My back was sore and I figured that my truck was safe parked in front of my own house. I was going to be driving around to the garage later to unload the truck so I left the trailer hitch in the receiver without a locking pin. It was one thirty in the afternoon about three blocks from the local university campus.
I wasn’t able to get a good look at the thief but it shows how quickly a thief will steal your stuff. I’m sure wishing that I’d taken the hitch off or put up with the grit/grime and inconvenience of a hitch pin lock assembly.
PLEASE TAKE THIS VIDEO AS A HINT TO BUY A HITCH PIN LOCK ASSEMBLY!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09l38Yjecbs
Replies
I used my utility trailer the other day, and afterwards removed the lock pin and stuck it back in the glove compartment, as is my usual practice. Then the wife and I went out shopping.
Went several places, then stopped at the grocery. As I was opening the back hatch to put the groceries in I see the drawbar still sitting there in the receiver. It had slid out about 2" but was still there.
I'll have to get into a habit of using a locking hitch pin and keeping the key in the glove box where it won't get lost. The most annoying thing was having to hook up a different hitch for another trailer and realizing that the thief also stole the pin that I use on all my different hitches...
I'm reluctant to leave the locking pin in the receiver, since I'm a bit afraid it would get corroded and not come out. It's SS, supposedly, but the hitch area gets a lot of salt in the winter.
A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It's a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity. --Jimmy Carter
Even thought I am not the injured party here, that makes me so mad if I saw that while driving by I'd probably run the creep over right on the sidewalk. Crime of passion ya know.My business got hit by vandals over Halloween and it just makes me see red! What a senseless act to take or destroy another's property!(Thanks for the reminder I need to get a locking stinger pin)
Some folks say "I've never been a crime victim." Wrong they are!
Every time you lock a door, or have a key made, you are a crime victim. Yhink of all the money you have spen over the years to prevent being the next victim.
Less visible, but just as real, is the emotional cost. Every crime makes you less trusting of those around you, one fear closer to paranoia.
Recent changes in technology now mean that there are cameras nearly everywhere - and the cameras are getting better. At a local mini-mart, it was a real eye-opener to see just who was doing the stealing.
The first lesson: forget the pap about poverty, crime, etc. While this mini-mart is located in a 'poor' area of town, NONE of the stealing has been driven by desperation. Instead, three motives seem to ba at play:
1) There are the 'wiseguy wanna-bes,' whose entire life revolves around screwing someone. They'll have a pocket full of cash, yet steal just for the charge they get from it;
2) "The shiny thing." Ordinarily decent folks will steal something just because it's nice and shiny - and under their nose for too long. Pure impulse. Oddly enough, a minor amount of intoxication and being left alone for a moment seems to increase the temptation; and,
3) Contempt. Folks will steal as a way of expressing their rage, contempt, and resentment toward the shopkeeper. Such emotion is usually based upon the race of the shopkeeper.
Looking at that tape, it appears that motive #1 was at work ... the guy was looking around way too much. All it took was the sun glinting off the ball, and he was 'on auto' from then on. It mattered not whether he had a use for the thing ... he could take it, so he felt impelled to take it. One of those "quality of life" things that turn a good neighborhood into a dump.
Don't just blame "drugs" either. Part and parcel of the drug life is an "us vs. them" attitude, where they believe themselves to be at war with 'normal' society. Part of it is a draw towards the 'outlaw' life. If blue band-aids were illegal, these folks would cut themselves just so they could wear one.
"The system" has two choices; either it learns to successfully deal with this sort of thing, or there will ultimately be a backlash. We may soon see the day when a defendent produces his own tape, to justify the crime he committed. See, your honor, here's the "victim" keying my car, that's why there's a tape of me keying his face." I bet a jury would aquit if that were the case.
Yeah, I've had my car rifled through three times, at least. Took two (walkman-style) CD players and some cash (and my prescription safety glasses). Last time did a little damage to the car.I know that there are a few "poor folk" in this town, but not very many -- mostly blue-collar working folks and a strong smattering of white-collar (and a large number of retirees). (And 70-80% Republican.) Reasonably sure the jobs were done by teens just looking for a thrill, and maybe for a little extra money. They certainly didn't "need" anything bad enough to have to steal it.
A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It's a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity. --Jimmy Carter
I had to buy a locking drawbar pin ($16!!) when I got the new truck because friggin' Canadian Tire didn't stock the cheaper plain ones. Left it on the truck for a month while hauling a trailer back and forth on a regular basis, and then went to remove it.
Hah. Grinder with a cut-off wheel....
Went to NAPA and bought a regular pin. Three bucks.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....
Grade 8 bolt and nylock.Get one the same diameter as the pin. And long enough that there will be about half an inch of threads sticking out the end of the nylock, once installed. Drill a small hole through the bolt, in that half inch of threads, and pin it through with a hitch pin. (Double security that it will not work loose.)I believe a grade 8 bolt has better sheer strength than the pin. Normal pin, or locking, either one.The theft in the video would not have happened had he used a bolt.It would have taken a couple wrenches or other tools at the least, to get it undone. And it would have taken too long to get it off there.A determined thief would get it. But then a determined thief would get it even if you used a locking pin.And when you yourself want it off of there again, it will break loose with the right wrenches. No cutting wheel in the grinder, needed. Solves the problem of a lost key, as well...It's all fun and games, until someone puts an eye out..You are always welcome at Quittintime
Good idea. Thieves are lazy, and usually ill-equipped. Not always, but often.Scott.
Problem is, owners are lazy too. If I had to go to all that trouble to install/remove my drawbar every time, I'd just weld the sucker in place and learn not to whack my shins on it...eventually.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
A bit off topic ... but aren't many of us tradesmen, with dedicated work trucks?
That said ... I don't think I've ever seen a utility body, or bumper, designed with locking storage accessible from the rear of the truck, sized specifically for trailer hitches and accessories! I don't know about you guys, but I find it necessary to carry two 'inserts' (with different 'drops'). two trailer balls, those magnetic tennis-ball alignment gizmos, various light plug adapters, a gadget to test my wiring, a pair of wrenches, etc .... that stuff adds up! Oh, and a place to store the tongue lock while you have the trailer hooked up.
With the weather we've got up here, only guys doing excavation or landscaping work run pickups without a cap. That makes the whole cargo box lockable storage.
I only have to carry one drawbar; the drop is good for pretty much anything I ever have to haul. I also have to carry an adapter to plug the flat-fours on most utility trailer into my GM 6-pin connector. I think I have a spare 1-7/8 ball in the truck somewhere but I don't remember the last time I needed it.
Used to keep two different sized balls bolted to the actual bumper of the old truck (it had 3 holes) and never used the drawbar.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
A couple months ago a contractor carefully put the end of his rig on top the trailer with some 6x6. So It wouldn't get stolen during a long weekend. So they just broke into the trailer took everything, then lit it on fire. Trailer gone. Telehandeler gone.
Just a quick $200,000 insurance for maybe 2 large in tools on the black market.Public stonings Sunday morning after breakfast. This past weekend a guy stole a truck with a boat attached and drilled it 2 bedrooms deep and ran away, no one hurt by luck.
The more I hear about tool trailer thefts and break-ins, the less I think I want one. Even tho I kinda do.
Nah.
Sort of like putting up a big sign on the side of the road saying, 'FREE TOOLS HERE!' They know what's inside there.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
Exactly.I carry my spare tire on a rack on the back of the truck, so I never get close enough to the hitch, to knock my shins on it.My hitch stays on all the time.BUT... If I need to change it for some reason, (And I have, quite a few times.), I am able to do so, very easily.A padlock only keeps out the honest, the lazy, and the opportunists.Same with a locking hitch pin, or the bolt.No matter what you do, if someone is determined to take it, they will.The bolt is just more convenient, than the lock...It's all fun and games, until someone puts an eye out..You are always welcome at Quittintime
I stole one once...
one of my warehouses is close to where they use to play professional sports and have large concerts... I'd let some friends kids baseball teams charge to park on my property to raise money for their tams and supplies... I was always onsite to make sure there were no problems... cook em hotdogs... help em line up the cars ect...
so this guy parks his car and refuses to pay... tells the kids he parks in the same spot every game and never pays... I enter the picture and explain it's my property and yes sometimes no one is there to charge for parking and does he want to pay for all the times he's never paid or just for tonite? Well he cusses me pretty good and marches off not pay'n... now my choices are... have his car towed... not a problem cause we furnish the cops with hotdogs and cokes while there... if towed it will cost him about $300 to get it out of the impound lot... or... he has a nice hitch... I didn't really steal it... I took it out and laid it right under the rear bumper... he just happened to drive off without it that nite...
he could have paid the $5 parking... or the $300 tow bill... but the $25 hitch and ball is what he left behind... I hope he really needed it when he found out it he had "left it somewhere"
nope I don't feel bad at all
p
I woulda had him towed. Along with at least two flat tires.
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
You need a truck with one of these:Only available on Nissan Titan as far as I know. I thought it was gimmicky when I bought the truck. But man I use it A LOT. Lockable with the ignition key, but not weathertight. The PERFECT spot to store hitch balls and straps.
Edited 11/4/2009 8:35 am ET by frontiercc2
I like it! It reminds me of the old Ford pick-ups, that had a similar compartment at the from of the bed, passenger side, for the spare tire, etc.
Looking at tne technical marvels that roam the highways today, I sometimes think that the engineers and stylists must be taking the bus to work .... for they certainly overlook everyday items more often than not.
You old fella. I remember them to ! They fit a 24 of beer in the bottom and put the fence repairing tools on top. When the local RCMP pulled us over. No we don't have booze ( under age). Then we headed off to this on place were you could see any one approach and surrounding town. This place after many years is still called " Pregnancy Flats".