Do you lock your coupler when you leave your trailer?

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by floyd

Look at the square knob on coupler... there may be a hole in one corner in which to attach an ordinary padlock which is intended to prevent unscrewing it.

Made me look.

There is no hole, but there easily could be. I could run a padlock between a hole in the coupler and the safety chain.

[Robin G]

Originally Posted by David Tilston

But what about the hitch? Without a lock on the hitch, all they have to do is pull the cotter pin and pull out the hitch pin to take the trailer.

Well isn't most of the hitch attached to the vehicle? Are you talking about the ball part of the hitch?

This is kinda what I have, works well! Not same brand but same design.

[DannyH]

I also lock mine when it's not in the garage, even while on the SUV. If I can move it around by hand, I figure anyone else could take it off, move it to their vehicle and steal it without to much work.

[Paul Chet]

Tom, I too used the above pictured lock on my UHaul before i sold it. it worked just fine for once I was un-hitched, but I didn't have a solution to lock it in place while on the hitch. now i have the latch like Bob which I like for insurance (to keep that latch down while in transit). hopefully you can figure out a fix for that.

for the record, i have the tongue lock, the latch lock, and then a 20' cable with master padlock that i have run around the axle and under a buried fence post whenever i back the Play Pac into its portable garage in the back. the cable stays at home but the others are always in use when we are out and about. a little paranoid perhaps - but i REALLY like our little old Play Pac! As mentioned above, a determined person will get whatever they want, but i sure as heck wont make it easy!

[ericw]

I lock at home and on the road. It is worth the extra 20 seconds to me.

[reeves99]

Yes,
We use that Reese ball lock thing. Maybe it wouldn't slow down a determined thief too much, but it gives me some peace of mind when I leave the little precious alone.
Phil

[rabbit]

Masterlock makes a 5/8" lockable pin for the drawbar or "stinger" which is a bigger version of the lockable crosspin for the coupler latch.

jack

[Dennis Clinton]

Always locked, both when towing and when parked in the carport. I also lock the ball into the receiver. My utility trailer, when not behind locked gates, I lock the safety chains around around a post in the carport.

[BCDave]

When you are at home, there are quite a few precautions you can take. A cable lock (NOT a chain! Cables are harder to cut than chains!) through the wheels and the suspension.

A simple one- take the valve core out of the valve stem on each wheel - instant flat tire - any thief would have to put in a new core and then huff up the tires before going anywhere - or he could bring along fresh, fully-inflated tires to put on. Custom wheel locks would help slow down thieves in that case!

Just take the wheels off, and again, put a wheel lock on a lug on each wheel

Just remember: If you make it tuff enough, they'll go steal a different one. Unless of course, you make it 100% theft proof - in which case a pro would welcome the challenge of seeing just how fast he can bypass ALL of your precautions!

[Frederick L. Simson]

I have multiple locks.

• Brass Padlock locks the coupler bail (both when towing and when parked).
• Master Lock ball insert lock works with brass padlock when parked.
• 2 Locking tire chocks; one on each side.
• (not shown) Pin lock for ball mount (like Robin's)

[Cathy P.]

In AZ, we lived north of Tucson out in the county but still populated. We had a 2,000 lb. pop-up in our yard, pretty far into the lot. We had the best hitchlock. We got up one morning and as we were leaving the property, we noticed the pop-up was gone. They had obviously dragged it with the hitchlock in place and then loaded it on to the flatbed truck that I had seen "touring" the area that week. After that when we bought a small travel trailer, we bought a wheel lock called "Trailer Keeper". When the police found the pop-up in South Tucson, the people said that they borrowed it from us and that we must have forgot. The insurance had paid out by then and the pop-up had to be impounded as evidence. It was a new top of the line model from Coleman at the time and the first time we bought new.

[lauramoncur]

Before we got the teardrop, I SERIOUSLY considered buying this trailer:



I listed the reasons to Mike why I thought this redneck trailer would be a good fit for us.

The Top Five Benefits of Owning a Redneck Trailer

He refused, but to this day, I feel that the best protection against theft is to not have anything worth stealing. LOL!

[mcbrew]

My father was towing a car on a dolly from FL to MD. He stopped at a hotel overnight and someone stole the dolly. At least they unloaded the Mercedes that was on it first. He had to buy another tow dolly before he could continue his trip. An expensive lesson!

[Raz]

We haven't locked our coupler but maybe we should. I've always assumed there wasn't as big a market for stolen trailers as there is for cars. Based on the response car alarms get, would it be any different if someone pulls up to a trailer, cuts the lock, and drives away with it? I suppose it might make them move on to an easier target, but if they want it, they are going to get it. Raz

[David Tilston]

Originally Posted by lauramoncur

The Top Five Benefits of Owning a Redneck Trailer

He refused, but to this day, I feel that the best protection against theft is to not have anything worth stealing. LOL!

My daily driver is a 97 Firefly with many rust perforations. I paid $400 for it. The car runs good, but it is butt ugly. My boss tells me to park it behind the shop. I refer to it as the s**t fly.

I love that car! I never lock it, my wife and I went to the local Pick and Pull, and got tires and rims for $20 each. Fuel economy is awesome, and it gets me from A to B. What else could I want?

[Kenny Strong]

I sold a 23' airstream to a fellow,(after we bought our 13' Bigfoot), I towed it to his house. I gave him the 2" receiver with the ball that I had with the trailer. He attached the ball and receiver to the trailer, and left it dangling ! I asked him why he was doing that and he said, he could just back up and quickly hook on, (the receiver had the torsion bars, also attached to it) by sliding the square tube into the receiver opening, this saved the time of hooking on the chains, and the torsion bars, which would already be in place. without locks, I thought, "how foolish" at the time. My brother in law had some one fool around with his locked up Boler, which made me add cable through the wheels with a huge lock. As Raz suggests, try to make it difficult!

Later Kenny

[Mouse]

I use the Master lock that is picture a few postings above. It fits into a ct13 hitch which the ones with the bar above do not. And it looks difficult to get into with a bolt cutter. Good bolt cutters make most locks feel like soft clay when you cut through them.

[RRIZZO]

All the time, in storage, while parked for camping. You can never be too careful and if you buy something you better use it.

[Joy A]

I use the Master ball lock like Fredrick's and also padlock the coupler. I do both no matter where I am, home, camping, wherever. It's a habit I'd don't want to forget.

[Deb & Chuck]

If your trailer is ever stolen you may never see it again. Mine is always locked when camping and towing. Be safe not sorry.
chuck