Let’s face it; there are a lot of shady and dis-honest people out there. While we’d like to believe most people are good, there is quite a few that are just plain bad. Theft happens, whether we like it or not. Cars, trucks, boats and RVs all get stolen by the thousands all over the world every day. Another thing to get commonly stolen is PWCs. While we could go on about the obvious ones such as removing your key when it’s moored at a dock or beached, there is one category that people seem to fall short on; storage. It’s honestly quite surprising how many PWCs and trailers we see sitting stored in people’s driveways and yards unsecured and ripe for the picking for a thief.
While not every theft is preventable, we can all do our very best to make sure it doesn’t happen. The more prepared you are, the less of a chance you have of finding your beloved PWC stolen; a nightmare nobody wants to experience. We are going to share some generally low-cost storage tips with you to make sure you don’t fall victim to theft.
In a perfect scenario, if you can put your PWCs inside a locked garage, that would be ideal. The old saying “out of sight, out of mind” is totally true. If that’s not available, a locked fenced area will go a long way. We’ll be realistic though; many of us have no choice but to leave our PWCs on the trailer in the driveway when we aren’t out on the water with them. It’s simply the most common place they are stored. When you have to leave your craft and trailer outside, there are a few ideal safety methods you can use to prevent your prized ski from disappearing into the sunset.
First, use a trailer coupler lock. These locks secure the trailer’s coupler system and prevent the trailer from being lowered onto a trailer ball. Without a proper way to connect the trailer to a vehicle, it’s basically un-stealable for the most part. These can range anywhere from $25 to $100 depending on how high strength you want to go.
The next step to securing your PWCs and trailer is to install a Wheel Chock Lock. At some point in your life, you may have seen a parking enforcement officer install a wheel boot onto an illegally parked vehicle; it’s basically the same idea. The Wheel Chock Lock attaches to the wheel of your trailer and locks securely to the hub. When attached, the Chock Lock is firmly planted to the ground and prevents the wheel from moving what so ever; thus making the trailer virtually impossible to move easily. While we see tons of these installed on travel trailers and cargo trailers, it’s amazing how many PWC trailers we see without them. The Wheel Chock Locks cost anywhere from $50-$150 depending on the quality of the product.
With those two items installed onto your PWC’s trailer, they are now virtually un-stealable. If you want to add an extra level of security though (a good idea depending on the area you live in), you could also lock the trailer with a heavy duty chain and padlock to a stationary object such as a tree, fence post; what have you.
The final step is to make sure your PWC is also secured to the trailer. If somebody is desperate and wants your PWC enough, we are sure they’ll find a way to try to take it without the trailer or not. When your PWC is not in use, lock your craft to your trailer. Run a quality cable lock or even a heavy-duty chain with a padlock through a firm attachment point on your PWC such as the bow eye or rear tie-down rings and around the trailer frame.
With these safety features installed on your PWC and trailer, you can sleep at night knowing your PWC is safe and sound from thieves. The key is to make things as difficult as possible for a would-be thief. 95% of the time, if it looks like it’s going to be a massive headache to try and steal your PWC (without a guarantee they could even get it), the would-be thief will usually move on and try to find a less secure one to swipe.
