1452 Eastland Avenue, Lawton, Iowa 51030-8107
Here is an idea I came up with which may help keep your trailer
right where you left it. Just putting a padlock in the latch handle
of the coupler is not very secure, as all a thief would have to do
is remove the adjusting nut and ball latch on the underside of the
coupler, lower the coupler onto his hitch, replace the latch and
adjusting nut, and your trailer is history! See Fig. 1.
This cover effectively blocks any access to the adjusting nut.
By using a high security padlock as pictured, nothing short of a
torch can remove the lock or cover, as bolt cutters cannot reach
the shackle on this type of padlock. See Fig. 2
Notice the long narrow tail of the cover (Fig. 3), that fits
into the hollow underside of the trailer tongue (Fig. 4). This
holds it up tight to the underside of the tongue. The ball that is
welded to the cover then latches into the coupler just as the hitch
ball would. This prevents removing the adjustment nut or lowering
the coupler onto a smaller hitch ball.
The cover was made from an old hitch ball and
3/16‘ steel. It only took about an hour
to make. You may have to modify the design to fit your particular
trailer.
While I won’t guarantee your trailer won’t be stolen,
this cover should prove to be enough deterrent to make a thief look
for an easier target.
I carry my loading ramps chained down to the top of my trailer,
by looping the slack part of the tie-down chain around the
load-binder handle and securing it with a padlock. They should stay
in place also. See Fig. 5. Hope this helps!