Lock for fast guns

SidecarFlip wrote:
Guess it depends on if you camp in a high crime area. I never lock mine.

I think there is a general perception about Fast Guns that because they are so expensive, that we must lock them up. For a practical use, they are only good for people who own truck campers. People who have well over $30k in to a truck & camper are not the people to worry about. Therefore I am not worried about a fellow truck camper owner stealing them.

Could a metal thief make off with them? Possibly. There is not that much metal in them compared to other possible items to steal in a campground. Being lightweight makes them portable, but being lightweight limits their value to a metal thief. A quick check on stainless prices is around $.50 per pound. How much would a set of Fast Guns be worth to a scrapper? Maybe $5-10 at the most?? Sure if I am in vagrant central of downtown Metropolis, they might be worth the quick grab. But a metal thief going to a campground just to try and grab them? Naw. Remember, thieves are thieves because they are lazy & opportunistic.

Now let's do some different math with Amazon prices... The cost of the locks is $65.54. The cost of Fast Guns is $334.99. How many people have actually had their Fast Guns stolen? Let me pick 1 in 50 TC owners have had theirs stolen. That is a 2% chance in any given year I could be the one. Let's say my entire truck camper camping career is 25 years. That means there is a 50% chance I could have mine stolen some time. A $65 insurance bet to prevent a $335 50/50 loss seems to make sense. The problem is an absence of hard data. I don't recall anyone on this forum reporting theirs stolen. Let's say I am off by an order of magnitude, and it is 1 in 500. Now that is a 5% chance over 25 years and the same $65 doesn't make as much sense. And this presumes DW doesn't decide she wants a 5th-wheel or Class-A instead!

Finally, and this really clinches it for me.... I go camping to get away for some rest & relaxation. Sure, out of prudence I lock the camper and truck when I am out of the campsite. But if I have to button down every little item to prevent theft, then I will not be getting rest or relaxation. Therefore, by the very nature of going camping, I am going to be someplace where this wouldn't be a problem.

Yeah, maybe I over analyzed. I don't have locks, you do what suits you best. :)

-Eric