Trailer Hitch Locks and Security

There is nothing more saddening, depressing and madding then having your personal property stolen. Thieves like easy targets. The harder the target to steal, the less likely they are to attempt it. This is why insurance companies and the police say (1) Take your keys, (2) Lock your doors, (3) Secure valuables out of site. Remove the temptation and remove the easy access will greatly reduce the threat. It will not go away, but you can cut it down. And knowing you did everything in your control to reduce or elimanate the threat will make dealing with the guilt of the invasion of your privacy much easier.

When you are camping, the last thing you want to do is return from a scenic drive to find your travel travel missing. Everything is gone. The travel trailer, your personal property, your clothes, your bed for the night, everything. Gone – by a thief hooking to the trailer and driving away. Unlike breaking into your home where they now have to locate and carry out your property, if they take the entire trailer, they can take their time once they get somewhere. Even the coffee pot they would never steal from your house becomes a quick $5 in profit. Cameras, computers, TVs, electronics, high end backing gear are all a gold mine to sold via online markets. 100% profit.

They don’t have to steal from a campsite, every day as I drive around, I see boats, travel trailers, jet ski trailers and more parked just feet from the roadway. A determined thief could watch for a few days and know when no one including neighbors are paying attention, back in your yard and be gone in minutes. Like many purchases there is a trade off between price and performance. Higher price does not guarantee higher performance, but cheaply built does guarantee cheap results.

The following items are things to consider for your trailer, motor home, boat trailer or any RV item. Secure now or rick loosing tomorrow.

GPS Trackers
Ok, the GPS tracker won’t prevent the theft, but it can certainly help locate it after it is gone and maybe allow the police to catch the persons behind the activity. One crook in jail is one less person to steal other peoples stuff.

Hitch Locks
From simple to complex, hitch locks are often questionable. Research before you purchase and don’t just take the sales literature’s word for it. Do some extensive. I have watched demonstrations where what I thought was a good idea, an experienced crook could remove in 10 seconds with a 24″ crowbar. None of these hitch locks have been tested. Someday maybe we will have the funding to test and give better recommendations, until then, these are some ideas to consider.

5th Wheel Locks

Wheel Locks
Made famous by parking patrols, wheel locks secure the wheels of a vehicle preventing it from being towed or driven away. Some are more effective then others. But all provide an immediate warning to the criminal elements, precautions have been taken. Depending on the price of what you are protecting, you might want to consider a wheel lock and a hitch lock. The longer the thief has to remain on property to steal, the less likely they will stick around.

Wheel locks are also good for motor homes, SUVs, cars and pick ups.

Pad Locks
Everyone has seen the pack of 4 or 8 matching pad locks for sale in the local home maintenance yard. They look secure, they are nice and all keyed to the same key. And they are next to worthless against even rookie thieves. If you know what you are doing you can open one in a matter of seconds. Learned how in locksmithing training. (And no, I am not going to tell you how.) It is actually easy to do multiple ways. Spend the money and buy quality locks for anything serious.

If you need multiple high security locks keyed the same, go to a licensed professional locksmith. They can set up what ever you need, including multiple layers of locks where keys only unlock certain locks but master keys unlock all the locks.