We traveled, lived, and worked full-time in our 43′ diesel pusher motorhome for more than 20 years. That meant we were with our rig just about all the time. But now that we’ve become part-time RVers who tow (and store) a travel trailer, there are some new things that we never had to consider before. Among them is the issue of trailer theft prevention.
In this post, we’re sharing what we’ve learned about the best ways to prevent trailer theft when you’re away from your rig, especially when it’s stored for extended periods of time. This information applies to travel trailers, as well as boat and utility trailers.
After reading about the trailer anti-theft measures we use, check out our video, embedded below, where we show everything in detail.
Is There a Fail-Safe Way to Prevent Trailer Theft?
Before we get into our chosen methods of trailer theft prevention, it’s important to note that nothing is 100% theft-proof. A determined professional with enough time, privacy, knowledge, and equipment can eventually defeat just about any anti-theft measures. So, unfortunately, the answer to this question is “No” — there’s no ironclad way to prevent your trailer from being stolen.
But we don’t want someone to be able to simply back a pickup truck with a trailer hitch on it up to our camper, connect the two, and drive away. Without some serious deterrent, it can be as easy as that. Taking a few steps to make your trailer really hard to steal can save a lot of headaches. It can even prevent a thief from trying to drive off with your rig, let alone succeeding.
Our goal is to achieve the most robust possible theft deterrence. We want our rig to be both difficult to steal and as unattractive a target as possible. If someone is bold enough to try to steal your trailer despite visible, substantial anti-theft measures in place, the more difficulty they have, the more likely they’re to give up and move on to an easier target.
Also note that when your trailer is stored, the more remote and unprotected the storage location is, the more aggressively you’ll want to secure your trailer. Privacy is a thief’s best friend. That makes indoor storage a double-edged sword. It prevents would-be thieves from seeing your trailer at all, but if they know it’s in there, an indoor location can also provide the privacy they need to do their dirty work. Ideally, if your anti-theft measures are intimidating enough, potential thieves will just keep moving along without even trying to defeat them.
Don’t underestimate that “intimidation” factor, as you really don’t want anyone to even try to steal your stuff. We were the victims of damage caused by would-be thieves attempting to steal our E-bikes outside Phoenix, AZ, a few years ago. They weren’t successful, but they cut up our aluminum bike rack pretty badly… after dulling their saw blade on our hardened chain. 😉
If your trailer is stored outside in a remote or unmonitored location, you’ll want to make trailer theft prevention a priority by making your rig an unlikely target and making theft as difficult as possible.
Besides storage situations, you’ll also want to prevent trailer theft while it’s attached to your tow vehicle. We’ll cover both below and share the gear we use to keep our RV secure at all times.
How to Prevent Trailer Theft When the Trailer Is Attached to the Towing Vehicle
Taking the following steps can prevent trailer theft when your trailer is attached to a towing vehicle:
Trailer Coupler Latch Lock
Use a quality coupler latch lock to prevent the trailer’s coupler from being removed from the hitch ball. This lock also doubles as a safety device, ensuring that the coupler latch can’t come open while towing, which could allow the trailer to bounce off the ball.
- The UCS-79 fits on virtually every coupler and provides extreme versatility! Use it on your boat trailers, kayak trailers, and more.
- Every Lock, One Key: Use one key for all your security solutions – trailer doors, hitch pins, Pelican cases, or cam locks! The pick/bump resistant...
You should be able to find an appropriate coupler latch lock here for whatever style coupler you have (there are quite a number of different types).
Hitch Pin / Draw Bar / Stinger Lock
You can also use a hitch pin lock to secure the trailer hitch’s draw bar (also known as a “stinger”) into the towing vehicle’s hitch receiver. You’ll need to know 1) The diameter of the hole in your towing vehicle’s receiver, as well as 2) The width of the receiver opening so that the hitch pin lock will fit properly. Armed with that information, you can find the correct Trailer Hitch Pin Lock here.
- PACLOCK’s “80-Series” sets the standard as the best locking hitch pin out there. This lock features a range of pin sizes, making it the most...
- The pin is made with high yield strength stainless steel materials, which are very difficult to machine and is not susceptible to rusting like 302 or...
How to Prevent Trailer Theft When the Trailer is Parked or Stored
Trailer theft prevention when the trailer is parked or stored is a bit more complex, of course, but there are good products on the market to help with this goal. Here are several things you’ll want to consider and steps to take to prevent your trailer from being stolen when it’s parked (detached from the towing vehicle) or stored for a period of time.
Obscurity
Hiding your parked/stored trailer from prying eyes is one of the first steps toward keeping it safe. Inside a locked garage is best. If a thief doesn’t know it’s there, they won’t be able to steal it. Keeping your trailer hidden from casual view can be a good first step to keeping it safe, but that isn’t always possible… and as mentioned above, it can also be a double-edged sword, providing privacy for a thief to work on defeating your security measures if they do know you’re trailer is stored there.
Indoors or out, hidden or visible, there are several other steps we highly recommend to keep your trailer as secure as possible.
Secure the Trailer Coupler
Since the coupler is the mechanism a thief would use to connect their vehicle to your trailer to steal it, securing the coupler is a great deterrent. There are two ways to accomplish this:
- Lock/secure the latch on your trailer’s coupler in the closed position (as noted in the previous section). At a minimum, this can help prevent a casual thief from being able to get the coupler attached to a hitch ball. Obviously, the higher the quality of the lock you use, the more secure the latch will be. But… locking the coupler’s latch alone isn’t the most secure method for theft-proofing your trailer when it’s in storage.
- Use a trailer coupler lock to truly secure the coupler and prevent it from being used to attach to a hitch ball. Unfortunately, many common coupler locks provide only the appearance of security but are relatively easy to defeat.
After tons of research, we chose the PACLOCK High-Security Trailer Coupler Lock. It’s heavily armored to both deter and prevent theft. It’s a brute of a locking system, and we’re confident that it’s so robust and difficult to remove that we can sleep easy at night, even when our trailer is in storage.
We have an underslung-style coupler on our Outdoors RV, but PACLOCK makes versions for many popular coupler styles. Click the Amazon link below, and you’ll then be able to select from a range of PACLOCK coupler locks to fit your trailer’s coupler:
- Protects 2-5/16” Underslung/Jayco Couplers: Patent-pending 2-piece system simplifies installs, saves time in harsh weather, & prevents lost pucks...
- Patented “cone puck” inherently prevents frontal drilling attacks common on traditional hockey-pucks. Paired with industry-leading 304 stainless...
Secure the Trailer Safety Chains
So, a would-be thief finds your coupler securely locked and disabled. One tactic they might try is using your trailer’s safety chains to tow it away. While using chains alone is a somewhat precarious way to tow a trailer, they can work long enough for the thief to reach a more secluded nearby location. And remember… privacy allows them the time to work on disabling your coupler lock without being detected.
It’s essential to make it as difficult as possible for a potential thief to use your trailer’s safety chains to pull it away from your parking or storage area. Our PACLOCK coupler lock features built-in chain security. And it’s not just a padlock, but the same armored high-security steel housing that protects the coupler itself.
Render the Safety Chains Incapable of Being Used
Because we’ve chosen the PACLOCK High-Security Coupler Lock, we’re able to lock the chains inside its armored housing in a way that prevents them from being used to move the trailer.
Our trailer’s safety chains are locked inside our armored high-security PACLOCK Coupler Lock, making them inaccessible to a would-be thief.
Remove the Safety Chains
There are various ways to remove your safety chains when your trailer is in storage. However, if you choose this method, be sure that anything you add to your chains or trailer to allow their removal doesn’t introduce a weak point that could fail in the event of an emergency. An example of this would be using a carabiner that’s not rated to handle the weight of your trailer.
We prefer to keep our chains in place as installed by the factory and secure them inside our armored PACLOCK coupler lock (since we have and use it anyway).
Secure the Trailer’s Wheels
Preventing your trailer’s wheels from rolling will also help stop someone from towing it away. There are several types of wheel/tire locks on the market, some more difficult to defeat than others.
Wheel Clamps & Boots
Wheel clamps or boots can be a good first step, but it’s important to remember that many can be defeated with some force. Here are a couple of examples of available wheel clamps:
- 【STRONG and DURABLE】：Wheel clamp lock body is made of high strength steel plate. Crescent-shaped lock cylinder, compared to other general lock...
- 【HIGHLY VISIBLE AND SAFE】：The bright yellow and red color of car boot is a fine choice for maximum visibility in both day and night.The trailer...
- Secure & Reliable: Fit Wheel Diameter: 15.7"-29.5"; Max Mouth Opening: 15.0". The wheel lock is made of heavy-duty steel to ensure sturdiness, thus...
- Visible & Real Deterrent: Our car boot features a very bright yellow color, and its visually deterrent effect keeps thieves away. Besides, the rugged...
Again, the trouble with clamps and boots is that, given sufficient time, privacy, and tools, they can be relatively easily disabled and removed. The “clamp” type has another weakness: they don’t cover the lug nuts. That means all a thief has to do is jack up your trailer, use a tire iron to remove the lug nuts, set your wheel and tire aside (with the clamp still locked in place!), and install another wheel.
Don’t think a thief has another wheel & tire handy to install in place of your locked one? They can easily bring one with them… or even use your own spare tire to make their getaway! How awful would it be to arrive at your storage facility to get ready for a weekend camping trip, only to find nothing but a single wheel from your trailer, with your wheel clamp still locked uselessly in place?
Here’s a video showing how even some of the most expensive devices can be defeated with surprising ease.
Hardened Chain System
After seeing firsthand how a hardened chain and high-security padlock saved our E-bikes from being stolen, we decided to take the same approach for our trailer’s wheels. We feed a hardened PACLOCK chain through our trailer’s wheels, securing it with a PACLOCK Block Lock hidden shackle padlock. This locks the two wheels to each other, making sure the trailer can’t be rolled away.
A hardened chain and hidden shackle padlock secure the wheels of our travel trailer, preventing it from rolling.
While a hardened high-security chain and hardened hidden-shackle padlock can be an expensive option, we went with this after having our bikes saved by using one. Considering that our trailer is FAR, FAR more valuable than our bikes, we decided that in the grand scheme of things, it’s pretty cheap insurance.
- The “UCS-17A-1100” and 6ft of 1/2” square chain kit provides heavy-duty security for trailer wheels, motor bikes, and gates. This kit doesn’t...
- The Block-Lock is machined from 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum for superior grinding resistance. A 304 stainless anti-saw pin is hydraulic press fitted...
We mentioned above that a thief can simply remove trailer wheels with clamps on them, replace them with another wheel & tire, and simply drive away. So we know what you’re thinking: How is our chain solution any different? Well, it isn’t exactly. A clamp or chain alone won’t prevent the removal of a wheel. But a set of high-security wheel locks can.
A good set of wheel locks can help foil anyone thinking about swapping a wheel. We chose Advanced Wheel Locks for both our trailer and our truck, as they’re highly rated for being extremely difficult to remove. Their design and shape make removal without the key extremely difficult, and they have one of the most clever and unique keying systems we’ve ever seen.
This is one of our wheel locks from Advanced Wheel Locks, which we use on both our trailer and our pick-up truck. This additional component of our trailer theft prevention strategy makes it extremely difficult to swap out a wheel.
Here’s a video on the best car wheel theft deterrent lug nuts:
Failsafe
In case your methods of trailer theft prevention fail, you can install some form of tracker to assist in recovering your trailer in the event it does get stolen. There are RV GPS trackers on the market, or you can use a product like an Apple AirTag to do something similar. Just be sure to hide the tracker as carefully as possible because if a thief suspects it’s there, they may be able to remove or disable it.
- Keep track of and find your items alongside friends and devices in the Find My app
- Key finder and locator for your wallet, luggage, backpack, and more. Share an AirTag with up to 5 people, so items that everyone uses can be tracked...
Why We Chose PACLOCK for Trailer Theft Prevention
We chose PACLOCK products for several reasons:
- Their reputation for making quality products is extremely good. They offer a wide range of lock styles to secure all sorts of gear, covering just about every possible situation where you’d like to lock something up.
- We also appreciated PACLOCK’s Universal Cylinder System (UCS). It enables many of their locks to be keyed alike, reducing the number of keys you need to carry around. All four of our PACLOCKs are keyed alike, which we really love when it’s time to secure the trailer (or take it out of storage).
- We also value the fact that PACLOCK is an American manufacturer with admirable principles. Their website notes that their locks are “made in the USA with global components by a family manufacturer hiring veterans & people with disabilities.”
So, these are the methods we’ve chosen to keep our travel trailer safe and secure. As we noted at the beginning of this post, a determined thief may be capable of foiling any of these and other security attempts, but our goal is to make our rig as unattractive a target as possible and to make stealing it really difficult!
Here’s our video showing everything we do to prevent our trailer from being stolen:
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MikeU
Monday 6th of October 2025
For absolute piece of mind I use a lithium AA battery GPS attached by 40lb velcro to a hidden high-or-side spot with visibility to the sky. works in my RV and on the back of the glovebox inside my subaru cars. Lonestar allows you to pick and pay as you go monthly for tracking... realtime was within 60 seconds when my daughter was lost in a blizzard on I80. Not affiliated, just amazed at this product: the Oyster. https://www.lonestartracking.com/tracking-devices/oyster3-4g-5g-waterproof-battery-powered-gps-tracking-device/
TheRVgeeks
Tuesday 7th of October 2025
Thanks, @MikeU... sounds like a good system, we'll have to check it out.
Dan Smith
Sunday 5th of October 2025
What is the recommended way to reduce the risk of theft from the trailer contents. Are there mire secure trailer door locks and storage bin locks?
TheRVgeeks
Sunday 5th of October 2025
If you're concerned about it, Dan... you can replace/upgrade the locks on your RV's main entry door(s) as well as any basement door locks, but it depends on the make/model/style of your door handles and/or locks. For instance, many RVs have cam-style locks for their basement doors that can be upgraded using a product like a PacLock replacement Cam Lock (like these that you can get keyed alike: https://amzn.to/4mUg2Jk).
Your entry door(s) may be a bit harder to upgrade and you'd likely need to replace the whole door handle mechanism with something like an RVLock Keyless Entry system.
AK Fish
Sunday 5th of October 2025
A locksmith made a video showing how insecure PacLock "puck" by opening one in under 60 sec from a coke can. They redesigned it so make sure you have the NEW design. Introduced around April 2024, the 77-Series features a patent-pending two-piece design with an integrated stainless steel cone puck. The puck is built into the lock's housing, blocking the shackle's locking mechanisms from being accessed by shims made from materials like a soda can.
The thing with all the hitch locks is that thieves will just hook chains around the tongue and drag the trailer away without properly "hitching." Like all other anti-theft devices, they are a deterrent to opportunists, but aren't going to stop a pro.
Heck, I just found out my TriMAX wheel with a cylindrical lock can be defeated in 15 seconds (of course theives can always just jack it up and remove the wheel that is locked).
Add a hidden GPS tracker in the frame or some other location to track and locate the trailer when it gets stolen.
TheRVgeeks
Sunday 5th of October 2025
FWIW, one of our first exposures to the PACLOCK brand came from one of our favourite YouTube channels, the Lockpicking Lawyer. He’s reviewed many of their products in his videos, and has a lot of positive things to say about them. Of course, nothing will stop a determined thief with the knowledge, tools, time and privacy to get what they want. But adding multiple layers of protection, like the huge PACLOCK chain we put through our wheels, and the Advanced Wheel Locks we included in our arsenal, definitely makes us a less attractive target.
Dom
Tuesday 1st of April 2025
Any advice or product recommendations for 5th wheel campers?
TheRVgeeks
Tuesday 8th of April 2025
Hi Dom, sorry for the delayed reply. We don’t have any recommendations for you, but our friends Tim & Cait of MortonsOnTheMove.com have an article with recommendations: https://www.mortonsonthemove.com/king-pin-lock/. Hope that helps!
TheRVgeeks
Friday 4th of April 2025
Good question, Dom. We haven’t looked into security products specific to a fifth-wheel, so don’t have any advice for you. But maybe someone else will chime in with ideas?
LSS
Saturday 19th of October 2024
Thank goodness I had a good ball/tongue lock and door locks because last weekend my wheels and rims were stolen, which stings, but it could have been much worse because they didn't break inside and they couldn't steal the whole trailer. Definitely getting wheel locks now for the trailer AND the truck wheels.