the outside. Having no added locks or other security visible from the outside avoids the appearance of having something inside worth stealing. But if someone thinks they want to break in anyway, I believe the unexpected delay, personal effort, and neighbor-alerting noisiness of their efforts will change their minds.

 

[Malamute]

Something to keep in mind with any security considerations it to have serial numbers of all your valuables recorded, and/or pictures taken of serial numbers and make/model. These need to be in a safe place, in your computer or phone or vehicle, and its stolen, isnt a safe place. A flash drive on you or somewhere you can access it and/or with someone reliable you can get in contact with reliably can help, or an online storage source you can access from various places, like the library, someone elses phone or the cop shop after a theft.

Multiple places to keep info is safest.

If you dont have serial number info its unlikely you can get back your stuff even if its found. Just pointing and saying "Thats mine!" or "It has special butterfly stickers on it" isnt enough to prove ownership or charges against someone.

I think security film on the windows is a good idea in a house or camper rig.

 

[Carla618]

I first found out about trailer locks when I was looking into the Altor SAF lock for cycles and saw they make a trailer lock as well. It is humongous and deters thieves who use an angle grinder on a lock by simply exhausting angle grinder blades/motors trying to cut through all that metal. https://altorlocks.com/products/icon-trailer-lock

If only it didn't cost $350. But if it works, it would be worth the cost.

 

[RonDean]

If I were a trailer thief I might just clamp on (above or below the original locked tongue) one of these $89 units and tow the trailer to the closest discreet location to complete the theft.

I am thinking as long as we have a box sitting on wheels that turn we will have a problem. Maybe a boot or wheel lock along with the tongue lock might make the trailer not worth the trouble? Although I have seen videos on how to defeat wheel locks too.

 

[Michael11]

I have two wheel locks facing opposite directions on my trailer. Plus "uncutable" locks on the door, the ball lever, and in the hitch well for the ball. May not completely protect me but will certainly slow the &^#@% down a little, maybe even make them leave it alone as too much work.

 

[hipsterreplacement]

If only it didn't cost $350. But if it works, it would be worth the cost.

I was just posting it since it sounded like what the OP might have been looking at and forgetting the name of.

 

[RonDean]

I was just posting it since it sounded like what the OP might have been looking at and forgetting the name of.

I found your post interesting and I'm glad you made it. Also, like your "handle."

I was only suggesting there is probably no fool-proof locking method. I was watching a YouTube last night about what they were doing about bike theft in Vancouver. Many (some?) of their solutions would apply equally to RVs. The biggest take-away for me was park in open and busy areas where a lot of like-minded people can help you keep an eye on your things. For bikes the best was to use a Parking Valet service that keeps it behind a locked fence. Sort of like a paid RV storage lot. Then you also use the best locks you can afford. The Icon lock is certainly better than the master lock some of us use/used.

 

[LargeMarge]

Some time ago... I often wondered if it was possible to unhitch a trailer and do something to prevent someone from hauling it off...

.
[bookmarked this thread]
For the farm, we are looking at an old gooseneck flatbed with tandem duals.
GVWR -- 22,000#.
.
Apparently, to reduce the possibility of it growing legs, somebody modified its hitch with a reverse upside-down coupler.
None of our equipment is designed to tow such an abomination.
.
We see two ways to get it to our acreage:
* load that flatbed trailer on another flatbed trailer.
* hire a tow-truck to lift the entire front of the trailer, eliminating the need for any type of hitch or matching coupler.
.
As long as The Party Of The Second Part wants something, The Party Of The First Part must be capable of maintaining permanent ownership.
Usually, this requires:
* sitting on it,
* hiding it or otherwise making it invisible,
* disguising it to resemble something undesirable.
.
In this fine fine splendid example of disguise, a new van is covered with a vinyl wrap...
... simulating a decade at the bottom of the ocean: