Stolen trailer

A buddy of mine tells the funniest story about having his trailer stolen at a boat ramp in the middle of nowhere. Although it wasn't funny at the time, he laughs about it now. He kills me when he describes looking all around the parking lot for his truck and trailer even though there aren't but 2 vehicles there. It literally took several minutes before he realized that the truck without the trailer was HIS. This was way before cell phones so he had to walk back to the boat and tell his buddy that he was going to have to wait with the boat while he went and found a boat trailer to borrow.

Before he told me that story I never used a trailer lock. I use one now.

Thanks for the reminder...I need to go get one too.

You may want to get a lock for your reciever also. I know of a theft of a trailer where he had the tongue locked but not the reciever so the thief took the pin from the reciever and took trailer with tongue locked and put the unlocked reciever in his vehicle and drove off.

If you are using a reciever hitch they do pull the pin and steal the trailer still locked [nice people out there] :eek:

Hey I stole a boat trailer one day right in broad daylite the same way! My son and his partner was prefishing for a bass tourney in my 201 pro I called him to see how he was doing but no answer,he called back awhile later maybe 10 mins.I asked how they was doing he acted kinda strange but told me they wasn't doing any good and that he thought he had busted my boat he was really tore up.He said Dad the boat is full of water.He had his partner a 300 lber on the very front and the pumps running but wasn't getting any water out .I told him to start to the ramp but to run around the bank he said he was 10 miles from the ramp but he would try he was so tore up so scared he called me back and said he tryed but he had to beach the boat at another ramp and that nothing but the motor was keeping the boat from sinking I told him i was on my way to get the trailer from his truck he said it was locked got to his truck pulled right up to it pulled the pin on the reciever backed it up and put in on my truck there was 8 people at the ramp no one said squat took all of 10 mins and i was off to get the boat.it turned out that a fitting had broken off the livewell and was empting into the hull.

Remember...you need a locking ball too. They will just take the ball off and put in on their truck and drive away.

The Hound

Man you have to lock up everything now. I remember a time when you back in and unloaded pulled your truck up and leave the keys in the floorboard. Windows down so it wouldn't be hot when you got back. Now they will pull the wires out to sell the copper from them.

i bet none of them belonged to crappie .com

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Originally Posted by Sea Nymph

i bet none of them belonged to crappie .com

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Although I dont know everybody here, I agree.;)

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Originally Posted by buflew

Hey I stole a boat trailer one day right in broad daylite the same way! My son and his partner was prefishing for a bass tourney in my 201 pro I called him to see how he was doing but no answer,he called back awhile later maybe 10 mins.I asked how they was doing he acted kinda strange but told me they wasn't doing any good and that he thought he had busted my boat he was really tore up.He said Dad the boat is full of water.He had his partner a 300 lber on the very front and the pumps running but wasn't getting any water out .I told him to start to the ramp but to run around the bank he said he was 10 miles from the ramp but he would try he was so tore up so scared he called me back and said he tryed but he had to beach the boat at another ramp and that nothing but the motor was keeping the boat from sinking I told him i was on my way to get the trailer from his truck he said it was locked got to his truck pulled right up to it pulled the pin on the reciever backed it up and put in on my truck there was 8 people at the ramp no one said squat took all of 10 mins and i was off to get the boat.it turned out that a fitting had broken off the livewell and was empting into the hull.

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Happened to me last year. Luckily I recognized what was happening after only a few minutes of my bilges coming on, turned off the livewell pump put the fish on a rope stringer, hung them over the side of the boat and kept fishing.
Wife was with me, she's usually reading and not aware (so I thought) of happenings around the boat. Now when we start out she looks back at that livewell and asks "it's not leaking is it?":)

I've not had anything stolen but a few years ago while scouting out the ramps at Lake Eufaula in OK had a State Trooper stop and question me. He stated that several trailers had been stolen recently.

Scott

You know you guys are right, this happens more than you think. I never could understand why you would steal a Boat trailer just to cut it up and sell it as scrap metal... I see the aftermath about 2-3 times a summer...
Just not how I was raised... Now my wife thinks I go a little overboard on locking it up, but to be honest with all of you... If they want it They will take it... We had one in East TN that had been cut off and chopped up at the boat ramp... hey they left the wheels and axle....

Aww fake some rust and paint it rusty muddy white. Don't look aluminum and nobody would be caught dead pulling the thing.

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Originally Posted by klight1122

Man you have to lock up everything now. I remember a time when you back in and unloaded pulled your truck up and leave the keys in the floorboard. Windows down so it wouldn't be hot when you got back. Now they will pull the wires out to sell the copper from them.

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I guess i'm lucky here in central Mo i still do it that way.....it probably will catch up with me some day:mad:

Spare tire / wheels also a hot item. They took my truck spare from under vehicle one time. Now I have everything locked up with chain or cable just to keep the honest people honest.

They may knock off the cheap lock I got on my coupler, but good luck
to 'em if they try to unscrew the ball :D Drug it a few times coming
in/out of steep driveways and about 1/4" of threads are rolled over on
bottom of the stud :D Only way it's coming off is with hot wrench.

Years ago around here Silverados were such a hot commodity that folks
wouldn't lock their trailers to the ball... If it wasn't locked, most times
they'd just drop the trailer and steal your truck. Still out a truck, but
not as bad as having boat in water and no trailer!

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Originally Posted by frank lawhead

If you are using a reciever hitch they do pull the pin and steal the trailer still locked [nice people out there] :eek:

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I bought a locking pin!! Good Luck

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Originally Posted by frank lawhead

If you are using a reciever hitch they do pull the pin and steal the trailer still locked [nice people out there] :eek:

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No problem..........my reciever hitch is rusted in and the ball is also rusted.:D :D

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Originally Posted by Bob # 1

No problem..........my reciever hitch is rusted in and the ball is also rusted.:D :D

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Same here - have the parts rust-welded together (see how I say it like I planned it!:D ), good luck getting the hitch out of the receiver or the ball off the hitch on my truck. Short of a cutting torch, neither is coming off.

A couple of years ago a guy had his trailer stolen. While he was away looking for another trailer they took his boat, apparently with his trailer.

I've been lucky I guess. All I've had stolen is someone cut my trailer pigtail off at the hole in the tongue, took the adapter too.

There were some boats stolen around Louisville back in the 70s or early 80s where they'd steal trailer and one guy would wait at another ramp for a boat to be left unattended. He'd jump into the boat and take off. No way to chase him without a boat, then he'd meet his buddies at another ramp and load up before anybody could do anything. They'd pull the outboard and leave the rest of it to be found.

I just leave all my straps on my boat when I back in the water, pull the reciever pin and go fishing. The trailer wheels seem to help roll over stumps and rocks when I fish shallow water. Although it has slowed down the motor considerably.lol

the only things i have had stolen were my bearing buddies off my trl. oh ya someone always steals the fish out of my livewell , because its always empty

Me and a friend of mine (Nearly 500 lbs in the boat) were fishing this winter when the fitting to his livewell pump snapped off. I was fishing in the back and kept hearing water rushing as if the water pump on the motor was still spitting out water. Looked down and we were taking in water by the gallons. Should of seen our fat buts flying down the lake trying to get back to the boat ramp.

wrong thread.
sorry

Wouldn't you just love to catch someone in the act of stealing your trailer?

Happened to my buddy.
Came back to the launch and found out his trailer was gone. Got back in his boat and headed down stream to use a phone at the boat livery and happened across a trailer tire and wheel sticking out of a blow down.
Someone had taken his trailer off his truck and pushed the trailer in the river.
I guess he had a heck of a time pulling the trailer back upstream to the launch.

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Originally Posted by freebird

I just leave all my straps on my boat when I back in the water, pull the reciever pin and go fishing. The trailer wheels seem to help roll over stumps and rocks when I fish shallow water. Although it has slowed down the motor considerably.lol

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They did a segment about leaving the trailer attached under the boat on that Mythbusters show. They tried it and did it, and also found folks that had watched folks take their boats out that way. Funny thing is, the folks that left the trailer under their boat found out when the pulled into a marina to get their motor looked at because it wouldn't get up to speed. :eek:

Good story.:D

There is a video of Bill Dance on YouTube where they launched an aluminum boat and the the hitch pin came out of the draw tite hitch and he could run the trailer back up on the ramp using the out board. I guess it must have still had the straps on it as well.

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Originally Posted by CatFan

There were some boats stolen around Louisville back in the 70s or early 80s where they'd steal trailer and one guy would wait at another ramp for a boat to be left unattended. He'd jump into the boat and take off. No way to chase him without a boat, then he'd meet his buddies at another ramp and load up before anybody could do anything. They'd pull the outboard and leave the rest of it to be found.

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Thats a sure enough slick trick---shame that type of person can,t put their mind to better use

a couple of weeks ago I posted on the off topic board about some old guys (older than me) that I watched almost dump thier boat w/ trailer attached in the drink. Seems they couldn't pull it out of the river, so one of them was going to unhook the trailer from the truck and take it over to a better launch site...I guess with the trailer attached!!! I hollered at him to stop, and about that time the tongue of the trailer shot up, and if not for the safety chains would have sent his head sailing. Makes ya wonder, huh?

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Originally Posted by asklouis

A couple of years ago a guy had his trailer stolen. While he was away looking for another trailer they took his boat, apparently with his trailer.

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That would most definately SUCK!!! :eek:

on day while bass fishing after catching a fish i put it in the live well turned on the pump but i forgot that i had the plug in the well after a while i turned around looked back found that i had about half a boat of water i was poed had to pump the boat out took about 45 minutes but lesson learned i should have put the correct switch on when i changed it
dumb dumb actions

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Originally Posted by redneck369

on day while bass fishing after catching a fish i put it in the live well turned on the pump but i forgot that i had the plug in the well after a while i turned around looked back found that i had about half a boat of water i was poed had to pump the boat out took about 45 minutes but lesson learned i should have put the correct switch on when i changed it
dumb dumb actions

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Probably not the safest way to get rid of water in the boat (in addition to using your bilge) is to pull your drain plug on the boat WHILE YOU ARE MOVING on plane. For my boat its around 25 mph. Water will be sucked out at a very quick rate. Had to do it about a month ago, aerator pump (switch) was left on and we didn't catch it. Had about 35 gal of water in boat (water was up to the top of my batteries in the back of the boat...main fuse that runs from batteries to fuse box got wet and shorted out). Probably would not of done it if I didn't have someone else in the boat. Not the safest thing to do but man does it suck the water out.

My aluminum boat takes on a gallon or two of water in a days fishing nowdays. My partner had gotten pretty used to pulling the plug after I got my stick steering rig up on plane and then he would put the plug back in after it had sucked all the water out and before we would reach our next spot.
One time I took off and out the corner of my eye I saw Jim pull the plug, throw it up by the motor and turn back around and stretch his feet out for the long ride across the lake....I couldn't help myself! I shut the boat down real fast and grabbed a rod and said " Let's try it right here.":D
You haven't ever seen a guy move so fast to find and put a boat plug back in!:eek:

I watched a husband and wife launch a boat one day it was funny so I will tell ya'll here. The husband went down bought a new boat they got to boat ramp he turned it around backed it up and had it lined up so she could back it up the rest of the way she did that just fine she put the truck in park got out he set the motor in water and started it she was unhooking the trailer from the truck just as tongue got high enough there went the boat right to the bottom of the ramp in the water he was swimming to shore and she was crying what did I do wrong you to me to unhook the boat he yelled back ya the boat not darn trailer. Moral is to teach all new comers on the proper way to unhook from the trailer, I was rollin in laughter

They stole my tail gate off my truck while I was fishing, Never though that would happen.

I had mine stole once. I was fishing close to the ramp and I saw the guy drive across a bridge with it, of course I didn't think anything about seeing a truck pulling a boat trailer at the time. When I got back several hours later I thought hell that was my trailer I saw. I gave the sheriff a good description of the truck model and color and all that, but never heard anything else from them. I cruised the ramps for a long time after that hoping to see it again. I guess its a good thing for them and me both I never spoted it again. It is like that guy saying it was kind of funny. I got in my jeep and thought something don't look right here, cranked it up and it dawned on me. Heck I'm supposed to have a trailer behind this thing.

Last year there was a rash of trailer thefts from Tuncia Cutoff in Northern Mississippi. I made sure both my vehicles had locking pins on the receivers. Now my question is, how do you get the ball locked on without messing up threads on it or letting it rust on?