Hi! I'm Peta, new member & new owner of a Trailorboat - Fiberglass RV
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Old 07-08-2020, 11:45 AM   #1
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Name: Peta
Trailer: American Dream Trailorboat
California
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Hi! I'm Peta, new member & new owner of a Trailorboat

So happy to find this forum as I was searching for tips on securing my new "Trailorboat" fiberglass boat-topped camper; you are all a wealth of knowledge and occasional wisecracks and humor, which is what I love about a lightweight camping community to start with.
My fiberglass "RV" is a Trailorboat replica, moulded from the original 60's Trailorboats, of which there are only a handful left. I was delighted to see her come up for sale; they are rare as hen's teeth, no longer being produced, and after a crazy week trying to source a tow hitch and get 7-pin wiring installed in my Volvo C70, also no longer in production , COVID summer; EVERYONE is getting hitches and going camping, and the hitch producers have been closed during COVID, so perfect storm there. Anyway, many hurdles later, hitch and wiring installed, 1000 miles road-trip & overnight wait after the dealer broke the door handle off, grrr, we took her for a week camping on the river and LOVE her!
I'd appreciate this community's experience in how you secure your lightweight, easily-stolen campers, as I'd hate to lose this little boat camper that I've leapt many hurdles to own. Will post that question over in the owner help forum. Thanks for reading!
Peta
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Old 07-08-2020, 12:09 PM   #2
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Name: Alexander
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1300
New Hampshire
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Not to worry or scare you but if someone is determined to steal your trailer they will. If you really want to keep it safe then get a tracker device that you hide somewhere in the trailer. What most, myself included, do is make our trailers less attractive to the "opportunistic" thief. You can get a wheel lock, a coupling lock, a receiver lock, a coupler lock, a hardened chain and lock and finally good insurance.
Here is what I have:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Again the idea is to make your trailer less attractive than your neighbor's in the hope the thief will take theirs. I also store my trailer locked in a garage.
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Old 07-08-2020, 12:51 PM   #3
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Chains on or off for locking her up?

Thanks Alex. Where do you use that padlock? What tracker have you got?

So far I have a cheapish coupler lock, a gun padlock through the coupler pin and chains, but seriously, bad actors can just can unscrew the carabiners, remove my "chains" (cables) and add their own, bypassing everything else. Oh, and I got an elephant costume disguise . Shhh.

I'm thinking that removing the cable-chains (when not towing) and filling the attachment hole on the tongue with a reinforced padlock might stop that (no space left to hook BYO chains on).

Then there's the a-frame opening on the tongue; perfect to wrap chains or tow rope around and again, off they go. Anyone heard of that happening?

Finally, my wheels don't allow for pegway chains, because they have no holes. At all. A clamp or claw might work, though. Love to hear people's favorite tire clamps!
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Old 07-08-2020, 12:52 PM   #4
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Sweet!

A C70... meaning the convertible?! You must post a photo of the whole rig- top down, of course!

Will you be storing it at home or in a commercial lot?
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Old 07-08-2020, 01:18 PM   #5
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Trailer: 1979 Boler B1300
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Peta, I don't have a tracker.
This hooks up to where the ball goes from the hitch:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This replaces the pin on the receiver:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
this goes through the hole on the lever that locks the coupler to the ball:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yes, there have been cases of people running a chain through the A part of the frame and driving off with the trailer. That is why you want a wheel lock or to run the hardened chain around the axle to a tree or something else.
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Old 07-08-2020, 01:34 PM   #6
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Name: Renee
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Washington
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There is a guy in Port Orchard, Wa with one of these! His is red and white. It used to be owned by “Marcy” who was on Married With Children.
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Old 07-08-2020, 01:44 PM   #7
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Peta,
If you want a GPS tracking device, I would suggest you Google “Find It Now” and read about the device. I think I pay somewhere around $100 for the monitoring service, but the moment my trailer moves I get a “motion alert” text message. The trailer can be tracked in real time and if it is stolen, the thief/thieves are not going to get very far before the blue lights are flashing and they get to go camping in a jail cell. Even a determined thief who defeats several locks will not expect that there is hidden electronic security.
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Old 07-08-2020, 01:50 PM   #8
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Yes, Jon, C70 convertible.

Yes, the convertible. I don't have a photo of her hitched up and top down because there was too much camping stuff in the trunk for our first trip, but next jaunt I'll be sure to snap a pic! Here it is towing home from Oregon past the mountains (roof closed; how boring ).
Storing at home in open condo carport. Pretty safe here, but still.... tons of night-time car rifling by petty thieves, hence the elephant costume to deter attention a little.
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Old 07-08-2020, 01:51 PM   #9
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How interesting!! Love that, Renee
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Old 07-08-2020, 01:57 PM   #10
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CPW
I like this idea. I want to attach one to my dogs...
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Old 07-08-2020, 02:04 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Peta View Post
Storing at home in open condo carport. Pretty safe here, but still.... tons of night-time car rifling by petty thieves, hence the elephant costume to deter attention a little.
Sounds like a length of hardened chain around the frame or axle and locked to a pillar of the carport should work at home. That's assuming the parking space is near a pillar.
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Old 07-08-2020, 02:22 PM   #12
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Thanks for the tip, CPW

Quote:
Originally Posted by ReneeN View Post
CPW
I like this idea. I want to attach one to my dogs...
If your dog runs on a 12v battery it'd be perfect.
I love it, too, and am asking the Find It Now company if there's a way I can use it as I don't have a battery, only wiring for shore power. If they say "yes" your dog might qualify, too
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Old 07-08-2020, 02:26 PM   #13
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Could be the answer..

Quote:
Originally Posted by Alex Adams View Post
Sounds like a length of hardened chain around the frame or axle and locked to a pillar of the carport should work at home. That's assuming the parking space is near a pillar.
It is, actually. It'd be pretty funny for a thief to take the 8-bay carport out with the 650-lb camper. Talk about biting off more than they can chew
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Old 07-08-2020, 02:36 PM   #14
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Just remember to unchain the trailer before leaving!
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Old 07-08-2020, 03:38 PM   #15
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Talking Hahaha

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Originally Posted by Alex Adams View Post
Just remember to unchain the trailer before leaving!
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Old 07-09-2020, 02:59 PM   #16
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Welcome Peta! That Master Lock in your picture can be easily defeated. Trackers sound wonderful BUT, professional thieves often use jamming devices to defeat trackers (at least until they can get the stolen trailer inside someplace where they can find and disable said tracker; the tracker is basically a cell phone). You have a RARE and thus valuable trailer Be especially wary if you must use off site storage. The condo carport may be of great use IF you can leave something substantial in FRONT of the trailer. That way, thieves have to move stuff before they can hook up (or drag off). At rental yards, thieves will pay for a month or more primarily to gain access to all the "goodies" stored within. Locks will NOT stop determined thieves. Battery operated cutting tools and even small cans of liquid nitrogen are used to defeat just about any lock an owner can install. Removing one wheel & its' lug nuts and taking them with you means that a thief must now provide a mounted tire and bring along lug nuts, the proper wrench and a jack. YES, this IS a lot of work but sadly, these days owners often have to resort to extreme measures to prevent theft because police hands are often tied and, the courts obviously care more about criminals than they do about honest citizenry. I'm sorry to sound so negative but, too often now, that's just the way things are. Again, WELCOME! You've found a great forum.
Regards,
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Old 07-09-2020, 04:56 PM   #17
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Great point! I switched her direction so coupler is over a creek.

The condo carport may be of great use IF you can leave something substantial in FRONT of the trailer. That way, thieves have to move stuff before they can hook up (or drag off).

Thanks for all the info, John! That gave me an idea, and I was able to swing her around so her coupler is facing the creek behind the carport; yet another thing a thief has to deal with, and leaves space behind that is too short for my car, sadly, but I may be able to put something there that adds another thing they'd have to deal with, and if they mess around too long, probably someone will see them since I have a ton of neighbors here coming and going.
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Old 07-15-2020, 11:09 AM   #18
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Name: Vince
Trailer: Toyota Odyssey
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I would get a Denver boot...it's what police departments use to "boot" cars that have unpaid tickets. Almost impossible to remove unless you use a welding cutting torch. https://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/...1&d=1594832844

Plus a good trailer hitch lock.
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Old 07-15-2020, 04:06 PM   #19
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Welcome. I have had 5 fiberglass RVs. I would still love to get a trailer boat one day
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Old 07-15-2020, 04:14 PM   #20
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I don't know about all the security stuff... I've just got one of those locks that fills up the ball hitch in my Burro, but I'll say this, yours is a very desirable trailer. In fact I find myself (more) green (than usual) with envy. Congratulations on your perseverance to find and buy it and I hope you will enjoy it for many camping seasons to come.

Regards,
Green Frog
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