Does anyone lock their baseplate pins?

[wallynm]

Yes no question

[curryd]

I bought lock when I bought the tow bar and always use them. All 3 are keyed the same so easy to use.

[Harley2008]

We do not lock baseplate any more since we had a car fire while towing two years ago. Total loss of car and very nerve racking trying to unlick car while being sprayed by fire extinguishers. We do the pin check and walk around after each stop.

[Gunndunn]

Always locked. All it takes is one....

[lif13]

Happened to me about 2 years ago. I double and triplle check the hookup and do not rush it. I'm sure someone puilled the pin either at a gas station or a reststop. After that I only use locking pins. And what additional weight are we talking about. It only takes a few more seconds to lock and unlock the pins. Fortunately I was able to get over to a shoulder right away and suffered only minor damage to the bumper of my tow and some to the tow guard which was repairable.

And I have to laugh at all those who are worried about unhooking their toad in case of a fire. What if you are on a hill when that happens. Think you're going to get the pin out that easily. If there's a fire and I can't get it unhooked quickly then that's why I have insurance.

[DKRITTER]

With the RV I tend to be a belt and suspenders kinda guy. When we set ours up I bought the Blue Ox locking kit and find them very easy to use, it's literally takes a few more seconds to use the locks but the piece of mind makes me happy.

P.S. We stop every couple of hours when traveling to stretch and part of that is a walk around and inspection. Every time

[Dave Dopp]

Nope. Never.


In 12 years RVing (6 full-time) I've never heard of anyone's pins pulled by vandals. Does it happen? Extremely doubtful.

I also don't lock my bay doors. Never had anything stolen. It just doesn't happen often enough to justify the paranoia.


In fact, in 55 years of living away from my parent's house, I've only has one instance of theft - and that was an inside job at a storage facility. (The employee got my two bicycles … and a year in prison. LOL)

[Davdeb1]

Imo... Locks on your pins, towbars, etc are the equivalent of aTPMS for tires.
Nothing takes the place of daily tire pressure check and inspection, and doing a walk around at each stop.

I'll probably get some flack for that, but nothing beats diligence.

[StubbyBus]

I lock my pins for theft reasons. Jeeps aren't the most secure and the keys are in the ignition!

My friend discovered someone pulled the cotter pins from his towbar pins in a restaurant parking lot.

[VP Chianese]

Originally Posted by StubbyBus

I lock my pins for theft reasons. Jeeps aren't the most secure and the keys are in the ignition!

My friend discovered someone pulled the cotter pins from his towbar pins in a restaurant parking lot.

I have the Blue Ox locking pins on the Tow Hitch to Receiver and both of the Jeep attachments. All the same key, easy to do and well worth the peace of mind.

[sfarkasmd]

I use locking pins when towing ..... ever since I noticed my toad turning right as I was turning left ! Thankfully it happened in an Rv park .... but the pin fell out and I found it about 100 ft behind me. Did I put the safety flip pin in wrong ? Did some one take it out ? Anyway the locking pins are great. One less thing to worry about

[UP2LATE]

We use the 3 lock set from Blue Ox. Just one key for the receiver and both base plates. Helps reduce clutter on the key ring. The set uses the round type of key found on bike locks. The key holes have rubber covers which is a real plus. Be sure those rubber covers are on the locks when traveling to prevent dirt and dust from getting in the mechanism. I make sure the base plate lock key holes point in toward each other to prevent damage from rocks and such. I carry the original pins as a backup. Etrailer has replacement cover.

[hipower65]

I do have a locking pin on the tow bar to MH hitch simply for theft protection. It's something that could be easily stolen by someone who wanted the tow bar for free. The tow bar to toad connectors are not locked and are always checked before the coach moves, even from the shortest stops. That works for us and has for over forty years of RV travel from popup trailers through several coaches.

The fifth wheel thing is interesting, but after several million miles opf commercial driving I have never worried about that happening since I always did a tug test before actually moving.

This is definitely a case of doing what makes each of us comfortable, regardless of our reasons.

[dreamer]

Always padlock the pins. dreamer.