Pintle vs. Ball for anti theft?

wb9wb

Member
I'm wondering with everything else being equal, is Pintle hitch easier to steal than a ball hitch or no difference?

thanks.
 

wb9wb

Member
Successful defense depends on the ambition or ingenuity of the thief.
If a thief cant directly couple up, Trailers will get towed away with chain or similar.

But "all things being equal", I say a lunnete trailer is easier to steal.
It can be hitched to a thiefs pintle or they just set over a ball and tie down by some means. .


Ok, thanks. Thats the kind of honest feedback I'm looking for.

This is for an off road cargo trailer conversion. (still in the recon stage of the purchase).

I see that the Aussies have a different system all together. Don't know if thats worth looking into or not.

thanks again.
 

Teardropper

Well-known member
Just take off the hitch and run a locking hitch pin through the hole.

Exactly.

xB1Q4Oq.jpg


T
 

billiebob

Well-known member
No difference. I've seen loaded equipment trailers stolen by guys who just wrapped the safety chains around the bumper. They got stopped 200 miles later for not having trailer lights.

If someone wants it.... its gone.
 

Flyfishjeep

Adventurer

mep1811

Gentleman Adventurer
Some anti-theft methods I use.
 

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DzlToy

Explorer
Trailer pins do not prevent theft. A 4.5" battery powered angle grinder with a cut off disc will have that pin laying on the ground in less than 30 seconds.

Something like this for a trailer hitch, made specifically to work with your trailer and vehicle will almost guarantee you that not only will your trailer not get stolen, but that your friends cannot borrow it and return it damaged.


HEAVY graded chain through the all wheels with a beefy, high security lock, will deter thieves, but again, this can be easily cut in just a few seconds with the right tools.

Do a search for something like "best trailer locks" and see the $30 Chinese junk that comes up. People spend tens of thousands of dollars on motorcycles, ATVs, side by sides and tools, then try to protect their stuff with a cast $30 Chinese made Master Lock.

Pathetic.

Depending on the location, motion activated game cameras, video surveillance signs and some Glock or Remington stickers are your friend. Chock and block the trailer, let the air out of the tires and use high security padlocks on doors. If the lock came from Home Depot or Walmart, you can assume it is complete crap. High security locks do not cost $30 and are not sold at big box stores. Spend a few hundred dollars on a lock made by someone like Assa Abloy and protect your stuff.
 

DzlToy

Explorer
I can forgive you for not clicking on the link or reading thoroughly or possibly for having concerns about a heim failing in that application, a trailer coupling. For clarification, this is the heim in the link above. Just try and break it.

EDIT: It is far superior to the $50 bolt on trailer tongue that many people purchase for DIY builds and many/most professionally built trailers that I have seen. Radial load rating exceeds 140,000 pounds and 56,000 pounds axially. Towing an 80,000 pound trailer, this is an issue; towing a 416 or a tear drop off road, no worries.

Evol.jpg
 
Last edited:

utherjorge

Observer
DzlToy, I'm a year or so away from making a small trailer for my small rig. I expect my whole trailer will be able to fit in the back of a large pickup truck, so I don't know that I would go to the lengths of such a well-engineered choice for a trailer.

However, even though I read that material, I don't quite see how that would function. Doing a Shmoogle search finds me other similar products, and other articulating solutions...but nothing for that. Do you know of a pic for that solution?

For what it's worth, I have an Isuzu Amigo and will be looking to do a 5x8 or smaller, so nothing substantial for sure.
 

DzlToy

Explorer
No sir, no pics of that exact rod end being used as a trailer hitch. I have seen their large heims and IIRC, Poly Performance makes one even a bit larger, used on monster hill-killing, rock bouncer style buggies and they hold up fine. So, the strength is not an issue, for certain.

If I were going to use it for a small trailer, I would make it serviceable, i.e. thread the large heim into a round tube that bolts into a square tube. This allows the "tongue" to be replaced if it is damaged and allows the heim to be removed for service, as it is completely rebuildable.

Mounted 90* from normal with the bolt going in vertically, you have 90* of swing, or until your trailer tongue hits your truck. You also have 28* or 32* of misalignment in the vertical direction, allowing your truck and trailer to easily climb and descend without binding.

Many Aussie trailer manufacturers, use one or more of these:
OZ Hitch, AL-KO and ARK-XO are all good off road hitches, made in Australia. While a Lock 'n Roll type hitch is more popular in the US, I would prefer the security and robustness of the purpose made off road hitches. Patriot's DO-35 is another option, from Oz.

It all comes down to budget, how much you need a trailer coupling to flex and how security conscious you want to be.

And finally, just because you asked nicely, here is a pic of a another monster rod end being used on an offroad trailer:

IMG_20110806_181518.jpg
 

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