Trailer hitch locks and coupler locks

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ant21b

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Jun 11, 2017
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55
Are trailer hitch locks and trailer coupler locks necessary and worth the money?
 
Absolutely!  Ask my neighbor who bought a new travel trailer and parked it in front of his house with no lock on the hitch. Disappeared after three days.

My receiver hitch is locked in place as are my tow bars when traveling.
 
I locked both my hitch and coupler back when I used a $300 weight distributing hitch, but since I bought a new truck and just use a standard 2" ball hitch I don't worry about that anymore (also, the pin for my hitch lock completely rusted out).  I do still always lock the coupler on the trailer though.  I figure you should have something locking it down while you're towing, and you might as well lock it up while it's parked too.  I keep the key on the same ring as the trailer key so it's always handy when I'm camping.
 
Back in the day when I sometimes helped a tow service with vehicle repossessions, we recovered a number of trailers of various types with hitch locks on them, including 5th wheels and goosenecks. The locks didn't even slow us down. The most effective theft deterrent other than a secure storage building is probably chaining/locking an axle and/or wheel to a solid post or tree. Although none of those are perfect either, but they do add time to defeat them.
 
It won't be cheap but I have seen a civilian version of the Denver boot that locks over a wheel.  I suppose a determined thief could defeat it but would take time increasing the risk of getting caught. I use a locking cap over the pin on  our fiver and keep it insured
 
NY_Dutch said:
Back in the day when I sometimes helped a tow service with vehicle repossessions, we recovered a number of trailers of various types with hitch locks on them, including 5th wheels and goosenecks. The locks didn't even slow us down. The most effective theft deterrent other than a secure storage building is probably chaining/locking an axle and/or wheel to a solid post or tree. Although none of those are perfect either, but they do add time to defeat them.
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Yeah, locks are to keep honest people honest.  If someone's determined enough there's probably not much you can do.

I look at locking my trailer door the same way.  If someone wants to get in badly enough it's going to take them about 5 seconds to pry open a window and reach in to open the door.  But it'll keep some subset of nefarious types out so I do it anyway.
 
NY_Dutch said:
Back in the day when I sometimes helped a tow service with vehicle repossessions, we recovered a number of trailers of various types with hitch locks on them, including 5th wheels and goosenecks. The locks didn't even slow us down. The most effective theft deterrent other than a secure storage building is probably chaining/locking an axle and/or wheel to a solid post or tree. Although none of those are perfect either, but they do add time to defeat them.
Click to expand...

Exactly.......I had one of those dog bone locks that rusted and the key would not open it.
Out comes the angle grinder with a cutoff disc and it was off before I could blink.

However, how many rat thieves carry around a DeWalt angle grinder?
 
Roy M said:
It won't be cheap but I have seen a civilian version of the Denver boot that locks over a wheel.  I suppose a determined thief could defeat it but would take time increasing the risk of getting caught. I use a locking cap over the pin on  our fiver and keep it insured
Click to expand...

I can tell what we did in a case like that, usually because a wheel had been chained to the frame. We just jacked the axle(s) up and stuck a wheeled cradle dolly under it, the kind that are used for wrecks that can't be towed with two wheels on the ground. And yes, that does add time. As for 5th wheel pin locks, we just backed up to the trailer and grabbed the landing legs with the wheel lift cradles on the tow truck stinger. Once we were well away with the repo, we'd have a locksmith pop the lock off. We weren't allowed to damage any property belonging to the debtor, so any locks, chains, etc., could not be cut and had to be returned on request.
 
We never locked our trailers. We just made sure we were insured well. If someone wants it that bad, they will have it.
 
My receiver lock and towbar lock aren't for thief protection.

They are there so no moron call pull my pins while I'm stopped somewhere and my toad comes off. 

So for me it's a safety issue.
 
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