Trailer theft prevention

Looking at getting a new trailer, thought I'd rent a spot at a storage facility to park it. Called one up, $140 a month. Nope. So I guess I'll be parking it at home. Any thoughts on how best to protect it from theft? GPS, Tongue lock, Boot on the wheel, chain it to a fence post, all of the above?

Battery powered impact and pull the wheels off one side ........

Plus a GPS / airtag 

I have also chained mine to a tree , 

If its an enclosed trailer  put some numbers on the top  ,

Mine has a tongue lock, and my name painted on the roof in 3 foot letters.  But, living in a rural area with it 200' off the road its probably not at too much risk.

Good call on the numbers/name on the top: I should do that for my enclosed trailer. Tongue lock is an absolute must. You may also want to consider embedding an anchor in the ground and chaining it to the anchor. 

I guess another question is what trailers are the most at risk? Enclosed/open, what size, are they looking for trailers that might belong to certain professions that have valuable tools inside? Should I put a fake logo on the side for a mobile swinger party trailer? 

Here ya go

I like the embedded anchor idea.  Almost did that at a previous location.   If you do it, run the chain to the frame, not the axles.  So, you don't need to replace a bent axle.

In reply to californiamilleghia :

That's AWESOME 

probably gonna do a combo of gps, a tongue lock, and removing the wheels. not sure about the logo, i like the diaper removal, but also was thinking "cleetus' discount crime scene cleanup: your loss our gain" might be effective

Mine usually sit behind my shop. They all have tongue locks on them. They also always have a vehicle parked in front of them. 

I leave my jon boat in winter storage on a jackstand with one wheel off, tongue locked. I do have a boot that I could use....hmmmm.  Its kind of out of site though in the country. You need a 4wd to get it out if the ground is even a little bit wet.

Had a bunch of these stickers made up for each of my trailers.

Attached right at the coupler, and on the doors.

In reply to ClassicCarPerformance :

Great idea , around here you better put it in English and Spanish plus maybe Braille 

I got some good paclok locks for my doors and coupler latch.

Like these

They have some features that increase the amount of skill required for picking and with what it blocks out, makes breaking into the trailer harder. (Plus you can get all the trailer keys keyed alike).

The one I need to throw down on is the coupler lock for when it's off the truck. Here's the one I want ($$$) Proven industries

I need to get the asset tracker stickers for mine, that's a good idea. 

One thought on the fake business on the side. You don't want to run afoul of state DOT or insurance regs for what appears to be commercial use... You could be inviting a headache there. 

You could always get a boot for the wheels off Amazon too...

Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) said:

But, living in a rural area with it 200' off the road its probably not at too much risk.

I think this is really important, can you "hide" the trailer at your house? Out of sight out of mind.

When I finally broke down and rented a storage spot for a car, I got one of these: https://www.lonestartracking.com/tracking-devices/oyster3-waterproof-battery-powered-gps-tracking-device-5g-cat-m1/.   

I think I found it through a thread here.  $13/mo.  It phones in once/day or if it's moved.  3AA lithium batteries are supposed to last 10 years but I think living in a steel storage container means it will go through them faster.

I have one of these Brahma boots. I tried to buy another one, but sounds like they're no longer produced. (Not my photo) wouldn't take much to build one out of scrap. 

Also run a tongue lock (not my photo) 

My other trailer has a Ft. KNOX Lock. Which is essentailly 1/4 steel box, not as pretty as the Proven, but does the same thing for less.

And I also lock my breakaway chains together after wrapping them around the tongue, plus gps tags, in a fenced & gated yard with two GSDs under wired cctv cameras uploaded through wireless internet provider.

Do I think my trailers are "unstealable" - no. Do I believe there are easier trailers to steal- yes. My plan is really just to slow them down, until LE shows up, or hope they decide its not worth it (my trailers arent that nice).

If you don't have a fence or building to contain or hide your trailer, how about removable bollards? 

lobo said:

It's good to park in a light place with a camera. Or maybe you can install fake camera?

Also you can make it look unique. 

Results with cameras have are not  great in my experience.  "Oh look, there's a guy in a hoody stealing Lisa's car.  She probably shouldn't have left the keys in it".  Not useful.  The Husky dealer near me was broken into and several bikes stolen with full video of the whole damn event.  Nothing came of it.

https://www.facebook.com/739048709/videos/pcb.10159145428603710/943422926379009 

A tongue lock won't matter, the thieves just drag the trailer away with chains wrapped around the frame until they can get it to where they can remove the lock. 

Most of the people I know of that have had nice trailers stolen have had them stolen from storage lots, so that's something to think about as well.

It seem like chaining it to a large anchor/tree/power pole is your best bet.

I'm shopping for an open trailer for my autocross car. At my house, it will have to be parked with the tongue about ten feet from the street. 
 

I'm planning on using multiple factors in securing it. There's already a camera and motion lights, I'm going to use a puck type tongue lock, boot on one of the wheels, and chains to a post. 
 

I'm considering blocking it in with a removable bollard or two, but it's not paved. 
 

I can also keep it at a friend's house on their wooded lot next to their house. There's trees to chain around and it's a big lot so I park well away from the street. Only a chain link fence, but better than nothing 

I did the various things suggested here and also parked my van in such a matter they would to steal/move the van.

As a result of this thread, I got these

GPS Tracked Stickers  $5 for 10 and seem like they will be durable. 

I did chuck an airtag in there as well awhile back.

In reply to californiamilleghia :  On Amazon !!!