TRAILERS, how to SECURE safely??

what is a safe way to keep your enclosed car trailer in your posession???

 

your looking for a theft deterrent? We use a decent tongue lock and have the trailer logged chained to a 4" diameter steel post thats next to our shop. Someone tried stealing it last winter so we went with the log chain!

 

Take the wheels off

 

Lock the tongue, chain it to something immovable, chock it up and remove the wheels. Make sure to insure it. If that don't do it, nothing will.

 

There are several ways to deter it. The ways I'm familiar with are running hefty chains or cables through the wheels preventing them from turning, cutting the shank off an old ball and locking it into your coupler - keeps people from dropping your empty and locked coupler onto their smaller ball. Have your safety chains removable so your trailer cannot be dragged away with them. Take your jack handle off.

 

Don't know how they do it, but a local alarm company here advertises that you can add your trailer to your monitored home protection system.

 

I have had to go with 2 tongue locks a cable thru the wheels and I take my other open trailer and cable it to the wheels of the enclosed and after getting my open trailer stole 2 times I bought a tracking device, Hid it inside the tubing then paid a service fee $19.00 a month... my trailers are in a fenced lot with a Bright night light and I still stay puckered up. I ride by my lot nights after going somewhere just to check on everything... Have to do the protection work where the Sheriff can't or wont... Good Luck to you and Protect By Smith/Wesson (I will use it)
racinman Rick

 

i guess mostly I was meaning when on the road in those HIGHER CRIME places
not much to wory about in rural america hide it out in the weeds, no problem
what to do when in CA for major shows ar any other metro area
some good ideas so far I am making a list and the
THEVES SEEM VERY HARD TO DETER so it is going to take a lot and when in the parking lot of a motel it is kinda hard to chain up a trailer

 

what is the criteria? storage at home or when going to a car show etc.???

 

Buy yourself one of those big parking boots that cities use

http://www.universalboot.com/ub/universal-clamp-parking.php

 

on the road: most large shows have a trailer park area, these are pretty safe, night time these are usally restricted and watch by fairgounds cops, during the day open to other car guys. i will use a coupler lock and maybe a chain threw the wheels.

if i have to leave it at a hotel they usally have a light post or fence by garbage dumpster to use but i take enough chain to back the trailer to the light post and wrap around axle.

at home all the normal stuff, but use the long chain to hook a old engine block the axle if they steal it dragging the block kind gets them noticed real fast and in jail.

in my nieghborhood the biggest thieves are tow truck and roll back drivers. if they can not get to it with the truck it will be left alone.

 

On the road I always try to parallel park the rig so a tow truck can't hook onto the truck and take everything too easily. As well I installed a trailer alarm which sounds a loud siren, flashes the lights, locks the trailer brakes and notifies me with a pager.

 

Put jack stands under it and let all the air out of the tires.

 

Park it among nicer trailers so the other ones get stolen first.

 

There used to be some slick valve stems that would deflate the tires after a couple of miles. I forget exactly how they worked---you changed the caps when you parked it or something like that. Pretty clever.
Trailer insurance isn't as high as one would think either. I found out the hard way.

 

True.

 

lock a trailer ball in the reciever use stainless cable between the two wheels on one side cable is harder to cut than a chain

 

Remember that next time you need a tow truck!

 

Everything mentioned above plus we painted our license plate number in huge letters on the roof just in case it does disappear. Thiefs don't always look at the roof. It's amazing how many trailers look the same from the sides and police won't do nothing until they have proof it is yours.

 

chain it to something

 

Not pointing fingers, but we have a pretty bad issue with the tow truck drivers here in KC.

Chris

 

I do all the stuff said here and usually try to keep someting parked in front of them or in a way that it makes it harder to get to them.My wife and I both,even some friends drive by my place. Yes a lot of work and a nuisince. I am currently re-doing one of my open trailers so a portion of the tongue and coupler is removable. I also use a lock on my reciever and the coupler when towing so that they can't steal one while I am in a store or restaurant. I have also had my license plates stolen from vehicles and trailers on the lot.

 

Not to hike the thread, but does anyone have any input on the quailty of the Chain locks? A lot of them will open if rapped on with a large Hammer and visegrips. The round master locks seem the toughest but limit the size of the chain you can use.

LowKat those work good too but the city I live in will fine you for that.

 

You can always get it stuck in the mud in your back yard like I did today!





It's not going anywhere! At least not until the ground dries out.

And no, I'm not a redneck, but I am an idiot!

 

If you remove the wheels, what's left to chock? lol

I chain the wheels together with 3/8 hardened truckers chain and lock the tongue. My winch is mounted inside my locked toolbox and I haven't had a problem... yet. I'm getting trailer insurance since I just learned about it. $125/year for full coverage.

 

Why would it be hard to chain thru the wheels any where you are?????

If a profesional theif, tow truck driver/repo man turned bad wants your trailer and what you have inside of it, you should consider it gone, no matter what you do.

About all you can do is make it a bit more of a pain in the ass for the common theif to take yours instead of the one next to you. Every idea posted has been a good proven idea.

Disabeling the tounge jack is another one.

Removing the wheels is a pain but it works,
I really like the plate number painted on the roof

 

make that steak medium well, i'll look the other way

 

I like the removable tongue, I'll keep that in mind when I build my next trailer, I'll also be hiding a axle strap system under the trailer that I saw on someone else's trailer...it's stainless cable attached to the trailer frame, one cable for each wheel, with a loop on the end that goes through the wheel and gets a padlock on it...sure, it sucks having to take 4 padlocks off and lock the cables back onto the frame so you can hit the road (especially in winter or the rain and mud), but it usually deters people...I knew a guy that ran 4 hardened chains from a box under the frame (the chains were attached to the trailer frame inside the box and they were stored in the box when not being used), he kept the chains wrapped around each other with stainless cables laced through them, wrapped the chains around a light post in a motel parking lot and locked it with 4 locks...the next morning 2 chains and 2 cables were cut and they gave up trying or got scared off...if it takes you 15 minutes of labor to unlock your trailer, it's worth every second in keeping your trailer...

 

drive your car and you dont have to worry about someone stealling your trailer.

 

I can see both of my trailers, which are locked, from the house and a night light with photocell lets me see the whole back lot. The only way in or out is down a narrow drive that goes right past the neighbors Rotweiller. He never makes a sound at night unless someone comes in their yard or down my drive. The neighbor is an extremely light sleeper and is outside at the drop of a hat. Mr. 1911 Colt is ready 24/7 and I'm anxious to point him at something other than a paper target.
That said a clever/experienced thief USUALLY gets what he is after. The idea is to make it dificult enough that he gives up or is severely injured in the process.

Frank