Ideas for anti-theft cotter pins on hitch?

SEE ARE125
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SEE ARE125
Edited Date/Time 6/16/2021 1:56pm
Anyone got any ideas for keeping these cotter pins from getting stolen? Or something else I can put in it’s place? They’re so cheap, but every time I go to Home Depot or Lowe’s they end up missing. They even sell them in the same store they’re stolen from, it’s like $1 for a 3-pk. Frustrating as hell. I wish I would walk out and catch them, I’d quietly follow them back to their truck and put a Kershaw in their tire and tell them to enjoy my cotter pins. Fucking assholes.

As you can see, I’m supposed to have 3 cotter pins, but I’m down to 1.

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TXDirt
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TXDirt 6/16/2021 6:31am
6/16/2021 6:31am
They make locking hitch pins. Check out Amazon. Perhaps that might work.
SEE ARE125
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SEE ARE125 6/16/2021 6:42am
6/16/2021 6:42am Edited Date/Time 6/16/2021 6:45am
Yeah that was my first thought, but the pins used to adjust the hitch are smaller than the standard hitch pin that you’d use on the receiver. I can’t wrap my head around why someone would steal something that basically has no value. I’m thinking a long piece of cable, with loops on both ends, and thread it through all the cotter pin holes and then put the loops on my locking hitch pin. Snagging the cotter pins is too easy, I just need to make it a bit more complex to where it isn’t worth the hassle.
early
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early 6/16/2021 6:54am
6/16/2021 6:54am
Do you have safety wire pliers? Wire the end so you need side cutters to get the pins out, that should be about enough of a deterrent for most thieves.
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SEE ARE125
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SEE ARE125 6/16/2021 6:57am
6/16/2021 6:57am Edited Date/Time 6/16/2021 6:58am
early wrote:
Do you have safety wire pliers? Wire the end so you need side cutters to get the pins out, that should be about enough of a...
Do you have safety wire pliers? Wire the end so you need side cutters to get the pins out, that should be about enough of a deterrent for most thieves.
Thought of that too, as well as using the split cotter pins and folding them over with pliers, but then it becomes a PITA for me to adjust my hitch or change ball sizes. lol
Crush
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Crush 6/16/2021 6:57am
6/16/2021 6:57am Edited Date/Time 6/16/2021 6:59am
Was literally just looking at these for my new bike rack as it uses a 1&1/4 inch hitch with an adapter. Need a 1/2” pin for the smaller one. The standard adapter uses a 5/8”… can get both in locking versions on eBay for like $15.

Search hitch pin lock, you’ll find lots of options.
colintrax
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colintrax 6/16/2021 7:02am
6/16/2021 7:02am
Take the tongue off if it aint hooked up to a trailer? And put wipe the pins in grease, a good moly grease might make these idiots stop.
peelout
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peelout 6/16/2021 10:55am
6/16/2021 10:55am
SEE ARE125 wrote:
Yeah that was my first thought, but the pins used to adjust the hitch are smaller than the standard hitch pin that you’d use on the...
Yeah that was my first thought, but the pins used to adjust the hitch are smaller than the standard hitch pin that you’d use on the receiver. I can’t wrap my head around why someone would steal something that basically has no value. I’m thinking a long piece of cable, with loops on both ends, and thread it through all the cotter pin holes and then put the loops on my locking hitch pin. Snagging the cotter pins is too easy, I just need to make it a bit more complex to where it isn’t worth the hassle.
i think people do it to possible cause some carnage. it's good you check it every time, as do i. i even go so far as to lock the hitch onto the ball every time i tow a trailer. all i need is some dipshit to unlock my tongue while i'm the gas-station and then go drive down the road and lose my trailer.

even though i use a hitch pin, when i'm not using by B&W i keep it in my truck on the floor of the back seat.

people are assholes.
whyZ
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whyZ 6/16/2021 11:12am
6/16/2021 11:12am
Have the same hitch, love it. First thought, why not take the out of the receiver when you're not using it. Second, most crime evolves around opportunity & time. Keep threading your clip through to the large loop, then tap it up against the hitch to pinch it in. If it's not fast-convenient they'll move on.
1911
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1911 6/16/2021 11:14am
6/16/2021 11:14am
This is what I use, Bolt is the name of the lock. They sell different locks for different brand truck keys. Lock is keyed to my Ignition key


SEE ARE125
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SEE ARE125 6/16/2021 11:25am
6/16/2021 11:25am
Measured the pin, it’s 9/16”, and I haven’t found any locking pins that size. Most are either 1/2” or 5/8”. Guess I’m gonna just have to remove it every time. Aside from convenience, the only reason I’ve kept it in is because I’ve got tagged in a drive-thru twice now, and while my truck was fine, both dumbasses behind me had nice little holes in their plastic bumper as a reminder to pay attention. Laughing
SEE ARE125
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SEE ARE125 6/16/2021 11:29am
6/16/2021 11:29am Edited Date/Time 6/16/2021 11:32am
@1911 Yeah I have a Bolt lock on mine too, love it! As you can see, I went ahead and replaced the pins. Total cost of damage was $1.80. lol Rotated all fingerholes to the center so they’re not so easy to grab, but I’m gonna take the hitch out and stick it in the floorboard for now I guess.

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imoto34
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imoto34 6/16/2021 12:40pm
6/16/2021 12:40pm
I dont have a solution but have had the issue before. May seem like a good idea above about wire, but that about bit me is the ass cause it will walk thru. I just pull mine out when not towing and if leaving the truck and trailer in public, it's a good practice to always check your load to be sure no kids have messed around. And extra pins tossed in the box is about all you can do with that hitch.

The do sell other hitches that have a lock on each pin if you wanted to buy new.
TXDirt
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TXDirt 6/16/2021 1:27pm
6/16/2021 1:27pm Edited Date/Time 6/16/2021 1:29pm
I leave my hitch in at all times on my truck. Cheapest insurance you can have. Twice I have been rear-ended and my hitch took the brunt of the blow. Now the other guys vehicle.. yikes....
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crowe660
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crowe660 6/16/2021 1:56pm
6/16/2021 1:56pm
TXDirt wrote:
I leave my hitch in at all times on my truck. Cheapest insurance you can have. Twice I have been rear-ended and my hitch took the...
I leave my hitch in at all times on my truck. Cheapest insurance you can have. Twice I have been rear-ended and my hitch took the brunt of the blow. Now the other guys vehicle.. yikes....
After my drop hitch snacked on an Audi radiator one January evening, I always run one in the winter.. It was satisfying in so many ways. I got out of my truck holding my neck and dude almost shit his pants.. Got eeeemmmmmm
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mxtech1
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mxtech1 6/16/2021 5:23pm
6/16/2021 5:23pm
They make pin lanyards out of braided steel wire that are only a couple bucks each. One end is attached to the pin clip and the opposite end has to be fixed to something permanent. You could tack weld a small standoff with a hole drilled in it to the side plate of the hitch weldment to route the end of the lanyard through

No one will be able to steal your clips unless they happen to be carrying a set of side dykes,

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