Campground theft - Chapter 3

[jjson775]

I bought this sign at Home Depot for $2 and added the message. Hopefully it will discourage thieves from taking our stuff when we are out and about. I wanted to add more aggressive language and maybe a sketch but my bride didn't want me to.

[Chum_lee]

My favorite window sign of all time

in big bold black block letters on a white background:

"WE DON'T DIAL 911"

polished 50 caliber sniper round hanging below
(it's a dud but who's gonna check)

Chum lee

[jjson775]

The sign worked on our last trip. Nobody messed with our stuff when we were gone from our spot. Stayed exclusively at Texas state parks. Time will tell.

[CSG]

One of the pleasures of camping in a B out west (or any small RV) is that I almost never have to go to a campground (personally, I can't stand them) and do dispersed camping instead. I'm never in a place more than overnight and I have a B so I can have my stuff with me wherever I am. Nothing is ever left behind while I'm out exploring.

[rv_bill-e]

----"I see a proclamation you are not there"---

Well if your camper is gone then it should be obvious that you are not there, sign or no sign. The sign just says that you are coming back.

[rockhillmanor]

Here is my sign permanently affixed in the window of my MH. :C


Had a cop one time tell me he didn't think it was funny.......I told him it wasn't intended to be funny.

[DiskDoctr]

tmshih wrote:
Personally I prefer to use:

"This space has been re-accomidated by United"

Wouldn't that mean you can walk over and physically "remove" the current occupant? ...and then beat them to a pulp 😞

[tmshih]

Personally I prefer to use:

"This space has been re-accomidated by United"

[PSW]

We have several window alarms similar to these
https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Discreet-Security-Magnetic-Operated/dp/B013XJHM1Y/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1492031685&sr=8-3&keywords=battery+alarm+for+door
I bought several at Harbor Freight for a few bucks each and those suckers are loud!

Fasten one side on an inconspicuous place on a gear container or box other piece of camping gear you often leave at the campsite. Drill a small hole in the magnet container and tie on a small piece of fishing line or similar. OR, fasten the line to something small you can stick to the magnet adhesive. The line can be as long as need be. Tie the other end of the line to some fixed object like a table leg. I often drive a small tent spike into the ground and attach the loose end to it.

Along comes the potential thief. They pick up the protected object and (if you are stealthy with the location of the side attached to it) will never see the small line. Grab and go.

110 decibels of alarm go off.

Now, a determined thief would look things over carefully but grass, dirt, rocks other stuff in a campsite pretty well camouflages the alarm. Most theft of camping gear is opportunistic and impulsive and so is the thief.

I have never had a piece of equipment stolen. But I probably have just been lucky. How sad how camping has changed in the last several years. We mostly never gave this stuff a thought until a few years ago.

A friend rigged a mouse trap (the old small board with the big spring type) under the appropriate place on a camping table. His fingers sure were blue for a spell after he forgot to unarm it upon his return to his camp.

[jjson775]

We have been traveling part time in a Class B and B+ for 11 years all around the US, Canada and twice into Mexico. We have experienced petty theft 4 times. The incidents occurred in Tennessee at a KOA, Taos NM, Dubuque IA and Fredericksburg TX. We were able to recover the stolen items in both TN and TX because we saw who took them. Total loss was one fancy door mat and some leveling blocks.

All these cases were in "RV Parks" as opposed to the state or federal campgrounds we prefer and where we had left no other camping gear, so a "scrounger" with questionable morals "assumed" we had left the stuff behind and were theirs for the taking. When we put out chairs, tablecloths, camp stove, etc, we have never had a problem. We always take our power cable and door mat with us but leave the locked surge protector, blocks and TV cable (if used) to show the site is occupied.

I am going to try the sign.

[ctilsie242]

I dealt with this exact thing this year. My "reserved" sign and the traffic cone wound up gone, and there was a tent in its spot with the owner playing coy about how the cone with my sign magically wound up teleporting into a ditch that was mostly uphill from the site.

One of the things I'm looking at buying is a small trailer for trips to places where there are first come, first served spots. Mainly, moving a secured trailer is a lot harder than moving a sign without being observed. Plus, having the added storage and solar panel space doesn't hurt either.

[theoldwizard1]

NCWriter wrote:
When we had our class B, and now with a small C and no toad, I would/will not leave anything valuable in a campsite while we are out and about.

Sounds like my friend who lives in the Detroit. "I don't own anything worth stealing !"

Who wants a 19" flat screen ?

[Lorne_Lorraine]

As noted by some others, such a sign would help deal with the mistaken "hey look they left and forgot their stuff" situation, which we have encountered several times. For some years now I just print off a "campsite occupied" sign, stick it in a large Zip lock bag and attached it the picnic table with the table cloth clips. Haven't had any issues since.

We've also had our assigned sites at campgrounds poached several times. Our little sign and a cheap table cloth seem to have taken care of that issue too (people need to have some visible indication the site is not vacant and, as noted earlier, the little placard on the post etc doesn't always do the trick. Yes, you can get them moved but it's a hassle), although I'm sure determined poachers may try no matter what.

Of course, "real" thieves don't care. I will leave our electric cable and water hose at some campgrounds but, if I'm not comfortable with the surroundings, I take the time to roll them up too and take them with us. So far so good. Being "travelers" and not "campers" we don't have much stuff out anyway.

[buta4]

Lwiddis wrote:
Using two exclamation symbols is not favored by English teachers.

Since when?

[NCWriter]

When we had our class B, and now with a small C and no toad, I would/will not leave anything valuable in a campsite while we are out and about. We often put a cheap tablecloth on the picnic table. It's really annoying, though, when people scarf something useful like a rubber door mat since we have to go to WalMart again and spend the $5 bucks.

The biggest concern for me is losing the campsite itself in "claim your own site" locations where just a slip of paper on a pole indicates it is taken. Or in any type of campground where people decide they like your site better than the one they were assigned and see an empty one as an invitation to move.

For several years we've used a red traffic cone marked "reserved" plunked down front and center at the site entrance and so far no one has swiped the cone itself.