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ozzie65
03-17-2014, 04:53 PM
Hello everyone
I have a quick question! With all the modifications and changes everyone makes on there trailers, I see everyone locking there stuff up and making sure it's battoned down so no one cane get to it. Maybe I'm nieve but I have been camping for 25 + years and in the early years in tents and popups and I have never had some one take or steal something from my site. Campers seem to respect other campers stuff. I have nothing but good things to say about the people I have met out on the road. Has any one out there actually had stuff taken? :confused:

GaryWT
03-17-2014, 05:31 PM
I think most lock things up for when the trailer is in storage, some places your trailer is just out in a storage yard and people can get to it so they lock things up. I always feel safe where I camp and only lock the doors if I am leaving the campground. I have a friend that locks his trailer whenever he leaves his site even if it is to go to the next site. To each his own. I too have not had anything stolen.

dandjh1958
03-17-2014, 05:40 PM
We were at several camp sites over the past year and we saw at least one couple who lock and unlock all doors to their trailer anytime they left the site. So in a day, we watched them lock and unlock all the doors at least 5-6 times.
Then usually on the other side, we saw at least one couple who had everything out in the open and never locked or even closed their doors while they left the site.
We just usually lock up if I am leaving for the day and coming home at night. Things I really don't want to walk away stay with me in our tow vehicle (cells, laptops, tablets etc).
I've even left our tailgater satellite dish out on the picnic table for weeks with only a chain and lock. I don't think people target campers much..... maybe teens looking for beer at times....
Happy camping!

BobnLee
03-17-2014, 06:58 PM
We have never had to lock anything up (yet) and have not had any problems.
Usually stay in Florida just outside Tampa and never locked the trailer dont think we even closed the outside door. We had to search high and low for our house key when we needed to give it to a friend who was staying at our place for a week when we went to the Dominican. Unfortunately it doesnt seem to matter how hard it is to prevent theft, if its going to happen then it will. I guess we have been very fortunate. Cant see us locking up the tanks,batteries or anything else. I will just loose the key and just get frustrated.

Ken / Claudia
03-17-2014, 08:31 PM
I never have had any theft and I do not leave genny or fuel etc out that could be seen from the road. I had to take all reports of theft, and other crimes from several of the state parks and rest areas (all near PDX). It does happen. I think the closer to a big city you are, you will see the most problems do to the druggies.

Wing-in-it
03-18-2014, 03:57 AM
I've been at a state park here in VA and a camper broke into the camp store to retrieve some extra camping funds.....It didn't work out to well for them....

Mark

crash
03-18-2014, 06:09 AM
We always lock ours up due to our english bulldog Rebel those dogs are at the top of a thieves list because of the price and the money they can be sold for.We paid $4,800 for him and no amount of money could replace him,and our boarder collie Cocoa has a mind of her own she will haul butt if she got a chance:D

Outbackmel
03-18-2014, 07:16 AM
We were in a five star park for a month recently. The whole section we were in was under new construction. Dozens of workers all over the place. Remote RV wash crews in and out, etc....
Makes sense to lock your door. Why not?
The great news for rv's is you have to pry a door open or pick that "very expensive" , "complicated" door lock! :)

Andymon
03-18-2014, 08:13 AM
We were at Port of Brooking RV park over Christmas and had our Coleman camp stove taken. Other campers had some stuff taken also. Police think it might have been some folks from Crescent City. They drive through a couple of time scouting things out and then come back lat at night. Fortunately I found the exact same stove on ebay. Still...it was a bummer to know that someone just walked right up to the side of the trailer and stole something.

gsmith31
03-18-2014, 04:07 PM
I had two battery's stolen 2 years ago, tt was in back drive when this happened. last year they tried to take the hole camper, do to the battery taken out, from last thief. they could not run the electric jack to hook it up. they left my house ,went down the street and took another camper, in broad day late.

cabinfever
03-18-2014, 04:33 PM
To tell the truth. If they stole our entire camper that would suck, but with our insurance policy I would only be upset for a short while. Time to start shopping for a new RV! WooHoo....LOL

AlpineOppa
03-28-2014, 07:18 AM
Been camping all my life and trailer camping for past 6 yrs. I usually lock the camper door when we leave for the day because it makes us "feel safer" - even though I know that it's very likely that everyone in Keystone campers in the campground has the same generic keys that I do. Never have had anything stolen from inside or outside the camper (and although I keep a tidy campsite, I do leave a lot of stuff outside).
It's just left up to one's comfort level.

Western Traveler
03-29-2014, 02:10 AM
Never had anything stolen from camp but my friends and I caught a van full of thieves in our remote campsite once. Their eyes grew very large staring down the barrels of three guns. They chose to leave the camp at our urging (We were hours from communication with the outside world out on this two track).
Recently I and about 6 other rigs had our batteries stolen out of a gated storage area in a senior park. They left the most Basically locked ones alone.
There have been generator thefts in So Cal and Southern Arizona recently right out of campsites at night. Thieves are brazen enough to cut the handle on the Honda generators that were locked down.
Sad to say we are now taking basic precautions when away from our rig including a tongue lock. Still not going overboard worrying about our basic equipment, we leave it out all the time.

mom2budnbug
03-29-2014, 02:57 PM
I caught someone eyeing our generator that was just inside the garage. I am sure it would have been gone if I had not walked out with the dog. DH is looking at ways to keep it from being stolen when out camping.

Teamster81
03-29-2014, 06:54 PM
My brother in law and a couple friends were out fishing most of the day and returned to their campsite to find their cooler full of beer and chairs were in the next campsite. They were being used by a bunch of young men who denied stealing them and claimed they were their own. My brother in law is a lot more even tempered than me. He reported it to the host but still came home without their possessions
.

homer3
04-07-2014, 08:21 PM
America is not the country it once was. I can remember as a boy when camping in Yosemite, as a family we would go down to the valley for the day. Instead having to worry about what the neighbors were going to steal, we would come back to having dinner ready for us prepared by our neighbors. WOW - have things changed.

outwest
04-07-2014, 10:06 PM
My brother in law and a couple friends were out fishing most of the day and returned to their campsite to find their cooler full of beer and chairs were in the next campsite. They were being used by a bunch of young men who denied stealing them and claimed they were their own. My brother in law is a lot more even tempered than me. He reported it to the host but still came home without their possessions
.
Wow, just wow. Talk about nerve...

I felt like my father was just being neurotic when he put last name on his water hoses, etc., but apparently not.

Ken / Claudia
04-08-2014, 07:12 AM
If the park host won't help, phone the police. Stealing is a crime in every campground just as at home. No mention were the camp is but, here there are state police, sheriff deputies and armed federal law inforcement rangers in the national forests and BLM lands.

Phil76
04-10-2014, 09:16 AM
Makes me sad to think that people would target such a family oriented activity. Not just your country, we had someone drive up to a campsite with a truck, hook it up and drive away. The owners came back to find it missing! Just awful. We lock bikes, BBQ, other expensive and easily moved things.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

ozzie65
04-10-2014, 04:35 PM
Thank you everybody with your replies. I would be real upset if someone took my cooler full of beer. I guess it's better to be safe than sorry.
Thank you

audio1der
04-12-2014, 05:10 PM
I lock everything. I want to be trustworthy, but it's a transient lifestyle and neighbors are often gone before we wake...

TandE
04-13-2014, 06:17 AM
We were at several camp sites over the past year and we saw at least one couple who lock and unlock all doors to their trailer anytime they left the site. So in a day, we watched them lock and unlock all the doors at least 5-6 times.
Then usually on the other side, we saw at least one couple who had everything out in the open and never locked or even closed their doors while they left the site.
We just usually lock up if I am leaving for the day and coming home at night. Things I really don't want to walk away stay with me in our tow vehicle (cells, laptops, tablets etc).
I've even left our tailgater satellite dish out on the picnic table for weeks with only a chain and lock. I don't think people target campers much..... maybe teens looking for beer at times....
Happy camping!







My brother in law and a couple friends were out fishing most of the day and returned to their campsite to find their cooler full of beer and chairs were in the next campsite. They were being used by a bunch of young men who denied stealing them and claimed they were their own. My brother in law is a lot more even tempered than me. He reported it to the host but still came home without their possessions
.

That is the only thing that I have had taken from my camp site. Although not as bold as those guys. Teens would take my growlers out of my cooler (since they are too big for the fridge) the least they could have done was finish them instead of letting them get warm and skunked. Oh well at least I got the bottles back. Like others have said I have heard of thefts but it is usually near the big cities.


Travis

sbmarks3
04-13-2014, 06:23 AM
I was in a campground years ago south of Chattanooga, TN in Ringold, GA. During the night almost every camp site was hit by thieves. I lost two bicycles (that were strapped in my truck) many lost CB radios ice chests ect. We drove around the next day, found a seedy looking mobile home park near by, started asking around. Long story short everyone got their items back, a local punk got a trip to the can.
I'm in a park in NM now and last week someone had their fifth wheel hitch stolen from next to their trailer.
I try to keep everything locked up.

turbopilot51
04-13-2014, 07:16 AM
Theft happens even when parked in storage. Happened to us last year so we changed storage lot. We always try to keep things locked up when out and about.

wbatto
04-13-2014, 04:58 PM
Hi all,
We take our camper on two week vacations once a year, and leave it parked the rest of the season in a park a couple of hours away. Nothing comes up missing but firewood! I think the reason why is, someone pulls in and thinks " hey that guy will never miss 4-5 sticks" After 6-7 time of that and you have no wood left.

SAABDOCTOR
04-14-2014, 08:44 AM
mark everything! in aplce where it will not be noticed by the theif. take a picture of the marks to show to the local L.E.O.

rhandyr99
04-14-2014, 04:48 PM
My son's bike was stolen from LakeWood Campground Myrtle Beach - We had a cable on it but it wasn't locked. Its was a really nice bike... :( Golf carts are stolen there all the time as well! Security Guard was not interested in hearing about it or helping us...

Essness
04-18-2014, 05:26 AM
If you secure your site, you eliminate the possibility of a crime of convenience. It's too easy for someone to walk up and see something and say, "I like that" and if they are not honest folks, they will now own it.
we tend to go to off road parks where the campground will empty out while everyone is riding during the day. So, we lock up.

rhandyr99
08-05-2014, 07:28 PM
Actually it was chained but the lock was not actually locked - my son forgot to close the lock.. It was his new bike that was stolen...they left the other bikes but took his... Live and Learn.... :(

chuckster57
08-05-2014, 08:21 PM
Retired prison guard..if I'm not sittin inside it or next to it it's LOCKED. 25+years of locking people IN makes it habit.

mikell
08-07-2014, 08:44 AM
Funny story from a co worker when he was about 15 hunting with his grandpa. Walking back to camp 3 guys in a truck drove by and stop just past and said thanks. they got to what was left of their camp and 1 tire on the truck slashed.
Gramps changed the tire and headed to town sure enough the first bar they came to the truck was there.

They headed inside and right up to the table table where the 3 sat and told them they could walk out and return their stuff and he would walk away.

They laughed but just for a second, when the police arrived they were handcuffed together on the floor hand to foot and grandpa was drinking beer.

6'6" and a State Police Commander no real questions asked of grandpa and my coworker. They were given one of the local cops hunting cabin for the rest of their stay

SAABDOCTOR
08-07-2014, 10:53 AM
I love happy endings:d

Ken / Claudia
08-07-2014, 01:09 PM
Good story, refer back to my post #18. CALL the COPS. Park employees Park Hosts and security guards are not trained to arrest bad guys and investigate crimes. You can ask them to help but, what will and can they do nothing. Yes, unless the crooks are still around or you have a good license plate they may not be found. But, you do not know if the stolen items come up found at a nearby dope house, pawn shop etc. You will not know if the police have possible suspects in mind already and just need a detailed report of stolen stuff to get a warrent and boot their door.

floatflyer
08-07-2014, 10:23 PM
I have been full timing for almost two years now with no problems. I do research places in advance and avoid any park that seems like there are"trailer trash" types around. Retired folks and working type families have been excellent neighbors. I lock the doors if I'm gone for the day but not just for a grocery run or such. My kayak, BBQ grill, etc., sit out and have never been disturbed. The other campers I've spoken to say the same thing. Not to say my grill won't be gone tomorrow morning but it's unlikely and I don't worry about it.