Boat security on a fishing trip

[DaubsNU1]

How do you secure your boat on a multi-day fishing trip?

 

Staying in an Air BnB for three nights.

 

I do lock my 2" hitch to the receiver.

 

Master trailer coupler latch lock key got stuck, unable to turn or remove. Small hammer and I was able to defeat this lock very easily : (

 

 

Used a Reese coupler lock when the boat unhitched from the truck...but that bit the dust recently.

 

 

What are your security methods?

[Tennessee Boy]

I use to use the Master trailer coupler.  It fell apart without a hammer. 😏

[Bird]

If the boat is unhooked I fold the trailer tounge and put pin inside truck, then wrap the tounge with a cable lock.

 

When hooked up I back up against the curb with some pressure leaving the boat almost impossible to the pull off the hitch.

[GaryH]

Nothing is theft proof, but there’s some precautions that can deter. Remove the handle from the crank, back the boat up close to a permanent object, lock what you can. If my boat is unplugged from my truck the truck alarm sounds.

[gimruis]

For starters, if you have a cover, use it.

If you have locks on your storage compartments, use them.

If you can remove your graphs, remove them.  There are e-locks available on certain graphs if removing them is a pain in the rear.

 

Locks of various dimension, size, and strength can be removed or broken if someone has the balls and tools for it.  So in rare cases, there's nothing you can do. The only 100% sure fire method to prevent theft is to keep the boat and fishing gear in your full possession.  Obviously that's just not possible on an out of town trip so its a risk we take.

 

I keep a keyed lock on my coupler and truck hitch when my rig is in a parking lot and I'm out on the water.  Generally I would feel safe enough to leave those without locks because of where I am fishing and the traffic/people around, but I feel better about locks.  I am only trying to deter the common crack head that comes along.  If he sees locks, he'll just go to the next one that isn't locked up.  Its the path of least resistance.  I compare it to out running a bear.  You don't have to outrun the bear, you just have to outrun the other guy.  The bear will go for the easiest target.

 

 

[airshot]

Small motion detector inside the boat with the alarm on your cell phone. Anyone getting into or trying bro move your boat sets off the alarm, then you can catch them red handed !!  I have a friend that is an electronic system wiz that installs them for me.  Everything I have is connected to the alarm.  Toys that is, and my barn and garage.  I do keep everything locked, but if anyone triggers an alarm, we meet !!

[Susky River Rat]

Lock everything up best as possible. Remove tongue if possible. I keep all my fishing stuff inside where I am staying. I know this maybe slightly pricey but, a gps tracker wouldn’t hurt just in case it would get stolen. You could alert authorities an give them the location. 

[gimruis]

3 minutes ago, Susky River Rat said:

I know this maybe slightly pricey but, a gps tracker wouldn’t hurt just in case it would get stolen.

 

If you have an apple device, you can put an airpod on it.  They aren't too expensive.

[nso123]

10 hours ago, gimruis said:

 

If you have an apple device, you can put an airpod on it.  They aren't too expensive.

We use the air tags on our dog collars in case they get loose and go on an adventure. They are a pretty simple piece of insurance. 

[Glenn]

Here ya go!

 

 

[gimruis]

I know this thread is a couple months old, but I recently heard from my Father than one of his friend's boat trailer was sniped from the lot while he was fishing last week.  The logistical nightmare of showing up back to the ramp/parking lot after a few hours of fishing only to see that your trailer is gone is uncomprehensible to me.

 

Locks are cheap compared to a trailer.  Its not going to stop everyone.  What you're trying to do here is simply deter the average joe crack head who comes along, sees that yours is locked, and the guy next to yours isn't.

 

Don't make it easy.  Put a lock on your coupler and your boat hitch when its sitting there unattended.

[Woody B]

I've always used a pad lock on the coupler on all of my trailers.  They're cheaper, and more secure than a trailer coupler lock.   You can still break a padlock with a hammer but making stuff difficult to steal usually helps.  In some situations I also padlock a chain through the openings in a wheel around the spring.  

 

I don't travel overnight with my boat, but spent months at a time on the road with race cars and trailers back when I was racing.   I would also do something simple to disable my tow vehicle when parked at a motel with a trailer.  

 

So....decades ago a few drag race rigs had been stolen at hotels.  A friend of mine decided to jack up the back of his dually (with the trailer attached) and leave it on jackstands.   Myself, and another friend of mine saw that.  We took the rear tires/wheels off his dually, picked the lock on his trailer, and put them inside.   He freaked out when he came out the next morning and his wheels and tires were missing.  He didn't leave it on jackstands anymore after that.  

[DaubsNU1]

Excellent point @gimruis!

[TnRiver46]

My trailer tongue is detachable. I don’t detach it when fishing but I do when I’m leaving my boat somewhere unfamiliar overnight 

 

most crackheads have angle grinders 

[padlin]

How about this baby. 
 

https://altorlocks.com/products/icon-trailer-lock?srsltid=AfmBOorA89ZO2gTjS2J6c4tNW-QW2K9Jx_OrQP5NtTK1njRH6d8OB-w1

 

Just don’t look at the price.

[MN Fisher]

This is what I've got. It's pretty inexpensive, but locks the hitch to the receiver and the coupler lever with same-key

[MN Fisher]

1 hour ago, padlin said:

How about this baby. 

It's not just the price - that bugger weighs 22lbs according to the site.

[Way2slow]

Locks mostly just keep the amateur honest.  If a professional thief wants it, he usually has a method to get it.  

A few years ago, a friend got back to the ramp to find his tandem axle Ranger Trail gone.  He had what was supposed to be high security locks on his receiver and the hitch, thinking it was safe.  They just took the ball off, he welded the ball on after that.

[Glenn]

I use Loctite Red on my trailer balls.  Good luck to any thief trying to remove that.

[MN Fisher]

19 minutes ago, Glenn said:

I use Loctite Red on my trailer balls.  Good luck to any thief trying to remove that.

Something better - mix some red loctite into pipe sealant...that sucker will need a hammer-driver to get it off. It's a mix we used for some of the plumbing on machines we built at a place I worked.

 

[Way2slow]

A little tip, if you clean both sets of the threads with brake cleaner and put some Loctite Primer on them before putting on the Loctite Red, it most likely "AIN'T" coming off without some heat.  

[gimruis]

8 hours ago, Way2slow said:

Locks mostly just keep the amateur honest.  If a professional thief wants it, he usually has a method to get it.  

 

I agree.  That's exactly what I'm trying to do, keep the amateur honest.  Let them walk to the trailer next to me that has no locks at all.

 

I see it similar to escaping from a bear.  I don't have to outrun the bear, I only have to outrun the other guy. 😂

[Bankc]

Yeah, a professional thief can steal most anything.  I mean, professional thieves once stole the  Mona Lisa.  If they want your boat, they will get it.  Which is why I always have full coverage on any vehicle. 

 

But, deterring an amateur thief isn't as hard.  You just need to make it more time consuming and require more tools than the likely have on hand.  If I were to leave my boat in a hotel/motel parking lot, I would probably try to find a nicer one and leave it in a well lit area, if possible.  If not, I'd probably jack up trailer, put it on a block, and take one the tires off. 

[Way2slow]

You have to figure, anyone wanting to steal something like a boat trailer and risk what's it's going to cost them if they got caught, can't overly developed in the brain department anyway.  So, if you make it very complicated, they are not going to be able to figure it out or do thousands of dollars' worth of extra damage trying. 

A few years back, I bought a nice looking Mercedes SLK-230 for $500 scarp price because of how bad someone destroyed the dash trying to steal the radio out of it.  A tow truck left it outside a shop (the shop was closed) where he dropped it off to have a no-start problem fixed.  Between the cost of what they wanted to repair the no-start problem and the damage they did to the dash (and they still didn't get the radio out), it was twice what the car worth.  The owner only had collision insurance, and both the shop and tow truck said they were not responsible.

[TOXIC]

I have traveled a lot with my boat and trailer and knock on wood, never had anything stolen.  A crackhead thief isn’t going to steal your trailer, someone who steals trailers is.  You can bet they know how to defeat most every lock made.  That’s why I don’t bother locking the trailer.  Overnight in a hotel, I have a lok-r-bar with a motion activated alarm padlock.  That’s not to say that 90% of everything comes in the room but it will trigger if the trailer gets shaken as well.  It just beeps the first time it is moved and the alarm goes off the second time so I always pre-arm it when I go into the room.