I lock both trailer hitch and receiver. I also take off the round adapter to the flat wiring harness and lock it in the truck. I got to the landing once and someone was there complaining that someone had taken his off his harness. Wouldn’t be terrible in the daylight but at night would be bad.
I’ve always locked the receiver hitch and trailer coupler since my first boat in the mid 80s. Still using the same receiver hitch lock. I also lock my spare tire, drotto latch and my 36 volt Ulterra mount. Lock the ramp on my snowmobile trailer too.
my 36 volt Ulterra mount
Isn’t your bow mount attached to your boat?
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Netguy wrote:</div>
my 36 volt Ulterra mountIsn’t your bow mount attached to your boat?
Maybe his is on a removable plate?
HRG
IMG_0463.jpg
Maybe his is on a removable plate?
Sure, but that is also on his boat, which he should be using. I’m asking about an unattended trailer in the lot hooked to your truck while you’re fishing. Maybe he is talking about when his entire setup is just parked somewhere for a period of time…
Pin yes lock never. If a thief wants your trailer they will get it with or without lock. But if it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside by all means do it. Make sure to carry a can of lock deicer if you are traveling in the winter, even with the plastic caps I have seen buddy’s freeze.
I’ve always locked every trailer I’ve towed. Lock on the coupler and the receiver hitch is secured by a locking pin.
To me, it seems like a really simple way to prevent big PITA should your trailer be the one that stolen. You have to have something in the coupler hole. Takes no longer to snap the hitch lock shut than it does to secure a clevis pin.
As others have mentioned, I have a bunch of locks keyed the same so I also have locks on the spare tire carriers on all my trailers and the are all keyed to one key.
Pin yes lock never. If a thief wants your trailer they will get it with or without lock. But if it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside by all means do it.
Nothing is theft proof, it’s about making your trailer the hardest thing in the lot to steal so that a perp moves on to the easy ones. I’d bet if there are 10 rigs in the lot, one of them is going to be completely unlocked. Let the perp have that one.
Grouse
Isn’t your bow mount attached to your boat?
Yeah, but I got caught up in all the things I have locked up!! It is on a quick release plate.
If a thief wants your trailer they will get it with or without lock.
That is true but most thefts are a crime of opportunity. Just like when people go through vehicles. They walk around to find the ones unlocked.
DT
Yeah, but I got caught up in all the things I have locked up!! It is on a quick release plate.
Thanks for clarifying
Good responses in this thread. Just curious, other than the event mrpike described, has anyone has their trailer completely stolen?
Pin yes lock never. If a thief wants your trailer they will get it with or without lock. But if it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside by all means do it. Make sure to carry a can of lock deicer if you are traveling in the winter, even with the plastic caps I have seen buddy’s freeze.
I purchased a barely used truck that had a receiver hitch locked on it a few years back. The dealer had no idea where the key was or if they had ever been given it. He said “hold on, let me check with the service department.”
…2 minutes later a mechanic walked out with a hammer and firmly hit the locking pin square on the head. 1 shot and less than 10 seconds and it failed enough to let him pull it out. Some theft deterrent devices are as much about tricking the customer as they are deterring theft.
Good responses in this thread. Just curious, other than the event mrpike described, has anyone has their trailer completely stolen?
not completely stolen, but i did have a hitch pin removed and the hitch opened. on the drive home my trailer bounced off the ball and the bow point of the boat dented my tailgate. could have been a lot worse if it came off on the highway. turns out it was done to a few other boats at the same time, so i assume it was kids trying to be funny. now i view the lock as an ounce of prevention to prevent a pound of repair costs.
Has anyone found a good locking solution for a coupler similar to this? I use a 5/16″ pin in it, but every lock I have seen is 1/4″, and that is just slightly too small and allows the coupler to be released with a bit of finagling.
download.png
DEADBOLT BARBELL COUPLER LOCK
SKU#: RC-4
BRAND: C.T. JOHNSON ENTERPRISES INC
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Overview
Deadbolt Barbell Coupler Lock
DETAILS
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FINISH Zinc
LENGTH 2-3/8 inch
DIAMETER 1/4 inch
COUPLER STYLE Latch Style Coupler
SUPPLIER PART NUMBER RC4
BRAND Deadbolt
MADE IN USA
UOM EA
rc4_5.jpg
Here’s a piggy-back question:
For those of you that park your boat/trailer outside, what security precautions do you take?
I have a coupler lock (I know they can be defeated, but it offers some deterrent) and have used a heavy cable lock through a wheel and around the frame. I also have a motion-activate camera on it.
I know if someone really wants it, they’re going to get it, but I’d like to at least make it a hassle for them.
That’s the kind of trailer I have too, and it was the exact type of lock I was looking at. Thanks Mojo
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.
Just a tip on this. I realize you lock your hitch now, but I believe its technically a law that your chains criss cross beneath your hitch so the hitch falls into a cradle and not to the ground. It wouldnt keep it from slamming into the back of your truck, but it would certainly reduce the amount of sway as you slow down.
For those of you that park your boat/trailer outside, what security precautions do you take?
I use a coupler lock and then a hardened chain lock through one wheel and around the frame. I also have security cams at the front of the driveway and above the garage, so anyone coming up the driveway gets on cam from multiple angles and license plates are readable.
As everybody already knows, but someone will still feel the need to mention, all this can be defeated with a jackhammer, acetylene torch, cordless angle grinder, etc, etc, all while making a spectacular scene with loud noise and showers of sparks. The point is perps don’t want to make tha big of a scene. IMO a trailer with obvious security devices on it makes it so unattractive to perps that they will just move on to an easy target with no security so they can just grab and go.
Also, I am blessed with an additional security feature: Retired neighbors on both sides of our house. I have told the neighbors, if they see anyone but me messing with or hooking up to the boat or trailers, call me and get a plate number.
The thing about taking simple precautions is that you never really know how many times they actually work. Unfortunately, trailer theft, especially construction/enclosed and ATV trailers, is pretty common and you see reports on FB groups all the time. What I have yet to see is someone saying, yeah I had a hitch lock and a wheel lock on my enclosed trailer and the perps used a torch and a giant cutoff saw to hack it off and steal my trailer anyway. It always seems to be the unlocked trailers that get pilfered.
Grouse
Never…the hastle of maintaining 2 locks and two additional keys isn’t worth my deductible
More of a hassle than sitting at the dock with your boat and no way to get it out of the water and home? Then a lock must be more hassle than ordering a trailer, waiting for it, picking it up and THEN pulling your boat out?
Glad it has working for you. My trailers are alway locked to my truck when not in my yard.
I use a coupler lock and then a hardened chain lock through one wheel and around the frame. I also have security cams at the front of the driveway and above the garage, so anyone coming up the driveway gets on cam from multiple angles and license plates are readable.
Sounds reasonable. I keep considering a “boot” type lock mainly because of the slant of my driveway. I always have the “what if some jerk kicked out my wheel chocks” thought in the back of my mind. My neighborhood is pretty safe, but you never know.
More of a hassle than sitting at the dock with your boat and no way to get it out of the water and home? Then a lock must be more hassle than ordering a trailer, waiting for it, picking it up and THEN pulling your boat out?
This is my fear. As I previously stated, its never happened to me or anyone I personally know and from the experiences stated in this thread, it sounds quite rare overall. I’m still going to start doing it starting this spring. Both hitch pin and trailer coupler.
Certain areas and parking lots/accesses may be more prone to have this happening than others. And I think personally that leaving it in the lot during the daylight hours is safer than at night time. Just my theory
Has anyone found a good locking solution for a coupler similar to this?
By-pass the coupler, with a cable lock directly from the trailer frame to a point on the receiver hitch. This also by-passes the hitch insert. Plenty of premade cable locks or one can just use a common padlock in combination with a cable of the appropriate length.
By-pass the coupler, with a cable lock directly from the trailer frame to a point on the receiver hitch. This also by-passes the hitch insert. Plenty of premade cable locks or one can just use a common padlock in combination with a cable of the appropriate length.
Yeah, that’s the only solution I have come up with.
It would be great if there was a 3 lock kit of some sort, all using the same key. A person could lock the receiver, coupler (Lund, maybe the cable lock from the trailer frame to the spot where you hoof the chains on the receiver area), and the trolling motor. Anyone come across such an anomoly?
A person could lock the receiver, coupler (Lund, maybe the cable lock from the trailer frame to the spot where you hoof the chains on the receiver area), and the trolling motor. Anyone come across such an anomoly?
I am the OP of this thread. I ordered a lock for my hitch and my boat trailer coupler. They are keyed alike. I did not order a lock for my bow mount though as I park my boat in the garage when not in use.
E-trailer is where I bought my set from. It was 65 bucks for the set, keyed alike, and shipped. If someone is hell bent on stealing my trailer and has the time and the right tools, they will be able to take it but I certainly feel lot better with these locks now.
Gimruis, what do you do with the cord and pin that are on the trailer to be put the the coupler when you have the locking coupler?
DEADBOLT BARBELL COUPLER LOCK
SKU#: RC-4
BRAND: C.T. JOHNSON ENTERPRISES INC
Skip to the end of the images gallery
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This item ships FREE on orders over $99.
List Price: $17.95
Your Price$15.72
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1
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IN STOCKADD TO CART
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Overview
Deadbolt Barbell Coupler Lock
DETAILSMORE INFORMATION
More Informations
FINISH Zinc
LENGTH 2-3/8 inch
DIAMETER 1/4 inch
COUPLER STYLE Latch Style Coupler
SUPPLIER PART NUMBER RC4
BRAND Deadbolt
MADE IN USA
UOM EA
This is the exact pin or awfully close that my dealer’s service department broke with one shot from a hammer to get the hitch off that I did not want (see above post). The truck was 2 years old so I cannot imagine the pin was that old either. It may be a deterrent, but not much of one.
Gimruis, what do you do with the cord and pin that are on the trailer to be put the the coupler when you have the locking coupler?
I still use the standard pin/cord when towing. When I get to the lot I replace that pin with the locking one.
Having it just hang there is not desirable but I am looking into how to fix that so I don’t have to change out the standard pin and the locking one before I head out fishing and after I load up to head home. I don’t think it would be an issue just hanging there but I still don’t like doing it. There might be a way to remove it. I will have to look closer.
I have the same hitch and removed the 5/16ths pin and use a master lock in it.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Even if you fall back on your deductible being low enough that its not worth your hassle to buy a cheap lock, well your deductible isn’t the only thing to factor in… you also have to factor in your insurance rates going way up (or getting dropped all together) after putting in a claim for your $50k boat and trailer getting stolen.
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