Theft problems?

[djnott]

I did replace my door lock but mainly to have a keyless entry (it does have a key for back up). People just have to be smart. I chain up bikes, but don't leave stuff laying around. I don't open storage doors with people around. We stay mostly in rv parks. Bad guys are looking for the fast theft & get away, so I don't make it easy. I worked last summer as a camp host in a state park. The only thing reported to me was a Spair tire taken off an empty boat trailer left in the parking lot . The thief did leave his old wore out tire and rim. Had it been locked down I don't think it would have happened. To cut a lock off you make noise.
Also go to lock lab on you tube. He picks locks people send in. But he shows how easy it is it pick a master lock. He has a list of the most secure locks you can use.
Any way the most expensive things I've got are my tools which I chained up in the rv basement and my my keurig coffee maker.

[Dutch Star Don]

Yes....A thief can get into anything they want, but it often takes some time and exposure. Unlike a house, most RVers are actually in their RV late at night or have an adjacent RVer that is home. A thief isn't going to show up with an angle grinder and wake the dead, cutting off a lock.

Theft at campgrounds are done by opportunists. Typically, it's a low life who can't afford nice equipment, so they steal yours if the opportunity arises. Simply locking your valuables will prevent the low lives from walking away with your stuff. My kids have Honda generators and it's very easy for someone to quietly walk away with one in the night. A simple cable around the TT frame and a lock and you shouldn't have any issues.

Even though our bicycles are nothing special and are cheap to replace, they're kept locked to prevent the inconvenience of having them stolen on a trip when we would like to be using them.

[jimcumminsw]

I do not worry about anything being stolen, it they want the item it will be gone. As mentioned before a battery powered cut tool will make fast work of a cable and lock. I do chain up my portable Tailgater receiver but that is to keep the honest people honest. I also have insurance that covers everything I camp with.

We have been camping since the 70's started in tents and worked our way up into 5th wheels. We have never been broken into nor anything damaged in all of our years camping.

[dexters]

Originally Posted by farsidefan1

I have not purchased a 5th wheel unit yet. I did get the truck that can handle whatever I want though. My question is this. Are breakins a problem in the RV world? I've been wondering about adding heavier duty locks on the door, cables for bikes on rack, chains on generator. Am I being paranoid? I just don't have any reference points so hoping to get some insights from the more experienced.


Thanks

If you find something stronger/better then front door locks - please post it here.

The purpose of most locks are to make you property unappealing to a thief - not stop them. They get them to move onto someone else.

With enough time an tools any security can be defeated.

[znt1186]

Originally Posted by hohenwald48

Only campground theft I've ever seen was our neighbors at a beach front CG in Florida. They left a high dollar Yeti cooler outside overnight alongside a cheap Igloo. Next morning the Igloo was gone. It was the one with the beer in it. Yeti was still sitting there. Probably someone not ole enough to buy their own beer.

Only other RV thefts/breakins seem to be confined to storage lots.

Had a similar occurrence at a Florida beach campground. Just had one cooler but it was full of cold beer. Disappeared in the middle of the night. I agree, probably kids. Now I just won't fill the cooler until daylight. Beer is always cold by beer thirty.

[spsm]

Thievery...............Of course there isn't any of that around. Just don't read about the thief that accumulated over a million dollars, one wallet at a time. The RV Bandit, remember him

[FreshAir]

We spend the winters in remote areas of AZ and belong to an atv club. Local law enforcement tend to keep clubs and various groups appraised of goings on including theft. Yes there has been an increasing trend in thefts of RV'ers property, especially this last winter and we were all doing what we could to reduce our chances of being victims. You can only do so much, if they want it they know how to get it. Times have changed,sad.

[rarebear.nm]

Most of the time I don't worry about thief much at all. Higher dollar items, generators, etc. will get a cable lock just to make the next guy's generator that is not locked an easier target. When we leave the RV, lock the door and storage bays, turn off the water outside and enjoy ourselves.

I tent camped in the west for 50 plus years leaving everything out in plain sight for extended periods while away from camp and never had anything bothered by a human. Small rodents and marmots are another matter. But no bear damage either.

A strange but true story. Much of my camping equipment has our family brand painted on it, It is the number 144 in an abstract design. 144 = 12 x 12 = 12 dozen = 1 gross = my last name. Well anyhow I had given away an old Coleman green/white ice chest some years earlier with the brand on it. I got this phone call from a stranger asking if I owned a green/white Coleman ice chest. He had found it on the side of the highway near town. He studied the brand and figured out what it represented, checked in the local phone book and gave me a call. He was only one two people who have ever figured out that brand. Anyhow, I was quite amazed and thanked the fellow for his attempt and explained I had already given away this chest once and did not really want back so he could keep it if desired. So sometimes it hard to keep stuff from coming back to you.

[NRR]

Never had a theft problem. Now what I left behind when leaving is another story.

[FreshAir]

I've had things stolen until I remembered where I put them.

[rarebear.nm]

Yea and I bet you that found them in the last place you looked!

[FreshAir]

Originally Posted by rarebear.nm

Yea and I bet you that found them in the last place you looked!

How'ed you know? Hey, like you posted, I also spent 50 years in the west hunting and tent and trailer camping. Guns, fishing poles, camp gear left in camp and never had a single thing come up missing.

[Hit_the_Rhod]

Originally Posted by Raining Star

Every fulltimer I've known has pretty much sold of all their valuables before hitting the road. Few sane people would stockpile cash in their RV, or travel with their family jewels or heirlooms.

Exactly what kind of valuables do the fulltimers you know travel with?

Never said anything about stockpiling cash.

A few items that I consider "valuable", and not just restricted to full timers, are:

Jewelry
Expensive camera equipment
Generators
Yeti Coolers
Satellite receivers
GPS
Laptops
Fishing Gear

The list goes on . . . . some people might not think any of the above are "valuables", but I do.

Fulltimers don't have the option of leaving their stuff at a "secure location" since it wouldn't be available to them for use, so they carry it with them . . .

[Raining Star]

Originally Posted by Hit_the_Rhod

Never said anything about stockpiling cash.

A few items that I consider "valuable", and not just restricted to full timers, are:

Jewelry
Expensive camera equipment
Generators
Yeti Coolers
Satellite receivers
GPS
Laptops
Fishing Gear

The list goes on . . . . some people might not think any of the above are "valuables", but I do.

Fulltimers don't have the option of leaving their stuff at a "secure location" since it wouldn't be available to them for use, so they carry it with them . . .

No professional thief has any of that stuff on their hit list, other than very expensive jewellery. Sure, some punk kid would be happy to steal that stuff if it's an easy grab, but that's far from a professional thief who will actually break-in to an RV in order to get it. That was the topic under discussion, to my understanding.

Some punk kids will grab anything they can, whether it has real value or not. That doesn't make them the same as a professional thief.