leaving a van unattended in the boonies

[steveh2112]

maybe i should post this in the boondocking thread, not sure, anyhoo:

suppose i want to park up my van in a nice quiet spot in a dispersed or similar camping area, maybe other campers around, maybe not. then run into town or go on a trip on my bike, or an all day hike or whatever.

maybe do this every day for several days or even up to 14 days as that seems to be the limit in most BLM places

what steps should i take to keep the van safe? i assume take passports and cash etc with me obviously, but what about the van? electronic disabler, old school disabler (take distributor cap off), boot it?

what do you do?

 

[steveh2112]

this website has a few issues, i can't edit posts and never get email notifications. anyhow, no problem

also, have you ever had a break in, 2 or 4 legged?

 

[jimindenver]

I'm not a real fan of leaving the site for long periods but we see rigs packed up and locked down every time we are out. I've known people that went to work daily and moved their rig every few weeks not to mention the thousands of daily users that just park and head off into the wilderness for who knows how long. I'm sure theft happens but I bet it is more likely in a nice neighborhood than up there.

Now part of it here is the remoteness. A thief could hit the jackpot but on anything but a holiday weekend they would be driving mile after mile of ruts, washboards and rocks for the possibility of finding a unattended rig. Many of the sites are obscured from the road so they would have to drive every little trail in just to check. Add in the amount of target practice done up there and I'd hate to be caught in someones site when they came back after firing off some of the cannons I hear. Come to think of it, they also have huge dogs and if nothing else are mountain folk and you are in a veryyyyy remote area........

In the end no matter where you leave your stuff unattended, you are taking a risk.

 

[SoulRaven]

I've had worse luck in campgrounds and rest areas than I've had either in the city or in the boondocks.

My off grid cabin is whole different story, it is a victim of thieves and vandals on a very regular basis.

 

[flailer]

I'll motorcycle, hike, bicycle, or just ride down to the library for hours at a time.  Depending, sometimes for 10 hours at a time.

Thieves will observe before breaking & entering....  They maybe idiots, but they are not (we hope) stupid either. 

So what I do is:  I leave nothing of value visible.  But I DO leave a mostly-empty box of 45ACP shells on the dash.  Sometimes a few shotgun shells for good measure.   They seem to know what this means.  

I have been known to scatter used shells and casing around my camp site for good measure. (yes I clean up before leaving, duh). 

 

[MikeRuth]

I'll motorcycle, hike, bicycle, or just ride down to the library for hours at a time.  Depending, sometimes for 10 hours at a time.

Thieves will observe before breaking & entering....  They maybe idiots, but they are not (we hope) stupid either. 

So what I do is:  I leave nothing of value visible.  But I DO leave a mostly-empty box of 45ACP shells on the dash.  Sometimes a few shotgun shells for good measure.   They seem to know what this means.  

I have been known to scatter used shells and casing around my camp site for good measure. (yes I clean up before leaving, duh). 

Leaves a good impression on the possibilities of breaking in. I love it. 

 

[Matt71]

I'll motorcycle, hike, bicycle, or just ride down to the library for hours at a time.  Depending, sometimes for 10 hours at a time.

Thieves will observe before breaking & entering....  They maybe idiots, but they are not (we hope) stupid either. 

So what I do is:  I leave nothing of value visible.  But I DO leave a mostly-empty box of 45ACP shells on the dash.  Sometimes a few shotgun shells for good measure.   They seem to know what this means.  

I have been known to scatter used shells and casing around my camp site for good measure. (yes I clean up before leaving, duh). 

If I were a thief, I'd see that more of a sign of there being guns in the vehicle that I could steal. More than likely the gun would be somewhere in the vehicle (a shotgun or rifle anyway), so even if you catch the crook in the act, he'd be more likely to have the gun at that point than you.

But I'm smarter than your average thief, so maybe it would keep the idiots away.

 

[akrvbob]

I've been boondocking for 7 years and it just has not been an issue. Never had a break in but a couple times I've had things stolen from my campsite, none of it of any value.

I was a campground host at a campground once and I was gone and had some small items taken, and another time I was camping a block outside of Palmer Alaska and had two camp chairs taken. I can't remember anything else in 7 years of boondocking.

For the last 4 years I've had a trailer that got left behind every trip, which was often because I take hour walks twice a day and of course regular trips into town.

My trailer has never been in any way bothered and nothing stolen from the camp with the trailer. The two times above were without the trailer.

My experience is it's a non-issue. I 100% believe the further away you get from towns and campgrounds the safer you are!!! Why?

Because that's where the crazy people live!
Bob

 

[highdesertranger]

I totally agree with bob. now if you are boondocking within 50/75 miles of a large metropolitan area I would be worried. highdesertranger

 

[Matt71]

I think if you figure out the odds it's probably pretty safe to leave your van unattended in the boonies.
So let's take a look.
First you have to figure out the pool of potential thieves, which is actually pretty small compared to in a city. A great deal of those people are going to be on vacation or preoccupied with some other activity which reduces the pool even more. Unless you're advertising you have a bunch of high end, easily snagged stuff, most people will ignore your van entirely. And those who do take notice are far more likely to be concerned about where you are and if you are ok than taking your stuff.

Now, of that small selection of potential thieves, only a few will be actual criminals, and of those only a small number will have the means/skill/guts to break into a locked vehicle.
Then you have to factor in that that small selection of thieves is not likely to be prowling for potential targets in the middle of nowhere. Thieves are lazy and are not likely to wander aimlessly - that takes time and [gas] money. They're more likely to go where they know they can find an easy target like an actual campground. People are also creatures of habit, so they're likely to stick to locations they know and visit often, which probably doesn't include remote boondocking sites.

Then you factor in the "white van stigma". How much valuable stuff do you think the average person thinks the guy living in a van down by the river has? Most thieves are likely to assume you're destitute. A slightly smarter thief might think you're camping for the weekend which isn't likely to give them much of a score either. Unless there is a big market for stole camp stoves and smokes I don't know about.

Your vehicle is far more likely to be broken into in a grocery store parking lot. More thieves, more targets, more likely to be mistaken for a work van with more potential for reward.

 

[Matt71]

On a related note; when you are away from your vehicle for and extended period, do you ever leave a note in case a ranger or concerned citizen stops to check on you?
I think this might be a good idea, not only to satisfy the curious, but also for safety in the event that something happens to you while you are gone.

 

[akrvbob]

I have a single, female friend who has made an art out of leaving notes behind with her Scamp trailer. An example is, "Rick, sorry, but I had to run into town, be back soon. John's out for a hike and should be back by the time you get here. Make yourself at home! Mary"

She's much more creative than that but when you read it you know numerous people are heading this way very soon so it's not a good target. A Ranger also knows it's just a couple out camping and hiking. No worries.
Bob

 

[jimindenver]

There are rules about leaving a rig unattended for longer than 24 hours I believe. That doesn't mean I don't see people obviously dropping their rigs off in prime spots just before the holidays.

 

[steveh2112]

am i correct in thinking most of the dispersed camping areas and nicer free camping areas, there is most likely always going to be other campers around (outside mid winter when i'll be in sunny Thailand anyhow)? if so, i guess that's a comfort to know.

also, suppose i was totally paranoid and wanted to do something simple and low tech to disable the van. i guess i could take the fuses out but that's pretty simple to overcome. any ideas?

 

[flailer]

I have a single, female friend who has made an art out of leaving notes behind with her Scamp trailer. An example is, "Rick, sorry, but I had to run into town, be back soon. John's out for a hike and should be back by the time you get here. Make yourself at home!  Mary"

She's much more creative than that but when you read it you know numerous people are heading this way very soon so it's not a good target. A Ranger also knows it's just a couple out camping and hiking. No worries.
Bob

That is simply the BEST IDEA yet !!!!  
(could also include cell number on the message if someone wants to call you about your rig) 

 

[offroad]

Add "our new Rottweiler gets real excited when he hears new people nearby, so just keep still if he runs up to you and starts getting nippy. He only bites hard if he think you are a threat ".

 

[jimindenver]

am i correct in thinking most of the dispersed camping areas and nicer free camping areas, there is most likely always going to be other campers around (outside mid winter when i'll be in sunny Thailand anyhow)? if so, i guess that's a comfort to know.

also, suppose i was totally paranoid and wanted to do something simple and low tech to disable the van. i guess i could take the fuses out but that's pretty simple to overcome. any ideas?

Not necessarily. The area we hope to finish up this year allows us to be anywhere from a quarter mile to miles away from our neighbors. Often the lay of the land or trees will keep you from knowing someone is parked a quarter of a mile away but you know it when they fire up their generators. We have been in areas that are much denser including a few free campgrounds on lakes where they pack you in like sardines. We have had nothing taken in a quarter of a century.

 

[vanman2300]

To the question of disabling the van. There have been more than a few studies that show the most effective anti theft device is a well hidden kill switch. As far as burglary I doubt that there is much you can do about it except make it more difficult.

 

[steveh2112]

the the kill switch just disables the ignition i guess right? i'll look into it, thx

 

[msbarth]

I like Bob's post about the note and the post by gsfish about the large bowl and dog chews. I think a LARGE pair of men's boots beside that bowl and chew might also help.