Campsite Security
There is still some summer remaining to head out camping. Are there precautions and devices you can use to enhance your campsite security? There certainly are and a lot of the things you can do are very similar to what you do to protect your home. But there are also some camping specific procedures and technology you can employ.
It should be noted that total security is impossible – anything can be stolen: camp stoves, propane tanks, lawn chairs, fishing equipment, BBQ’s, batteries, ground-based solar panels. Fortunately, if stolen, these will be more of an inconvenience, and not a major financial loss.
If you are camping, you can follow the same axiom you should be using for your home; make your campsite look harder to target than other campsites. Thieves will always try to take the easier route. It may not reduce overall crime, but it will reduce your crime.
The biggest risk exists while you are not at your campsite, and to a lesser extent when you are sleeping. Employ the tactics you use at home:
- Keep valuables out of sight – if a thief doesn’t see it, they don’t know you have it.
- Lock the doors of your RV and vehicle.
- Use motion sensor lighting. There are battery operated lights specifically designed for RVs. These will alert you to both human and wildlife intruders.
- You can use cameras like trail cams to give you a record of who/what has come to your camp. This is an after-the-fact strategy but if properly situated you might get a picture of an individual or a licence plate. There is a debate as to whether a camera(s) should be visible or not – visual deterrence vs stealth. However, ensure your camera is situated such that it cannot be stolen either.
- Get to know your campsite neighbours. It seems easier to make friends with campsite neighbours since the probability is that you are like-minded people. You watch their campsite, they watch yours.
Some procedures specific to camping are:
- Lock up your bicycles either to something sturdy like your RV or a big tree.
- Use a hitch lock on your RV. These are cheap and prevent outright theft of your RV.
- There are campsite motion sensor alarms but set them properly so that if they go off for whatever reason, human or wildlife, it doesn’t keep bothering your fellow campers.
- Have bear spray in case of emergency.
- There are trip wire alarms you can set up at the entrance(s) to your campsite which can vary from something as simple as tin cans filled with rocks on a wire to ear-splitting electronic alarms. Obviously, these would likely only be used if you were going to a somewhat dubious spot.
If you are tenting instead of RVing, or back country camping and setting up your tent at designated back country sites, there are some portable alarms for your tent zippers that can scare off thieves. Back country thieves are extremely rare, and alarm equipment would have to be packed in where weight is always a factor. If you are camping off the beaten trail, you probably don’t need to give theft a second thought.
With respect to leaving boats at the dock or pulled up on shore, use strong locks, install a theft tracker and take the usual precautions like removing the keys and ensuring nothing of value is left in it. Remember to use a hitch lock on your boat trailer too wherever it is parked.
I have seen RCMP patrol through a campsite in the late hours of the night but I’m not sure how common a practice this is.
Decades ago, I worked with an ex-park ranger (Bruce) who relayed to me the story of Herbie. Herbie was a campsite bear who frequented park garbage cans prior to today’s bear proof containers. One day a couple of campers came up to Bruce and reported that someone had stolen the steaks from their cooler. It was one of those coolers where you pushed a button on the side and then slid the top over to open it. Bruce laughed and said no that was Herbie. Herbie was a very experienced cooler raider, and the push button cooler wasn’t an obstacle to him at all.
Dave Schroeder
HCRCWA Board Member
Free Classifieds