Theft of trailers and contents is on the rise all over the world.  While accurate statistics are impossible to collect, trailer theft is rising at an alarming rate.  This problem adversely impacted the livelihood and recreation of area residents and businesses.  Unfortunately trailers are not treated by law enforcement agencies like motor vehicles are, the recovery rate is slim to none. 

Allstate Ins. (U.S. Dept Trans / U.S. Coastguard 2000)

• 72.2 million people participated in recreational boating each year in U.S.
• 17 Million boats in use during season & growing daily.
• Over 95% of all boat thefts are package thefts that include trailer, boat, & motor. These statistics also apply to snow machines and personal watercraft.

10,000 watercraft are stolen annually WHILE IN THE WATER!!! , however that figure increases to 27,000 when on a trailer or stored boats are counted. The majority of boats are 20 ft or less and most of them are on trailers parked in driveways, on the street, or in parking lots.  The Las Vegas odds on recovery of these boats are 10 to 1.
Reports that professional thieves are getting into boat theft in a big way is disturbing. They target items that are easy to steal and dispose of. Recently New York police broke up a gang that was stealing personal watercraft, putting them in shipping containers and sending them to the Caribbean. There has also been an increase in the theft of small outboard motors. They too, are a popular item to steal because they're easy to remove and transport and difficult to trace. Florida leads the nation in these thefts, nearly one in four outboard motors occurs there. With the easy escape route to South America and the Caribbean, there is a ready market and bring a quick $3500.00 to $10,000.00.

Source: National Crime Bureau & Allstate Ins.

The price of preventing a theft may be the cheapest part of owning a boat. They suggest simple things to prevent the theft of your trailer and boat, like using an Anti theft device on your trailer, taking the tires off the trailer and even the license plate. Have the trailer and boat parked in a well lit area, and as visible as possible.
Steal Shield is the simple and effective way of saving you thousands of dollars and unknown hours of headache and emotional pain because of having your property stolen.

Steal shield is an anti theft device that deters theft of light and medium weight trailers using a standard 1 7/8, 2, or 2 5/16 inch lever lock hitch system. Once in place, the trailer is rendered virtually inoperable, protecting the trailer and its contents. 

The Steal Shield is a heavy duty steel sleeve that is sealed at one end and open at the other. The sleeve has slots on each side at the open end that a flat metal locking bar slides through. The sleeve slides over the trailer hitch and the locking bar slides through the slots in the sleeve, which places the locking bar behind the hitch lever locking device. 

Once in place, the locking bar is held in place by means of a self contained lock and pin mechanism, thus making the trailer virtually inoperable and immovable, deterring the theft of the trailer and contents. Trying to remove the Steal Shield by force would result in damage to the trailer hitch that would render the hitch assembly inoperable.