Bolt hitch lock

[Darkone]

Came across these and wondering if anyone has any experience with them. Looks like a more convenient way of locking your hitch by using your vehicle key, which is always with you if your moving your vehicle. It’s one less key to lose but I’m curious how effective does it learn your key. I would hate to have a lock I couldn’t unlock if it failed to learn my key. Thoughts?

Bolt hitch lock

 

[dogbreath650]

Have one. Took about a minute to set it up. No issues or problems in 6 years...

 

[DammitDave]

Seen them, I'm curious too. Watching

 

[GBB]

FYI…you can snap a hitch pin into with a short piece of pipe fitted over the lock in about two seconds. That’s why I use a grade 8 bolt with a nyloc.

 

[Darkone]

if someone’s wants to steal your hitch given enough time it’s there’s, but for the most part it should act as a deterrent for most.

 

[GBB]

if someone’s wants to steal your hitch given enough time it’s there’s, but for the most part it should act as a deterrent for most.

For sure…but they are gonna have to have the right wrenches to get it off so maybe they will move on…there’s also a anti rattle device on it that takes different size wrench. Lest maybe it’ll keep an honest man honest.

 

[Will_T]

Came across these and wondering if anyone has any experience with them. Looks like a more convenient way of locking your hitch by using your vehicle key, which is always with you if your moving your vehicle. It’s one less key to lose but I’m curious how effective does it learn your key. I would hate to have a lock I couldn’t unlock if it failed to learn my key. Thoughts?

Bolt hitch lock

I would be very careful of these. You can read about this in the Amazon reviews. I have a long review on Amazon with the details but here is the summary. I had one a couple of years ago and liked it. Convenient and easy to use. When I returned from one camping trip with my TT noticed the locking end was gone. Fortunately, the pin was still through the hole. I thought I must not have locked it securely or something so I just ordered another one. And I was very careful of making sure it was locked well every time I used it. A year or so later I was towing, very slowly fortunately, on a washboard gravel road when I felt a large bump and jerk. I was only going about 5 or 10 mph so stopped and walked to the back of the truck. The TT tongue was on the ground and the locking Bolt hitch was nowhere to be found. What I think happens with these is with a bumpy enough road, pressure bangs against the locking hub. Because there are only 3 ball bearings holding it on, if enough force is generated, the hub pops off and then the hitch can work its way out. Very rare I am sure and if you only tow on smooth paved roads you will likely be OK. But read all the 3,2, and 1 star reviews on Amazon and you will see that I am not the only one this has happened to.

 

[Will_T]

I just looked for my review on Amazon. Even though I can see my 2-star review to edit, when I start the process to write a new review, when you look at all 3,000+ reviews, it tells you there are no 2-star reviews. So just in case it is being hidden for some reason, here it is in full. Even though the lock gets a very high rating, there are other reviews that say the same thing. But since there are thousands of reviews on the lock, they can be hard to find.

I have used one of these with two travel trailers. Overall I love the design and ease of use with one very important exception. The locking head where it is held on to the shaft can possibly come off on a bump or on a washboard gravel road. The ball bearing nodes that lock into a groove on the shaft of the pin might pop off with enough pressure. The first time it happened a couple of years ago, I did not realize what occurred, thinking it was user error and I had not secured it properly. This seemed unlikely because it is a straightforward design but it was all I could think of. The pin stayed in the receiver but the locking head was gone. From that point forward to now I have always made sure the head was locked securely on the shaft, also testing it by pulling on it.

Then it happened again just recently. This time I was on a rough, washboard, gravel road and suddenly the whole hitch came out of the receiver and the trailer was held up and on only by the safety chains. Fortunately because of the rough road, I was only going 10 to 15 mph and stopped immediately. So far I have not found that any damage appears to have been done, but it could have been a disaster. I was able to get the hitch back in the receiver and secured with a spare pin I carry. Then I got tongue of the TT back on the ball and continued up the road.

Because of my suspicions of how this happened, I will never use this design for a receiver lock again. The old fashioned 5/8" with a pin holding it in seems more secure to me, although it leaves your hitch vulnerable to theft if you don't remove it when not in use.

I believe what happens is that with force of a bump like a speed bump in a campground, or vibration like on a gravel road, the internal mechanism that is holding the locking head on the shaft of the pin can pop out of the groove on the pin shaft. Then the head can vibrate off. Now there is nothing but the weight of the trailer to keep the pin in place. Normally, like the first time it happened to me, that weight is enough to hold the pin in place. But on the washboard road I recently travelled, the constant vibration probably backed the pin out until it fell off and nothing was holding the hitch into the truck's receiver.

 

[John Jensen]

Came across these and wondering if anyone has any experience with them. Looks like a more convenient way of locking your hitch by using your vehicle key, which is always with you if your moving your vehicle. It’s one less key to lose but I’m curious how effective does it learn your key. I would hate to have a lock I couldn’t unlock if it failed to learn my key. Thoughts?

Bolt hitch lock

I have one on my 2016 and my 2020. I also have one of their padlocks. Never a problem. I've towed my 30" TT with Equal-i-zer WDH over some rough washboard dirt roads and not had the problem that Will_T speaks about.

 

[Will_T]

I have one on my 2016 and my 2020. I also have one of their padlocks. Never a problem. I've towed my 30" TT with Equal-i-zer WDH over some rough washboard dirt roads and not had the problem that Will_T speaks about.

Yeah, I'm sure it is rare but even so the result could be catastrophic. I tow on forest service roads a lot and most of the times before I stopped using the lock, I had no issue. But since it happened to me twice, I swore off taking another chance and now use a pinned one. You can find other reviews that say the same thing about the Bolt popping off, but they are rare fortunately. Overall, the lock has a 4.8 Amazon rating, however, with Amazon reviews of any product, many of 5-star reviews are given immediately after purchase or first use.

 

[John Jensen]

Yeah, I'm sure it is rare but even so the result could be catastrophic. I tow on forest service roads a lot and most of the times before I stopped using the lock, I had no issue. But since it happened to me twice, I swore off taking another chance and now use a pinned one. You can find other reviews that say the same thing about the Bolt popping off, but they are rare fortunately. Overall, the lock has a 4.8 Amazon rating, however, with Amazon reviews of any product, many of 5-star reviews are given immediately after purchase or first use.

I hear ya. Twice is two times too many.

 

[unclelala]

Maybe they should make these with towing pin clips as well as a safety back up or drill another hole and install the pins after.

 

[Darkone]

I would be very careful of these. You can read about this in the Amazon reviews. I have a long review on Amazon with the details but here is the summary. I had one a couple of years ago and liked it. Convenient and easy to use. When I returned from one camping trip with my TT noticed the locking end was gone. Fortunately, the pin was still through the hole. I thought I must not have locked it securely or something so I just ordered another one. And I was very careful of making sure it was locked well every time I used it. A year or so later I was towing, very slowly fortunately, on a washboard gravel road when I felt a large bump and jerk. I was only going about 5 or 10 mph so stopped and walked to the back of the truck. The TT tongue was on the ground and the locking Bolt hitch was nowhere to be found. What I think happens with these is with a bumpy enough road, pressure bangs against the locking hub. Because there are only 3 ball bearings holding it on, if enough force is generated, the hub pops off and then the hitch can work its way out. Very rare I am sure and if you only tow on smooth paved roads you will likely be OK. But read all the 3,2, and 1 star reviews on Amazon and you will see that I am not the only one this has happened to.

This is the reason I posted to find some actual feedback from people who have used it. The possibility of losing the lock and causing the pin to fall out is not something I want to do. I’m mostly on road but do haul trailers through fields and rough roads so I’m sure it could happen.

As @unclelala said maybe drill a hole for a pin as a “safety” measure might not be a bad idea.

 

[OldJeepsNewTrucks]

4 years on mine so far and no issues. Keyed very easily! The only drawback is when you change vehicles you have to buy a new one, no reprogramming it.

Not had any issues otherwise mentioned.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

It doesn’t appear to have a hole for a cotter pin so I’m out. Both a lock and cotter pin are required for my peace of mind.

My bulletproof locking hitch pin accepts a cotter pin and has a lock on the end. A nice dust cap is a bonus. I’m not claiming it’s the best but it meets my requirements.

 

[unclelala]

It doesn’t appear to have a hole for a cotter pin so I’m out. Both a lock and cotter pin are required for my peace of mind.

My bulletproof locking hitch pin accepts a cotter pin and has a lock on the end. A nice dust cap is a bonus. I’m not claiming it’s the best but it meets my requirements.

View attachment 49367

Now thats the way to do it right. Care to share a link?
EDIT: I just looked it up...pricey but worth it in my mind.

 

[el_barto]

Have one on my Ram and had one on my Chevy for a combined 150k or so miles. Appreciate that I don’t need to add another key to my key ring.

On the Ram it’s a tight fit with the larger 2.5” hitch, and installing it doesn’t have a positive latching click or anything…possibly why some people above have had issues. I always give it a good tug to verify its on right.

Initial set up with the key is quick and easy.

 

[jsalbre]

I had the same problem with the Bolt hitch lock. After towing my 30’ Airstream 500 miles one day I found the lock head missing. The only reason the pin stayed in was that it was under tension from my weight distribution hitch. If it had come unhitched it would have been a disaster as that was our home at the time.

I know I didn’t forget to put the lock on as it had been on there for two weeks already.

 

[406Linetrash]

I’ve never had problems with mine. One thing I did like. I contacted bolt when I sold the vehicle and they sent me a certificate for a pretty good discount to get new locks.