What have you done to keep your trailer from being stolen

[Ron Dickey]

We are in the age of GPS. Helping the police help us catch a stolen trailer.

I am still working on my trailer, with life getting in the way.

I read of stolen trailers from yards to safe storage areas.

We as teardropers read of it here on this forum and others.

One person said they made the trailer design stand out.
One added a car alarm
one etched his windows with the vin. #
Wheel locks
better tongue locks to removable tongues to swing away tongues.

I am thinking of a GPS chip built in. Do they last for ever.

With the internet thieves are becoming wiser and be taught how to get around things.

What are you doing to keep your baby safe.

 

[Ron Dickey]

google images of many devices.
https://www.google.com/search?q=trailer ... Sw#imgrc=_
trailer mag.
http://trailridermag.com/article/preven ... heft-15405
google this
how to keep your trailer from being stolen

Ron

 

[3GKnight]

So my axles have flanges with unused bolt holes, near the hubs. I haven't done it yet but the plan is to make a bracket with a large hole to feed a locked chain through. That chain will go through that bracket and one of the wheels. I know it's a redneck way to do it, but I'd only do that if it were to set unattended out in the open. Otherwise, it'll be in my garage or in the mountains.

I was curious about the cost of LoJack, which is nuts expensive, and ran across a homemade setup. http://lifehacker.com/5984220/build-your-own-lojack-clone-for-a-fraction-of-the-price

 

[GuitarPhotog]

I lock the hitch, and I run a piece of heavy chain through a hole in one of my wheel chocks and through an opening in the wheel itself. Locked with the largest padlock I could buy.

Frankly I'm more afraid of someone stealing it out of the carport than stealing it while I'm camping. I'm thinking of embedding a ring bolt in concrete in the driveway to lock the wheel, chock, and chain to.

<Chas>

 

[Tony Latham]

removable tongues

I've seen a build or two with a removable tongue. That'd make a damn-hard to steal trailer. If I lived or camped in high-crime areas––and I don't––that's the direction I'd go.

Tony

 

[Tomterrific-TNT]

The simplest theft deterrent I can think of is to remove a wheel, maybe both wheels. It really isn't much work to remove a wheel and then what is a thief to do?
T

 

[DrewsBrews]

I had planned to attach the chains to the coupler bolts... Remove the 2 coupler bolts then they have no coupler and no chains to use.

 

[SuperiorBound]

I have a cable that is supposed to be cut resistant 2 padlocks that are supposed to resist tampering. I run the cable through the wheels and the frame or large tree. One padlock on the safety chains so they are harder to use and a lock on my hitch at the campgrounds. Locked in a garage at home. $40. if they really want it that bad they will get it, just hoping it isn't worth the effort to them. Now to figure out how to lock my towbar. If I stop somewhere someone could just undo the towbar and insert it in their reciever and bye bye.

 

[Andrew Herrick]

I'm with the other members in this thread. Things like coupler locks, security chain padlocks and so forth are deterrents. They'll keep away 80% of thieves, those with small brains and cheap equipment. The other 19% you can keep away with bigger equipment like wheel locks - and their redneck equivalents, of course!

And then there's that 1% that will show up with a car hauler and a couple of hydraulic jacks and steel dollies and a plasma cutter. And it's that 1% why you should insure your camper I do like the idea of a locator beacon, though.

 

[Socal Tom]

I have a master lock tongue lock. They are easily defeated, but at least it slows them down. Mine is stored in the garage usually. When camping, I leave an iPhone inside, hidden and plugged into a charger. That's my GPS if it disappears.
Tom

Sent from my Lenovo A7600-F using Tapatalk

 

[CAJUN LADY-TNT]

Pray hard that they break both legs and arms in the process and pray I find them trying to crawl their scumbag bodies away while holding a wooden, not aluminum, bat! Yep!

 

[Ron Dickey]

there seem to be many out there. this one is a RV site so they are thinking more like us.

http://www.rvgeek.com/tag/tracker/
These could even be used by groups of campers wanting to find where the group is camping if they get lost.

Maybe one day camp site will have GPS finders so we do not turn down the wrong road

 

[doug hodder]

I always lock the coupler, and I also NEVER leave it without a parked vehicle, locked, in front of it. My out buildings won't allow someone to pull it around the parked car. Long term over the winter, I'll pull the wheels on the MobilGlide as it won't fit in the garage. The Kamp King is going to be for sale, but it's stashed at my sisters house, and isn't visible from any point of view, locked. They also have 6 dogs, for an alarm. The tear is in another garage, out of site. Thing is...if someone really wants it...they will probably figure out a way to get it. All you can really do is take precautions, and make sure it's insured. Doug

 

[Shadow Catcher]

We have gone thbike locks rough this exercise a number of times. What it boils down to is that if they want it badly enough, they will get it. Anything you can put a bolt cutter on is toast. Check Youtube for bike locks
The only tongue lock I could find fits only a Bulldog hitch

One other method is distinctive graphics

 

[clip]

How about a sticker

This vehicle is equipped with;
Motion sensor alarm
GPS tracking device "You figure out where it is"
Digital camera monitoring

All 3 are very do able too

 

[ssrjim]

Good insurance