Anyone know of a secure locking hitch pin at a decent price???

[Expidia]

Had another brand for the past 4 years that I had to saw off due to the salt corroding it.

Forgot the brand, but the lock part always snapped on securely and never had an issue with it falling off when I switched the drawbar out to mount my bike rack.

But I bought a Master Lock model # 2848DAT and it fell off with the second time I towed the boat.
Pretty scary when you look down at a rest stop and only the pin remained held in by friction. Luckily, I had a spare pin with a clip in my trunk. Thank God for the requirement in NY of chains (I don't know about other states).

Called Master Lock to complain that my family was in the car while towing the boat and this is a defective design if it falls off even though I double checked to make sure it was on securely. Their response was typical in that they have had no complaints. Yet I checked out the reviews on sites like Amazon and the same issues were noted way back in 2009!
A check on Wikipedia shows Master Lock another once famous brand is now made in China. But they did bring back 38 jobs when the president was to tour their factory and they were applauded for bringing back jobs! Yet the bottom line is they are just another made in China company.

Luckily, the site I bought it from sent me a UPS call tag and credited me back no questions asked even though I bought it 45 days ago.
Master Locks customer service was useless as some foreigner simply said send us a picture and I'll send it up to their lock department.
No offer to replace the lock. I'll be sending this on the the consumer protection agency because clearly they knew it was of a bad design if I've read customer complaints from 2009 and it's still the exact same lock. Another issue is of security, others have noted the keys from other Master Lock devices also open this lockable hitch pin . . . what good is a lock that opens with other keys???

So I just checked out another brand "Soft Ride" at twice the price around $35, but a check of customers reviews notes even more people complaining that this brands lock falls off too!

So what brand have any of the members had luck with.

 

[Water logged]

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

If you are looking for the one that locks the hitch in the receiver I've got one that I have been using since 1999, actually I have 2 of them. Name on them is Deadbolt, got them at Camping World for about $12 each. I see they still have one for under $16, but can't determine brand name, but it looks about the same. They have a rubber cover over the key slot to keep it clean. Give it a try.

Glenn

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

I've had a master for a couple years and had no issues with it.

They have a couple different styles, this is the one I use:
http://www.4wd.com/Jeep-Hitches-Hit...dium=froogle&utm_campaign=product&emlprox=out

 

[bigdee]

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

I just drilled a hole in my hitch pin and used a standard padlock

 

[cribber]

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

I use a masterlock hitchpin and padlock on my trailer and hit them with WD40 when they start to get hard to close.

 

[Expidia]

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

I use a masterlock hitchpin and padlock on my trailer and hit them with WD40 when they start to get hard to close. . . . .




Ya, I thought of that. But In looking at the pin and knowing the size of the hole I'd have to drill I figured it would weaken the pin too much.

Plus the rattle factor. But thanks for taking the time for that pic. What I was also thinking is to use the locking type but drill a small hole the size of the standard clip that the non locking pins come with, just for added safety if another lock falls off.

This is not specific to just Master ones. Most brands have the same comments from owners.

 

[Expidia]

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

I use a masterlock hitchpin and padlock on my trailer and hit them with WD40 when they start to get hard to close. . . . .


Good idea but I lost it before I could lube it!

 

[Expidia]

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

I've had a master for a couple years and had no issues with it.

They have a couple different styles, this is the one I use:
http://www.4wd.com/Jeep-Hitches-Hitc...ct&emlprox=out . . . ?



That was similar to the one I had (or used to have ).

 

[bigdee]

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

Ya, I thought of that. But In looking at the pin and knowing the size of the hole I'd have to drill I figured it would weaken the pin too much. .

It won't weaken it any since the hole will always be outside the receiver

 

[Expidia]

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

If you are looking for the one that locks the hitch in the receiver I've got one that I have been using since 1999, actually I have 2 of them. Name on them is Deadbolt, got them at Camping World for about $12 each. I see they still have one for under $16, but can't determine brand name, but it looks about the same. They have a rubber cover over the key slot to keep it clean. Give it a try.

Glenn

Not bad, but I'll need to go more expensive this time around. The one that lasted a few years for me even though I greased it still corroded in place and I had to saw it off.

I'm in the Northeast and my hitch is on my vechicle like 8 months of the year and salt is an issue for that chrome coating that the $16 dollar one has. I'll probably go with a stainless steel pin as I'm tired of buying lockable hitch pins already . . . I just want to find one with a better locking design then Master or similar offers.

My Daughter's boat hitch and her bike rack both use the same locking hitch pin. Her pin has threads that prevents rattling but it has to be taken on or off with a wrench. I think it's made by Thule who makes our bike racks. I had both hitches put on at Uhaul years, ago but I don't think my model has threads for that type of lockable pin.

 

[MH Hawker]

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

I just leave mine in till it rusts solid

 

[Expidia]

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

I just leave mine in till it rusts solid

That's exactly why I had to cut the last lock off. The drawbar was in there solid too. My autobody repair shop used this HUGE slide hammer to try and move it but it would not budge. I had to soak it down with PB blaster for a week and go back again. More whacks and it finally broke free. I had too clean ot the rust and then greased up the new draw bars real well. Now it's fine on the new one but still a tighter fit on the older hitch. But OK if greased.

Good thing I had the hitch installed on the other tow vehicle. Two weeks ago I pulled up to a gas station 10 miles from my house on the way to a river and my radiator "popped". Luckily, I was 3 minutes from my Saab repair shop, so I left it there but had to get the other tow vehicle to tow the boat. That's when I saw the Master Lock was "gone" on top of all my other grief!

I used to always leave it on which protects my bumper from jerks that use your car as a back stop when they park.
Then others chimed in on this site saying it's against the law in some states or maybe even federally. This makes sense as I'm sure in an accident it's going to tear up the other car (or if I backed into a person ).

So now I have hitch bags in the trunks, and remove the drawbars, but need two locking, stainless, well designed hitch pins. I don't mind spending $50 each, but I don't know if those will even stay on. Reveiws are not there for the expensive models.

Don't want to get back to a launch like in the dark returning from a late fishing trip and find no trailer. I trailer around to so many different launches over the season and some are in higher risk areas than others.
I know if a theif wants it, he;s going to get it. Thats fine thats why I have insurance but I'm smart enough to not make it easy for them! I figure hopefully, they will just move onto the next trailer that a slowped leaves unprotected.

Also need two hitch ball protectors because I don't want to weld the ball nut on. . . . but that's another thread

 

[Expidia]

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

Re: Anyone know of a secure locking hithc pin at a decent price???

Update: Bingo. Found just what I was looking for at my local Walmart. Made by Reese. Still from China, but what isn't?
For $20 at least if it does not work out I can just return it without the online back and forth mailings.

This one is stainless steel and a well designed ball bearing spring loaded design where you put it on the rod and simply push the lock button in (like the lock on a file cabinet). Much better design then those Master Locks and similar. Has a rubber dust cap. I sprayed it with some white lithium grease before I clicked it on to keep it lubed.

Scary moment . . . when I went out to the hitch it was too big for the hole. I couldn't believe it as it's 96 degrees today and I was not about to trek back to walmart to exchange it today . But when I brought it back in the house to re-attach it to the card for the return I saw it listed both sizes. Figured out it had a slide on tube for the bigger size. It has an O ring that holds that tube on firmly and it was hard to see it actually slides off once the O ring is removed. One would think they would package that tube separately so consumers can see it fits two sizes. Oh well, at least this puppy snaps on easily and locks on securely. Now I have to go back for a second one for my other tow vehicle.

Thanks for all the input. Pictured below is what it looks like, note from the pic that it's hard to tell there was a tube over the smaller pin: