Do you lock your boat trailer in the lot?

I’ve never done this before but I’ve heard horror stories of boat trailers being stolen while you’re fishing. I do occasionally fish at night and I would really be in a pickle if I came back to my truck and my trailer was missing. So I’m just wondering how many lock their trailers up to their truck?

Also, if you do, what kind of lock do you use?

Thanks

Most everyone I know has a lock on their trailer. I just assumed most did. I have a lock on the receive hitch as well. Know of a few who had the trailer locked to the hitch but not the trailer receiver. Whole receiver pulled and gone.with the values on some trailers these days it’s happening more often

I never lock mine. My brother locks his everytime.

got a lot of buddies who i fish with and none of them do. most of them never even heard of doing it. i have heard of it but never have locked it up

I always have a lock on the trailer tongue and the receiver hitch. I religiously oil and lube the lock on the hitch so it does not rust and get stuck. Came up to my boat to load up on a nice evening someone had taken the hitch pin out and slid the receiver out while being connected to the trailer right off. Thankfully they got scared and left. Never got caught sadly license plate etc. That’s why I have a lock on my hitch, trailer and boat motor what surprised me the most this trailer I had at the time was a light 14 foot trailer rusty as could be with bald tires. I have better now but as you say horror stories indeed.

grizzly wrote:

i have heard of it but never have locked it up

X2

Mine is locked all the time, in the garage and on the truck.

Never…the hastle of maintaining 2 locks and two additional keys isn’t worth my deductible

Always locked to the hitch.

If my trailer is on the truck, it’s locked, always has been & always will be. Do you guys use pins?

I lock the coupler and the hitch. Always have and always will.
DT

I have a Master lock that has a cap that goes over the lock to keep water out. I’ll spray some wd40 in the lock a few times a year as well.

what kind of lock do they make to lock the receiver in the truck?

grizzly wrote:

what kind of lock do they make to lock the receiver in the truck?

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch-Lock/etrailer/e98882.html

grizzly wrote:

what kind of lock do they make to lock the receiver in the truck?

I use a kit so the same key fits both locks. Similar to this. Mine is Masterlock but a discontinued model with with a tubular key. Mills and Northern usually have something similar in stock.
I wish they still made the one I have because it’s lasted a long time, even after salt from winter towing but once I lose the rubber cover I’ll replace. I would get this one today.
https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/trimax-stainless-steel-keyed-alike-receiver-coupler-set?ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=Shop%7CGeneric%7CAllProducts%7CHigh%7CSSCCatchAll&gclsrc=aw.ds&&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhNblior_7gIV0MDACh2lHwEiEAQYAyABEgLggfD_BwE

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I use lock on trailer and receiver.

I lock mine. Had a hitch pin stolen one time, had the boat hooked up and then I left the parking lot I was in and my hitch slid out and I felt the boat drop and then slam into the back or my truck. This was a couple boats ago thankfully.

I haven’t found a lock that’ll work on my coupler. Otherwise, I would lock it. I have with past trailers.

Mine uses a 5/16″ pin, and 1/4″ is just a bit too small.

I lock the trailer and receiver,a few years back, kids thought it was funny to pull the pins on the receivers and watch the tongues hitting the ground at the steep ramps.

rjthehunter wrote:

I lock mine. Had a hitch pin stolen one time, had the boat hooked up and then I left the parking lot I was in and my hitch slid out and I felt the boat drop and then slam into the back or my truck. This was a couple boats ago thankfully.

Someone stole the hitch pin from my truck this winter at the ramp. I’m guessing they wanted the snowmobile trailer too based on all the footprints around the hitch but it was cable locked to the truck.

My draw bar and trailer are always locked!

Based on the responses here, I think I’m going to invest in a portable lock of some kind for both the trailer coupler and the hitch pin. Looking around online last night they don’t seem to be all that expensive. I have never had an issue and I don’t know anyone that has personally, but needless to say if someone did in fact snipe my boat trailer while I was using it I could claim it on my insurance. But that’s beside the point. The massive inconvenience of coming back to my truck without the trailer attached would be a logistical nightmare.

If you guys are not running a lock on the coupler at least it is possible to have the trailer bounce off. At minimum run a pin clasp through there.

Mine is always locked, ALWAYS!

Staying local = I do not put a lock anything (coupler or hitch) and rarely see a rig with them locked in the lot. A pin with a clasp is all I use.

Further trip = I lock both

For me, I switch trailers and hitches for a utility trailer, covered trailer, boat trailer and tritoon trailer often…sometimes in the same day. The lock becomes a pain.

I lock the trailer and the hitch. I even have a lock on my drotto latch. I thought of how easy it would be to take that sitting in the parking lot. Sadly it is getting to that point now if it isn’t locked and bolted down it may be gone when you get back, and could be gone even if it is locked.

Never thought about it, I usually back into my spots and I do carry a spare hitch receiver and pin.

the Bolt brand comes unkeyed, when you buy them you set them to match your truck key. no extra keys to carry around.

https://www.boltlock.com/

Lock on the truck receiver, lock on the hitch, and a coupler lock if it’s not attached to truck.

Make sure you get an actual hitch lock if you decide to buy one. A regular padlock takes 5 seconds to snip with a bolt cutter.

I run locks instead of pins on every trailer I own. I buy commercial series master locks so 1 key opens every lock i have.