Does your sledge make noise?

 

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No it doesnt make noise

 

very nice i might need to copycat you on this

 

Excellent fab work! I am going to use this idea also.

 

Cool thanks! post picks when you finish yours!

 

I was going to suggest getting one of those really long padlocks and running it back around the tube of the rack, but I guess the hard part then would be keeping that little spreader bar in place. I do like the weld idea though. If you were to do that, I would say back the nut off or shorten the u-bolt and plug weld it. Tack welding would be easy to break and someone probably won't see it before putting a wrench on it, meaning they would probably still get it apart.

I think you're right though on the spur of the moment theft prevention. If someone see's a lock on the retainer they probably aren't going to walk over and examine it more closely. If they want it that bad, they're going to get it regardless.

One other idea would be to paint the hardware black. Make it blend in with the rack so it's not so easy to see that it can be quickly disassembled.

 

I was going to do that when the weather is better.