Securing trailers..

[wayno60]

When we all go out for a nights fishing what do we do about trailer security?
Ive got the pin on the Haymen Reese tow bar pad locked and also the safety chain is pad locked to the tow bar.
Apart from tying an American pit bull to the trailer what else can we do stop these thieving pr!cks.

[Muddy Toes]

G'day mate i do all the above plus put a chain through a wheel and chain it to the spring and reverse my trailer in to the parking spots and make sure the trailer wheels are hard up against the gutter, it makes it very hard to release the hitch when the is pressure on it.It might sound like a bit of overkill but i can't imagine what it would be like to come back to the ramp and find my trailer gone.Apart from the many thousands of dollars to replace it i can imagine it would be a right royal pain in the a$$ to find somewhere to put the boat while i sorted it all out.

[wayno60]

Funny you should say about backing into parking bays, last night i seen a guy do that and thought mmmm good idea!

[cormorant]

There are now cheap dashboard ( read rear window) traffic accident cameras that are infared and movement activated and small as a packet of ciggies. You may not have the trailer but you will have photos/ video of the mongrels who play with or steal trailers.

With the padlock on the chain to the towbar just remember that a padlock is no good for stopping loose trailer in a accident you need to have a rated shackle on the chain to the towbar . By all means have the loose extra few links padlocked to teh bar but make sure you have a shackle. A low quality padlock is no deterent and mild steel chain is a easy cut.

The cast trailer locks over and encapsulating the hitch are the only ones worth anything. Can be left on when towing as well.

Make sure the hitch bolts are peened over if it is not welded on.

Mark your trailer. Get some metal stamps and in several hard to see and get at spots stamp the vin number and take photos so you can prove it is yours and convict the mongrels. Mark a couple of things that no one would change like roller pins or the teflon strips. Mark under light fittings and spots like that. I have even done the wheels. Data dot the trailer. If they steal it and I find it ( not like the police ever will) then I want to identify it and convict them either for the theft or having stolen property.

Personalise it in some way so you can recognse it at a distance. I give each guard a bash and from 40 foot away or on the road I will recognise it in the future. If you are gettng one make get the builder to run a bead of weld with the trailer number on the main beams ( inside if you like it pretty) before it goes off to be galvanised - impossible to grind away.

Do a search as there is a few threads over the years on trailer security. You don't here of many being recovered so worth trying to prevent the theft in the first place and at least make it hard for them.

Don't rely on hitch pin locks as they are pretty crap quality but better than nothing.

[randell]

Be careful with padlocks on safety chains,,, I once did this on a 500km trip and it picked up so much fine dust, I had a hard time unlocking the padlock.....
randell

[Relaxedcamper]

Funny you should say about backing into parking bays, last night i seen a guy do that and thought mmmm good idea!

I think that's a great idea.

[Eug]

didn't have my trailer nicked, but i recently had someone unbolt and make off with my entire towbar assembly. if they want it they will take it... basically anything that can be unbolted should be locked.
old mate came back to his trailer one day to find that his clamped wheel was all that was left, they took the wheel off the hub and stole it with the spare.

i also back into parking bays as well.

[Giffo65]

When I made my trailer, I welded my surname onto the drawbar before galvanising.Also never thought of reversing in,good idea !.

[LittleSkipper]

Just recently purchased a wheel clamp to blend in with the coupling lock, to blend in with the fat ass Lockwood Padlock and blend in with the smaller Lockwood Padlock to lock the Hitch release. This will also blend in with the lockable hitch pin lock for the hitch receiver. I think if I fit any more locks to my trailer it might just be an open invitation for a thief....to blend in with it!!

[Scalem]

I invested in one of these when I bought the boat. It's a deterrent like anything else, but if they have to bash the padlock to get the coupling off as well as tolerate 103db alarm squeeling in their ear, they might think it's too much trouble and move on.. http://www.cuda-alarms.com.au/

Scalem

[tunaticer]

Why not paint your new trailer with some sticky awful rust preventer that collects dust and crap? The guys stealing trailers would much rather a shiny good looking trailer than anything that looks a bit crap. The merit in it is that in 15 yrs time you still have a trailer that looks the same and has no rust......a new trailer these days without rust prevention and average cleaning habits is good for about 8 yrs on average.

[PinHead]

sometimes if I think about it and doing an overnighter I pight put the heavy chain trhough the trailer and round the tow bar..heavy duty lock. But, I don;t worry about it too much. I have it insured. I have enough tools in the toolboxes on the back of my utet to cut most things people put on for security. Between grinder, sabre saw and boltcutter and bloody big hammer most things break or cut pretty easily.

[TREVELLY]

I use these Helmet on car.JPG


Lock tight on the bolts too.

[finga]

I simply go fishing with someone else.
Not my problem then.

But I try to always reverse into something hard like a gutter or tree or Volvo.
I have the trailer all greased up to look ugly and a padlock in the D bit of the locking bit on the hitch and a padlock on the chain.
If I did overnighters I'd be looking for a tree to chain the bugger to as well but in saying all that I'd be more worried about the car and the stuff in it then the trailer.

But as a side note do not tow the trailer with a lock holding the chain to the towbar. Very illegal as the padlock is not load rated and, worse still, if the trailer does leave the vehicle the padlock will more then likely snap open like my wallet would if the cook took it to a saddle shop.

[tunaticer]

But as a side note do not tow the trailer with a lock holding the chain to the towbar. Very illegal as the padlock is not load rated

You can get around that by placing the shackle into the chain two links or more from the end and the padlock in the tail link to a different hole in the tow bar. Still uses the load rated shackle to comply but also has the security of still using a padlock. You need enough chain on your trailer to accommodate the lock after the shackle.