Looking for a locking hitch pin for a 2" Rec. that won't rust out if left on long term.

This will be on a 2004 4runner, and will be used to secure a hitch step. Not planning on towing, just need something that won't rust solid, or fall apart.

I bought the best I could at a trailer store. Still rusted. Suggest getting one with circular key lock and maintaining a film of lube on it.

I’ve never found a locking unit that didn’t either rust or become inoperable from road grit. I think I’d install it with an appropriately sized bolt and locktight the nut on it.

After some (Al Swearngen word) stole my hitch head 5 years ago I started using a chrome plated Reese Towpower locking pin and it stays in all the time. I swap hitch heads a couple times a month. I am just now seeing a little surface rust on the pin but it is fully functional and the lock works like when new.

I use a grade 5 bolt with a hole drilled through for the Bobby pin. The pin obviously keeps the nut from vibrating off. Where I live odds are pretty slim that anyone is going to steal my hitch, so I don’t worry about it.

Putting two nuts on, snugged against each other would be effective. Even better might be a flat washer between the nuts. No way to get it off without the wrenches.

 
I saw this on a guy's truck at an IDPA match, the BOLT Lock. I bought one and it is strong as heck and well made. Also the locking end and lock itself are well shielded from the elements. Best of all, you buy the model for your vehicle, and the first time you insert your vehicle key, it sets the tumblers to your key. So no extra key to carry for the lock.
 
Models for 2004 4Runner. I use the 5/8" receiver lock.

I use a Conner 5/8 Nickel locking pin I got it off Amazon. Two years old no rust, has a rubber cap to cover the key lock.

I used to have one of THESE one my old truck, I had it for a decade or more. When we were moving to TX I had to remove the hitch and couldn’t find the key....eventually drilled out the lock and had to toss it.

But I guess it served its purpose as I never lost a hitch to theft.

Thanks everyone. Another option I was thinking of is to jam nut and tack weld the nuts to the bolt, requiring a dremel to remove.

A bit extreme for a $50 hitch step, but people in my area would steal anything. My sister witnessed some lady pull up and started bagging up wood chips from the landscape of her apartment complex not too long ago.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Nismo,

quote:

locktight

Around here, due to gravel roads, the bar that goes into the receiver becomes so filled with dust that the hitch is almost welded to the receiver.
Most times this requires chaining the ball to a tree, and driving forward jerking the unit apart. You also have to hammer the pin out.