Locking lug nuts

The odds of anyone stealing your wheels are about a bazillion to none....it just doesn't happen. A pair of alloy wheels are nothing special and not worth the trouble of stealing. Even a lowly Hyundai comes with them as standard.
So locking the wheels with locking lugs, is it really necessary? Or is it worth the trouble? The keys for locking lugs are notorious for stripping or getting lost. Anyone who has dealt with them can tell you a story about having a wheel stuck after the locking nut stripped. If you flat on the side of a busy highway the last thing you need to worry about is having a problem with the lug key..and since these lugs are torqued very tightly you can almost guarantee you'll have trouble. I would leave them off. If you are using a wheel lock when you are camped your wheels are plenty well protected. 
Here's a ruling on these that is indisputable...Car Talk speaks locking lugs and they get it right. 
  https://www.cartalk.com/content/locking-lug-nuts-more-trouble-theyre-worth

I have never had a problem with locking lug nuts and if it makes you feel better, do it. If the guy in the Click & Clack story stopped to think about it he probably (since he refers to HIS mechanic) would have realized that the only person that ever removed his wheels is HIS mechanic. There is nothing special or different about a locking lug nuts. The threaded part is identical to the regular lug nuts. What is different is the outside as it is round so you can't put a lug wrench on it. The key is just an adapter that allows the lug wrench to fit. Regular lug nuts get cross threaded just as often and the ONLY reason (99.9%) they get that way is because the mechanic put the lug nut in the pneumatic wrench instead of hand threading the nut on the lug. Most professional tire mechanics always hand thread the nuts and IF they use a pneumatic wrench at all, it is set to a very low torque. The final tightening is done with a torque wrench.
This poor guy never realized that HIS mechanic likely caused the problem the last time he rotated his tires. As for Click & Clack, you have to realize their show is more about comedy than actual good automotive advice and they tend to think of things like locking lug nuts as fru-fru devices that are unneccessary. If they were honest they would have told this guy to confront HIS mechanic with the fact that they caused the problem and they could damned well fix it at their cost. 

davel4wa said:

I have never had a problem with locking lug nuts 

Tappet brothers provided for comedic value....FWIW.

It's a matter of time. When you do end up with a damaged locking lug or when the key turns up missing it may be helpful to know how to try and overcome it. 
Hopefully that won't turn out to be halfway between Couer de Alene and Missoula on a hot day.

Attempting to remove a stripped locking lug requires a set of poor quality sockets, a breaker bar and a hammer. The outside of a locking lug is round so to remove it you will need to try and hammer a socket with an inside diameter slightly smaller than they outside diameter of the locking lug over the lug. Since not all locking lugs are made the same way you'll need to fool around a bit to figure out which socket from your set will allow itself to be hammered over the lug. Hammer it down as far as possible but leave room to insert the square breaker bar shaft. Hopefully the socket does not split. Once you have the socket in place you can start trying to turn the lug, carefully and slowly. You do not want the socket to slip off or spin on the lug. With patience and time you may eventually be able to work the lug off. This is how thieves remove locking lugs when they don't have the key.
Once you have the lug off you are still not entirely out of the woods. After you change your wheel you probably won't want to try to re install the locking lug so unless you have a spare lug with you (if you are using locking lugs, you should) you'll need to decide if you want to drive to the next town with one lug missing.
If this works you've been lucky, the alternatives include drilling the lug out or using torch to burn it loose. 

Michigan_Mike said:

Locking devices are used to keep honest people honest.  I know there has been talk of using GPS chips, etc.  I’ve traveled coast to coast and up to Alaska and camped in remote areas without issues.  I’ve owned 5 teardrop trailers and have my own theft deterrent process in place.  I don’t use wheel lug locks for the reasons noted above.   I DO use a wheel boot, better known as “The Club Tire Claw.”  



In addition to the tire claw I keep a lock through the trailer hitch and incorporate an additional “built-in” theft deterrent, deploying the trailer stabilizers when parked outside my home and when camping.  I have three tire claws and have used two at once when camping in remote areas where I was away from the site for an extended period of time.  

Bottom line here, if someone wants what you have they will do whatever they need to do to get it!  Keep the stabilizers down, install a wheel boot and keep your possessions out of sight.  Throw out s couple of camp chairs, make the place looked occupied and keep it insured.  👍🏻

Yes but thieves watch you-tube to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gctHsKUu1NY

This lock picking lawyer dude does everything on a bench; clean sterile environment. I mentioned on another thread that all you need to do is flip the claw(or any other similar style lock)over so that the key slot faces the ground, and I challenge anyone to pick that lock with so little hand access, and no visual. Unless someone has a powder actuated nail gun, or the right shims, the trailer is safe.

I have a claw and coupler locks and seems like all I am willing to use
Both can be opened if a thief is good
That's why I also have insurance 

Cherokee said:

4ncar said:

This lock picking lawyer dude does everything on a bench; clean sterile environment. I mentioned on another thread that all you need to do is flip the claw(or any other similar style lock)over so that the key slot faces the ground, and I challenge anyone to pick that lock with so little hand access, and no visual. Unless someone has a powder actuated nail gun, or the right shims, the trailer is safe.

A thief with a smart phone to look this you-tube up (google), a feeler gauge in his tool box and a 2" ball on the back of his truck and the trailer is gone .

...and my insurance will cover the theft. How paranoid can one be? 

@Cherokee Well I’m glad to see you’re prepared to gap some spark plugs. Or is that a bench top photo from your lawyer bud?