Stolen Scout Trailers

It happens again and again.  The location is differrent and the troop involved is different but the headlines declare in bold letters, "Boy Scout Trailer Stolen".  The stories give few details about the theft other than one key piece of information... the scouts camping gear was inside the trailer.  Frequently the article also explains that the troop has had to cancel outings because of the theft.

March 2010 - Mesquite, Texas

February 2010 - Pawley's Island, South Carolina

February 2010 - Rochester, Minnesota

July 2009 - Centerline, Michigan

January 2009 - Atascocita, Texas

November 2008 - Independence, Missouri

July 2008 - Independence, Missouri

April 2008 - Miami, Florida

February 2008 - Houston, Texas

There is no way to truly stop a determined thief, but the point of security is to make it difficult enough to steal your stuff that the thieves will move on to easier targets.  This is why we lock the doors on our houses and cars.  It's not a foolproof way of stopping a theft, it just keeps us from being the low-hanging fruit that is easily picked by someone that is looking for an easy 'score'.

For most troops the single most expensive piece of equipment that gets stolen is the trailer itself and in many cases this is probably what the thief is really after.  Here are some devices that can be used to make it more difficult for the would-be thief to drive away with your Scout trailer.  These are given as examples only.  I don't specifically recommend any particular brand but I do recommend the usage of BOTH wheel locks and coupler locks at the same time.  Think of your security as layers of protection.  You want as many layers as possible.

• Wheel Locks
  • Trailer Keeper
  • The Club
  • Trimax
• Coupler Locks
  • Steal Shield
  • Krok Lock
  • Master Lock

Some thieves may instead decide to go after the contents of the trailer.  This is where good padlocks come into play.  Most padlocks that are in general use today can easily be cut off by a good pair of bolt cutters. However, I don't know of any local troops that can afford to drop $1200 for the Sargent & Greenleaf 833c.  So the trick is to find a happy medium between easily cut off and spending half of your profits from the popcorn sale on a padlock.  So what's the answer?  It depends.  How much is the stuff inside your trailer worth?  How easy will it be to replace it?  If all you're storing in your trailer is your klondike derby sled then buying an expensive lock to protect the contents is probably not a very high priority and a $12 lock from Menards will suffice.  If on the other hand you are storing all of the gear (tents, stoves, chuck boxes, etc) for several patrols then it might be worth spending a little more to get a high quality padlock.  Again, these locks here are listed as examples only and are not provided as recommendations.  You should talk to a reputable locksmith for that.

• Abloy
• Abus
• Medeco

Another thing to think about in securing your troop trailer is the storage location of the trailer.  If the trailer is stored in a low-traffic area, theives can afford to take more time to get past the security mechanisms you have put in place.  A trailer stored in the back parking lot of a church that only sees traffic on Sunday and Wednesday evening gives plenty of opportunity to cut through many layers of security.  A trailer parked at a storage facility with security personnel, security cameras, and limited access gives thieves less opportunity but at significantly more cost. Simply storing the trailer in your driveway may seem like a reasonable solution but as at least one of troops in the stories linked above found out, that wasn't good enough.  Storing it inside a garage or warehouse would be an excellent way to add additional layers of security by keeing it out of sight of passers-by as well as being able to lock the doors to the building.  Wouldn't it be nice if somone would offer up a secure space for all the local troops to store their trailers?  Until that happens, perhaps there is someone in the troop who works for a company that has some extra space that's not being used. 

Sometimes a troop gets lucky and a kind soul donates a large sum of money to replace their equipment.  Other times, people pitch in used gear to get the boys back out in the woods.  But this should not be your troop's plan for dealing with a loss like this.  It is much better to follow the Boy Scott motto and just "Be Prepared" by protecting your equipment that has been donated or purchased by funds raised by the boys.