Community Forums

SoundGuy · 01-09-2008, 09:36 AM

I'm considering a toyhauler trailer to move my seminar gear (in addition to myself) around the country. However, there will be times when I have to park the trailer at a truckstop or large parking lot for perhaps a week at a time. I worry about the "stuff" I have in the garage and will use the best locks I can find on the doors, And I'll install an alarm system on the trailer with a LoJack or GPS phone-home option in case of someone breaking into the trailer.

But for additional security would locking the kingpin make sense? I've seen some pretty flimsy looking locks for $50 or so. However, these look like a smack with a sledge hammer would make short work of them. I did find something pretty husky [see Universal Boot] and I don't mind the $425 cost as long as it slows down potential crooks and make them look for an easier target.

Anyplace else I should look for this sort of thing? Any other security options or devices anyone can suggest?

SoundGuy · 01-09-2008, 09:36 AM

I'm considering a toyhauler trailer to move my seminar gear (in addition to myself) around the country. However, there will be times when I have to park the trailer at a truckstop or large parking lot for perhaps a week at a time. I worry about the "stuff" I have in the garage and will use the best locks I can find on the doors, And I'll install an alarm system on the trailer with a LoJack or GPS phone-home option in case of someone breaking into the trailer.

But for additional security would locking the kingpin make sense? I've seen some pretty flimsy looking locks for $50 or so. However, these look like a smack with a sledge hammer would make short work of them. I did find something pretty husky [see Universal Boot] and I don't mind the $425 cost as long as it slows down potential crooks and make them look for an easier target.

Anyplace else I should look for this sort of thing? Any other security options or devices anyone can suggest?

RustyJC · 01-09-2008, 11:15 AM

While I'm sure that some locks are better than others, I'm reminded of one of my dear departed Dad's trite homiles - "Locks only keep honest people honest."

If I had to drive off and leave my 5th wheel and was worried about someone towing it off, even though it might involve some work, I think I'd just remove the lower section of my pinbox - the part with the kingpin on it - and take it with me.

Rusty

SoundGuy · 01-09-2008, 02:32 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RustyJC: If I had to drive off and leave my 5th wheel and was worried about someone towing it off, even though it might involve some work, I think I'd just remove the lower section of my pinbox - the part with the kingpin on it - and take it with me. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Perhaps.... but I have to do this on a weekly basis. And while alarms systems certainly will help my peace of mind, it's hard to beat "heavy metal" when it comes to slowing down a crook. The final option is let the insurance company deal with any problems, but I've been there, done that. Never works out quite as well as you would like.

So, how do you lock up your toyhaulers when you're out playing for the day?

Roam America · 01-09-2008, 03:38 PM

Since my driveway is to small to accommodate my two cars and my 5er I keep it at a storage lot. There are quite a few other 5ers there too. When in storage I do keep a kingpin lock in place (as do most others there). But in a CG I don't bother. Like Rusty said, locks keep the honest people honest.

John66 · 01-09-2008, 05:49 PM

How about one of those lever action chocks which goes between the 2 wheels of a dual axel trailer? They have a hole for a padlock. I might also consider some kind of wheel lock like the police use to keep vehicles where they are, or some kind of lock through the wheel like bikes use.

Ray,IN · 01-09-2008, 05:56 PM

I bought a HD pin lock from a Pilot truck stop. It looks like a 4" piece of steel tube with 1/2" thick walls. The tumbler lock is a heavy piece of steel welded on one side that, when turned pushes a heavy square key into the pin groove. I think it cost about $35.
I've heard that lock saying since I was a kid,and it's true. Have you ever wondered how thieves steal so many BMW's, Mercedes,Corvettes,etc? Some have lo-jack installed too.
Keep in mind you must be notified by police that your lo-jack protected possession is stolen, before you can request that the beacon be activated. By then thieves have destroyed the transmitter.

SoundGuy · 01-10-2008, 02:32 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Ray,IN: Keep in mind you must be notified by police that your lo-jack protected possession is stolen, before you can request that the beacon be activated. By then thieves have destroyed the transmitter. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yeah, I guess a better alarm system would be one that immediately calls my cell phones and provides updated GPS information. Plus I've found a few of these alarms systems that will call a central switchboard operator who will first call your number, then call the police with the trailer's GPS coordinates if it wasn't an accidental alarm. See HERE. Don't know the install or subscription cost yet, but I'll do some checking.

450Donn · 01-10-2008, 08:27 AM

I think as an alternative to all that, and believe me that is a good idea, buy you might contact some of those storage places that have rooms for rent and see if you could arrange to have the trailer stored there. 24 hour security and cameras all over the place. Or possibly arrange with the trailer park where you are parking to store it for a week or so for a small fee.

Two Bit · 01-10-2008, 09:39 AM

I made my own king pin lock. I used about a 4" to 5" long piece of heavy wall pipe with an inner diameter just big enough to slip over the kingpin. Two oval holes were cut in side of pipe to allow the shackle of a big padlock to be inserted where the kingpin is narrow. Slip the pipe up over the kingpin, insert the padlock, lock the lock. The lock shackle keeps the pipe from coming off the kingpin and it can't be cut with bolt cutters because it is protected by the pipe. A cutting torch could get it off, but a hacksaw can't. Can the fiver be stolen? YES. Can it be stolen easily? NO. The only cost to me was the padlock. The pipe was some scrap I had laying around.

I do put the kingpin lock on anytime we are unhooked (including campgrounds). We go on day trips while camping and want the fiver to be there when we get back.

Theft occurs right in front of people without them knowing it. It is easy to steal a fiver from a campground in plain view of other campers.......

Picture this scenario: You return to the campground from shopping. A fiver is in a site a few down from yours. It pulled in when you weren't there. There is no truck with it (they are off site-seeing somewhere). A white pickup (everyone who tows with a white truck raise your hands), backs up to the fiver. A couple gets out. They hook-up, break camp, packing things away as any couple would do. Their keys fit the storage compartments (all our keys do!). They wave as they are leaving with the camper. You wave back and yell put your antenna down. They stop a few hundred yards down the road and take a minute to crank the antenna down. By this time you are trying to get ready to walk the dog. They leave the campground as any other camper would do. A couple of hours later a white truck shows up and wonders where their fiver went. Later, when the police arrive, you give a great description of "this middle age couple with a white truck packed up, hooked up, and left. They even waived. No officer I really did'nt get a good look at them and let me think, was that a Ford or a Dodge truck they were in? Officer I'm sure it was a diesel! Gee we thought that was their rig! You mean they stole it right in front of everyone???

NOTE: I'm a cop, so I think this way. But not everyone in a campground is who they appear to be. You thought they were RV'ers, when in reality they were very experienced thieves.

Stum|> · 01-10-2008, 11:28 AM

Another thing you could do is to put some type of disable switch on the landing gear motor. Anything that you can do to slow someone down.

SoundGuy · 01-10-2008, 04:55 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Two Bit: Theft occurs right in front of people without them knowing it. It is easy to steal a fiver from a campground in plain view of other campers....... Gee we thought that was their rig! You mean they stole it right in front of everyone??? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes, my fear exactly. While I'm not an RV'er and don't park at campgrounds, my next rig will probably a 34' toyhauler full of "stuff" that will need to be parked for a week at a time in truck lots across the country with variable security levels. I think a very loud alarm with a GPS reporting system would be a good final defense in case things go wrong. But I'm a big believer in heavy metal for slowing down criminals. So perhaps a very strong kingpin lock backed up by a wheel lock backed up by a way to disable the hydraulic lift would slow a potential thief down a good bit. By the time they get around even one of them, the alarm system should have called the monitoring service and phoned me with a break-in alarm. If I'm not available via cell phone or don't give them the abort password, then they'll call the police with trailer info and GPS location. Of course, I'll need to mount the GPS and Cell antenna/electronics in something pretty stout. But hopefully by the time they can break the GPS system it will have reported the break-in and location. I can actually get this alarm system with a perimeter warning system, but that will likely cause too many false alarms. So I think that a combination of wireless door/window switches, inside infrared motion detectors, and a bump/jiggle detector should work.

If it sounds like I'm paranoid, it's because I had a trailer full of sound gear stolen in Canada about 5 years ago, right out of the "secure" parking area of a hotel. The alarm in the truck went off when they used a slap hammer to pull the lock on the door, and the crooks just lifted the hook and cut the wires going to the alarm horn. Then they broke out the steering wheel lock and started the truck with a screwdriver. I'm pretty sure it was an inside job at the hotel since no one noticed or reported an alarm. To add insult to injury, Canadian customs tried to charge me import duties for the stolen gear they said I "imported" into Canada. After that fun time, I've gotten a bit smarter and an lot more paranoid about security. The few extra bucks required to add another layer of security is cheap insurance in my book. So all your suggestions are noted and appreciated. I'll combine as many of them as needed until I feel comfortable. But I'll still take out extra insurance.

xc-mark · 01-11-2008, 10:57 AM

I can see doing a pin lock and a good alarm that uses a centeral station and GPS but also think about a dummy camara that bas a blinking red light . We had a few breakins at work this fall , all they got was scrap steel. Since then we put a few OX blue camara around the job site , it takes a picture ever 14 mins and has a blue light on all the time. No one on the job really knows how often it takes picturs or how much it can see..... Nothing missing since I put them up ! look them up on the net under oxblue

http://oxblue.com/product/?c=solar

Southwest Wheel · 01-13-2008, 01:19 PM

I would suggest getting a king pin lock and wheel locks for each wheel or at least two, one for each opposing side. Then spray paint them a bright color, so people know that they are there. Make sure you get locking nuts for the wheels. This way if they do break the locks off and opposing wheels they will be handicap and noticable. But as Rusty said locks keep honest guys honest, but a bunch of locks in the right places, keeps a lazy theif lazy.