Anti-theft devices?

kb0zke · April 2

Jo Ann just showed me a post from somewhere about a brand-new 5'er that was stolen. I've seen lots of threads about different devices for preventing the theft of a travel trailer, but what about a 5'er? How does one prevent it from being stolen?

mptjelgin · April 3

There are kingpin locks that surround the pin and prevent anyone from hitching up to it (unless they cut the lock off). We bought one when we started out, used it for a year or so and then stopped. Once a fifth-wheel is set up I can't imagine anyone pulling in the slides, unhooking utilities, raising jacks, hitching, etc. in order to steal it. But if I had one stored in an unattended yard somewhere I'd probably use one.

Edited April 3 by mptjelgin

noteven · April 3

King pin locks - commercial truck equipment supply companies are a source for them.

Ray,IN · April 3

1 hour ago, noteven said:

King pin locks - commercial truck equipment supply companies are a source for them.

I have one left from when we bought a new 5er in 2005. It's just collecting dust, shipping anywhere would be more than it's worth.

Sculptor · April 3

I bought mine at a truck stop parts and service counter, which happened to have them on the floor.

palmeris · April 5

is there anti theft devices for a rig with a goose neck instead of a king pin?

Darryl&Rita · April 5

13 minutes ago, palmeris said:

is there anti theft devices for a rig with a goose neck instead of a king pin?

Padlock hole on the coupler.

Nwcid · April 5

There is no such thing as an anti-theft device. There are only devices that deter or slow down an item being stolen.

There are lots of products that hook to ball, goose, or 5th wheel hitches that would slow down a determined thief or deter a "target of opportunity"

packnrat · April 12

king pin lock just get about 5 inches of pipe drill a couple "slotted" hols and use a better pad lock with at least a 3/4 inch shank.

heavy chain through the rims again a pad lock with a 3/4 inch shank.

couple ground anchors. (see chain/lock info above).

alarm.

how to improve all locks on the outside of the rig?

armed guard"s".

no real way to stop theft. but think onion, as in layers of things to just make the grab crook go elsewhere.

a pro will get your rig.

kb0zke · April 14

I had the layers in mind when I originally posted this. Anything to make it difficult is going to make the thief look at the neighbor's rig instead of mine.

A couple of years ago I saw a video of someone "stealing" a travel trailer in less than 30 seconds. The trailer had a tongue lock on it. The "thief" simply backed a truck up to the trailer and chained the hitch to the tongue. Then he plugged in the electric cable and drove off. The tongue jack was electric, so it worked just fine. That towing wouldn't work for very far or very fast, but it would let the their get away to a place where the tongue lock could be removed.

Ray,IN · April 14

Those without one will be quite impressed with the performance a 4" battery-powered angle grinder..

Nwcid is right the marketing has been changed from theft prevention device to theft deterrent device.(lawyereese)

IMO the best deterrent is to make it obvious to a potential thief they would have to waste too much valuable time trying to defeat your theft deterrent devices.

Edited April 14 by Ray,IN

rynosback · Saturday at 09:23 PM

On 4/5/2021 at 9:45 AM, Nwcid said:

There is no such thing as an anti-theft device. There are only devices that deter or slow down an item being stolen.

There are lots of products that hook to ball, goose, or 5th wheel hitches that would slow down a determined thief or deter a "target of opportunity"

I agree completely. My boss when I was young said, locks keep honest people honest.