Anybody drilled out a Bradley hitch lock ?

[Bittentobuggery]

When we recently moved house, she who drinks all the wine, unbekownst to me tipped the contents of a hall drawer into a removal box. This drawer happened to contain important things like boat keys, killcords, handheld vhf and crucially the keys to the Bradley hitchlock.

I have managed to locate everything except the hitch lock keys and whilst we have moved house, the boat hasn't.

I have spoken to Bradley themselves. They do not have any master key that they can let me borrow and suggested I drill it out. I have spoken to a local locksmith who would simply charge a fortune for drilling it also.

So, does anybody have any experience of drilling one of these things out ? Do I start with a small drill and work my way up in sizes or just go for the whole thing ? How long should it take ?

I'm gonna look a chump drilling my own trailer on my old driveway and expect a certain amount of derision to come my way from the old neighbours !

[Nos4r2]

Do you mean the one that fits in the side of the hitch? If you do, it'd be easier to change the hitch head.

[Ribochet]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

Do you mean the one that fits in the side of the hitch? If you do, it'd be easier to change the hitch head.

Just about to post the same reply

[Trailer Guy]

Agree with the above

You can drill it out, but it's a bit of a pita as the lock sometimes spins

If it's unbraked I may have a spare, unlocked, one knocking about somewhere. If you're local you can swing by and pick it up.

[Bigmuz7]

Grr that would have me putting my ladys bag of nail polishes in the clay pigeon launcher ... It wouldnt solve anything , but, ... something would feel right inside ..

[paddlers]

No way of attacking it with an angle grinder ??
I like the idea of launching with a clay trap !!

[Ribtecer]

If its the same as mine, a round cylinder with a "peg" that comes out when you lock it, it will not spin if locked as the "peg" will stop it. I'd certainly try to drill it before buying a new one, I'd start with a 5 or 6 mm drill and work up from there.

Hope it goes ok, let us know how it goes.

[spartacus]

I had the same hitch and it had a Triple Lock fitted. One bolt was easily accessible on the hitch however the other one had a metal flush-fitted dowl insert. This might be the same for you?

[Bittentobuggery]

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

Grr that would have me putting my ladys bag of nail polishes in the clay pigeon launcher

So where would you keep your lippy on your nights "out" ?



TG. That's a very kind offer, thanks. Bit busy this weekend, any chance you could drop it round (Western Australia) - I'll have a few cold tinnies waiting for you.


It's my fault, I should have put tape over the drawer like they do at crime scenes !

Thanks for all the replies.

[diverbert]

Hey Aussie what did you do, our are you going to?
I would drink the tinnies first maybe that will bring an even better idea
Grtz from Holland

[diverbert]

Hey Aussie what did you do, our are you going to?
I would drink the tinnies first maybe that will bring an even better idea
Grtz from Holland

[Peter_C]

Cutting torch? Plasma Cutter? Fire can fix most anything.

[thomas]

How far have you moved? and do you know a nice bloke with a vehicle recovery truck it will fit on.

[Pikey Dave]

If its the cylinder type with the round hi security key, been there, done it. We( well when I say we I mean she) lost the key whilst camping in France. I attacked the lock with a bashing screwdriver ( the type where the shaft goes all the way through the handle so that you can hit it with a hammer) it took about an hour to get it out, basically by breaking it up into bits & poking it out. Just as I finished, the key turned up so yes it can be done with rudimentary tools & time combined with brute force & ignorance. Luckily I've plenty of both.

[wiLlfish]

Yew nead a donnk

[thomas]

I don't have a lock on my Bradley hitch, maybe I should fit ont if they're that secure.

[willk]

Originally Posted by thomas

I don't have a lock on my Bradley hitch, maybe I should fit ont if they're that secure.

They're secure enough, but a builder friend tells me that the bad boys out there just fabricate a hinged triangular box with a hitch fitted to it. They clamp the box over your securely locked hitch and hook the box hitch onto their white van and away they go

[Trailer Guy]

Originally Posted by willk

They're secure enough, but a builder friend tells me that the bad boys out there just fabricate a hinged triangular box with a hitch fitted to it. They clamp the box over your securely locked hitch and hook the box hitch onto their white van and away they go

Yup, or often balance your hitch on top of their towball and then either ratchet strap, or chain it, down. Then drive it somehwere less obvious to attack the hitch. Though I'd imagine this method would work less well on braked trailers, as the drawbar would rotate.

I had a woman come in once to buy two, heavy duty, Bulldog wheel clamps for her horse trailer, as she kept it chained to a tree in the middle of a field. Not cheap and serious bits of kit. She said she was going to fit them on diagonally opposing wheels, to make any would-be thief's life more difficult.

She came in a few months later to order a new horse trailer. Apparently the * had driven through the locked five bar gate, cut through the chain and just used a HIAB to pick the entire trailer thing up and put it on the back of a lorry.

Who'd question that, if you saw it driving down the road? Just another broken down trailer....

* insert approriately aggressive and foul adjective

[whisper]

So if you have moved house and not taken the rib with you does that give the new owner any claim on your boat?

Either way aren't you leaving yourself wide open to a theft if you are not around?

Get on with it dude

[whisper]

That's if you haven't already