Stolen Stuff

[twogypsies]

Nothing in 60 yr. of camping and 16 yr. of full-timing - mostly in public parks or boondocking on public lands.

[Country Road]

Years ago, there was some talk going around that at a certain park we were at, things would turn up missing. So I figured I’d try to catch the guy. I put one of my wife’s old purses out in front of the coach. I tied some monofilament fishing line to it and when someone would try to take it, I would give it a big yank from inside the coach.

Well one of my neighbors thought they found a purse and tried to pick it up. I gave the line a yank and I thought he was gonna have a heart attack. We laughed a long time.

To the OP, nothing ever been stolen.

[bigb56]

Originally Posted by Coarsegold

I left my water hose on the ground still hooked up to the hose bib, went for a day trip with the RV came back later in the day and no hose. Camp host found me one in the lost and found and gave it too me. Maybe someone thought I just left it, but still go and take it and not turn it in to camp host??? I was in Vegas at the time, a rather low end RV park.

Last month we did the same thing, left water hose and filter rolled up and bungeed to the spigot pipe. Also left leveling pads and door mat, went sightseeing for the day. Seems the neighbor gathered everything up and turned it in at the office. The office knew we had 2 more days so they went and put everything back. When we got home I scrounged up some junk, an old contractor's advertising sign and some ladder wire sleeved in hollow plastic tubing and put this together for next time:

[RVFunlovers]

20 years ago in a state park. Camping in my old Monaco gas coach. We had a large group and a case of beer was left out on a picnic table. It was gone the next morning. Somebody needed it more than we did. Bad move to leave that out. It was probably tempting for someone thirsty.

[RickNC]

Once in 2018, We were at an event in North Florida and I had left a 30 amp extension cord coiled by the power post while we were out for the day. It was gone when we returned. I reported it to the campground, they shrugged their shoulders like it never happens and then we found out later that some teenagers had been sneaking in through the woods and taking things that were not secured. Lesson learned.

[hamm2018]

Out in Goodyear, Az. at the park we stayed in this past February & March, things were being stolen. Items such as generators, electric bikes, portable welders came up missing.

One day a gentleman walked out as 2 guys were taking his portable generator off the rear of his 5th wheel. They got away at that time. Three or four days later, about 2 miles down the road from the park, they tried to pawn the generator. They did not get out of the pawn shop before the Goodyear Police was there for them.

A couple right behind us had their electric bikes taken, because they left the batteries in them and had a small cable/lock system to lock the bikes. We noticed any electric bike that was stolen had left the batteries in the bike.

[bigb56]

Originally Posted by RVFunlovers

20 years ago in a state park. Camping in my old Monaco gas coach. We had a large group and a case of beer was left out on a picnic table. It was gone the next morning. Somebody needed it more than we did. Bad move to leave that out. It was probably tempting for someone thirsty.

You can hardly call that theft, you were clearly being irresponsible and abusing alcohol by leaving it sit out to get warm, someone probably just stepped in and "saved" it by putting it under proper refrigeration.

[TXiceman]

The only things taken in RV parks have been a nice flag from my bike and some chuckle heads tried to steal the tailgate on my truck. Been RVing since 1984 and full time for 9 years.

Ken

[Mr Ted]

Originally Posted by bigb56

You can hardly call that theft, you were clearly being irresponsible and abusing alcohol by leaving it sit out to get warm, someone probably just stepped in and "saved" it by putting it under proper refrigeration.

No Doubt !!!

[777 Driver]

While in secure storage, one chrome hubcap, right front, with wheel cover in place.

When prepping for an upcoming trip, after having the coach in storage for a couple of months, I took off the wheel covers and discovered that the right front hubcap (with Roadmaster emblem) was missing.

More than 10 years of storage in this 'secure' facility, this was the only event.

Take care,
Stu

P.S. IIRC, purchasing a replacement Roarmaster emblem was almost as expensive as the hubcap.

[D Gardiner]

Since 1969, I have only one thing stolen from our camp site. Our leveling blocks were stollen in 2021 at a KOA in Salt Lake City. We had just made a quick 15 minute pizza run with the RV.
Upon return my wife spotted the missing blocks, and noticed a golf cart a isle over with blocks on the back. I quickly jumped out of the RV and ran after the golf cart. After a few minutes (amazing how fast a golf cart moves when you are 54) I caught up to it and stopped the inebriated couple. To say they were surprised and embarrassed was an understatement. Since then we lock everything in the RV when we leave for day trips.

[jondrew55]

We rarely even lock our trailer up when we go out to walk the dogs, or take a bike ride. If we’re gon for several hours, yea we lock up. Been RVing for 35 years and never had anything stolen.

[Jim_HiTek]

Have been full time RV'ing for 18 years now and the only thing I remember being stolen was my bike. I had it small diameter cable locked to the picnic table and someone brazenly cut the cable and walked off with the bike. This was in the middle of a large multi-level, paved, landscaped 'Resort' type RV park too. A place I'd call upscale.

What was really maddening about it was that the 5th wheel across the street always had their 3 adult sized bikes parked under their overhang UNLOCKED. But the thief cut the cable and took my older, not looking very good due to heavy use in all weather bike instead of one of those newer, hardly ridden bikes. Grrr.

[Atlantaemail]

Originally Posted by baraff

I've never had anything stolen at a campsite but lost a grill at a marina once. It just grew legs and walked.
I don't even lock up our portable EMS.
The only things I lock up in a campsite are our ebikes. With a big honkin' Kryptonite chain lock to the RV, a tree, or a metal picnic table. The bikes have alarms on them and we cover them with a waterproof cover. We did come back from a shopping trip last week and found the alarms blaring away, however it was extremely windy that day and I suspect the cover was acting as a sail and set off the alarms. I'm very glad we had no one in the sites around us.

Alarms? Please send information on where to purchase. Thanks