Last night, thieves broke into several pickup trucks in our RV campground. The miscreants must have found what they were looking for before they reached our campsite because nothing was done to our truck, thankfully. Our Florida campground is privately owned, and the owners live on-site. It’s a quiet and safe location. Well, I thought it was.
The incident got me wondering, what’s your preference: gated or non-gated RV parks? I talked to several RVers this morning and found two distinct opinions on this topic. Here’s what the RVers said.
Only gated parks for us!
Ellen looked upset. “We usually stay in gated parks. This was supposed to be a quick overnight stop. Now we have a broken truck window. Never again! If an RV park doesn’t have gate security, they will not get our business.”
“I like the security that a gated park offers,” Tom said. “Plus, you don’t have ‘looky-loos’ driving through [the park] during the daytime to scope out the place.”
“A gate is a deterrent to those who want an easy ‘score’,” Barb shrugged. “The more difficult the entry point, the less likely crime will enter.”
We prefer no gates!
“Gated RV parks usually cost more,” Stan offered. “RVers end up shouldering the cost for that gate. If somebody wants my stuff, they’ll get it one way or another—with or without a gate.”
Cheryl said, “I understand the security that a gate provides, but in the few gated RV parks I’ve stayed in, the owners manually close their gate by 9 p.m. I can’t even go to an evening movie for fear of being locked out!”
“A gate can be a pain,” Scott agreed. “I like RVing because of the freedom it provides. I don’t want any restrictions telling me I have to be back in the campground before the gates are locked.”
Your turn
How about you? What’s your preference: gated or non-gated RV parks? Vote and then explain your position in the comments below.
Gates, like locks, don’t stop thieves. Might slow them up a little but that’s it.
Correct…just look at all the RVs that have been stolen from high fenced RV dealer lots with security systems!
It depends on the location. Big city like Phoenix, definitely gated. But no gates are needed out in the wilderness like Yellowstone.
I sometimes camp at a military Family Campground. Gated…except that the rear of the facility opens up to an unguarded beach on a publicly accessible lake. SMH…
I think that it depends on the location of the RV park. If the owners of the park feel that it is necessary, then there is probably a good reason for it. We were in San Antonio last year and noticed several parks with gates, walls and secutity officers. With the crime rate there we did sleep better at night.
Depends on the area.
So far, I’ve never camped in an area that needs gated campgrounds.
I agree on location of the park. However, a gated driveway does not stop thieves. Most are on foot with their vehicle parked in an inconspicuous place. May not be in the campground at all.
As far as being back at a certain time, the few gated ones we stayed in had card readers at the gates.
As far as vehicle break ins. Do not leave anything of value in your vehicle and lock the doors. If the doors are unlocked, it is technically NOT a break in.
We had a neighbor who lost their phone, laptop and expensive camera stolen from an unlocked car in their driveway.
Same for rv in storage, all valuables including generator are out during storage. Some guy up above in the comments had a generator stolen while rv was in storage…why was it in the rv?
If it needs a gate, I don’t want to be there.
Our preference is state and national campgrounds or small private owner operator campgrounds. RV parks and resorts tell thieves something of value is in there and if it’s gated maybe even more valuable. The only thing stolen from me over the years were tools I loaned people to fix their car or rig such as lug wrench, jumper cables, or hand tools. If I can’t spare it I don’t loan it and I won’t stop helping others because of a few bad apples.
Gated or not isn’t part of our decision. We’ve stayed at a few gated parks, but we didn’t even know about gates until we showed up at the ones that had them.
I get it. Truly I do. Yet I prefer non-gated parks. I like to see a park without arranging for an escort before considering it for more than short term use. As we have family within driving distance, I prefer not to go over multiple speed bumps for a day visit. I would never stay in a park where *I* did not have 24 hour access (what about that medical emergency and I don’t get home until very late?). At the same time, I am currently looking at a gated park (gate code access).
Depends on the amenities and price.
It depends on the neighborhood. We recently stayed in a State Park in FL, which had a gate and restrooms required code, yet the laundry was undercover in the open. A County park in FL had codes on the restrooms and laundry facility and was not gated.
The last gated park I stayed at wanted to charge me $22 per person to allow two friends to come to my RV for a couple of hours to visit and have a cup of coffee. I won’t be going back there.
Thank you, Gail! 🙂 No preference normally. If we anticipate friends visiting us, then would prefer non-gated. Thanks again and save travels! 🙂
Just finished up a month on the road and visited 13 different campgrounds (state parks and US Forest), most didn’t have gates or any special security patrol. One state park with a gate is particularly nice and allows campers access to their own boat ramp. Nice addition as the public boat launch can get crowded. Also it keeps any unnecessary traffic down. At another state park, I chanced to “meet” a couple guys who were cruising the park and campground and wanted to chat as they were curious about my RV and the places I’ve been. Not an overly-uncomfortable situation but I slept with the bear spray close by that night.
No preference gated or not. With that said, in parks we stayed at, which were gated, generally were in more sketchy neighborhoods.
So for RV park crime, we have had items taken from our campsite by fellow RV travelers. Even had leveling blocks stolen in broad daylight. I did chase the person down who assumed I’d abandoned the blocks.
French Quarter is a great example of this. Would anyone park an RV 2 blocks from Bourbon Street in a nongated park?
Most gated communities have so little security that anyone who wants to enter can. We have stayed at 3 gated RV Parks this winter, and only one was monitored on a p/t basis by a human. Lock all of your RV doors at night or when you are away, and go live your life.
I had a new Honda generator stolen a couple years ago from my RV storage facility. It sucks, but we just move on.
If you stay at Red Bluff KOA, LOCK YOUR DENTURES AT NIGHT.
This Park is gated.
I had my locked bike stolen.
The Manager has had 2 of her electric bikes stolen.
Several weeks later three chained electric bikes were stolen.
Manager says oh well.
What! There are gated RV parks?!
Gated is different than an enclosed park. Gates are worthless when people can simply walk around it. We’ve stayed in parks that had fencing around it several times and most of these had keypad gates. It makes us feel safer. Had one in Anchorage that recommended not walking outside of the park, especially in the evening. It had concrete walls with razor wire on top. Not a great area but we felt safe.
Always wondered, if gated, and someone has an emergency, can they get out? I suppose most have a lock you can get through. What about an ambulance getting in? I’m a person who likes to hit the road early. I don’t stay in deluxe places. Once I stayed in a gated place, wanted to leave early and had to get out and open the gate. If I could open it, thieves could, obviously. Thieves are everywhere, I don’t leave anything out worth stealing. A motion sensor light might be good; there is a solar one. My dog child is going to know if someone is messing about.