Like most Class B owners, we left our campsite at Miller Riverview Park in Dubuque IA to go into town to eat dinner. When we got back to the campground, someone had stolen 3 yellow leveling blocks we had left in place. We had also left a very nice Welcome mat that they didn't take. Also, when I plugged in, I noticed that they had tried but failed to steal my expensive Progressive Industries surge protector that I had secured with a bicycle lock.Not the first time we have had things stolen from our site while we were away doing something. Par for the course, but probably a bigger problem for small RV's that don't tow anything. Moral of the story, don't be too trusting.

Yep, and if someone catches them taking the stuff, the just say they thought you left it behind, and they were going to turn it in to the park office. It used to be just firewood, but now they seem to go after anything they can get.

On the flipside, maybe they really DID think those items were left behind? Was there any indication that the site was still occupied? Chairs, tables, etc.? A note?

There is no flipside. Blocks, mat and surge protector is a big indicator of occupancy. Whether left accidentally or not, no one has the right to take it.

I know now that leaving those things means you are coming back. But I would not have known it before reading this thread. And I am a B'er myself! I never drive the van in town, though.

Bottom line...if it doesn't belong to you, leave it alone.

Leveling block theft | Good Sam Community

toedtoes
Explorer III
Jul 23, 2015
ckwjl wrote:
toedtoes wrote:
ckwjl wrote:
jjson775 wrote:
Some of the responses to this post look like they are from the kind of people that do steal things in campgrounds.

Yep… that’s exactly what I was thinking. You were ripped off. Under the circumstances you described, anyone with common sense would believe your site was occupied.

Jfkmk - my comment about being accused of being a thief was in direct response to these posts. They are at what I took offense.

As for the surge protector - I would agree with you, except for the fact that we do not know WHO tried to remove it. It could have been an employee of the park who thought it was left behind, then was told to leave it. We don't know the person who took the blocks was the person who tried to take the surge protector.

I understand that things appear to be very clear for many. I have just found that without actual facts, it's better to give the benefit of the doubt than to go off with an accusation and then be humiliated when it turns out not to be that clear cut.

What are all these benefit-of-the-doubt needers doing with all this merchandise they are taking from the campsites of others they believe (hope?) have been left unoccupied?

When the owner of the goods returns, are you rushing over to their site to explain why you took their things while at the same time vehemently apologizing and begging them to not call the police?

Shouldn’t the lost and found bins of campground offices be overflowing with leveling blocks, 50 to 30 amp dog bones, water pressure regulators, door mats, extension cords, grills, chairs, hammocks (yes, we padlock our beloved Pawley’s Island hammock), bikes, water hoses, coolers and whirligigs?

Do you think you are doing the campground host a favor by getting a head start on prepping the site for the next camper? If so, are you also taking away fallen branches, returning the picnic table to its proper position, raking and cleaning the site, and taking the tag off the post that indicates the site is occupied for two more days? Or are you just taking gear?

Are you also dumpster diving?

Who knows what "all these" people are doing with the stuff. Probably they do a bit of everything you've mentioned plus some things you haven't depending on the person and the reason they took something. Geez, I've forgotten something at a store/restaurant before and rushed back in to see someone with it - when they see me, they give it to me and tell me they were taking it to the register - I guess I should start assuming they were really trying to steal it from me.

None of the campgrounds I have ever stayed at have a campground office, let alone a lost and found bin. So, not sure what you expect people to do - drive 1-1/2 hours to the ranger station?

As for RV parks, what do you think happens to the stuff in their lost and found bins? Do you think the owner of the blocks, after realizing he left them behind, drives back 300+ miles to collect them? Do you think he calls the RV park and has them overnight them to his next park?

Do you think the RV Park, looks in their records to find the prior guest of a site and mails the stuff to their address on file? Do you think they keep this stuff sitting around for years waiting for the owner to re-appear and claim it? Or maybe they hold it for a week then give it out to other guests who realize they left theirs at the last park? Or maybe the employees take them home and sell them on ebay? Or maybe they throw them out with the garbage?

And what does dumpster diving have to do with the price of beans in China????
loving_retireme
Explorer
Jul 23, 2015
I am amazed this tread is still running.
ckwjl
Explorer
Jul 23, 2015
toedtoes wrote:
ckwjl wrote:
jjson775 wrote:
Some of the responses to this post look like they are from the kind of people that do steal things in campgrounds.

Yep… that’s exactly what I was thinking. You were ripped off. Under the circumstances you described, anyone with common sense would believe your site was occupied.

Jfkmk - my comment about being accused of being a thief was in direct response to these posts. They are at what I took offense.

As for the surge protector - I would agree with you, except for the fact that we do not know WHO tried to remove it. It could have been an employee of the park who thought it was left behind, then was told to leave it. We don't know the person who took the blocks was the person who tried to take the surge protector.

I understand that things appear to be very clear for many. I have just found that without actual facts, it's better to give the benefit of the doubt than to go off with an accusation and then be humiliated when it turns out not to be that clear cut.

What are all these benefit-of-the-doubt needers doing with all this merchandise they are taking from the campsites of others they believe (hope?) have been left unoccupied?

When the owner of the goods returns, are you rushing over to their site to explain why you took their things while at the same time vehemently apologizing and begging them to not call the police?

Shouldn’t the lost and found bins of campground offices be overflowing with leveling blocks, 50 to 30 amp dog bones, water pressure regulators, door mats, extension cords, grills, chairs, hammocks (yes, we padlock our beloved Pawley’s Island hammock), bikes, water hoses, coolers and whirligigs?

Do you think you are doing the campground host a favor by getting a head start on prepping the site for the next camper? If so, are you also taking away fallen branches, returning the picnic table to its proper position, raking and cleaning the site, and taking the tag off the post that indicates the site is occupied for two more days? Or are you just taking gear?

Are you also dumpster diving?
DutchmenSport
Explorer
Jul 22, 2015
Funny reading all of this.... I have, in the past, scoured for firewood. I have, in the past scoured empty campsites to see if anything was left behind. I have in the past also forgot and did leave something myself, to return, and find it now gone, or the campsite occupied by another camper. In which case, I conceded ... it was my bad mistake ... get over it, the item is gone!

When the campground empties out Sunday at noon, and it is now Tuesday morning and the campsites have not been occupied, and you find something there... is that still "theft?"

How about when you go to occupy the campsite you have previously reserved, and you discover something was left by the previous occupant? What do you do then? ... let's see ... a pair of pliers, a pair of scissors, a kids walkie-talking (only one though, not both), bungie cords, springs that hold those carpet mats to your camper steps, ... oh ... how about all those cigarrette butts thrown on the ground!

What do you do with all of that? Theft!

How about if you find something laying on the side of the road and you pick it up and take it? (Which I do quite often)... screw drivers, hammers, electric cords, rope, all sorts of stuff. Who do you give it back to? Theft? come-on ... get real!

Now, to blatantly go into some's camp and take something ... now that is a different matter... I 100% agree there! Use common sense folks. come-on!
toedtoes
Explorer III
Jul 22, 2015
ckwjl wrote:
jjson775 wrote:
Some of the responses to this post look like they are from the kind of people that do steal things in campgrounds.

Yep… that’s exactly what I was thinking. You were ripped off. Under the circumstances you described, anyone with common sense would believe your site was occupied.

Jfkmk - my comment about being accused of being a thief was in direct response to these posts. They are at what I took offense.

As for the surge protector - I would agree with you, except for the fact that we do not know WHO tried to remove it. It could have been an employee of the park who thought it was left behind, then was told to leave it. We don't know the person who took the blocks was the person who tried to take the surge protector.

I understand that things appear to be very clear for many. I have just found that without actual facts, it's better to give the benefit of the doubt than to go off with an accusation and then be humiliated when it turns out not to be that clear cut.
jfkmk
Explorer
Jul 22, 2015
toedtoes wrote:
jfkmk wrote:
jfkmk wrote:
toedtoes wrote:
Yep, those of us who think that giving an unknown person the benefit of the doubt, rather than blindly accusing them of purposely ripping people off, are all thieves. Sheesh.

I'd rather give the benefit of the doubt to the person who had their items stolen than the their who took their items. Have you read the things folks said were taken? Even with cones, Locks, signs, etc? Why do people think it is ok to take something just because there isn't someone watching it? Sheesh.

Here's a really good way to avoid being "mistakenly" labeled as a thief; if something doesn't belong to you, don't take it. Period.

First, my original comment was in response to the OP. In that situation (only a mat, some blocks, and a surge protector left) it IS very possible that the "thief" believed those items had been left behind. In THAT situation, I said I would give the unknown person the benefit of the doubt and not blindly label them a thief.

I do not agree that leaving a few blocks on the ground is a universal sign of continued occupancy.

Second, I NEVER said that under every circumstance you must assume the person took things by mistake and that no one ever purposely steals. OF COURSE there are people who purposely steal. And some of the above responses have shown that to be the case without question.

But, in the face of no strong evidence to suggest otherwise, and no interaction with the "perpetrator", I would rather believe that my stuff was taken by mistake than that it was stolen. I would rather spend my time in campgrounds looking at the neighbors thinking "gee, my site really did look pretty unoccupied" rather than "you're all stupid thieves".

And for that I get accused of being a thief myself.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I still maintain, though, that a LOCKED expensive surge protector is a clear indicator the person didn't abandon the items and that the person who took them (and tried to take the AlOCKED surge protector) is clearly a thief. I also maintain that if you never take something that doesn't belong to you, you should never be mistaken for a thief. I never intended to imply YOU are a thief unless, of course, you've taken things that didn't belong to you.
toedtoes
Explorer III
Jul 22, 2015
jfkmk wrote:
jfkmk wrote:
toedtoes wrote:
Yep, those of us who think that giving an unknown person the benefit of the doubt, rather than blindly accusing them of purposely ripping people off, are all thieves. Sheesh.

I'd rather give the benefit of the doubt to the person who had their items stolen than the their who took their items. Have you read the things folks said were taken? Even with cones, Locks, signs, etc? Why do people think it is ok to take something just because there isn't someone watching it? Sheesh.

Here's a really good way to avoid being "mistakenly" labeled as a thief; if something doesn't belong to you, don't take it. Period.

First, my original comment was in response to the OP. In that situation (only a mat, some blocks, and a surge protector left) it IS very possible that the "thief" believed those items had been left behind. In THAT situation, I said I would give the unknown person the benefit of the doubt and not blindly label them a thief.

I do not agree that leaving a few blocks on the ground is a universal sign of continued occupancy.

Second, I NEVER said that under every circumstance you must assume the person took things by mistake and that no one ever purposely steals. OF COURSE there are people who purposely steal. And some of the above responses have shown that to be the case without question.

But, in the face of no strong evidence to suggest otherwise, and no interaction with the "perpetrator", I would rather believe that my stuff was taken by mistake than that it was stolen. I would rather spend my time in campgrounds looking at the neighbors thinking "gee, my site really did look pretty unoccupied" rather than "you're all stupid thieves".

And for that I get accused of being a thief myself.
booster
Explorer
Jul 22, 2015
If you talk to the Rangers and other park employees, they will tell you it is an escalating problem, that started with firewood and has gone up from there. It can be very region specific, also, from what we have seen.

Sometimes, all you have to do is sit back and watch around noon time. Most of the parks are pretty empty then of vehicles as many have checked out, new folks haven't shown up, and others are out on day trips. There is often someone out picking up anything they can find from "unoccupied" sites, most often firewood. We regularly run into people that say they never buy firewood, because they can always find leftover wood in sites. We also regularly run into people (including us) that have their firewood stolen. Nice coincidence.

If we see someone in a site that is occupied, but the folks are gone, we usually tell them it is occupied, and inform a Ranger about it, especially if we know where they came from.
jfkmk
Explorer
Jul 22, 2015
jfkmk wrote:
toedtoes wrote:
Yep, those of us who think that giving an unknown person the benefit of the doubt, rather than blindly accusing them of purposely ripping people off, are all thieves. Sheesh.

I'd rather give the benefit of the doubt to the person who had their items stolen than the their who took their items. Have you read the things folks said were taken? Even with cones, Locks, signs, etc? Why do people think it is ok to take something just because there isn't someone watching it? Sheesh.

Here's a really good way to avoid being "mistakenly" labeled as a thief; if something doesn't belong to you, don't take it. Period.
jfkmk
Explorer
Jul 22, 2015
toedtoes wrote:
Yep, those of us who think that giving an unknown person the benefit of the doubt, rather than blindly accusing them of purposely ripping people off, are all thieves. Sheesh.

I'd rather give the benefit of the doubt to the person who had their items stolen than the their who took their items. Have you read the things folks said were taken? Even with cones, Locks, signs, etc? Why do people think it is ok to take something just because there isn't someone watching it? Sheesh.

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