MTFCA Forum

Touring season is going to be here soon enough

If you trailer your Model T - here are some tips that minimize the risk of having it stolen .....

Coupler

The past few custom car hauler trailers I have had built
were equipped with 14K adjustable couplers.


Bulldog adjustable couplers make it easier to
match trailer height to tow vehicle height.

They are also removable.


I add a few locks to make it more difficult
to put another coupler on.


If you have to park your trailer and leave it
unattended - cone off the area in front of
your trailer so you can maneuver your tow
vehicle to hook back up when you return.


FJ

Really good advice, Jim. Thank you.

Excellent idea Jimbo! Thanks for sharing.

All the Best,

Hank in Tin-A-See

Thanks Guys

I found these stickers at Buc-ee’s in Texas.


For those who are not familiar with Buc-ee’s ....

They are a chain of massive gas stations found
along I-35 and I-20.


FJ

Many of our club members have had a sign company produce 12"-14" high numbers that when mounted on the trailer roof, give a good reference point, if the trailer is stolen. Zip, of any number that is meaningful and easy to remember.

Never had any cones stolen.

I have had folks hit them with cars but never stolen.

I used to carry nice smaller cones - then I figured out if I set out
big @ss ratty looking cones - folks were less likely to hit them
because it would damage their vehicle.


FJ

I figured if I ever got a nice enclosed trailer I’d have it all done up with decals for “Dave’s Septic Diving Services” or something like that, or just always park it beside one of the oh-so-tempting trailers with the expensive alloy wheels and big Harley logo on the side...

My goal is to never have a nice enclosed trailer.

I love bumper stickers - always have.

No use traveling the country if you can’t
make memories ....

I haul a fair amount of project vehicle that leak
fluids - I carry a small mortar mixing tub and
small bags of cat litter to put in the tub
that goes under the leak.

That’s why I use horse stall mats over the wood
floor - if they get cut or damaged - I just replace
that particular floor mat.


FJ

FJ,

I like your target poster and the gun image but everybody does that and criminals have guns also. I had an uncle in Southern CA who owned a sign company and at the front of his ranch he had a sign with an image of a coiled rattle snake and it read "Warning, experimental rattle snake farm". Nobody would even turn around in that driveway. Another Uncle here in Michigan liked it and put one up in his driveway and he couldn't invite people to come in!

Put something on it like "possible radioactive exposure" (you have a glow in the dark compass inside), or "possible live virus exposure" (you had the sniffles) or any other thing that humans are afraid of without you being there and they will not go near it. People are way more afraid of things they don't understand and can't see..."possible cancer causing materials" and tape a pack of cigarettes inside on the wall. You are not telling lies but sure will scare them off. Nobody wants a trailer that might contain something that will make them sick or kill them.

Tim Moore

Tim,

Happy have been known to make folks sick ...

Seriously though - those stickers do work.

I don’t stop for the night at Walmart - truck stops
or rest areas ( unless there is no alternative ).


FJ

I installed (2) storage boxes on a rack on
top of the trailer tongue:


One is full of straps & tie downs:


The other has wood blocking:


Under the wood blocking is a 6000 pound
aluminum racing jack:

Tag it.

This works real good, and with a relatively inexpensive fee.

When you stop - think ahead to where you will park.

I try to back up far enough to keep the rear doors
from being opened.


FJ

Jim

parking at hotels has been the most challenging part of pulling a long trailer, for me.

For others contemplating their first trailer: The newer hotels are simply awful. I almost got suckered into a "drive around" rear lot that had been modified by landscaping making the "exit" a dead end. Even the dopy kid at the check-in counter told me to park there. Always pays to do a walk around first! Older hotels and cheaper ones nearly always have easy truck/trailer parking.

Am enjoying this thread.

Oh, and Jim

My PU has the same LUND styling package on it. A very "retro" and cool look. It's funny that the under-30 motorheads at parts stores go nuts when they see it, at least that's been my experience. I don't have a topper, just the rear spoiler. Was damaged in a narrow downtown street a few years back and the paint shop stripped off the LUND badge when they repainted and lost it along the way. Small things sometimes annoy the dayligts out of me. I hate seeing the two holes in the spoiler where the badge went.

Scott

If I haven’t stayed a particular hotel before - I stop and get out
to walk the route before I drive it.

Many motels have narrow turns that - even if you turn wide & stay
to the outside - you can hit the corner of the building.


FJ

I pull a 25' enclosed with a 28' class A motorhome. I know all too well about the dinky hotel parking lots. It seems to be a construction trend now, probably to make the truckers drop their trailers someplace else. I learned the hard way to use google earth to look at the hotel from the air before I make the reservations. Even that isn't always fool proof.

I lock the tounge on my work trailer and park it out of sight from the road when possible. We do what we can to keep our stuff but if they want it they will take it.

A good friend of mine had his cargo trailer parked inside his locked shop that is inside a 6ft chain link fenced area. They loaded about $30,000 worth of tools, 4 wheelers, harley, racing gocarts ect...
Of course they needed to pull the heavy trailer with a large truck so they stole his 1 ton dodge to pull it . Now this is along a busy state road about 100 yds from his house. The good news is being a Small town and lots of friends managed to locate the trailer a couple towns over. He got probably 2/3 of his stuff back but truck has not been found. They found 8 stolen vehicles on that property where his trailer was found. The prosecutor would not issue a search warrent for the garage where trailer was found and all other stolen vehicles. By the way the police did not find the trailer even tho it was in plain sight and pretty unique. Same county it was stolen from is where it was found. Not bashing police at all because they have pleanty to do but proves crooks are not that smart. Carma is a b!tch because about a week after getting his trailer back the house where it was found burned to the ground.

People are way more afraid of things they don't understand and can't see..."possible cancer causing materials" and tape a pack of cigarettes inside on the wall. You are not telling lies but sure will scare them off.

Tim

That is so good!

Just ordered this 10" x 7" vinyl stick on sign for the rear of my enclosed trailer, cost $6.

Now to find a cigar or cigarette butt to put in a zip lock bag and adhere it to the inside of my trailer...being truthful as you posted


Found on line at Safety Signs. Com.

...because about a week after getting his trailer back the house where it was found burned to the ground.

So, two guys are sitting on a park bench, discussing their misfortunes: First guy says "Woe is me, there was a fire and my business burned down! Thank God for insurance!" Second guy says: "Woe is me, there was a flood and my business was wiped out! Thank God for insurance!". First guy to second: "So, how do you start a flood?"

Dan, GREAT SIGN, I just order 3 for my trailer too!

i use a tongue locking device,run anchor chains from my sailboats through wheels and/or axles,always try to park near a big tree,telephone pole,fence post,or some very difficult to uproot object,run the same chain or another chain around said object,lots of padlocks everywhere. once parked my sailboat trailer on a side street in san diego while sailing for a few days between 2 other sailboat trailers.when i got back to my trailer monday after my sail both other trailers were gone...cops everywhere...seems the other trailers were stolen.

Gasoline (‘aerosolized’) has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals, even though the EPA does not recognize it as a significant carcinogen. So the above cancer signs are inherently correct if you have gasoline in your T in the trailer.
I do wonder how those signs would be received by inspectors at some state and certainly national borders.

The cancer signs are a great idea, though. I was looking at the web site, and it’s certainly an inexpensive addition to trailer security.

In California, nearly everything you buy has a proposition 65 warning label that states that the product contains chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive harm. So any oil, chemical, fuel, plastic, rubber, paint, or practically anything else, could qualify for your sign.

FJ. Sorry, but in the picture above a thief would have that trailer in a minute. He would bring his own bolt-on hitch as well as other types of hitches and bolt cutters for the locks or just use your safety chains and wrap them around his hitch to get it down the street where he can take the time to hook it up right. It is always a good idea to make it as hard as possible for the thief but if they want it they will get it. I know one guy that takes a wheel off. Bolt cutters will make short work of chains and locks. And a cordless angle grinder with a cutoff wheel will take care of cables. All that stuff would look natural in a construction tool box. It’s hard to keep ahead of these guys or even keep up. I agree that a tracking device is a good idea. At least you’ll get the trailer back and maybe the cops will get the thieves. Most locks, chain, cables and any other deterrents will keep honest people honest but can all be defeated. An alarm with a motion detector may help.

No .....

Bulldog hitch couplers are not readily available - not many trailers
utilize that type of coupler.

Even a tow truck with stinger would have no luck trying to secure
my slotted channel with chains ( either mine or theirs ) to try
and tow my trailer.

Anything is possible - being probable is an entirely separate matter.


FJ