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Old 01-31-2018, 10:41 PM   #21
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Dave, I've never heard of "Pewag chain and the circular locks" and googling didn't help much. Can you enlighten me? Thanks.
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Old 01-31-2018, 11:42 PM   #22
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Originally Posted by h2owmn View Post
Dave, I've never heard of "Pewag chain and the circular locks" and googling didn't help much. Can you enlighten me? Thanks.
From a previous discussion:
Quote:
Originally Posted by paulk View Post
...
This is far more secure:


Unfortunately, the stock ETI wheels won't fit the big chain, but I think the Pewag 9/32" chain might work. I haven't tried it myself. I bought wheels with bigger holes so that I could get the big chain through them.

Pewag Square Security Chain from Westech Rigging Supply

Westechrigging also sells chain specific locks that look good paired with these chains. I think the 3/8” lock looks even nicer than the 7/16” lock, so I’m getting chain and lock sized to 3/8” even though the chain will be a little less beefy.
...
You can see the Pewag chain in the video and at the link to Westech. All chain is made of bits of wire bent into links; this chain is made of square wire instead of round wire.

Dave is apparently talking about a different style of padlock than shown above - are these the type you use, Dave?
disc lock
round padlock
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Old 02-01-2018, 12:39 AM   #23
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Interestingly, my thoughts on this have changed a bit since that post. I still think coupler locks are a waste of time, and I still think the chain is the most secure solution available. After looking at the situation though I concluded that I didn't want to spend the effort getting the chain on and off at each stop. Wrapping the axle should be 99% as effective as wrapping both wheels, but getting the chain around the axle would require crouching and more likely putting a hand or knees on the ground. While in some cases this wouldn't be an issue, I disliked the idea of having to do it in the rain, or in muddy areas, like a campground.

Instead, I went for second best, which I consider to be a boot lock. The Brahma style locks probably top the list in that category as they both lock the wheel and shield the nuts so that the wheel can't be removed. Ascetically, I prefer smaller more compact solutions when possible, so I ended up with a slightly less secure solution of using a simpler wheel lock like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Zone-Tech-Sec...rds=wheel+lock

Notably, a thief can still remove the wheel by removing the nuts and using your spare tire. This is REALLY unlikely given that it would take longer than the time to walk to the next trailer, but if you are obsessive like me, you can buy locking nuts to prevent this. Doing so effectively does the same thing as the Brahma lock, but with less bulk and in a less impeding package. The best locking nuts that I found were the Gorilla Guard Locks 61681B5 ( Gorilla Automotive Products ). I special ordered mine from summitracing.com which was able to order me 2 packs of 5 keyed alike nuts. Ahhh, the nice simplicity of having just one locking nut key, and I only need to deal with it when torqueing the lug nuts. You could achieve 99% of the same security by using just 2 locking nuts on the wheel that you intend to lock.

There are no perfect solutions when it comes to security. Just tradeoffs.
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Old 02-01-2018, 08:57 AM   #24
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Hi Brian
Thank you for your explanation . I am not much on technology and now I know more. I’m sure as advances occur we will see some amazing products that will include moderately priced security devices
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Old 02-01-2018, 09:21 AM   #25
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Yes we used some circular or disk locks on tandem axle trailers , on the inside of the wheels on top of the axle with the shackle tight to the backing plate on the wheel. We used these setups mainly on off season equipment that we weren’t going to use for a month or more and in remote places. It helped. We got a sample of the Pewag chain at a park And recreation conference and had to do some talking to get a 5 foot piece from the sales rep. ( Free). Once home we tried to cut it with 36 inch bolt cutters, both Klein and H.K. Porters. It “bruised”the jaws and started to curl the replaceable jaw bits. Barely marked the chain. I usually don’t go through this much work when camping as I don’t leave the camper in remote areas for extended periods of time. Not my style of recreation these days. But Pewag chain is some real good chain for security and making it hard to access the lock helps. Them damn grinders though, I have no solution. They are loud and attract attention if there’s anyone else around.
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Old 02-01-2018, 01:06 PM   #26
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The best locking nuts that I found were the Gorilla Guard Locks 61681B5 ( Gorilla Automotive Products ). I special ordered mine from summitracing.com which was able to order me 2 packs of 5 keyed alike nuts. Ahhh, the nice simplicity of having just one locking nut key, and I only need to deal with it when torqueing the lug nuts. You could achieve 99% of the same security by using just 2 locking nuts on the wheel that you intend to lock.
Why two security nuts per wheel, instead of just one? Although Gorilla is selling sets for every stud, even they acknowledge that the normal practice is just one per wheel, which is why the normal packaging is a 4-pack.
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Old 02-01-2018, 03:01 PM   #27
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The lock I use with the Pewag chain on my trailer is the Stanley hardened steel one. Very stout and difficult to pick or cut.

https://www.ebay.com/i/183044465112?chn=ps
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Old 02-01-2018, 06:51 PM   #28
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The lock I use with the Pewag chain on my trailer is the Stanley hardened steel one. Very stout and difficult to pick or cut.

https://www.ebay.com/i/183044465112?chn=ps
Can vouch for that. Have the Nemesis wheel lock but also have the chain and Stanley lock . Have used that for locking our generator to trailer frame . Pat
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Old 02-01-2018, 09:59 PM   #29
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We use a hefty chain, not quite as nice as a Pewag, but still pretty robust, and a Kryptonite lock instead of a regular padlock. The Kryptonite is heftier than all but the burliest of padlocks, highly pick resistant, yet way cheaper than most high security padlocks.
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Old 02-01-2018, 10:28 PM   #30
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Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
Why two security nuts per wheel, instead of just one? Although Gorilla is selling sets for every stud, even they acknowledge that the normal practice is just one per wheel, which is why the normal packaging is a 4-pack.
My suggestion of using two bolts is to make it more difficult to use the wheel as a lever against the bolt threads. Actually, now that I think about it you would really need three bolts since with two bolts you can get a lot of leverage if you pull/push at the point on the rim equidistance from both bolts on the farther side of the wheel. Three bolts ensures that there is no special point on the wheel that allows you to obtain such large leverage. You'll probably get maybe only twice the mechanical advantage as opposed to say 10-20 times (making up some plausible sounding numbers here) with a single bolt setup.

One bolt might work in real life. I've never tried to rip a wheel off a vehicle that was attached with only one bolt, so I can only comment with regards to leverage in general.

One point of clarity to add to my original post. If you speak with summitracing.com on the phone, they can ensure that both packs of 5 nuts have the same key, so you get 10 nuts all having a single key AND you get two keys. I leave one key inside the trailer in a hard to find location, and the other key stays at home.
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Old 02-02-2018, 12:17 AM   #31
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I've never tried to rip a wheel off a vehicle that was attached with only one bolt...
I haven't either, and I can't imagine a thief motivated enough to put in that sort of effort, but then criminals are not known for either intelligence or good judgement, so who knows.
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Old 02-02-2018, 08:04 AM   #32
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Intelligence

We had pop machines in the parks for a few years. Vandalism was not bad at first but that coupled with theft led us to take them out. Thieves began using a cordless drill and premium drill bit to drill the door lock out and then they took the money. A popular machine was filled on a rainy Friday night about dusk. The coin box was emptied. Thieves drilled the lock that night and got virtually nothing . We knew this because the machine was full of pop in the morning. They did not know how to empty the change magazine either. You would think they would have at least taken a few sodas out of the 200 or so that were in the machine. Pop machines were all bolted down. Why? Because someone tipped one over trying to steal it and it crushed him between the machine and the tailgate. Darwin Award winner.
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Old 02-02-2018, 08:30 AM   #33
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Originally Posted by sclifrickson View Post
We use a hefty chain, not quite as nice as a Pewag, but still pretty robust, and a Kryptonite lock instead of a regular padlock. The Kryptonite is heftier than all but the burliest of padlocks, highly pick resistant, yet way cheaper than most high security padlocks.
Kryptonite locks are heavy duty but not immune to removal using a grinder. This guy took less than a minute with a grinder to cut his lock off. https://youtu.be/xey9p_vhclc May as well use a cheap lock and chain to give the impression of security, but if someone really wants to get in, there is not much you can do to stop them. Personally, I just make sure that I have good insurance coverage, take a few low cost security measures (locks), don't worry much about security, and enjoy my camping experiences.
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Old 02-02-2018, 10:44 AM   #34
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Our chain and lock are primarily used to lock bicycles, either to a picnic table or tree, if bikes are off the rack, or to the rack itself, if we are parked anywhere sketchy. But it does also work for the trailer itself if we’re feeling extra paranoid. Pretty rare that we do that. We usually just avoid such places to begin with. Every once in a while though, life happens. I just like to be as prepared for it as possible.
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Old 02-21-2018, 05:39 PM   #35
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On the matter of the hitch here’s something new to worry about: I de-hitched a few days ago, home after our recent long trip.

I then removed the stinger from its receiver on my tow. I always do that as soon as I de hitch, ever since someone stole my entire stinger.

That’s when I discovered the hitch ball itself was extremely loose. Extremely loose! It turns out the heavy lock washer that keeps the shank tight against the nut had broken off and was lost. It was gone!

This created play that while towing reamed out the 1 inch shank threads of the hitch ball. The nut was now able to slowly unthread itself. Happy to say it still had an inch to go when I got home.
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Old 02-21-2018, 11:29 PM   #36
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On the matter of the hitch here’s something new to worry about: I de-hitched a few days ago, home after our recent long trip.

I then removed the stinger from its receiver on my tow. I always do that as soon as I de hitch, ever since someone stole my entire stinger.

That’s when I discovered the hitch ball itself was extremely loose. Extremely loose! It turns out the heavy lock washer that keeps the shank tight against the nut had broken off and was lost. It was gone!

This created play that while towing reamed out the 1 inch shank threads of the hitch ball. The nut was now able to slowly unthread itself. Happy to say it still had an inch to go when I got home.

Your story underlines why it’s important to make sure such fasteners are torqued down to the manufacturer’s specified torque. Glad you caught it when you did!
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Old 02-22-2018, 12:23 AM   #37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MyronL View Post
On the matter of the hitch here’s something new to worry about: I de-hitched a few days ago, home after our recent long trip.

I then removed the stinger from its receiver on my tow. I always do that as soon as I de hitch, ever since someone stole my entire stinger.

That’s when I discovered the hitch ball itself was extremely loose. Extremely loose! It turns out the heavy lock washer that keeps the shank tight against the nut had broken off and was lost. It was gone!

This created play that while towing reamed out the 1 inch shank threads of the hitch ball. The nut was now able to slowly unthread itself. Happy to say it still had an inch to go when I got home.
Myron I too found the ball loose a few years back when we got home .we now carry a huge adjustable wrench and that was when I started putting some grease on the ball. Glad you made it home safe and sound . Pat
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Old 02-22-2018, 04:51 AM   #38
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Because of my plethora of stingers, ball mounts I own, I installed a second nut on mine, we used to double nut items when lock washers were not available, so i did both. I too carry an overuse wrench that will handle the nut on the ball mount.
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Old 02-22-2018, 04:52 AM   #39
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Another option is to drill a hole thru the bolt and use a cotter pin.
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Old 02-22-2018, 10:35 AM   #40
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My ball appeared to be secure, although you could rotate it. I couldn't tighten it up, so I left it that way. That allowed it to rotate and wear on the sleeve that the bolt goes through.
The solution was to replace the head of the ProSeries WDH at a cost of $250.
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