Lock Me Up?

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Dan J got me thinkin (his hunka, hunka, 4 foot chain post....I do a terrible Elvis). I'm going to have to do some road time this summer and I just realized that there is no way to lock my trailer....The ball hitch is flat and where you would normally put a lock (the handle that clamps the hitch to the ball) is also flat and uses a teenie-weenie pin. I'm already half way petrified with all the stories of rod lockers getting broken into and getting gear stolen. Short of chaining the toungue to the bumperhitch or a tree (real classy). How do you keep your rig safe?? I've seen guys padlock the safety chains but that's a one snip and see ya operation.... Ideas??



TOXIC

 

[Bill McElroy]

just sleep in your boat under the cover....with your cannon facing up.....your cover should have enough room for another "Butt Seat"...lol

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Let's see, in order for the cannon to be facing up, I would have to be facing down.......I couldn't see what I was blasting, too dangerous.



TOXIC

 

[Bill McElroy]

it's all about the sudden flash,...not the blast!!

 

[Thomas Macaluso]

Toxic

They make a lock that fits into the that hole were the safety pin goes. IN fact I lock my trailer to the hitch every time I use it ,it

 

[gone bye bye]

Same happened at a Federation event in Michigan on the Detroit River. Only they left his truck.



Mini

 

[TrepMan]

We had a group down here stealing the boats with the trailers. What they did was at sunset they'd take the valvestems out of both tires of a single axle trailer and wait. The boater would get to his vehicle (notice Tox I didn't say Truck!!!! LOL) and notice the flats. SInce most folks only carry 1 spare, the owner would disconnect the trailer and head home or to the trailer tire store. As soon as the owner was out of site the perps would re-install the valvestems use a portable aircompressor from their truck, pump the tires up hook up the trailer load the boat and away they went!



I don't think they caught the gang, but I haven't heard about thefts like that for a while.



Like Tom said I have a pin lock for my hitch and one for my Trailer. Honestly though I've never parked the boat anywhere but my garage and Tracker's lot so i've not tested my security locks at a hotel yet.

 

[Dan J.]

If you pull out the tethered pin, you'll find directly accross from it another matching hole. Through these two holes you can insert a variety of cross tongue locking devices. BPS sells several in the $10 -$20 range. (A standard Master lock through either or both also does a good job of deterrence, also.) Gorilla makes a tongue lock that utilizes a locking cover on the hitch, making it impossible for a ball to fit unless removed. A motion activated "laptop" alarm does a good job of scaring prying eyes from removing/cutting open your cover. (Hint, slide unit under cover then set it to keep it out of sight and wind.) Loc-R-Bar has a great deck locking system for front and rear decks. Even if the compartment locks are jimmied, the doors cannot be opened more than a half inch. Valley makes a real nice locking wheel chock similar to a P.D. boot. Lawman put a twist on the Club locking your prop to the lower unit. However, I've seen the aftermath of a thief with enough time and comfort just steal the whole lower unit. The Club thing wouldn't have helped. These are just a few that have come to mind or I've used.



P.S. All the above work 100% on keeping an honest man honest!(LOL!) From my experience I believe that the more time a thief has to invest on your rig, the more likely he'll pick another easier, quicker target.

 

[Bob G.]

Toxic,



Stick a lock in place of the teenie-weenie pin after you latch it. You can also stick an old ball in the trailer hitch before you lock it. Remember, anyone with a set of bolt cutters can cut a chain or lock with no problem.



Bob G.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

That teenie-weenie pin hole doesn't give me much peace of mind. I was looking for something a little more substantial than a padlock that size. I heard that the Loc-R-Bar is easily defeated (as I guess most all of this equipment is). I agree that minimal measures will keep an honest man honest, and that there's nothing that will keep a truly determined criminal from committing his crime, but I thought maybe some were better than others.



TOXIC

 

[James D.]

tox,



feel the same as you as i think mine has the same type of hitch. went to a tourney and put the boat in a slip which was located away from the ramp and had to leave my trailer cause i didn't want to drive down i-40 70mph to hotel with a trailer bouncing all over the place. i got a chain, padlock and ran it thru the tires, over the fender and around the axle and locked it up. i could not find a "hitch lock" either that i thought would fit. It looks like my hitch is just bolted on and not sure if it is welded also or not. i guess a person could just unbolt the hitch. let me know if you find something that works.



jd

 

[Steven Atwell]

If you don't plan on changing your hitch ball, you can epoxy it to the lock nut, then that will at least keep them from unscrewing the ball. That way they'll have to work on one of the locks.................sa

 

[Greg Meyer]

The best I have seen is a lock that fits like a Denver Boot on the Trailer wheel...nobody is going nowhere with that setup... I have a portable motion alarm that I can set in the boat at night... You toucha my stuff and it yelps like a thousand turkeys... I wake up and if you are not gone you have just met the mother of all nightmares and You ain't on elm street...

 

[Steve Rizza]

If you have tandem axles,a hunk of chain padlocked through both rims might help.Even if somebody cut the lock off the toungue,I doubt if they would chech the rims.The tires squeeling across the parking lot might just tip you off that somthings amiss.

 

[Andrew Zuber]

I think I've got the solution...

How about a device that shorts the battery over to the boat itself (you 'glass guys will have to settle for shorting it over to the trailer)...If someone grabs onto your boat/trailer in the middle of the night, the screams will give the perp away for sure!!!



az

 

[Staci Matheis]

I never use the teathered pin; I always use a small padlock in the hole.



I have a locking pin that holds the hitch assembly in the receiver that is mounted to the frame of the truck.



For final security, I have a long section of heavy chain that I can run around the trailer frame and through the slots in the wheels then padlock the ends of the chain.



Worst part about it is that anyone who really wanted to steal the boat could get through all that stuff in seconds if they really wanted to..........