Boat trailer thiefs.......

[Pyramid]

I only caught a minute or two of "The Outback Angler" on 1080 am on Saturday morning, but what I did catch sounded like there is a ring of people stealing boat trailers by using bolt cutters on locks in the Willamette Valley.
Hobart Mann also suggested this type of lock that makes it a lot tougher for them to break.
Please fill me in on the details I've missed.

[1pump]

The lock I use doesn't have an exposed shank, so it would be tough to get bolt cutters on it.

Another common way to steal a trailer is to simply unbolt the hitch ball. The thief just bolts it to his rig and off he goes.

[ampersat]

My solution is to have a really ugly homebuilt trailer for my drifter. So far, so good. OK, I didn't plan it that way but it just worked out for me.

Let's keep an eye out for each other out there. Be wary at the parking lots and the folks milling around there. It's sad that suspicion is the answer but what other choice do we have?

[Silver Hilton]

How much of this happens? I would think that trailers with ID plates would be fairly difficult to re-license if stolen, which would limit the demand.

[spinnermaker]

Two years ago me and a fishing buddy went up to Barton{on the clackamas} to get are trailer and there was a guy saying all kinds of bad words. we ask him whats wrong and he said some one had taken hes trailer.

[1pump]

I remember reading Bill Monroe's column many years ago when he made a float trip with a guy on the Wilson (If I recall correctly) and when they got back to their tow rig the DB trailer had been stolen.
This was right in the middle of a rash of trailer thefts on the north coast. It seems to go in cycles from epidemic to very rare. The highest risk (like always) seems to be DB trailers at remote ramps. If a thief sees you launch a DB and head downstream he knows you're not going to be back for quite a while.

Once a miscreant gets away with the trailer there's little chance of getting caught, at least in OR. Trailers under 1800lbs GVW aren't required to display a license plate or even be registered. I had a St Helens cop pull me over once and tell me that my trailer needed a plate (we got into an argument, and it turned out he was wrong) but he didn't bother to check the ID sticker on the trailer frame, so
I also had a utility trailer that was required to have a plate, but I never bothered to put it on and I towed that thing all over the place for years without even a second glance from Johnny Law.
So based on my experience it's a low-risk theft, which makes it even more aggravating. [img]graemlins/eek13.gif[/img]

[Wet_Willy]

3 tips that will help you keep your trailer or at least make it very hard for somebody to steal it. #1 Use the type of lock that "screws" together vs. the typical type where the shank is exposed. #2 Have somebody weld a bead on the threads on the underside of your coupler, the underside of your hitch ball and any other portion of your hitch area where a thief could unscrew or unbolt your tow pkg. #3 Make sure every part of your trailer and truck towing package is locked or secured using #1 or #2.

Bill

[Bait O' Eggs]

A few months ago, I took the boat down to Meldrum bar and tied the boat to the dock so I could work on my trailer.

I was in the parking lot adjusting my bunks, and replacing the winch, when a city officers pulls up. I have the winch in one hand and a wrench in the other when he pulls up and stops. :blush:

I am sure it didnt look good I was thinking this is gonna be a long explain. :tongue:

The officer ask if I had been fishing and I said no, he nodded and drove off. Didnt even ask my name :whazzup:

I was kind of mad he didnt check me out a little more, as far he knew I was ripping some guy off. Guess it was close to quitting time or something.

[Pyramid]

Thanks everybody!

WetWilly: Great advice, will do!

Bait O' eggs: The cop sounds like Officer Wiggens on the Simpsons.

[Wet_Willy]

One other thing, if you can't find somebody to weld a bead on the threads, take a file and file them down. Makes it a lot harder to unbolt...
Bill

[FishinMission]

Hey Bait 'O...Wasn't that about the time Krispy Kreme opened??

FM - LOL

[Twitchs_Tackle]

Somethign like this may work...

[Spanky]

hehe...Leave your trailer parked in downtown portland for long enough and you get one of those for free ^^^