Torching a weld nut inside 2" hitch stinger

[achop]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

I have not seen that genius anti-rattle that Madscience linked. That's really cool and leaves your pin location open for a regular lock. I'd probably go that route personally.

Definitely!

[MadScience]

Originally Posted by achop

... and with thule-type locks, it takes only a screwdriver and a little muscle. I suppose the form factor of the snug fit hitch pin might make it harder to compromise than say thule locks in plastic housing, but I was bummed to find out my aftermarket options were so limited.

I'd consider the security of the thule locks to be similar to the (master lock -- there may be better options) locking receiver pin that I have. To be clear, neither are something I'd consider terribly hard to defeat.

That said, I've never had anyone even try to mess with my thule ski box, even when street parked (irregularly) in SF and even Oakland.

[shenrie]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

I have not seen that genius anti-rattle that Madscience linked. That's really cool and leaves your pin location open for a regular lock. I'd probably go that route personally.

^^^ x2. thanks for the link madscience, will be picking up one of those!

my bike carrier has a wedge block built into it as a antirattle device. works pretty good till you get 4 heavy dh bikes on it. that little anti rattle device madscience posted will hopefully remove that last little bit when its over loaded.

[MadScience]

I should note that the anti-rattle device that I linked is just a cleat and a u-bolt. If you're really cash strapped, you can probably save $10 by finding the items separately. (I'm not that cheap these days, but in the past I had to be...)

[achop]

Originally Posted by shenrie

^^^ x2. thanks for the link madscience, will be picking up one of those!

There are quit of few of these things out there. Here's the one I ordered a few days ago, for being the cheapest quick shipping non-undersized stainless u-bolt that also had stainless nuts/washers:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There were some users commenting that the stainless nuts were too soft and contributed to threading issues on first or second use. The manufacturer, however, was quick to send alternative zinc plated nuts to those complainers, and to send stainless nuts to the complainer whose product arrived with non-stainless nuts. I haven't installed mine yet so can't comment on that, but plenty of users loved this guy.

[shenrie]

^^^ appreciate the heads up good sir. nice simple design looks like exactly what I need for the bikes...not sure it will help with the dirt bike carrier, but I'll give it a try either way.

[86Scotty]

Anne, if you don't know ALWAYS use anti-seize on stainless. It's always necessary. Throw some anti-seize in your tool kit. It'll come in handy on the small hardware you replace on your van that you don't want to rust again. You know, all the rusty bits SMB should've made stainless in the first place! I guarantee you the complainers didn't.

And, just a little advertisement echoing what Madscience was saying. The best security for an SMB is to park it carefully and never leave it for long. Ford vans are incredibly easy to steal. If you must park it on city streets or long term anywhere I'd look into a Ravelco system.

[achop]

Originally Posted by 86Scotty

Anne, if you don't know ALWAYS use anti-seize on stainless. It's always necessary. Throw some anti-seize in your tool kit. It'll come in handy on the small hardware you replace on your van that you don't want to rust again. You know, all the rusty bits SMB should've made stainless in the first place! I guarantee you the complainers didn't.

And, just a little advertisement echoing what Madscience was saying. The best security for an SMB is to park it carefully and never leave it for long. Ford vans are incredibly easy to steal. If you must park it on city streets or long term anywhere I'd look into a Ravelco system.

Thanks, Eric, I didn't know. which is to say, I'd barely gotten to wondering how to resolve the contradictory needs for a thread lubricant and a non-permanent thread locker ;-).

Ravelco looks like a good idea. As I obsess whether someone might steel my bike cover or spare tire cover, someone's taking off in the van ;-). All I have now is a "Club" on the steering wheel.

[MountainBikeRoamer]

Originally Posted by achop

Ravelco looks like a good idea. As I obsess whether someone might steel my bike cover or spare tire cover, someone's taking off in the van ;-). All I have now is a "Club" on the steering wheel.

This has been mentioned before (I think....)....but should you need any more "encouragement to be discouraged" in "The Club," just check these out.

1) Ordinary lock vulnerable to cutting and sawing (the steering wheel itself)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cYXigh6Jug

2) "Protecting Cars" with The Club
https://www.schneier.com/blog/archiv...ting_cars.html

From the Freakonomics blog:

At some point, the Club was mentioned. The professional thieves laughed and exchanged knowing glances. What we knew was that the Club is a hardened steel device that attaches to the steering wheel and the brake pedal to prevent steering and/or braking. What we found out was that a pro thief would carry a short piece of a hacksaw blade to cut through the plastic steering wheel in a couple seconds. They were then able to release The Club and use it to apply a huge amount of torque to the steering wheel and break the lock on the steering column (which most cars were already equipped with). The pro thieves actually sought out cars with The Club on them because they didn't want to carry a long pry bar that was too hard to conceal.

[achop]

Originally Posted by MountainBikeRoamer

This has been mentioned before (I think....)....but should you need any more "encouragement to be discouraged" in "The Club," just check these out.

Always worth mentioning again :-). The ravelco site informed me how pathetic they were :-)