Which is the best Wheelclamp.

[Jim@sea]

On today's Daily Mail Web page there is an article about a caravan which was being stolen at the very time that a Google Street View camera car was going past and the thief (alleged) was photographed with his 4X4 up the drive at the time the caravan was stolen.
The point is that the photo clearly shows that both a wheelclamp and a hitch lock were fitted which obviously the thief was able to cut off. There are better wheel clamps which you can buy such as a Bulldog Titan which may cost £110 - £130 which is supposed to be the best of the best. Which I have bought, but are there any others which people can recommend.
Over to you.

 

[pvb]

The Bulldog Titan is a reassuringly solid bit of kit. My wife keeps a horse trailer at home, and these are eminently nickable, so I got a Bulldog Titan clamp for it. The downside is that they can be quite awkward to put on and take off.

 

[Ubergeekian]

The point is that the photo clearly shows that both a wheelclamp and a hitch lock were fitted which obviously the thief was able to cut off.

With a suitably confident air - a pair over overalls with "Trailer Service Company" printed on the back would help - I bet you could cut off any lock you wanted on any trailer you wanted as long as the owner wasn't around.

 

[Zagato]

You can hack through anything, don't rely on them they are only a deterrent. Make sure you get one of the wheel clamps that prevents the thief simply letting the tyre down a bit and taking it off

A friend of mine buried a railway sleeper in the ground after placing a chain around it He uses this great big chain sticking out of the ground to lock his trailer on to

The thieves can overcome anything but the more deterrents you put on and keep it out of sight and off street google the better.

Immobilisers and trackers are simply overcome. Pedals locks also -they cut off the bottom of the pedals or some can drive with them on. Steering locks are pulled off or chopped off in very little time. Posts concreted in the ground are simply knocked over. Hitch locks are overcome by making a separate hitch which is then attached to your frame. Wheel clamps are ground off in seconds. Dogs are just given a bit of meat! Neighbours rarely do anything in reality. You can even face them yourself but they will not run away, they know they have a few minutes before the Police arrive.

One of the better car security ideas is to have a hidden switch on your fuel pump or electrics preventing the car from starting. They can always tow it I know but the more deterrents you put on the better and keep it out of site.

I used to work with the little darlins

 

[aquaplane]

I have jacked up my trailer to stop the tyres going flat on the bottom, I suppose I should remove the wheels too. I wouldn't just drive away and bounce the whole job over the toppled chocks but I suspect a thief would.

 

[colingr]

I used to have quite a solid one on my trailer until, come the spring, I found that the lock barrel had rusted. Took me about 2 mins with an angle grinder to destroy the thing, along with the hitch lock.

I think at best they are there as a deterrent, anyone really wanting to can get a clamp or lock off in no time at all.

Probably one of the best is the stainless ball that locks into the hitch.

Or remove one or more wheels and the hitch if you're leaving it for a while.

 

[maxi77]

There are wheel clamps and ther are wheel clamps. There is a testing organisation for these things, Sold Secure if I remeber correctly, and the difference between the good and the bad is the time it takes to get past them. Ihad one wheel clamp that was only seconds with an angle grinder, but my good one was supposedly rated at 30 minutes and our insuruers accepted that, and would have needded a 9 inch grinder with good quality disks as well.

 

[pvb]

A friend of mine buried a railway sleeper in the ground after placing a chain around it He uses this great big chain sticking out of the ground to lock his trailer on to

It would certainly need to be a big chain if it could deter a thief more than a Bulldog Titan wheelclamp!

I used to have quite a solid one on my trailer until, come the spring, I found that the lock barrel had rusted. Took me about 2 mins with an angle grinder to destroy the thing, along with the hitch lock.

Maybe you haven't seen a Bulldog Titan?

 

[prv]

With a suitably confident air - a pair over overalls with "Trailer Service Company" printed on the back would help

As I discovered in the course of several pranks at Uni, you can get away with all kinds of things if you put on a hi-vis vest or jacket.

I bet you could cut off any lock you wanted on any trailer you wanted as long as the owner wasn't around.

I bought an expensive length of motorbike security chain as part of a system for securing my Jon Buoy against theft. It was slightly too long to be neat, so I wondered if I'd be able to cut it or have to leave the end dangling.

The angle-grinder went through it like a hot knife through runny butter. So much for "hardened steel".

EDIT: It had a Sold Secure tag on it too.

Pete

 

[prv]

Probably one of the best is the stainless ball that locks into the hitch.

Apparently not - they bring a spare hitch and just swap them over. Or if it's welded rather than bolted, put a chain round the lot and hook on the back of the HiLux. A smooth ride is not a priority.

Pete

 

[Zagato]

Probably one of the best is the stainless ball that locks into the hitch.

The lock barrel is easily knocked out with a slide hammer. Homemade device the little urchins use - drill welded to a tea piece with a sliding barrel, knocks any door lock, ignition barrel etc straight out in seconds.

 

[Zagato]

It would certainly need to be a big chain if it could deter a thief more than a Bulldog Titan wheelclamp!

It is a caravan. He fixes the chain to the middle of the underside, takes the wheels off and lowers it down so you cannot get to the underside A hassle but pretty bulletproof and he only uses it 3-4 times a year.

 

[maxi77]

There are wheel clamps and ther are wheel clamps. There is a testing organisation for these things, Sold Secure if I remeber correctly, and the difference between the good and the bad is the time it takes to get past them. Ihad one wheel clamp that was only seconds with an angle grinder, but my good one was supposedly rated at 30 minutes and our insuruers accepted that, and would have needded a 9 inch grinder with good quality disks as well.

Here you are all sorts of security devices including wheel clamps and hitchlocks properly tested and graded.

http://www.soldsecure.com/wp-content/uploads/Catalogue_2008_Website.pdf

 

[Ubergeekian]

The angle-grinder went through it like a hot knife through runny butter. So much for "hardened steel".

Grinders like hardened stuff, since they work by knocking bits of stuff off and it's easier to knock bits of stuff off if the stuff is hard. What they hate is soft stuff - taking an angle grinder to copper or soft aluminium is not advised!

 

[prv]

Grinders like hardened stuff

So what's the point of it then, given that a battery angle-grinder is the number one obvious tool for thievery of this kind of stuff?

Pete

 

[Ubergeekian]

So what's the point of it then, given that a battery angle-grinder is the number one obvious tool for thievery of this kind of stuff?

Saws and bolt cutters - both of which rely on yielding - don't like toughened stuff.

 

[prv]

Here you are all sorts of security devices including wheel clamps and hitchlocks properly tested and graded.

http://www.soldsecure.com/wp-content/uploads/Catalogue_2008_Website.pdf

I can't find my chain in there, but ones which look like it are all rated silver or gold. Was still only a couple of seconds with an angle grinder for each side of the link. A cheap battery angle grinder can be had for £35.

Pete

 

[colingr]

The lock barrel is easily knocked out with a slide hammer. Homemade device the little urchins use - drill welded to a tea piece with a sliding barrel, knocks any door lock, ignition barrel etc straight out in seconds.

Oh well, there goes that theory then

 

[maxi77]

I can't find my chain in there, but ones which look like it are all rated silver or gold. Was still only a couple of seconds with an angle grinder for each side of the link. A cheap battery angle grinder can be had for £35.

Pete

Perhaps your chain only 'looked' like the reak stuff. The insurance companies seem to trust the Sold Secure ratings, as long as my van had one gold device fitted I had full theft cover. Now insurance companies get picky when it is their money that is on the line.

 

[prv]

Perhaps your chain only 'looked' like the reak stuff.

Possible I suppose, but it wasn't some market-stall knockoff. EDIT: Here we go, it was this one: Halfords product code 124415. Sold Secure "Silver" rated, as you can see.

Ubergeekian explains why simple hardening won't help much against a modern thief. I wonder if the SS folks assume attackers still only have hand tools?

Pete