Trailer Locks

[Rich M]

Most thieves arent gonna grab a tin boat but a new small motor will walk quickly. Bolt and lock that sucker down.

 

[Beendare]

I’ve had a trailer stolen that had a tongue lock and a chain through the wheels. A neighborhood cam caught the crook driving away with the chain in the wheels…he dragged it 400y then cut the chain.

Now we do 3 and sometimes 4 very visible locks and so far, they look for easier prey. Even those cheap bright yellow tire locks are good if you put enough of them to where it will take a long time to cut them all.

 

[rclouse79]

I saw guys are hiding AirTags in the frames of their e-bikes. That might be a good backup measure if your first line of defense fails.

 

[CorbLand]

She is home. Ordered a tongue lock that should be here in a couple days.

Has solid rims, so can’t run a chain through them. Going to have to figure something else out.

Anyone has any experience locking up an outboard? Any suggestions?

 

[Fatcamp]

View attachment 653736
She is home. Ordered a tongue lock that should be here in a couple days.

Has solid rims, so can’t run a chain through them. Going to have to figure something else out.

Nice! Couldn't imagine not having a boat.

Honest piece of advice: Go buy a new tongue jack as soon as you can. I spent years moving a boat around that didn't have one and when I found out they cost $30 I felt like an idiot.

 

[CorbLand]

Nice! Couldn't imagine not having a boat.

Honest piece of advice: Go buy a new tongue jack as soon as you can. I spent years moving a boat around that didn't have one and when I found out they cost $30 I felt like an idiot.

It’s on the list.

 

[Weldor]

View attachment 653736
She is home. Ordered a tongue lock that should be here in a couple days.

Has solid rims, so can’t run a chain through them. Going to have to figure something else out.

Anyone has any experience locking up an outboard? Any suggestions?

Do you have a pic of the outboard mounts?Screws, toggles?

 

[CorbLand]

Do you have a pic of the outboard mounts?Screws, toggles?

Toggles. I can take some pictures when I get home. I was looking at the locks that make it so you cant turn the toggles.

 

[taskswap]

A half hour watching LockPickingLawyer on YT will probably disillusion you toward most of the locks on the market, though there are a few "good ones". As others mentioned here a determined thief with enough time can steal almost anything. Best option is to be the "time-consuming, complicated" thing. Park an old pickup right in front of it, or a pile of heavy lumber or cinder blocks. Park it backwards if you can - most any trailer can be rotated in place with strategic use of a come-along, some chocks, and some patience.

If your tongue bolts on, take it off for long-term storage.

 

[CorbLand]

A half hour watching LockPickingLawyer on YT will probably disillusion you toward most of the locks on the market, though there are a few "good ones". As others mentioned here a determined thief with enough time can steal almost anything. Best option is to be the "time-consuming, complicated" thing. Park an old pickup right in front of it, or a pile of heavy lumber or cinder blocks. Park it backwards if you can - most any trailer can be rotated in place with strategic use of a come-along, some chocks, and some patience.

If your tongue bolts on, take it off for long-term storage.

I have no disillusions of locks. I know anyone that wants to can get into them. The place that I have to park it there is not ability to turn it around without making the outboard easier to get to. Boats arent worth anything, its the motor that is worth something.

 

[Oldbuff]

I pad lock it after looping a chain around the frame and through the rim. It is irrelevant to use hitch locks. They simply attach the safety chains and take off.

 

[traildust]

Take the wheels off of it. Only takes 10 minutes or less to install or remove them

 

[CorbLand]

Do you have a pic of the outboard mounts?Screws, toggles?

Hopefully you can see those. I have terrible lighting in my garage. It has both toggles and bolts holding it on.

Kind of thinking something like this would make it harder on someone.

Outboard Motor Lock

This motor lock is constructed from powder-coated, heavy-gauge carbon steel to offer extreme protection for your outboard.

www.campingworld.com

It also has a yoke deal(not sure the name) to keep the motor from bouncing when transporting it. I could bolt it on and bend the bolt so you can’t take the nut off and then run a chain and lock through it.



The hitch lock I bought doesn’t work. The coupler flares to much and the lock won’t go on it.

 

[Backyard]

So have you considered just taking the motor off and storing it in the garage?


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[Weldor]

My dad had similar toggles. He used a piece of unistrut ,slid it over the toggles (turned so they sli in the grove) drilled it for a pad lock on one end and bolt welded on the other. I have also seen guys use a long shank padlock ans a short piece of chain. Also you can turn them horizontal and make a plate with 2 padlocks. Hope the ideas help.

 

[CorbLand]

So have you considered just taking the motor off and storing it in the garage?


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Its a 30 horse motor that weighs about 170 pounds, is bolted and clamped on, and is hard wired for electric start. Not going to be the easiest thing to put on and take off every time you want to use it.

 

[Backyard]

Its a 30 horse motor that weighs about 170 pounds, is bolted and clamped on, and is hard wired for electric start. Not going to be the easiest thing to put on and take off every time you want to use it.

Just a thought. You mentioned that this was a smaller boat and I thought maybe a smaller motor also.


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[CorbLand]

Just a thought. You mentioned that this was a smaller boat and I thought maybe a smaller motor also.


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Its a pretty small boat, 14 foot but has a big ass motor for what it is. The guy that owned it before my buddy was a fishing monster and set it up pretty well.

I am just trying to get ideas from others that have dealt with this stuff. This will be my first boat and we have never had one in the family. Trying to make it hard to steal while also making it easy to use. I dont want to have to spend 20-30 minutes getting it ready to tow it 5 miles to the river, then 20-30 minutes when I get back.

 

[Nine Banger]

I have had adventures with thieves.

I don't recommend chaining around structure or fence. We had this set up one time, and the cheap tongue locks. The thieves used an s-hook of rebar to attach the trailer to their bumper and got to the end of the chain and the trailer popped of in the road but it just as easily could have pulled the corner of the parking area down. I was out of town but my neighbor scared them off.

I have a lot of trailers for work, some that sit on jobs for long periods of time and we use these, also mentioned before higher up in the thread:

The Best Trailer Locks | Proven Industries

Best Trailer Lock from Proven Industries. Proven Industries manufactures all of its products out of high-strength impervious materials.

www.provenlocks.com

These are easy to use, especially for wife and workers, etc. The only one that's given any of my guys trouble is the gooseneck lock and honestly it took me a few minutes to figure it out the first time I installed it.

One thing I can add if you go with one of these you can work with a different company for the vending locks and keys if you end up buying more over time like I did so they match the old ones and you don't have to deal with the manufacturer, which is a win-win for the manufacturer too I think given the risk-reward of selling these and being in the middle.

Locking Systems:

lockingsystems.com
http://www.lockingsystems.com
800.657.5625

 

[Fatcamp]

Its a pretty small boat, 14 foot but has a big ass motor for what it is. The guy that owned it before my buddy was a fishing monster and set it up pretty well.

I am just trying to get ideas from others that have dealt with this stuff. This will be my first boat and we have never had one in the family. Trying to make it hard to steal while also making it easy to use. I dont want to have to spend 20-30 minutes getting it ready to tow it 5 miles to the river, then 20-30 minutes when I get back.

What year is your engine?

30hp on a light 14 foot boat should move!