We have been hearing of more and more theft lately, but maybe that’s just because we’ve been in the holiday season and porch pirates were more active than ever (ugh).
But let’s talk about campsites for a minute: Have you ever had anything expensive stolen from a campsite before? If you answer yes, will you please share with us what it was and tell us about your experience? We hope it hasn’t happened more than once, but if it has, there’s an option for that. Thanks!
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Kinda didn’t want to answer, jinx. But no, not yet.
On the morning after our last overnight stop before arriving home we noticed that our new Weber BBQ was missing. We searched all around the campground but didn’t see it. But we did see it when we opened the back of the truck when we got home! Maybe our happy hour was one (or two) sips too long?
…the bird feeder was not really that expensive.
Had a cooler with a weeks worth of groceries including 10 steaks stolen from a campground outside of Williamsburg, VA. Campground was guarded but thieves apparently came in via the shoreline.
You stole 10 steaks from a campground outside of Williamsburg VA? Shame on you. :>)
Bicycles
Hub caps from my truck.
Honda generator. Who would be such a dick?
Those small generators have mostly plastic handles that crooks are cutting with a saw then just packing them away. Seen it more than once…in pawn shops.
You would think for the money you pay for them, especially the Honda’s they would build some kind of secure point for attaching a chain or some other means to the generator. Even my Progressive EMS has a metal tab/ring that I use to attach a hardened gun cable through to the lock to the utility pedestal.
hello lonewolf have a great day,
They sell an add-on handle reinforcement that is supposed to be saw-proof. I have not tested mine yet.
We don’t leave anything out while we’re gone or at night. It’s not that hard to secure it somewhere. Even chairs go back into the bay or the back of my truck. The truck has a cap on it.
As far as bikes and generators, locking cables deter thieves looking for a quick theft. You can also buy small vibration sensing alarms.
https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Vibration-Anti-Theft-Motorcycle-Security/dp/B06XTN4NPF
Not us but last year people came through the campground early in the morning and hit every unlocked vehicle. Money, a gun, and even a work laptop were stolen from unlocked vehicles. Locked vehicles had no damage.
The campground is ungated but has security cameras at the entrance. The cameras recorded nothing because the thieves apparently walked in from the side or rear. That may be why nothing large was stolen. The cops said several nearby neighborhoods also had unlocked vehicles hit as well. At least one other campground some miles away also was hit.
Don’t be stupid by leaving things unlocked or unsecured. Don’t think the campground will alert you to events like this; they won’t.
Someone took a Rubbermaid tub of dog food at Quartzsite. I guess I’m happy a dog was fed quality food and happy.
It’s heartening to see in today’s poll question that over 90% of the respondents haven’t had anything expensive stolen from their campsite.
Anything of value gets locked away. We never go off and leave a campsite set up. 2 chairs, 2nd hand, take one if you need a chair, but they are always left alone.
We had our satellite antenna and tripod stolen while we were changing sites at a county campground in rural Minnesota. The new site was only four away from the site we were leaving and in clear view of all the small campground sites. It happened in the early afternoon while we were focused on retracting slide rooms and leveling jacks. Someone, or someones, likely drove a pickup by the site and just threw it in the truck bed very quickly. We made a report with the Sheriff’s office but never heard a word about the incident.
I went away for the day and when I got back, all my hookup gear (water,electric, and cable) was gone. That added up to several hundred dollars. I have since minimized my hookup so that I take everything with me even if I’m only gone for a few hours.
No, nothing expensive. In fact, the only things we have ever had stolen were team-logo magnets on our car when we were tailgating at a football game. The cumulative value probably was under $50.
Our larger RV stays at a park year-round, but is used only 6 months (winter). No problem when the park is full of mostly the same seasonal guests, but nothing is left unsecured over the unoccupied months when the more transient crowd is here. Not to say it would be all that hard to break in, but it is enough of a deterrent. With our more mobile small TT, we use cheap bike locks, and a long steel rope cable for ‘portable’ items when we leave the campsite. I have had only one theft. Somebody stole just the vial out of one of our bubble levels (easy to pop out with a pocket knife). It was there when we parked and leveled, gone the next morning as we were getting ready to leave.
Firewood
Stolen? Yes. Expensive? No. Depends on your definition of ‘expensive’
Yep, had 20gallons of diesel siphoned from pickup in Wyoming campground. Filled up before setting up, next morning noticed fuel gage was lower than should have been. 🙁
Camped for a short time on a beach in Baja, my backpack was rifled. Stolen were a good set of binoculars, some $300 cash and assorted other items.
Yes, only one time after RVing 25 years.
We were staying in Gulf waters RV resort in Port Aransas last summer and we took our brand new bikes off the rack and put them under our slide out in our LondonAire that evening and my husband 600.00 bike was gone the next morning, they left mine. That tells me it was only one person. This is a private RV resort and everyone was shocked this happened, including us!!
Had baby breast milk stolen out of cooler. We looked around camps and found it by a tent that had drunks asleep. Their tent had to be replaced when Sherriff arrested them. Did you need any strips of tent material?
Oddly enough, on two separate occasions I’ve had a cheap Walmart chair stolen. Both had my name on the back in big letters. They also took a cheap plastic step stool that I was using as a footrest. Both thefts happened during the day while I was inside the RV.
I said no but someone here reminded m. e. Kalaloch, Wa. coast my cooler was swiped with a weeks supplies. Even my wife’s chicken salad sandwiches. I hope they got food poisoning.
The same park the ranger was pocketing all the cash from campers.
Can’t trust anyone anymore.
Firewood. Our dogs alerted us to an intrusion by the person camping next to us. Who I guess decide our firewood was free to borrow. Next morning, the wife gathered up the remaining logs and carried over to the neighbor’s table along with a note saying, next time ask, but here is the remaining of our firewood. Enjoy.
What a kind and generous way to handle that situation, Rusty. I wish there were more people like you in the world. Have a good afternoon/evening. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Yes. I went to the shower s and didn’t lock my car. My tool bag including 2 drills and charger was taken. Learned my lesson. My Dad always preached “there’s honor among campers”, I guess not always.
Had a potted plant stolen from our site and had an almost new $2000 car dolly stolen from our storage lot. Nothing worse than a THEIF!!!