Attempted Trailer Theft

[Guest]

yeah, i caught 2 bass, both about 2 pounds.. My brother caught a good size bass and my nephew caught a nice size bass. We were only there from 7:30pm to 9:00pm though..

Ok, sunday.. I'll give you a call Saturday night

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That sucks man. Did you catch anything? Let's go this sunday. That's pretty sad too cause I heard Demontreville has big bass. Although we didnt catch any last time.

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[Guest]

And its not like trailers cost alot.

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Last winter, my friend Andy went up north snowmobiling with a couple of his buds and wound up wrecking his sled.

The guy back at the motel was called and headed up to get him and the other guy. He was towing Andy's new aluminum snowmobile trailer, didn't put the locking pin in or something like that and the tongue broke right off and the trailer went into the ditch.

By hook and by crook, they got the sleds back to the motel and went to retrieve the wounded trailer and when they got there, it was gone! Someone had snarfled it out of the ditch and made off with it in the short time they had left it there!

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[efgh]

About 10 years ago I pulled our pop up camper to Balsum Lake, when we were done fishing there my daughter wanted to use the camper at Hutchinson for a soft ball tournment over nite. Stopped at Grand Rapids to get some stuff at the mall, came out, walked by the camper and saw someone took out two of the locking hold down pins that hold the top down, went back into the mall and bought 2 more, stopped at Mora for lunch, came out and noticed some one had flipped the lock up one the ball hitch. from then on we lock it. I never thought about locking the receiver on to the hitch, That is going to be the next project.

[BlackwaterStout]

Wow. Luckily the trailer for my 15' MFG is a total piece of dump. I don't think anyone would want to steal it. Heck, I'm not sure if I could give it away. Lately I had been thinking of stripping the trailer, repainting, rebunking, and rewiring but maybe I'll just keep it ugly to keep it from getting stolen Actually I never even thought about someone pulling the pin and stealing the hitch itself. I have a lock on my coupler but my hitch pin is a standard push pin with cotter clip.

I'm much more concerned with someone stealing the contents of my truck bed than the trailer itself. I bought an Extang trifold tonneau and I have a locking tailgate so unless someone wants to slice through the tonneau they won't get into the bed. Not that that is a hard thing to do, but probably not worth the risk or effort considering they really don't know whats inside. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[fivebucks]

The other thing to remember is that they can remove the ball from the receiver with a big wrench unless it is spot welded to the receiver.

[dirtking]

we had a boat roller removed while we were 900 miles north of the cities in canada fishing. Guess someone else needed it more for their boat than ours. We taped a towel around where the roller was so the boat could rest on that rather than metal to metal

[The Grebe]

I started thinking about someone sniping my trailer this past spring....we were fishing a lake where you have to disconnect the trailer from the vehicle in the parking lot. Someone could drive up, hook up and drive away.

Even if a trailer isn't the best, someone might still steal it for whatever reason? I've started using a lock on the connection, but if a thief is intent on stealing a trailer and yours happens to be in his sights, you may lose it even if you lock up.

I think the lock deters the opportunistic thief that doesn't specifically target the trailer, but will take it if the situation is right....no use making it any easier for them then we have to!

[Fishin4Life]

My dad always says, a lock only keeps honest people honest. If a theif wants it, a lock will do you no good. I believe this to a point. But if it is locked up at least the chances of someone just grabbing it are lowered a bit.

[toonfish]

I believe that to a point also. It goes along with the thinking that if you leave something valuable in your car, you might as well leave the door unlocked so if someone is going to steal it, they don't break your window to get it. I learned this first hand, as my car was broken into. I had left my digital camera in the back seat. The other thing that the cop pointed out to me is that these thiefs can break your window with literally no sound. They use spark plugs and just toss them at the window and somehow the charge or whatever causes the tempered glass to just crack into thousands of pieces (like it is designed to do) and makes literally no sound and then all the thief has to do is gently push the glass in and steal your stuff. I thought that was interesting that a spark plug would do that.

[Guest]

man. what would they think of next,

[Green&Gold]

This is a timely post for me as I just had someone go in my truck on Tuesday night. I live in a quiet neighborhood and usually do not lock my truck. Then again, I don't keep anything of real value in it either. They ended up getting about $4 in change and an old buck knife. When I reported it, however, I found out 2 things. First, I was one of about 14 people in the surrounding 4 blocks that had their vehicles broken into. Furthermore, as was stated here, the cop told me that I was lucky I had not locked my truck because most of the others' vehicles were locked and the thieves broke windows in order to get in. Still makes you angry though!

The other reason I consider myself lucky is that they had obviously tried to open my garage with my overhead door remote (it was laying outside in the driveway). Well, ironically, I was just complaining to my wife that the battery in the remote was going dead and I had to hold down the button for literally 5 seconds before it would work. So I'm sure the thieves tried to use it but just tossed it when it didn't work right away. Thank goodness, because then they would have had access to all kinds of goodies! My garage is detached from the house and not right next to it so I probably wouldn't hear it opening at night. This really bothers me though, because even if I do lock my truck, with as easy as it is to break a window, that's all they have to do to get the opener and then get in the garage. I'm gonna have to figure something else out such as a different opener or maybe bring it in when I get home.

[Fishin4Life]

Green and Gold. Not sure how new your opener is but they have the key chain opener's you can buy. At our house any car sitting outside has to have the remote brought in for that reason. Really kind of stinks, but i guess what can you do.

[Green&Gold]

Yeah, until I figure out a solution, I will be bringing mine in. I wonder if those keychain types are specific to the brand opener you have, or if you can buy ones (similar to a universal remote) that you can program to use with your opener. Probably not though, seeing as how this might not be very secure. I can just see some thief walking through the alley pointing such a remote at every garage until one opens that he has it programmed to!

[SomethingFishy*]

I know they make a wireless sensor for your garage door that you could mount somewhere in the house that will light up a different color if your garage door is open. I considered buying one because my girlfriend would always leave the garage door open. Now I have my truck and my wheeler in the garage so she no longer has access

[SomethingFishy*]

they make them for different brand openers. Liftmaster/chamberlain is one of the most popular in my area. A few years back when i still was living in and managing apartments I had one of these remotes because there was no access door to the garage and a pinpad was just an additional target for vandals, it also is nice to have with remote start (open garage, start car, drive away warm/cool)

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Yeah, until I figure out a solution, I will be bringing mine in. I wonder if those keychain types are specific to the brand opener you have, or if you can buy ones (similar to a universal remote) that you can program to use with your opener. Probably not though, seeing as how this might not be very secure. I can just see some thief walking through the alley pointing such a remote at every garage until one opens that he has it programmed to!

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[Bassboy1645]

Web it says u are from oakdale?? I used to live there! grew up my whole 17 yrs there until recently. Yes i know hat ua re talking about. In the year before we moved( i lived up on haywrd a mile from the launch) car windows and tires owuld get slashed and steros stolen! but i know the launch very well i grew up cutting my teeth on the bass in the lake there. the ticket is waders, pumpkin seed grubs and the cattails. watch for the sink holes!! On opener three years ago i fished that very same way in a moring downpour and i caught 30 bass in 50 casts and everyone of them honest to god was three lbs plus!!!! Again off topic but letting ya know!

[Valv]

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They use spark plugs and just toss them at the window and somehow the charge or whatever causes the tempered glass to just crack into thousands of pieces (like it is designed to do) and makes literally no sound and then all the thief has to do is gently push the glass in and steal your stuff. I thought that was interesting that a spark plug would do that.

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Actually they use just a chunk of the ceramic insulator. I tried it myself many years ago (teenager) when I left my car keys inside car, and the car was running..... couldn't break any window. Finally a friend of mine mentioned the plug insulator deal....it worked like magic. Unbelievable !!!!

Same friend got $ 3,000 in damages when they broke his window, layed a board over seats to work on radio to steal, rubbing broken glass over leather seats cut them up very bad....

Pu a lock on your trailer and hitch, and try not to get the new Reese balls with the octagonal base, they will use a big wrench and undo the ball.....

[primetime49]

As a boat dealer for 25 years and over 15 strong theft reports to county officials I will tell you that once something is gone you have definatly lost it.I have never even had a follw up call back from any thefts anything from srts of seats ,small outboard motors to a mercury cosworth 275 hp off my center console boat.As a dealer we dont turn claims into insurance as that only drives up everyones costs and may eliminate ours.put a hightempred lock on your trailer and i suggest if its possible get a freind or someone with a welder to weld your serial number on axle and bottom side of trailer frame.at least than at some point some of these thefts will show up later.We have suggested to manufacturers that they do this as most expensive trailers do this.or stamp into chassis.I just hate the glue on stickers that are currently used on cheaper trailers.did you know that boats and trailers have several stickers on themalready. curse the butheads that take our sporting goods.

[nitroant]

The other reason I consider myself lucky is that they had obviously tried to open my garage with my overhead door remote (it was laying outside in the driveway). Well, ironically, I was just complaining to my wife that the battery in the remote was going dead and I had to hold down the button for literally 5 seconds before it would work. So I'm sure the thieves tried to use it but just tossed it when it didn't work right away. Thank goodness, because then they would have had access to all kinds of goodies! My garage is detached from the house and not right next to it so I probably wouldn't hear it opening at night. This really bothers me though, because even if I do lock my truck, with as easy as it is to break a window, that's all they have to do to get the opener and then get in the garage. I'm gonna have to figure something else out such as a different opener or maybe bring it in when I get home.

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I was just going to mention this. This very thing happened to the brother-in-law. Couldn't figure out why the alarm didn't go off on the truck. If the door isn't opened when the alarm is set on a Chevy, it wont' go off, so they smashed the window and grabbed the opener. I think people assume the alarm will alert them if the window is smashed, and maybe it will on some, but not on a GM. Another guy here at work at his laptop pulled out of the backseat of his truck because they busted the window and grabbed it and never opened the door.

I always lock the hitch to the truck otherwise all they have to do is pull the pin and slide it into their own truck and they are gone to some garage to grind the lock off the trailer.

I also unplug my garage door opener when I leave for a while. There is no chance of it going up by accident or by soemone else's remote with a similar setting if there is no power to the unit. It also keeps me from wondering if I shut the garage door or not all weekend long. Its a nice piece of mind.

Locking things up only does so much, but for every locked hitch and trailer there is one unlocked and they are going to go for the easy steal. Now if somebody has a contract out for your specific trailer type/brand, yes nothing will stop them.

I always try to think of ways somebody may try to rip me off and do things to prevent it. I don't obsess about it or let it rule my life because at some point everybody gets something ripped off, but (knock on wood) I have beaten them so far.

Good thread, sounds like some people are getting ideas how to protect themselves better.

[Fishin4Life]

I just thought of something that might prevent a trailer theft on a low budget. Instead of buying a locking cotter pin for the receiver you could toss a pad lock on your safety chains to the hitch. This way they would have to go through at least a little bit more effort to get the trailer off. Just an idea.

[bucketmouth64]

Geez, I have always taken things for granted at launch sites. I think I'll go buy a locking trailer hitch. I have one for the boat trailer, but not one for the hitch itself. I guess it is dumb on my part to have one and not the other.