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Old 05-30-2017, 02:08 PM   #21
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Happy for you!

Every morning it's the first thing I do, look if it's still in the entrance, even if it's well-barred, jack up, truck in front ...
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Old 05-30-2017, 02:23 PM   #22
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...truck in front ...
That is also one layer in our security plan. Whenever we're gone for any length of time, we leave another vehicle parked blocking access to our trailers (Scamp and utility trailer). A thief would have to move the car before getting at the trailers.

The boot is probably best, but even then... I read here about a tent trailer stolen by dragging it across the front yard (with one wheel chained to the axle, IIRC) and onto a flatbed vehicle hauler using the winch.

Crazy world. Safest place for an RV... is in a campground!
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Old 05-30-2017, 04:50 PM   #23
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Crazy world. Safest place for an RV... is in a campground!
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Old 05-30-2017, 09:45 PM   #24
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locking up a trailer

I made the mistake, during the year I searched for a trailer, of watching every youtube video I could find on how easy it is to steal a trailer.

Result
forget the boot - saw how easy it is to just drag it until the boot falls off,
forget any lock on the hitch - saw how you can crowbar or hammer them off in about 3 minutes, tow it away with the trailer chains (or they bring their own chains so locking your chains up doesn't help), or they can remove the front of the hitch (many times the front part of the hitch is just bolted on and especially if you have a bolted on swing back tongue),
forget conventional locks - can be picked or drilled out in about 3 minutes.

I like what Wayne Winton from Wayne's Lock Shop in Colorado says about locking a trailer. You need a Peweg Security Chain With ASSA Stanley High Security Lock Padlock run through the wheel and around the trailer frame.
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Old 05-31-2017, 07:35 AM   #25
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There are two kinds of thieves. Casual, opportunistic thieves will likely be put off by several layers of conventional security- boots and coupler locks, for example. As to a well-equipped professional thief targeting my trailer, that's why I pay my insurance premiums.

I have seen those videos, and most seem to be pointing you toward some "unbeatable" (but expensive, naturally) upgrade. I suppose we each have to decide for ourselves, taking into consideration the local environment, financial investment, and personal tolerance for risk, how far we're willing to escalate this battle.
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Old 05-31-2017, 08:12 AM   #26
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My brother has his enclosed snowmobile trailer stolen (with 2 snowmobiles inside) one night. The trailer was backed up his driveway, and hitched up to his pickup truck. He had a lock on the coupler.
They broke the lock, unhitched, swung the trailer aside, backed up their own truck, hitched up and drove off.
My brother was home when it happened. Nobody noticed anything. All was left was the broken lock. He never saw the trailer nor the sleds ever again.

The following spring he sunk a 6ft concrete post in his driveway, with a metal loop on top of it, flush with the ground. Then he got this big chain and a huge padlock with a strange type of key (never saw a padlock like this before!). He loops the chain around a wheel or the axle of his trailers (camping or snowmobile trailers), and attaches it to the post. The post is almost under the trailer, not very obvious to see.

Now if some thief tries to pull the trailer but doesn't notice the chain, he's in for a big surprise. He's not going anywhere. Or he's going without an axle.
It would take some time to get rid of that lock or cut that chain.
So i'm thinking about doing the same at home for my trailer.
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Old 05-31-2017, 08:47 AM   #27
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The cops here use small trailers with radar mounted on them, then display your speed as you approach. They move the trailers around in neighborhoods. To prevent "unauthorized" moving of the trailers, they run a steel bar under the trailer through slots in both trailer wheels. They padlock both ends, or one end has a tee or disc welded on it. It is simple, but may not be sold commercially. The bar prevents the wheels from turning. Like any lock, it could be defeated. But it makes towing by hitch chains much harder.

It may be better suited for units in storage, than when you are travelling.
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Old 05-31-2017, 10:15 AM   #28
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Here, people don't bat an eye at car horn alarms. They might throw a rock if they have one. Search wheel boot. As said before, make sure it covers your lug nuts.
Chains? They can bring their own. But, if yours is harder than the next trailer, that's half the battle.

This is interesting, others for $99 on eBay:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Universal...WSY/980775385?
Tom, the horn wakes me up and if I am fast enough to get outside, I may be able to stop the theft. Who wants to steel something when an old man is running outside half naked, screaming? I might even grab a shovel to smack 'm.
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Old 05-31-2017, 02:30 PM   #29
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I never locked the safety chains but instead i used carabineers on both ends so i can lock the hitch and easily disconnect safety chains from the camper. Luckily the Scamp we have now is so tiny that i just park it in the garage, that and we have CCTV around the perimeter of the property and inside the garage.
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Old 05-31-2017, 05:57 PM   #30
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Alan & Lorraine, could you give details about the situation under which your trailer was stolen, such as time of day, location on your property, what your neighborhood is like, proximity to the road, rural or busy highway. Curious as to the situation the thieves had to steal it. Glad you got it back quick.
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Old 05-31-2017, 08:58 PM   #31
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The cops here use small trailers with radar mounted on them, then display your speed as you approach. They move the trailers around in neighborhoods. To prevent "unauthorized" moving of the trailers, they run a steel bar under the trailer through slots in both trailer wheels. They padlock both ends, or one end has a tee or disc welded on it. It is simple, but may not be sold commercially. The bar prevents the wheels from turning. Like any lock, it could be defeated. But it makes towing by hitch chains much harder.
That is a great idea!
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Old 05-31-2017, 09:38 PM   #32
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Small clarification on the padlocked bar running under the trailer through both wheels. When I said the bars may not be sold commercially, I should have said I couldn't find them offered commercially for sale. You are free to manufacture, sell them, and make a $ million.
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Old 06-01-2017, 09:41 AM   #33
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Glad you found it. A determined thief will find a way to steal it even when locked. I've been thinking about a Spot Trace GPS tracker that several people I know have in their trailers. It won't prevent a theft but it would provide a location. Mike
Can you tell me more about these Spot Trace GPS trackers. I'd love to have something to find my rig if stolen. Price, where to find, etc.
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Old 06-01-2017, 09:52 AM   #34
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Posted theft on Face Book and it went viral (locally). Someone spotted it in a church parking lot about 5 miles away. Hitch was locked so it had been towed by the safety chains. The jack was left down so it was destroyed but no other damage. Feeling lucky! May start locking the safety chains too!

Alan & Lorraine
Facebook can be a great thing for finding missing people or things. Glad it worked for you. Thieves are hard to stop. We must make our trailers harder than the neighbors to steal. It's like your house. If you have a security system and good locks on doors and double pane windows the thief will go to the next house. Most thieves are not energetic enough to fight through a lot of security.
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Old 06-01-2017, 12:18 PM   #35
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Can you tell me more about these Spot Trace GPS trackers. I'd love to have something to find my rig if stolen. Price, where to find, etc.
Here ya go: https://www.amazon.com/Trace-Anti-Th.../dp/B00GQ8WW4M
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Old 06-01-2017, 03:01 PM   #36
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Glad you got it back. I too have been thinking of sinking a concrete anchor. Winch and flatbed allows anything light enough to drag to be moved even if wheels won't turn.

Or remove wheels as someone suggested.

Anytime you make it harder it encourages the thief to move on to find a softer target. But the amateur can be an idiot and just keep trying because they are too dumb to realize the longer they are there the more chance for getting caught.

There are also inexpensive motion alarms designed to be hung on a door or similar ones with a pinch switch on a wire that you can wedge the switch in a door crack or under tire. Spring loaded switch turns alarm on if switch is no longer pinched.


https://www.amazon.com/SABRE-Door-Ha...Q87K4X82E13MSE


Doberman Security Portable Door Alarm-SE-0203 - The Home Depot

These are not "real" alarms, thief that sees them can turn them off same as you can by just pushing a button. But under the trailer and out of sight they may well miss them.
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Old 06-02-2017, 08:48 PM   #37
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No alarms, please!

If I was sitting in a quiet campground and a trailer alarm went off while the owners had blithely taken off for the day, it would generate outrage. Secure your trailer, yes, but a blaring alarm would be an abomination out in the woods.
Our recently purchased Casita Patriot had a malfunction of the Co2 detection alarm while sitting benignly in our driveway, and it kept going off over a four-day period (we kept reading the manual and resetting it and thought/hoped it was fixed). The final straw was when I got up at 4:30am to use the bathroom and heard it beeping again. My husband had to drag his 72-year-old cranky self outside with wirecutters and snip the wire to the battery before our neighbors burned us in effigy.
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Old 06-02-2017, 11:45 PM   #38
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Our recently purchased Casita Patriot had a malfunction of the Co2 detection alarm
That would be a CO ( carbon monoxide ) detector, not a carbon dioxide alarm ( which is what you exhale when you breathe ).
It is best to read and save and read the instruction manuals for trailer appliances.
Perhaps it's not a CO detector at all, but an LP ( liquid propane ) detector that you are referring to. In that case, the manual suggests vacuuming the face of the alarm regularly.
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Old 06-03-2017, 07:06 AM   #39
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...Our recently purchased Casita Patriot had a malfunction of the Co2 detection alarm while sitting benignly in our driveway, and it kept going off over a four-day period (we kept reading the manual and resetting it and thought/hoped it was fixed)...
False alarms are an indication that a detector needs to be replaced. (I'm assuming, sitting in the driveway, that there is no source of CO, either inside or outside the trailer...?)

All detectors have an expiration date. I don't recall what the interval is for a CO detector, but I do recall the manual for mine mentioned that extremes of temperature (such as might occur in an RV in storage) shorten the sensor life. I remove mine and store it indoors when the trailer is not in use.

When the smoke detectors in our house passed the 8 year mark, we started getting frequent false alarms. Nothing like being awakened at 4am with all 6 detectors screaming! Replaced them all. Problem gone.
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Old 06-03-2017, 07:32 AM   #40
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Can you tell me more about these Spot Trace GPS trackers. I'd love to have something to find my rig if stolen. Price, where to find, etc.
https://www.findmespot.com/shop/

This is their website. Just checked and they are half price for the summer. I'm thinking seriously about getting one. My friends have them installed in the back upper storage out of sight. If the trailer moves it sends a text message with a location. You can select the frequency of text messages. You do have a subscription fee of $15/month or $150 annual. They say you can get them online, Amazon, Cabella's and REI. Mike
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