We have been ripped off. They took everything.

[John Linck]

Some of you may follow Mike Wendland thru his great podcast about Roadtrek RVing. His RV was broken into while he parked for dinner at an upscale mall. Its a very disturbing tale. Here is the beginning of his story.

Seven minutes is all it took for our RV to be burglarized, to lose $12,000 and counting worth of equipment – just about everything of value inside the motorhome except the dog.

Yes, just seven minutes.

That’s all it took for the bad guys to come into our space, take our stuff.

We know it was only seven minutes, too, from our dash cam recording most of it...

Read the rest or listen to his podcast at Roadtreking.com

Be careful out there, John

[Darwin Maring]

I wonder if a very loud alarm would have helped?

[Byron Kinnaman]

Once again bad things happen to camping trailers in places other than campgrounds.
AVOIDING POTENTIAL PROBLEMS. At least what I do.
When traveling and wanting to eat I never park in a shopping mall parking lot. We look for a stand alone place with parking that I can see the rig from windows or a least it's visible from a window. The door is always closed and locked while traveling. It won't keep a determined crook out, but it slows them down a bit. I don't keep expensive stuff inside my trailer. I doubt I have $12,000 worth of stuff with me and certainly not in the trailer. Expensive stuff like cameras, computers, GPS units, etc. etc. are kept in the truck and out of sight.
Curtains are closed on the trailer so you can't tell if there's somebody inside or not.
Large shopping mall parking lots parking is just asking for trouble.
OK that's my 2.5 cents workth.

[Timber Wolf]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

I doubt I have $12,000 worth of stuff with me and certainly not in the trailer.

Ain't that the truth. My whole rig, Scamp/Tug/Contents are not "worth" 12K. Well, maybe if the dog was inside.

[John Linck]

Byron,

Good idea to lunch where you can see your rig. I try to do that as often as I can. I am also considering building in a secret hiding place for valuables or maybe just put them in the bottom of the dirty clothes bag. I have some left over obsolete devices to leave around to fool the thief and make them think thats all there is.

Insurance is a good idea. Its just stuff after all.

Plus, if I was a thief and saw a Scamp and a Mercedes Sprinter Roadtrek in the same parking lot I know which one I would hit. Maybe we shouldn't use all that polyglow.

John

[Jim Bennett]

Though it does not compensate for the PITA of the ordeal, I make sure I have good insurance to cover the loss.

[Ken C]

Yep, the to catch a thief TV show demonstrates about 7 minutes for your house too.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by John Linck

Byron,

Good idea to lunch where you can see your rig. I try to do that as often as I can. I am also considering building in a secret hiding place for valuables or maybe just put them in the bottom of the dirty clothes bag. I have some left over obsolete devices to leave around to fool the thief and make them think thats all there is.

Insurance is a good idea. Its just stuff after all.

Plus, if I was a thief and saw a Scamp and a Mercedes Sprinter Roadtrek in the same parking lot I know which one I would hit. Maybe we shouldn't use all that polyglow.

John

I don't believe you have to seen necessarily but if it can be seen by some of the patrons the bad guys won't know if the owner is watching or not. Most thefts are crimes of opportunity, therefore the rule is reduce the temptation. Keep valuables out of sight and avoid upscale anything.

[Cathy P.]

I was glad they didn't hurt the dog. Personally, I would avoid the larger cities and I don't "do" malls because none of them feel that safe anymore. Just because the neighborhood and the stores seem upscale, that doesn't mean that people from the other side of the tracks aren't milling about. Anymore with the drug use issues, you have people on both sides of the track trying to support their habits.

[Evergreengirl]

Boy, what an awful thing to have happened. I do worry about our trailer/truck getting vandalized or broken into when we stop at restaurants, parking lots, trail heads, etc. Don't worry much at all in campgrounds, but perhaps I should. I too have thought about creating some sort of hiding place for the laptop and my camera gear. I know thieves can find your secret hiding place, but anything to slow them down would help I think. Mostly we just do the prudent stuff - lock up and keep things out of sight. Fortunately more people don't get robbed than do get robbed.

[Newbie]

Bottom line S&@! Happens, the dog is fine...that is all that matters

[John Linck]

So, I have been thinking of creating some kinda hidden storage to slow down thieves. How about some kinda wall/floor safe. On the wall it could be covered with a picture secured with strong magnets. On the floor under a carpet.

Here is an Amazon offering (pictured)

Is this silly?

John

[Cathy P.]

I wonder, how many people here have had their trailer broken into? We had a pop-up taken with hitchlock in place - pulled it to a flatbed from our front yard putting together what we could on how it was done.

Roadtrek is an extremely high dollar vehicle and there was pretty much a guarantee that anything in there was going to be worth the trouble of breaking in for. Having met lots of RVers over the years, the only other break in that I heard of was of a very high end Class A in an RV park with a high fence. The burglars removed the vent on the roof and obviously dropped inside sadly, they were probably using a child. They got a lot (cash and jewelry) since the people, believing that since they were in a high end park they didn't have to worry.

I would probably just carry a larger tote (also could be taken) and put my laptop, etc. in there and take it with me.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by John Linck

So, I have been thinking of creating some kinda hidden storage to slow down thieves. How about some kinda wall/floor safe. On the wall it could be covered with a picture secured with strong magnets. On the floor under a carpet.

Here is an Amazon offering (pictured)

Is this silly?

John

Hardly worth the cost and effort.
How would you attach such a thing to a wall of a fiberglass trailer. It would look kind of funny sticking out.
A safe light enough and small enough for a trailer wouldn't hold enough to be worth the effort.
I still think the best thing to do is:
> Not carry a lot of valuables. That also means no valuables inside the trailer while parked at home.
> Stay out of upscale anything parking lots. That includes upscale RV Resorts.
> Stop and eat at small restaurants where you have the possibility of watching your trailer while eating.
> Stop at truck stops where your trailer is between big trucks and eat at the truck stop restaurant.
> When camped get to know your neighbors so that you are more likely to watch out for each other.
> Stay out of State Parks, RV Parks, and RV Resorts.
What are attempting to do is reduce the chance of being robbed, you can't eliminate the chance entirely but can help your odds.

[Cory Hilby]

Originally Posted by Byron Kinnaman

Hardly worth the cost and effort.
How would you attach such a thing to a wall of a fiberglass trailer. It would look kind of funny sticking out.
A safe light enough and small enough for a trailer wouldn't hold enough to be worth the effort.
I still think the best thing to do is:
> Not carry a lot of valuables. That also means no valuables inside the trailer while parked at home.
> Stay out of upscale anything parking lots. That includes upscale RV Resorts.
> Stop and eat at small restaurants where you have the possibility of watching your trailer while eating.
> Stop at truck stops where your trailer is between big trucks and eat at the truck stop restaurant.
> When camped get to know your neighbors so that you are more likely to watch out for each other.
> Stay out of State Parks, RV Parks, and RV Resorts.
What are attempting to do is reduce the chance of being robbed, you can't eliminate the chance entirely but can help your odds.

Did you just say stay out of everywhere you could possibly camp or visit?

[Cathy P.]

Originally Posted by Cory Hilby

Did you just say stay out of everywhere you could possibly camp or visit?

But, the reality is that there is no where that I can think of where someone would be safe from a thief. They are now coming in the house when people are home and I see that as the worst that could happen. So, I figure if I can't be 100% safe anywhere, I should go where I want to be and live my life using reasonable caution.

Maybe there is a difference in insurance companies or RVs but when our pop-up was taken, the insurance man told us to remember to make a list of things that were in the camper so we would get reimbursement for them. Now, it may in the case of the Roadtrek guy that some of those things may not have been covered under his policy since not a lot of people carry $12,000 and counting in their vehicle. Even with our house policy, you need "special" add-ons for certain equipment.

Read your insurance policies and watch for changes each year as some companies reduce coverage and it is easy to miss unless you read the entire very dull policy.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by Cory Hilby

Did you just say stay out of everywhere you could possibly camp or visit?

If you're limiting your self to State Parks, RV Parks, and RV Resorts you're spending way too much money and missing out on some real outdoor adventures. There's lots National Parks camping, National Forest Camping, Corps of Engineers camping, BLM camping, Dispersed camping, county campgrounds.

If you want to see what I'm talking about go here.


To answer your question directly.. I have stayed in an RV Park once. Januay 1, 2006, the first outing with my brand new 2006 Scamp 13'. The first and last time in an RV Park. State Parks I think 7 or 8 nights. Average nights camping per year, over 100.

[Island Claire]

My parents lost everything, including the Westphalia while in Mexico. My mum asked my dad if she should bring her purse or hide it in the vehicle. Being hard of hearing I am sure many hear the conversation. She lost her passport and the extra set of keys to the vehicle was in her purse.
Please think about any questions you are asking each other as you are locking up. ESPECIALLY if you are hard of hearing. "Dear, should I bring the camera? Did you hide the computer?..." I have overhead so many of these conversations in parking lots. Hide and relocate items at the beginning of each day and do not do it at the location you will be leaving your vehicle. You never know who is listening or watching.

[Stan and Carol]

Oliver trailers have a ready made built in safe place, and it's not locked. No, I'm not telling you where it is. But then again, the most valuable thing we take along is the lap top.

Stan

[Donna D.]

KNOCK ON WOOD, KNOCK ON WOOD. The only time I've lost stuff while camping was in an Oregon State Park! The first time was during daylight and the group I was tent camping with decided to drive to the river.. 2-3 miles away. Someone came into our site and helped themselves to our purses, wallets and booze.

The second time, it wasn't me, but folk's from California attending the Oregon Gathering at Bullard's Beach State Park. At sleeptime, all their cash, digital camera, etc. was in their locked and alarmed tug was breached.. stuff disappeared. Remember, not all alarms on your tug are door alarms... it's only if someone is trying to start and steal the vehicle!

Keep important stuff with you or in your trailer at night.

Am I the only one that remember the couple here on FiberglassRV that lost EVERYTHING while camping on BLM land and no one was around for miles? Someone even stole their chairs that were around the campfire ring. Sad, true story.

It happens, just be as safe as you can. Other's stories may not be your story no matter how many nights they've been out camping.