Security on our Sovereign

[J5MM]

We are in the process of purchasing a 1976 Sovereign. Our plan is to remodel the interior and treat it as vacation rental and keep it on a piece of land that is literally less than 1 acre so it will be very visible from the street, etc.

I worry about theft and I have read so many stories on the forum where people have had their Airstreams stolen. I was wondering if there is anytime of security I can install to prevent people from hitching her up and hauling her away.

Are there any kind of wheel locks (like the police use when you don't pay your tickets? Not that I know anything of that sort, lol). Or something I can do to prevent her being towed away?

I don't want to remove her wheels. I just want her secure and me to have piece of mind when we are not around.

Also the town where we will be keeping her is virtually crime free, but you just never know.

Thanks so much in advance for any suggestions.

[Aage]

Rittenhouse | Heavy Duty Wheel Lock - Boot Wheel Lock

[garry]

Verison has a device (GPS) that will phone you if it moves I think you have to have a smart phone for the app.

It will also let you find it on your PC should it wonder off.

[Lance M]

Congrats on the Sov! Things like wheel locks, tongue locks and other theft deterrents go a long way to prevent thieves from swiping your trailer. If you werent going to move the trailer you could drive an anchor in the ground and lock and chain the frame to the anchor. You may also want to consider a LoJack type of recovery device in case it is successfully stolen.

[RichHog]

Been there on the stolen Airstream club. There is a device called the Smart Tracker that uses GPS but you don't have to pay monthly fees. Besides that there are no locks, chains or devices that can stop a good thief. They will find a way to take your baby. Keeping it in a covered shed may help and a boot on the wheel. But if it does roll 10' past it's home then you get a text or email where she's headed.

[Kyle]

I think your best bet is going to be layered security. Don't rely on just one method. Put a hitch lock on it (Guardian makes nice ones that look like they'd take a while to defeat.) wrap the chains tightly around that and padlock in place so that has to be removed to get to the hitch lock. Lots of wheel boots to select form. I like the ones from Pit Bull Since it sounds like you won't be moving it much, possibly weld a small ring to the frame and use a security chain to afix it to a ground anchor (or chain the tongue to one, but it would be nicer if it was under the trailer so to be harder to reach). And put a GPS tracker on it, preferably one that will notify you when it is moved. The more things you do, the longer it will take a thief, so the less likely they'll want to attempt it. Nothing will make it impossible, but you can tilt the odds in your favor.

There's also several threads discussing security methods.

[tschat]

I do the standard locks/wheel cable, but I do one thing else that I have never seen referred to on this site. I remove the lever/lock assembly from the receiver. It is one pin and it drops the guts of the receiver lock out of it. They will be unable to keep it on the ball (assuming they get the other locks out of the way). This requires the thief to buy a marvel rebuild kit to lock it down.

Another other trick is I replaced the ends of my leveler jacks with a triangle end. I don't know where else other than my garage they can find a way to raise them w/o more time (this mod takes a welder).

-thomas

[Phrunes]

Get yourself a length of log, any wood'l do. Dig a hole large enough to accomodate said log, about 4 feet deep. Wrap a logging chain around said log and bury that sucker, making sure you dont bury the other end of the chain! Secure the free end of your chain to the trailer in an inconspicuous place. You have now created what is commonly referred to as a dead man's pull. Shouldnt cost ya more than 50 bucks!

Dont forget to add some other type of conspicuous (sp?), device lest you risk the would be thief ripping your axles clean off! I like the tongue locks from master lock, they are highly visible and render the tongue useless to the rotton dirtbag thief. I use this setup on my wakeboard boat and trailer.

[TG Twinkie]

How will you keep someone from breaking in? Will there be full time residents?

[J5MM]

Wow, these are GREAT ideas. I will definitely be implementing more than one security feature, that is for sure. Not sure why I got so focused on just one! The Tongue lock sounds like another additional GREAT choice -- never thought about the consequences that could happen if someone did try and haul her away while ripping the axles clean off. My heart is palpitating already just thinking about that.

TG Twinkie -- good point. Through all of this thought and consideration for keeping her stay "put" I haven't given much thought to someone actually breaking in. Not sure if there is anything I can do to prevent that but just pray and hope for the best?

We plan on using her as a vacation rental - so mosst likely it would be occupied on weekends, not full time.

[Aage]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

How will you keep someone from breaking in? Will there be full time residents?

You can't stop someone determined from breaking in. In fact, a friend of ours never locks his door. He used to, but was broken into once, and the robber(s) used something like a crowbar on the door.

Ever replace a bent out of whack door? Pricey and bothersome.

Just try not to leave anything of much valuer in the TT.

[Phoenix]

We use a "Denver boot"; the same one used by many police, university and other parking officials. Like most locks, it can be defeated, but it difficult to defeat and an obvious visual deterrent recognized by all. See last photo on this post:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f465...tml#post944334

Please note that it is heavy, and it is relatively expensive; but I think you get what you pay for. I figure someone looking for a trailer to steal will probably take the one next door rather than trying to get this thing off.

[NicheVintage]

We recently had our propane tank stolen. So we now have a lock on those as well. They are a lot easier to replace than the whole kit n kaboodle but it still was upsetting and money out of pocket to replace. We are thankful they didn't try to take the AS. I am going to buy one of the "boots" mentioned here.
Seems like a nice additional safety net.

[Jammer]

The presence of witnesses is the best security.

Insurance is second best.

Realize that, in your situation, there are people who can plan a theft in advance and come prepared with towing equipment, cutting tools, and manpower and overcome any measures in a matter of minutes. When these thefts happen usually the trailer is pulled using a chain or whatever a short distance to a remote location where the thieves can remove identifying marks, tongue locks, etc. and prepare for a longer tow.

If you use a chain get security chain.

A chain run between the spokes of both wheels will provide some security and less risk of damage if you or someone else forget it's there than chaining the trailer to a post. Tulsa chain will sell you some with a fabric cover so it won't mar the wheel.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Aage

You can't stop someone determined from breaking in. In fact, a friend of ours never locks his door. He used to, but was broken into once, and the robber(s) used something like a crowbar on the door.

Ever replace a bent out of whack door? Pricey and bothersome.

Just try not to leave anything of much valuer in the TT.

A simple lock will deter young lovers and those looking for a free place to party or sleep. Such uses can be as problematic as the bent doorframe. Weigh the risks and costs.

[Jammer]

Photos

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Phoenix

We use a "Denver boot"; the same one used by many police, university and other parking officials. Like most locks, it can be defeated, but it difficult to defeat and an obvious visual deterrent recognized by all. See last photo on this post:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f465...tml#post944334

Please note that it is heavy, and it is relatively expensive; but I think you get what you pay for. I figure someone looking for a trailer to steal will probably take the one next door rather than trying to get this thing off.

The main limitation of these is that in most cases they can be removed fairly easily by deflating the tire.

[Gringo]

As a brand new AS owner ( not picked up yet) this is all of great interest to me. I have looked at all the devices listed, and I can come up with a way to defeat any of them fairly easily. ESPECIALLY if I can come prepared to steal an Airstream. If I've got a portable generator, my Makita right angle grinder with a cutting wheel on it, bottle jack, spare receiver with a sleeve and bolt for an Airstream tongue....I think that's about it.

After thinking it over, it seems to me that anything one does mechanically has the real consequence of resulting in physical damage to the trailer, no matter what. Chances are, if someone wants it and scopes it out, they can come back and get it.

What we REALLY want is to recover the unit undamaged. Maybe the tracking systems are the way to go, but wouldn't a savvy thief just not move the trailer until he had found it? Only a few places it can be, right? A five minute search?

So what does that leave us? Moderate security against amateurs, and insurance out the wazoo for the rest. And if it's gone....go order yer new one!

So, the intelligent approach to me would be to take reasonable precautions to stop the non-professional or opportunist, but not put too much in the way of someone who knows his way and has a nice truck full of tools.

Do the insurance companies require anything in the way of theft deterrent?

One of these cuts just took a few minutes just last week:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

and this steel is twice as thick as the tubing in some of those boots.

[DKB_SATX]

Originally Posted by Gringo

~~~

What we REALLY want is to recover the unit undamaged. Maybe the tracking systems are the way to go, but wouldn't a savvy thief just not move the trailer until he had found it? Only a few places it can be, right? A five minute search?

So what does that leave us? Moderate security against amateurs, and insurance out the wazoo for the rest. And if it's gone....go order yer new one!

~~~

Well, unless you put a big sign somewhere that says "THIS TRAILER EQUIPPED WITH <insert tracking system brand here>" the thief will, at least at present, probably assume it's one of the thousands of travel trailers with no tracking system and may just haul it away. I would never publicize whether or not I had such a device, and certainly not what it looked like or where I had installed it. You're right that there are only a few practical places to put it, but the thief has to think about it being there to waste time checking those places. It's a fairly cheap way to at least try to recover your toy before it's re-sold or (in the case of one forum member) sold for scrap.

Honestly, from his response, I think *I* may have been more venomously angry about the fact that it was sold for scrap than he was, and I didn't even have a trailer of my own yet. Then again, I'm the vengeful type.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Gringo

Do the insurance companies require anything in the way of theft deterrent?

No but if you have a loss that they think was a result of poor judgment it may be difficult or expensive to get coverage in the future.

One of these cuts just took a few minutes just last week:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

and this steel is twice as thick as the tubing in some of those boots.

Angle grinders are loud and shoot sparks and are rarely a tool of choice for thieves who as a rule prefer stealth and like to work under the cover of darkness.

Anything will fall to the grinder in time but with hardened chain or padlocks it will take a while and may require stopping to replace a wheel.