Master Lock Version

Any better options out there?

I want one that can withstand prolonged usage and not rust up.  Also, I want to avoid the "barrel" lock type because apparently they are easy to bump with a Bic pen.....

Thanks in advance for the help!

ETA:  I want the locking ability to slow down and deter a thief from stealing my bike/cargo carrier when I'm away from my vehicle.  Speaking of, who makes a decent bicycle lock?

I've got a Rese. same same

Why don't you just remove the hitch when not actually using it?

then what are you going to hit your shin on?

These things are garbage.



But they sure hold it in place, you'll regret it the day it comes to rust and goes to shit.... it's a real pita to get off.

I have that exact one and it's gone to shit and I cant get the 2" off my truck until I trip over a plasma cutter. You're better off just using that when you have a trailer attached and pulling the ball out of the receiver when not towing.

Worse than stepping on lego barefoot.

I'm also using a bike/cargo carrier and I want to help slow down/deter a thief when I'm away from the vehicle.

So true.

You will not touch my radiator destroyer!

Amen to that!  I saved myself a lot of headache when a lady bumped into me at a red light.  No damage to my vehicle, but her grill got destroyed.

Update in OP

Mine came off easy. A quick shot with a blue wrench, a punch and a sledge and it popped right off.

Lock mechanism will still rust to hell.

I have an older version of this one.  I has worked well for me.  I mostly use it for a bike rack.

Mine came off easy too.  Pry bar popped it right off.  I don't use a locking one now.

 
Torch will remove it in seconds, an abrasive cut off tool in minutes.

I guess I won't leave my bike rack on there very often, and I'll keep a can of WD40 and PB Blaster on hand....

I was hoping there was some wiz-bang new start-up company that I haven't heard of making a bomb-proof hitch lock.

I have tried several of these between stuff I own and extended family owns.



Now and then we get someplace and lost a key, it rusted up, or it got damaged due to jack knifing the thing and it came in contact with the bumper of the vehicle.



None of them are hard to get off.



Play on youtube and you will see that all locks are easy to pick.



The bic pen works for barrel stuff but the other types of locks are not very special either.



You have some options for something like a bike carrier and some folks do stuff to the receiver as well.



If there is a lot of slack you will get noise going over bumps, lots of folks drill a hole and thread it, or weld a nut on it to add more threads, and the bolt is then used to take up slack and shut the thing up.  Taking up this slack will make it harder to remove your bike carrier if they don't have a tool to back off the bolt.  Use a special bolt perhaps.



You can also use coated cables so the paint won't get worn on the places where the safety chains hook up and run the cable through the bike carrier frame somehow and then through the places the safety chains hook up.  This will depend on your vehicle, its hitch setup, and the bike carrier design.



I have a bumper hitch on a 95 ford pickup but am looking for a regular hitch to add on to it.  The bumper hitch safety chain stuff would be perfect for some of the add on cable chains depending on what I have installed at the time.



Play on amazon, even if you hate amazon, and pull up options and read about what others have said.



A battery powered cut off wheel will cut through stuff easy but it makes a bit of noise.



Most of the locks for a hitch pin have a groove they grab when locked and that groove is the weak point of the hitch pin for a theif trying to defeat it.  



When I mentioned bending things it is more for a lock that goes in the trailer latch and sticks out too far and on my jeep I tend to get into some tight areas and backing out I have bent the little bar and once bent it usually breaks trying to straighten it back out.  It bends very easily.



As usual, locks are for keeping honest people honest.



Part where the theif won't be able to get your carrier out of the hitch, backed against a wall or something, or where people will notice someone messing with stuff.



If you park in the same area all the time it might be worth mentioning your concerns and that 20 bucks for a call about someone messing with your stuff is how you would respond if someone gave you a call as someone is messing with your stuff.  Might want a photo for proof, helps with police if there is actually something done and the police will consider it stolen or vandalized.



And if someone knows something better, post it up.  I live rural and lots of folks around here would like a better way to secure stuff.

And I have a dent in my car from a moron who didn't acount for the extra foot of vehicle when he backed into me.

They make an height-adjustable version too.



ETA: Oh, for a bikerack?  I have one of these:

I have one of these.  Worked fine until the rubber cap disappeared.   Still working fine but I swap hitches often and oil it when it gets grimy.

I had a loose fitting tow bar one time that drove me crazy, that thing looks like it would be very sloppy with no way to tighten it up.



 

No different than 99% of hitches.  Mine had spring-loaded "anti-rattle balls".  

Never needing a pin was pretty convenient.

Hitch locks are stupid. It will rust. It will get stuck. It will waste my time when you rent a trailer from me and need a different hitch. Seem it a hundred times.

My BFL hitch receiver cover is battle scarred from when a jackass DUI repeat offender tried high-speed running from the cops in his brand new Charger, and terminated his pursuit on my 4Runner.  Totally demolished the front of his car.  Lightly bent a panel, popped a reflector out, and lightly scuffed my BFL.



True story.







 

When those locks are left on trade ins all it takes is a couple  hits with a hammer and there off.

Better off just taking it off when not in use aslo it won't rust in place if you do.

Sorry to hear about that....but I didn't do it.  

I wonder if there is anything on Kickstarter....I'll be back.

The divots on my shin agree.

No dice on Kickstarter.

buy a nut and bolt the right diameter and a little longer. bolt the hitch in place then peen the bolt over the nut like a mushroom. want it permanent use a stainless steel bolt and nut. steel can be cut with a torch, stainless steel can not be cut with a cutting torch.

I would suggest getting one of these and drilling out the hole and installing an all weather padlock

or just get the appropriate size piece of round stock, bending or welding a stop on one end and drilling the hole and use an all weather padlock

Mine came off easy too after 4 years, Die grinder and a cutoff wheel.

Tag...

It seems like the most important point is to remove the lock when not 100% needed and keep it lubed up as much as possible.

I wish some engineer would design a reliable and sustainable product with longevity!

I like this idea.... Very Wecsog'ish.

Not nice and clean, but MOST CERTAINLY CAN

At the boat ramp, I manage it hit my shin and step on an '80 era lego at the same time...

I use a 5/8 stainless steel bolt and a lock nut.

No issues yet.

If drilling the pin, watch sizes of metal walls or size of lock hasp and consider strength.



With the weatherproof masterlock, see if it is easily shimmed like youtubers do on some mass produced locks.



I have never seen a hitch insert with the key like someone has a gif of but that looks like one of the circular keys that the op said he did not want because the clear plastic bic pen bodies can be split up and used on them.



One thing that tends to happen is locks and chains keep honest people honest.



If you loose a rubber cap or whatever use a decent bit of plastic like a ziplock bag piece and a rubber band to sheild the lock mechanism from weather.



I just spray mine now and then for the most part, I generally lose a key or damage it before the lock really and truly fails.



I do have an adjustable hitch with a locking pin in it and it might actually have a failed locking mechanism but the thing is so old and rusty it will just wind up on the garden tractor for the utility trailer or something so no biggy.

So....

I broke down and decided to order the original version I posted in the OP.

I plan to keep it lubed and remove it from the hitch when not needed.  I also plan to keep the lock covered with a ziplock bag and a strong rubber band when in use.  We'll see how it goes.

I'm still kinda shocked that there isn't a "recommended" solution that everyone just raves about....

I dunno, I have one of those masterlock things, fill the lock with 3 in 1 twice a year, and it still works fine.

Now you tell me!!!! Haha.


I watch that video, and I know it is just a demonstration but that stuff happens every day.  I have one thought.....F$%^ thieves!!!!!!!!!!!!  They have a special place in hell.  

Use a grade eight bolt and locknut. Thieves probably won't have wrenches, sockets and such to unbolt it.

I lost the key to mine ages ago and when I put my lift kit on my truck I found I could no longer tow a trailer evenly due to the height difference. I want to get a hitch that is dropped down but I can't get my old one off. It's pissing me off to say the least.

I have personally cut probably 50 locks off of peoples vehicles over the years, when I used to work at an equipment rental yard. A die grinder with a cut off wheel works, if you are worried about the heat of a cutting torch killing the paint or trim.





They are great at keeping the honest, honest. Not so great when you need to switch hitch drop/size and they are rusted shut... or someone forgot the key at home. And that WILL happen, I promise you.



ETA: I've cut nearly all the different types of locks mentioned in this thread so far. Keeping the lock lubed, and washing it off/out several times a year helps. Dust, salt, and road grime kill pretty much all of them eventually.
 

at all the rust issues.

More info on that?

I've got one of these stuck in my hitch that ain't never coming out

I use this type as well.  Grease up the shaft, fill the lock cylinder with oil, then install rubber cap.  Been through 2 winters, still pops off easy enough.