Boondocking in a TT

[Frank B]

Bill, hard to imagine anyone dumb enough to attempt stealing the stacker.

And while there are things you can do to discourage the casual thief, the casual thief is not usually interested in the whole unit. And, if they are interested in the whole unit, there is nothing you can do to stop them from taking it. Bolt cutters make short work of any cable, and a small electric grinder will cut through any hardened padlock or ball lock.


Discourage the casual thief by locking up items outside, and allow your insurance to cover anything else. For anything truly Irreplaceable, like the pictures on my hard drive and on my camera, I just take those with us in the truck when we go.

 

[rlpeeler]

One short note from me for that "just in case" scenario;  consider a GPS tracking device that can easily be hidden in the travel trailer.  If someone were to take off with your travel trailer, you (and the police) could track it down before the thieves knew they were being tracked.  Many of them out there for under $50 and here's just one from Wallyworld:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/GPS-tracker-90-Days-Long-Standby-Vehicle-Tracking-Device-TKSTAR-TK905-DC-5V-1A-Car-Tracking-Device-With-Powerful-Magnet-Car-GPS-Tracker-black/336365192

 

[jackiemac]

One short note from me for that "just in case" scenario;  consider a GPS tracking device that can easily be hidden in the travel trailer.  If someone were to take off with your travel trailer, you (and the police) could track it down before the thieves knew they were being tracked.  Many of them out there for under $50 and here's just one from Wallyworld:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/GPS-tracker-90-Days-Long-Standby-Vehicle-Tracking-Device-TKSTAR-TK905-DC-5V-1A-Car-Tracking-Device-With-Powerful-Magnet-Car-GPS-Tracker-black/336365192

Thanks great idea!

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Alas, I would not rely on one of these to recover a car or truck, though I'll concede that someone stealing a travel trailer might not think to jam it.

See:

https://gizmodo.com/jamming-gps-signals-is-illegal-dangerous-cheap-and-e-1796778955

https://www.geotab.com/blog/combating-gps-jammers/

 

[Stephen S.]

Well you just don't tell anyone that it's on the vehicle until after you recover it. Maybe not even then.

I have GPS tracking on my new scooter. There is no sticker or sign that it is there. And I have no idea where the dealer stashed it on the cycle.

No thief would know to block the signal. And cutting power (removing the cycles battery) will instantly send an alert to me. It has enough internal battery power to keep sending location for a couple of days.

 

[Jkoht]

All ideas on here sound great, but honestly sounds like extra stressing out to me. I go out camping in the woods off forest roads all the time during fall hunting seasons. Most of the time during the day I'm out hunting and I dont come back until 5 or 6. I'll lock the trailer and the truck but I don't stress too much over the rest of my setup which includes a generator and an entire outdoor camp kitchen with awning. If someone wanted to steal anything I could lose thousands of dollars and years of effort. During these times the roads are traveled by other hunters so I know my campsite has been visible to others. I've never had any trouble or had anything go missing. I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it if I were you. On a side note I have and use gaia GPS for my phone. My old handheld screen cracked and I didn't want to spend a couple hundred to replace it. I found out about Gaia and how it uses the GPS sensor in your phone and doesn't require a cell signal to operate. Don't get me wrong a cell signal can help buffer satellite or topo images, but it isn't required. You can download and save maps for offline use. I don't know what the pricing is now because I know they changed recently. I bought the app for $20 and have unlimited access to download maps, but I think now it's cheaper but might charge to download maps, dont quote me on that though. One more thing, while it does have too and satellite with some amount of user uploaded POI's, I don't think it shows public vs. private land.

 

[GARYJ]

Hi jackiemac,

While I wouldn't worry a lot about it for a short period of time, if you are only going to be gone for just the day, locking the hitch is the one good thing you could do. I like the idea of a wheel lock.

One idea, (but would take a little effort & take up space) is to make a manican or dummy and perch in the window for all to see. Maybe turn on a light so a silhouette shows through. You may be able to have a manican head in some stuffed shirt cloths. I know it sounds extreme. Also, sound recordings that will activate with a motion sensor, to give the idea someone is around.


I'm available on Saturdays  ;D      I've also been up too long tonight.

What is a manican?

 

[jackiemac]

What is a manican?

Mannequin, a doll that you dress......  ;D