Living in an RV allows you to be comfortable, carefree, and confident of your own survival skills, since you are living outdoors, something that is unconventional even today. However, RVs are hot targets for burglars, robbers, and thieves. They might be out there to steal your appliances, your furniture, your stocks and storage, and even your RV itself. RVs cost a lot so these vehicles are prized possessions for robbers. They can get a lot of money from selling it off as a used vehicle, and you do not want that to happen.
How can you secure your travel trailer from theft? Always lock your doors and windows, pull the shades down, keep your RV keys with you, do not show off your valuables to everyone, invest in high-quality locks and a safe to store your valuables inside the trailer, and never leave your RV unattended.
This article discusses how you can prevent theft from happening in your RV. I will also talk about how to prevent your RV itself from being stolen because thieves do not choose what to choose, as long as it is profitable to them. Lastly, I will be giving tips and tricks that you can use to secure your travel trailer and yourself from thieves and robbers.
Tips And Tricks On How To Prevent Thievery In Your RV
Always Lock Your Doors And Windows
It goes without saying that you should always lock your doors and windows, even in your RVs. RVs are like your houses so whatever you do in your house to prevent unwanted people from entering should also be done here as well.
Simply lock them every time you leave, even if you will be gone for a few minutes or a few hours. Make sure to lock and close your exterior storage compartments as these are lures to robbers and thieves, especially if you live far from your house or far from urban areas.
Check And Choose Parking Slots Wisely
Not because the parking spot you want has beautiful features or has a good view of the sunrise does not mean that you will just compromise your safety and security. It is very important to consider how you park your trailer at all times. Thus, most people choose to reverse their trailers into a parking spot.
Positioning the camper in this manner makes it easier to drive away when you’re ready to go home, but it also makes it easier for someone to hitch up your trailer or jump in your car to take it, and leave while you are out hiking or enjoying the area.
Do not allow the hitch to retract. Instead, turn your camper so that the tongue is under the access. Potential robbers will be deterred because they will have to physically transform the camper in order to steal it, which will take longer. To park this way, you will need a jockey wheel or tongue jack.
With the wheels turned, park your motorhome with the nose facing the house or a wall. This will make towing much more difficult. If you are storing your RV, a large garage or some other secure location will help keep it protected from humidity, rodents, and weather is best.
If you have access to it, consider storing it in your backyard. The goal is to get it as far away from the road and out of reach as possible. You can buy a jockey wheel to drive smaller, towable RVs without having to use your tow vehicle. This will allow you to point your hitch away from the lane, making driving away with it more difficult.
Always Choose Your Storage Facility Wisely
Some RV owners might not have the big parking space in their homes to park their RVs closer to them. Hence, they might opt for storage facilities nearby. The catch there is that it can still be prone to being stolen.
If you have an alarm or a motorhome tracking device, make sure to have set them before leaving them in the facility. Some storage facilities are frequently unmanned or have CCTV that is not actively monitored, allowing thieves to take their time bypassing the vehicle’s security without anyone noticing.
Thieves also have a larger selection of vehicles to choose from at a storage facility, so if your motorhome is more desirable or appears to be easier to steal, you may be the unlucky one. Before settling on a storage facility, do your research first. Search if it had any previous break-ins or thefts and the amount of security it has.
Check for perimeter fencing, 24 hour access control, CCTV surveillance, and on-site protection, and once you have chosen your storage location, check in with the owners on a regular basis to see if anything has changed. You must check up on your RV in the storage regularly to see if it is well-protected from thefts and break-ins.
Bring Your Keys With You At All Times
Some campers leave their keys on in their RVs whenever they have to step out to do something, and I am telling you that is a very bad habit to develop.
Never leave your keys in the slot at all times. You have to bring them with you, no matter how long and short you will be away from the RV. Keep your keys in a safe place and away from the prying eyes. Never show them around or leave them lying anywhere, even if you trust the people around you.
If you have a motorhome with keyless entry, keep them as far away from the vehicle as possible and store them in a Faraday or key-shielding pouch to prevent the signal from being copied. Be it keyed or keyless, always keep the keys with you, and away from other people, even if you trust them.
Park Your RV Where Other Campers Can See You
You might feel uncomfortable with other campers around you but trust me, this is a good way to keep thieves away from you. Camp beside other campers so that they can check on your RV for you at times when you need to be away to get something or to do something.
However, choose where you are staying. Some campers might show interest in taking your things away from you, so trust your gut feeling if you feel that these people are not to be trusted. Introduce yourself to the campers first, which helps so that they can warn you if something or someone suspicious is near your RV. As always, thieves would almost never rob people in broad daylight, especially if there are people around.
Pull The Shades Down When You Are Away
Draw the shades when you leave your RV or even go to sleep at night, no matter how hot the weather is. The blinds hide you and your passengers from unwanted gazes and they also hide your goods and the things inside your RV from outsiders. It also reduces the temptation from the robbers to steal your rig based on what is inside your RV. Also, shades or blinds help insulate your RV and keep the sunlight away from you, helping the interior last much longer.
Do Not Expose Your Valuables To Other People
Showing off your state-of-the-art appliances and your expensive jewels to other people in your RV is not the best idea, trust me. As it is customary, hide your valuables in safe storage places in your RV. Just like how you hide your valuables at home, do the same in your RV.
Consider buying a safe if you can afford it, as it will be a big help to you. Otherwise, hide your valuables in places the thieves would least look at. You can also hide your valuables on cheap vaults posing as books, vases, and other inconspicuous containers that you can buy online.
Invest On Buying High-Quality Locks For Your Trailer
Locking your trailer entails more than just locking the doors and windows, though these are necessary precautions. Consider a lock that goes around the kingpin in this situation. Pad locks and cylinder locks are the two most common choices. Both of them pass over the kingpin.
The cylinder lock, on the other hand, is secured by a locking mechanism. Some cylinder locks have a unique key that cannot be duplicated. For added protection and comfort, you can replace the handle with a keyless handle lock with a keypad and keyfob.
A boot, which covers the wheel and prevents it from turning with an extension, is another choice. The boot cover also protects the lugs on the wheel from being stolen. Even with a boot cover, thieves can try to change tires on the camper, so choose one that covers the lugs so tires cannot be modified.
Tips And Tricks On How To Avoid Your RV Getting Stolen
Do Not Leave Your RV Unattended
Especially if you are in an unfamiliar area, do not ever leave your RV unattended. Robbers can just steal your travel trailer without you knowing it, and the moment you know it, it is going to be a terrible headache to you. Most RV thefts happen because their owners leave their RVs unattended. Do not trust your community to the fullest extent and always keep your guards up.
It is very easy to hook up a trailer that is very much unattended and unprotected and simply drive away. Always exercise safety precautions so that it would never happen to you.
Invest On An Electronic Security System
When you leave your RV, a good protection system will give you a lot of peace of mind. From motion sensors to glass-break sensors to text warnings, today’s ever-evolving technologies provide a variety of ways to track and protect your RV. These sophisticated devices can discourage an opportunistic thief.
If someone enters the RV when you are away, some devices will simply sound an alarm. Others have video monitoring and cellular warnings if activity is detected in the vicinity of your RV. Other providers, for a small monthly fee, can provide you with skilled monitoring 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Be sure to advertise the presence of a protection device, since this would undoubtedly deter many would-be criminals from attempting to rob your RV.
Lock The X-Chocks Secure To Your RV
An x-chock may be used to protect the possession of RVs with multiple axles. These are “X”-shaped processes, as the name suggests. Your wheels will be chocked and unable to travel freely after slipping it between your tires and ratcheting it tightly in place.
If you have locked the X-chock in place, you can rest assured that a thief won’t be able to easily drive your RV off into the sunset. X-chocks are a simple and inexpensive way to secure your RV, and they serve a dual purpose by both chocking and locking your wheels for security.
After a few days of use, check your X-chock to make sure it hasn’t settled and fallen out of place. Owners of single-axle RVs will have to look for another option, sadly.
Use Hitch Locks For Your Fifth Wheels
Simply locking the hitch pin can be very effective against robbers, as it would take time to unlock it if you are not skilled in doing so. There are several options for you to choose from, from coupler locks that prevent you from using the hitch pin, to tongue locks that incorporate chains into the locking mechanism.
Choose the best lock that suits your needs and budget, but do not worry as they are not that expensive. Using hitch locks are very important as robbers can just unlock it and bring it with them.
Reasons Why People Steal RVs And From RVs
RVs Can Make Good Money For Them
Selling an RV is very easy, especially in these tough times where a lot of people want to have one due to the coronavirus pandemic and the changes it introduced to everyone. Robbers would like to have easy money and RVs are a good source for them. They can just repaint your stolen RV and fix some things inside to make it look presentable. Knowing how expensive trailers can be, this is a primary reason why robbers steal RVs.
RVs Do Not Have That Much Security
The more valuable the things they will steal, the more money they would possibly make. Since RVs have a lower level of protection than most homes, they are an ideal target. The mere fact that people can just leave their RVs in the middle of somewhere just to get something or do something is an enticing opportunity to robbers.
They can rob you of your resources, which is going to be a bad thing if it happens since you will depend on it while you are outside. They can also steal your appliances, which can make your life much more challenging without those things that make your outdoors life much easier.
Conclusion
Even RV campers are not safe against robbers and thieves. They can rob anything from you, from your supplies, appliances, clothes, and even your own RVs. There are some things you need to do to secure your travel trailers from theft, but there are also some basic steps that you can do, such as buying the best locks and simply locking your doors and windows shut. Follow these tips and you can sleep comfortably, knowing that you and your valuables are safe inside and out.
