Anyone install locking lug nuts?

[BM Welder]

The only trouble I had was somebody tried to steal my spare 5 years ago. We were at a campground outside of Mesa Verde Nat'l Park Colorado. As soon as let the dog out they were gone. I now have it chained and padlocked.

[Dirt Sifter]

From mechanic to wrecker drivers the only guy who recommended wheel locks was the guy who sold them. Everyone else had stories about the owner of the key not being present when it was needed, or so gunked up they couldn't get the key to work, or they simply caused more cussing than security. I'm with the thin blue line Irishman; 28 yrs of covering thefts, etc. never had one involving travel trailer tires/wheels.

[NavyLCDR]

Originally Posted by BM Welder

The only trouble I had was somebody tried to steal my spare 5 years ago. We were at a campground outside of Mesa Verde Nat'l Park Colorado. As soon as let the dog out they were gone. I now have it chained and padlocked.

Did you drive/walk through the campground looking for the trailer with the flat tire?

[Riverdude]

I only have a wheel lock on my spare tire!

[Riverdude]

But I’ve had both my Propane tanks stolen, when it was in a locked storage yard. Now I have a cable running thru them with a padlock.

[Rob L]

I have 2 sets laying in the shop, 1 of which is 1/2 x 20 and they don't fit. Guess I will check out the Mc Guard site to see if they posted thread size.
And yes, it does make me feel better just having them.

[Comanchecreek]

I'm with the rest, lock the spare if you're worried about it. They'll steal the wheels off your TV before taking the ones off your trailer. Not the same black market value. I agree with others about the potential for loss of the special adapter for the locks. There's nothing worse than not being able to find it when you have a flat on the side of a busy Interstate, and you're trying to get your "rear end" off of the highway. In my tire changing days, I can't tell you how many times people cannot find the adapter. We used to use vice grips, and/or break the stud off to get them off. (With the customers permission of course).

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by Comanchecreek

I'm with the rest, lock the spare if you're worried about it. They'll steal the wheels off your TV before taking the ones off your trailer. Not the same black market value. I agree with others about the potential for loss of the special adapter for the locks. There's nothing worse than not being able to find it when you have a flat on the side of a busy Interstate, and you're trying to get your "rear end" off of the highway. In my tire changing days, I can't tell you how many times people cannot find the adapter. We used to use vice grips, and/or break the stud off to get them off. (With the customers permission of course).

We welded nuts to them with a mig welder to get them off

[BajaFog]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

We welded nuts to them with a mig welder to get them off

Nice! I resorted to YouTube video hacks to get ‘me off. Might have been quicker to roll out the welder

[Rob L]

Originally Posted by robertrfletcher

I bought 6 new tires for my 23' T/T and put locking lug nuts on each lug. America's Tire gave me a whole box of them so I put them all on! Plus 5 "keys" so I won't run out of keys. I also have a hi-torque DeWalt 20V impact that works great on them.

Good deal. I had a complete set of 24 on my Silverado, but just 1 on each wheel of my Ram. Gives one piece of mind, especially if you park in an area for a while after dark. I spend $1200 on my truck tires and just making it harder is what I hope to do.
Its like most decisions I make in life; weight the cost of the issue against the advantage. Great example is when I did engine upgrade on my Harley: Give me the best bang for my buck. It's like making a graft using one line for cost or investment and another for the gain, as in this case horse power. At some point the 2 lines will cross and the proceeding HP gain is then at a higher cost.
I'm not gonna spend hundreds of dollars to protect my wheel & tires, but $20 or $30 gives me piece of mind that I did something to deter the average crook.
And of course you will now see people say "Well if they want it bad enough they well get it", which is true. The professional will find a way, but it is well worth the piece of mind that one did something to help protect one's property.

[Rob L]

Originally Posted by Rob L

I have 2 sets laying in the shop, 1 of which is 1/2 x 20 and they don't fit. Guess I will check out the Mc Guard site to see if they posted thread size.
And yes, it does make me feel better just having them.

ETrailer says they are 1/2" x 20 so I need to recheck my spare wheel locks. maybe I miss marked them. They are from a Chevy I no longer own.
Still $20 or $30 will bring me piece of mind.
Thanks

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

We welded nuts to them with a mig welder to get them off

Most of our Dealer's employees would just put a thin-wall 12 pt socket over the outside of the locking nut, smack it on tight with a hammer, then use an impact wrench to remove it.

Used cheap sockets that you could often find in the "cheap tool bin" at an A/P store. The added cost of the socket was included in the "No Key Wheel Lock Removal Fee".

A tool company kind of copied the idea only the inside of their tool was smooth and came with a punch so the old lock could be removed where the "socket method" often resulted in the socket being split and had a limited life.

As for stealing expensive "Rims" around here, they just steal the whole car and it's found pretty much stripped a day or two later.

I see spare tires more vulnerable, especially in storage lots. Most trailer spares seem to be mounted on generic white wheels and if someone has a rotten spare that new tire on a nearby trailer can look awful tempting. Just put a good stout chain or cable around bumper and through wheel, secured with a heavy duty lock. Then put the key in a drawer inside the trailer.

[NavyLCDR]

Although - if you follow the advice that was on another post on this forum that said trailers with torsion axles should be jacked and blocked in storage so the wheels are off the ground, then you've just removed most of the work involved to steal the wheels off a trailer. But I have yet to see any trailer jacked and on blocks in storage.

[grease monkey]

Originally Posted by rob l

hey fellas i am new to this rv life and plan my first long trip over the cold months and my thought is since i just dropped a few dollars on a complete set of goodyear endurance tires i feel i need to add a set of locking lug nuts. I haven't found my lug size but did find that the lug nuts are the same thread size as my e-z-go golf cart.
Anyways if you happen to know the lug size forest river is using or know of a link to where i might find out the correct size please share it with me. You may just save me a 20 mile trip to the hardware store just to figure out what size i need.

if you find any and they take a socket to take them off. Do not buy them. I can taek them off witha plumbers wrench in 1 min, and a lot of supposeable lock lug nuts.
Grease monkey

[Oaklevel]

I found out my last set of wheel locks took one second more to get off with a lock than my unlocked wheel nuts.......... since then I through all my wheel locks in the trash.

No welding needed............. my tire guy showed me how useless locks were.

[campers302]

Originally Posted by emm-dee

I’m not worried about wheels on my trailers or MH but the Jeep toad has three locks installed. Although only one is needed it looks better with all three the same.

You do realize that locking nuts should not stick out like that. I could take a pair of channel locks or a pipe wrench and easily remove those in about a minute.

Not trying to be a downer, just pointing out something you may have overlooked.

[SlowrideHD]

When every one of your storage doors on your camper can be popped open with a stiff pull, I would think stealing a tire/wheel would take ten times longer for the reward than all your tools and stuff in the storage compartments.
Locking lugs are a waste of money to me, jmo.

[emm-dee]

Originally Posted by campers302

You do realize that locking nuts should not stick out like that. I could take a pair of channel locks or a pipe wrench and easily remove those in about a minute.

Not trying to be a downer, just pointing out something you may have overlooked.

That was considered. The outer band rotates and the lock is torqued to 125 pounds. Tried regular vice grips and they weren’t up to the task. If I hammer two small chisels between the lock and outer ring it’s possible with a lot of effort to rotate the lock.

I think we’ve established in this thread no wheel lock is going to be a deterrent to a determined thief. The object is to encourage them to move on to an easier target or to slow them down.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by emm-dee

That was considered. The outer band rotates and the lock is torqued to 125 pounds. Tried regular vice grips and they weren’t up to the task. If I hammer two small chisels between the lock and outer ring it’s possible with a lot of effort to rotate the lock.

I think we’ve established in this thread no wheel lock is going to be a deterrent to a determined thief. The object is to encourage them to move on to an easier target or to slow them down.

Slowing down thieves is the only goal of all security devices, even the most massive vaults.

Slow them down so the next layer of security has time to kick in. That could be merely a dog, armed property owner, police, or maybe in some cases a small army.

Given enough time every lock, safe, vault, or bunker can be defeated.

Some locks are better than others but they cost more and all to often passed by in favor of cheap.

[mike.t]

I think the chances of someone stealing your tires/wheels off of your RV are quite slim.