Trailer tongue locks

[fried1765]

I use these on one of my tandem trailers. A lock fits through the top nut flange.

View attachment 116018

Most thieves are either opportunists, or they are professional thieves. The professionals will have knowledge of your situation. And those dirtbags will know, that you have exactly what they want. Bobcat on a trailer, etc. The opportunist thieves are different. They will walk by and see some easy steal and do it. No real planning.

Putting any kind of lock on your hitch is better than nothing to deter the opportunist thief. Usually they are tweekers or inbreed back hills freaks. Sometimes it's your neighbor out on parole. Sometimes it's a family member hooked on meth. They see your tractor on a trailer at your kids birthday party and figure it's an easy dollar. Put on a lock.

The professional thieves will get it no matter what lock you use. Unless you have cameras that they can't disable or believe that you will shoot them dead.

It really does not require many "smarts" to operate a 20V DeWalt angle grinder,....... and only a few seconds.

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

It really does not require many "smarts" to operate a 20V DeWalt angle grinder,....... and only a few seconds.

You are correct. But read my post completely. My method is for the opportunist thief. The professional thief will get it no matter what lock you use.

The best bet is to:

Carry Insurance. Carry insurance. Carry insurance.

Hide the trailer if you can.

Put on a lock of any kind. To discourage the opportunist thief.

Tell the distant family members that show up for a party, that you have cameras hidden on your property.

Don't shoot anyone stealing your trailer! Unless you or your family's life is in Immediate danger at the moment. Let the cops and lawyers handle it. Otherwise, you might end up in jail. For a long time. (Unless you have a backhoe and property where you can use it at night without witnesses. LOL Just kidding.... do the right thing).

 

[fried1765]

You are correct. But read my post completely. My method is for the opportunist thief. The professional thief will get it no matter what lock you use.

The best bet is to:

Carry Insurance. Carry insurance. Carry insurance.

Hide the trailer if you can.

Put on a lock of any kind. To discourage the opportunist thief.

Tell the distant family members that show up for a party, that you have cameras hidden on your property.

Don't shoot anyone stealing your trailer! Unless you or your family's life is in Immediate danger at the moment. Let the cops and lawyers handle it. Otherwise, you might end up in jail. For a long time. (Unless you have a backhoe and property where you can use it at night without witnesses. LOL Just kidding.... do the right thing).

I did read!
I really don't think someone would necessarily be considered a "professional" thief, if he just walks into Lowe's, buys a DeWalt 20V angle grinder, and goes out to steal someones trailer.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re: Don't shoot anyone stealing your trailer!

Shoot to kill, then drop 'his pistol' next to him, be sure to put in his hand for prints....

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

I did read!
I really don't think a thief would considered a "professional" if he just walks into Lowe's, buys a DeWalt angle grinder, and goes out to cut someones trailer loose.

It was my career for 25 years.... Dealing with these pukes.

Opportunist thieves generally don't buy tools to steal your stuff. They need money for the next fix. They see an opportunity for easy cash and then steal your stuff. They don't have money to buy tools. Even a $100 grinder.

Professional thieves do. You almost can't top them.

Hide your trailer and shut up about it.

In fact, some on here ARE the bad guys. I need to shut up and quit OTT except for when I need help.

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

re: Don't shoot anyone stealing your trailer!

Shoot to kill, then drop 'his pistol' next to him, be sure to put in his hand for prints....

It looks good on paper. But don't do it. I've seen good people protecting property go down because in modern USA, the bad guys rule the courts 80 percent of the time.

 

[Fordtech86]

these friends

Modern times call for modern solutions

 

[GreensvilleJay]

It looks good on paper. But don't do it. I've seen good people protecting property go down because in modern USA, the bad guys rule the courts 80 percent of the time.

just say you were shooting a movie and didn't know the gun had real ammo.....
..

 

[NCL4701]

I have a smattering of trailers. All but one are kept inside locked buildings with cheap tongue locks on the trailers. Keeping one at a job site is a totally different equation altogether.

The equipment trailer is in a carport so it’s accessible to thieves. It has a cheap lock on it to stop opportunists. It’s also at the end of a dead end road with three houses back in the woods. If you happened to meet someone coming in while you were going out, it could go bad really quickly. You could bust the lock off or grind it off pretty quick but you’d make a racket doing it, while in easy range of all three houses. I wouldn’t shoot someone over a $2000 trailer but they don’t know that.

The owners and occupants of the property have a reputation in the area for being territorial, confrontational, routinely armed, and possibly a bit unhinged when dealing with uninvited persons messing around their property. I simply can not imagine how these slanderous lies got started as I have seen no evidence to suggest any resident of our property is anything other than a harmless, lovable, little ray of sunshine at all times. However, I’m fine with the reputation remaining as is.

Further, it’s old, has mobile home axles that don’t even match, and a 2” 10,000lb hitch (no that’s not a typo, and yes I have a 2” 12,000lb ball to pull it). Having old, oddball stuff no one really wants is a decent deterrent. Storing it in a place where you’d either have to know everyone in all three houses is out for a while and not coming back or you’d just have to have balls of steel to try it is also a deterrent.

Could be stolen. Wouldn’t be hard, really. Just way too much risk for way too little reward.