Do you lock your boat trailer in the lot?

[gim]

Although this has never happened to me and I don’t personally know anyone who has experienced it, I hear of horror stories when a boat trailer is stolen when it’s sitting in the parking lot hooked up to the truck. I’m considering a lock. Especially when I fish at night and my rig is often the last one remaining. The thought of coming back to the landing and seeing my trailer gone would create a massive problem. Who locks up their trailer coupler in the lot? And do you also lock the hitch too?

[PourMyOwn]

I run a padlock through the coupler and put a tack weld on the trailer ball so it can't be taken off. 

[MN Fisher]

Hitch and coupler - keyed alike by Master Lock

 

[A-Jay]

Yes - I use a Rapid Hitch WITH LOCKING PINS and pad lock (Masterlock) the coupler to the hitch.

Clearly a highly motivated, skilled thief with the right tools and a huge set of cahonies

could overcome it. 

 

However I am more interested in helping to keep the honest folks honest.

And after every boat launch, I also spin off the trailer jack handle & wheel and put them in the truck. 

Kind of sad but if not, eventually they'd disappear.

A-Jay

 

 

 

[KDW96]

Always have and always will.

[DogBone_384]

15 minutes ago, KDW96 said:

Always have and always will.

 

This ^^^^^^

[GaryH]

Yes to both and if the trailer is unplugged from the truck it trips the alarm.

[Deephaven]

I'm with A-Jay, it isn't because I expect it to stop a real thief.

[GaryH]

54 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Yes - I use a Rapid Hitch WITH LOCKING PINS and pad lock (Masterlock) the coupler to the hitch.

Clearly a highly motivated, skilled thief with the right tools and a huge set of cahonies

could overcome it. 

 

However I am more interested in helping to keep the honest folks honest.

And after every boat launch, I also spin off the trailer jack handle & wheel and put them in the truck. 

Kind of sad but if not, eventually they'd disappear.

A-Jay

 

 

 

Never thought about the handle and wheel.. Great idea...?

[Log Catcher]

Hitch and coupler both locked. I leave mine locked even when stored in the garage.

[TnRiver46]

I just have a nut/bolt in my coupler. I’ve never had anything stolen at the ramp but I had a boat with a lock on it stolen from an apartment I used to rent. My local ramp has some pretty good ole boys that watch everything all the time. I leave my spare wheel/tire in the back of my truck even though I shouldn’t. For me it all depends which ramp I’m using. There was a guy on chickamauga that launched and went to park his truck. Someone jumped in his boat while he was parking and drove off! The moron didn’t realize the boat owners phone was still in the boat so they easily tracked him down and arrested him 

[GaryH]

3 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I just have a nut/bolt in my coupler. I’ve had some padlocks over the years that rusted 

You disappoint me. What not hidden traps? ?

[Russ E]

I always have a lock on my receiver and coupler.  It appears ranger trail trailers are popular among thieves.

Someone actually  bent the pin on my trailer hitch lock, in broad daylight, at a local reservoir.

Fortunately they did not have the proper tools or someone interrupted their endeavor. 

It took me an hour with a Dremel to cut the bent pin off, so I could unhook the trailer from the truck. 

[GaryH]

I hate thieves ?

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, GaryH said:

You disappoint me. What not hidden traps? ?

Now there’s an idea!

[slonezp]

Best you can do is slow down a thief. If they want it, they'll get it. A battery angle grinder will cut thru any lock. You can only hope that the grinder would get someone's attention. and Yes I keep everything locked.

1 hour ago, GaryH said:

You disappoint me. What not hidden traps? ?

 

2 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Now there’s an idea!

A rabid guard skunk

[tander]

I lock both and hope for the best.

[jbsoonerfan]

I am glad I read this thread. There are a lot of thieving meth heads in the area and 8 times out of 10 I am the only truck and trailer in the parking lot.  I have a lock on my hitch, but I don't have a coupler to put a lock on. I will have to do some investigating on what might work.

[Catt]

If it's hooked to the truck it's locked, if it's at the house it's locked.

 

[MN Fisher]

9 minutes ago, jbsoonerfan said:

I am glad I read this thread. There are a lot of thieving meth heads in the area and 8 times out of 10 I am the only truck and trailer in the parking lot.  I have a lock on my hitch, but I don't have a coupler to put a lock on. I will have to do some investigating on what might work.

Safety chained to the truck? Padlock the chain to the hook-holes when parked.

[jbsoonerfan]

1 minute ago, MN Fisher said:

Safety chained to the truck? Padlock the chain to the hook-holes when parked.

I was thinking this, or a wheel lock.

[geo g]

You can put some JB weld on the ball thread and nut if you don't have a tack weld.  

[Bankc]

The number one way to prevent thieves from targeting your stuff is to make it slightly more difficult to steal than the one next to it.  And a pad lock is a cheap and easy piece of motivation to keep looking.  

[TnRiver46]

44 minutes ago, jbsoonerfan said:

I am glad I read this thread. There are a lot of thieving meth heads in the area and 8 times out of 10 I am the only truck and trailer in the parking lot.  I have a lock on my hitch, but I don't have a coupler to put a lock on. I will have to do some investigating on what might work.

I have two different coupler locks I use at home, I like both. One is master lock and one is Reese. They are both kind of like a ball hitch that goes up into the female part of the trailer coupler. I’ve thought about using them at sketchy ramps but you have to unhook from the truck to use them, and I don’t want to leave the trailer sitting there unhooked. 

 

[jbsoonerfan]

I use one similar to that at the house, really need something for the ramp.