Tow-Vehicle/Trailer safety while cruising.

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Outdoornate65

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Having never owned a trailerable boat (previous sailboat was in a slip), I'm curious what folks do about safeguarding your tow rig and trailer when you're away from the launch area?

I imagine our cruising adventures will last a couple weeks or more. Seems like a long time to leave a vehicle unattended in an unknown area.

Thoughts or tips?

Nate
 
Outdoornate65":25lr3bmd said:
Having never owned a trailerable boat (previous sailboat was in a slip), I'm curious what folks do about safeguarding your tow rig and trailer when you're away from the launch area?

I imagine our cruising adventures will last a couple weeks or more. Seems like a long time to leave a vehicle unattended in an unknown area.

Thoughts or tips?

Nate
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The answer is "it depends". Most of the time I have used ramps at state or regional parks. These are patrolled and can have controlled access. Depending on the park, the parking could be free (up to two weeks) or paid (e.g. $10/night). Some parks did not allow overnight parking at the ramp lot, but you could rent an RV site and park there. At other times I have paid to park the truck and trailer in a nearby storage lot.

In areas you frequent you can find out what the best parking options. In unfamiliar areas it can be a challenge to find suitable parking for a vehicle and trailer. Google, C-Brats, and other boating forums are your friends here. If you ask nicely, there might even be some people on this forum that may let you park on their property if you are boating in their area.
 
Several times a year I will go on cruises of two weeks or longer. I follow the usual advice of not leaving any thing of value within eyesight. And I will only park in areas with a proven track record of being safe or considered safe. (Many places that I have used more than once over the years, or asked others that I trust with local knowledge.) Other than that, I've notified local law enforcement or local staff that can keep an eye on things, parked in conspicuous areas, locked what can be locked. And finally, hoped for the best and remembered why I pay insurance premiums! Colby
 
Good advice all around, and Colby is right, that is why we pay our insurance premiums! Having nothing worth stealing in your truck is helpful as well. Anyway, I don't spend much time worrying about it.
 
I'm usually more concerned whether the truck will start and the tires will have air in them when I return from a trip than whether it was broken into.

I do have a jump pack and an air compressor to deal with those issues.
 
We tend to favor nearby secure outdoor “RV Boat Auto Trailer” storage units found on Google Maps. We’ve found that when we explain what we’re doing the Mom and Pop operators (not the national chains) will pro-rate the ‘monthly’ rate if they’re not full. That’s typically under $300 for a 35’ trailer and 20’ truck slip on our average six week Loop segment.

I left a brand-new max options F250 diesel 4x4 at the busy Ed Stone (Hontoon) ramp unlocked with the key fob in plain sight on the console for three days while trying to figure out where I left my key fob…and no one bothered it.

John
 
The answer is "it just depends". For example I tell anyone leaving a rig in Pensacola, leave it at Pensacola Shipyard complex. There is a very good ramp, water to wash down the rig after dunking, and a 24 hour security presence. All of our public ramps nearby have had instances of break-ins. There is a small fee for all of this.

I will also tell anyone that if they want to have their truck broken in to within half an hour, use the "Quintette" Ramp (which I suspect John has never used.).

In some of the organized cruises, there have been arrangements to leave the rig at a marina, or a local farmer's/other trade's persons place of business's, I have twice left the rig at marina's which had storage areas.

As John noted, almost all of the attendees at a Hontoon, have left our rigs on a grassy area near the highway in part of Ed Stone County park. The Sheriff does a regular patrol thru this area, and I don't believe that there have been any major issues.
 
For a multi-day trip on the lower Columbia River, I called the local county Sheriff Dept. The launch I was planning to use was a "not recommended."

Mark
 
Our trailer is aluminum with EOH braking. To me, it seems to stand out among the other boat trailers. When left overnight at a public ramp or even secure storage, I use a heavy cable and separately lock the forward wheels to the frame suspension bracket. Why not make it harder for a thief? This eases my mind while away although thieves can steal EOH components. So far, I have not had any problems. Even with insurance, the inconvenience and time required for replacement would be a real hassle.
 
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