When you leave your campsite for a day long hike or fishing trip do you all usually leave your campsite set up or do you fold down the camper and lock it up? Has anyone ever had any problems in State or National parks? Sorry for asking questions like these but this is our first time out.
Thanks for any help you can give.
Quote from: uchwearWhen you leave your campsite for a day long hike or fishing trip do you all usually leave your campsite set up or do you fold down the camper and lock it up? Has anyone ever had any problems in State or National parks? Sorry for asking questions like these but this is our first time out.
Thanks for any help you can give.
That's a good question and there is no "RIGHT" way to approach this subject.
I have been camping for some 45 years. I have never taken any special measures when leaving camp to go play. I've never had a bad experience and I've never known anyone that has. I've never even had a flashlight or cooler go missing.
I like to think that campers sorta look out for each other and I think that thieves realize that. Stealing something from a campsite would seem to be risky business and thieves are usually cowards.
We have found that the best safety measure is to not tempt fate. We don't leave items of value either outside the camper or inside, for that matter, if we are going to be away for any time. Locks, after all, are really only for the honest - especially camper locks. We have camped for almost 30 years and have found that most campers are considerate and friendly people. We are all paying good money to relax and enjoy nature and our surroundings. Keeping an eye out for suspicious behavior and reporting it in a timely manner to the proper authorities keeps things as safe as possible. Just my $.02 worth.
Cheryl
We leave incidental things out, but do put away anything of real value. Also keep the coolers with us to keep out curious critters, both 2 and 4 legged ones. Depending on the weather forecast we put all chairs in the van so they stay dry if a passing shower pops up. In the many years we've camped...either way back in the woods or at a State Park nothings come up missing yet.
Oh and one more thing......
GO WINGS !
Since I have a small popup (8' box) I always carry the tent along, too. Will set it up (if a downriver canoe trip is not in the planning) and use it for a storage shed. I keep all major items of any value out of sight, i.e., the Coleman lantern, ice chest, outside cook stove, extra L/P tank, OUTBOARD MOTOR, ALL fishing tackle, the axe, chain saw. Will leave out two of no account lawn chairs, old coffee pot setting on the picnic table, the extra water container and a dish towel hanging on the line.
Quite often I'm away for a good part of the day and so far nothing has showed up on the missing list. A couple of times I thought there were missing items but it just turned out I mis-laid them somewhere!
Fly
We leave our stuff set up and lock all important things in the TV. So far we haven't had any incidents, although once we had some beer go missing from our cooler one night (they left the soda and the wine!). Now I put the cooler under the bunkend I'm sleeping in and stack stuff on top! Don't mess with my BEER!:D
Quote from: wernstriumphWe leave our stuff set up and lock all important things in the TV. So far we haven't had any incidents, although once we had some beer go missing from our cooler one night (they left the soda and the wine!). Now I put the cooler under the bunkend I'm sleeping in and stack stuff on top! Don't mess with my BEER!:D
How much beer was it? :p
Maybe you just don't remember what happened to it :!
:J
I always try to introduce myself to other campers in the campground. This makes it even more likely everyone will look after everyone elses stuff.
We put the cooler inside the camper and lock the stepper door. Chairs, BQ, etc. stay out. If leaving for a short time we leave every thing out. Never had a problem in many years of camping....
I try to secure evrything so it won't get wet or blow away in a storm. Make sure the wildlife stays out of the food..
Quote from: waveryHow much beer was it? :p
Maybe you just don't remember what happened to it :!
:J
It's funny you should say that! My buddy had the site next to us and all our beer was in one cooler (sounds like a proverb). The next morning he said,"Man you drank all that beer!?" I said,"NO, I thought YOU drank all the beer." Boy those raccoons are really smart...and choosy!:D
At least twice I have OBSERVED people taking things from my neighbors' campsites. I was glad to see it happen.
Now, before you get in twit about my behavior and attitude, let me 'splain.
These were in national parks, and there were very clear rules about how to maintain a clean camp in order to discourage bears from invading the campground. It was made clear that no food or coolers were to be left unattended at the campsites. Both of these were cases where the campers had flagrantly ignored that rule. There were open food and drink containers all around as well as multiple coolers. A virtual invitation for bears. The people taking things were the camp rangers, and they were confiscating the stuff that should have been put safely away. In both cases they left written messages to the campers telling them where to go to retrieve their stuff.
Aside from that, I have never experienced any theft from a campsite.
-Speak
None of the things we do are intended to prevent theft. They are more in line with reducing liability and/or the likelihood of an accident,or reducing natural wildlife.
We put things like lanterns and folding chairs in the camper or under the bunk end.
Coolers are stowed inside the camper out of the sun and out of sight.
The stepper door is closed and locked.
Thses things won't prevent theft, but might prevent some wandering toddler from getting hurt (call the lawyers), coming back to find all our chairs have puddles in the seat from the unexpected shower, coming back to find the black squirrels have chewed the cover off the peanut butter, coming back to find the black bears have chewed the cover off the peanut butter, etc.
Have we had stuff stolen? I don't know. There are two things that we can't account for (a coleman fuel lantern and a single-burner coleman fuel stove). But I don't know if 1) they were stolen from the campsite, 2) we failed to pack them up when leaving (it's happened before), or 3) they were stolen from our storage site. (At that time, it was a set of metal shelves just inside the hallway of our apartment. The spot was visible from the street, and although it would have been B&E to open the door, it was seldom locked and would have taken two seconds for someone to take the stuff. I believe that is what most likely happened.)
Austin
We lock bikes if not talking them. The one time we didn't lock my wifes bike, it was stolen. We put the seat part of the CG table on top of the coolers to keep critters out and take any bags of food with us. Stepper door goes up too. Anything valued like cameras are in the truck with us.
We have camped in state, county and private parks. We've never had anything stolen. We leave our coolers under our outside table (where I prepare food, near the door) to take advantage of the shade. If we bring bikes, we either park them under a bunk, or we have locked them with a long cable to a tree or just together. No sense in tempting some kid who might otherwise be honest.
We do flip up our stepper door and lock it. That's basic security, just in case.
Dh was convinced someone stole our axe once. We had the leather cover, but no axe, and he was convinced he left it sitting on a rock near the road. We heard someone chopping wood and he even went to investigate, convinced it was his axe. A week later when we folded down our trialer, there was the "stolen" axe, sitting on our roof where he left it.
Don't be paranoid, and use common sense. Don't leave your MP3 player out on your picnic table while you leave; don't leave your bike set up ready to jump onto next to the road while you're gone for hours. Most folks camping are just like you --they just want to make some memories and relax.
I would not put the stepper door up and lock it. That's like announcing that no one's home. If you have all the canvas closed up (which you must do because you can't risk leaving it open in a surprise rainstorm), then a passerby has no way to know whether or not someone is inside keeping an eye on things. With the stepper door up and locked there is no doubt.
-Speak
Quote from: SpeakEasyI would not put the stepper door up and lock it. That's like announcing that no one's home. If you have all the canvas closed up (which you must do because you can't risk leaving it open in a surprise rainstorm), then a passerby has no way to know whether or not someone is inside keeping an eye on things. With the stepper door up and locked there is no doubt.
-Speak
You are on the wrong scale.
If a campground brat goes into your camper (because you failed to lock it) and scratches his knee (or starts a fire, or...), it will cost enough to buy several campers and a lifetime membership at the campground. I am sure the accidental injury is less likely than the theft, but it's way more costly.
Lock the stepper door, not to prevent theft, but to give the lawyers one less excuse.
Austin
Quote from: AustinBostonLock the stepper door, not to prevent theft, but to give the lawyers one less excuse.
Austin
To quote my dear departed daddy, "A lock doesn't keep a thief out, it only keeps an honest man honest."
We are talking about fabric and zippers and velcro. If someone really wants in my trailer, they're getting in. Have said that, putting one more barrier to access can't hurt.
And being in the legal industry, I agree about using some form of due diligence to block access. Same reason my doorknobs on my back gates are 5' off the ground instead of the reasonable waist-high level -- we have a pool and I need to do whatever necessary to make it difficult for a small child to give in to his temptation to go into my backyard to check it out. Yes, it's inconvenient if I'm hauling groceries in and have to reach up to open the gate, but it's a necessary evil.
To give an example to Austin's post. Way back when my son was about 10-11 we had left to go to some attraction and at the end of the day when we returned the campground was in an uproar. Police, people running around, people crying and yelling. We pulled into our site wondering what all the fuss was about when the DW opened the trailer and found one of the kids my son had played with the previous day sleeping on our bunkend.
He was lonely and came over to play with Patrick and had gone into our unocked trailer and fallen asleep waiting for him to come back. Needless to say the "fuss" was a "lost child". I won't bother with the details of the next several hours but needless to say, yes I lock the trailer door now.
I hate being wrong.
I also hate our litigous society.
:(
-Speak
Quote from: mike4947To give an example to Austin's post. Way back when my son was about 10-11 we had left to go to some attraction and at the end of the day when we returned the campground was in an uproar. Police, people running around, people crying and yelling. We pulled into our site wondering what all the fuss was about when the DW opened the trailer and found one of the kids my son had played with the previous day sleeping on our bunkend.
He was lonely and came over to play with Patrick and had gone into our unocked trailer and fallen asleep waiting for him to come back. Needless to say the "fuss" was a "lost child". I won't bother with the details of the next several hours but needless to say, yes I lock the trailer door now.
This is a "Fair-enough" example and brings up an interesting point. However, I would say that scenario would be
quite rare.
Having said that, it makes me wonder if there is a small dead-bolt type lock that could be installed on the screen door. That way, it would keep out the curious or accidental intruder without making it obvious that no one is home. Although, I suppose that it would be easy enough to just undo the velcro on the door, reach though and lock the screen from the inside then replace the velcro again.
I don't close and lock our outer door and put up the step either and I doubt that I will start doing it now. It's just hanging out a big fat sign that says, "No one is in this camper". However, this discussion has brought up some interesting food for thought.