If you ask people’s views about other people who live in an RV, 80% of them assume that RVers are wealthy enough to live a nomadic life. With that in mind, RVers are now becoming one of the main targets of thieves and burglars. As RVer, the only thing that we wanted to have are good memories of our every trip and not an experience with a crime.
Keeping these bad guys away is pretty simple, and I have provided ten easy tips and tricks on how you can secure your RV for a worry-free RV life.
1. Make It A Habit To Always Check Your RV Doors
When planning to stay at a campsite or campground, chances are you don’t know who your next neighbors will be. They will be another batch of people you’ll meet along and make friends with or even have trouble with. And for sure you don’t want the idea of the latter.
The simplest yet biggest help in providing security for the whole family and RV is to keep checking all your RV doors. Normally an RV has two doors located at the side of the shotgun seat and one on the middle part.
Wherever you go outside or chilling on your couch, make sure that all your doors are locked—making this one a habit can save you from bad guys wanting to take your valuable possessions.
2. Pick Your Parking Space Wisely
When choosing where to stay, populated camps are safer for some reason. Since it is crowded, a thief can’t do what his evil plan is, for he knows that if he will do such, then the only thing that’s going to happen is for him to be put in jail.
There are literally hundreds of places you might find where you can store or park your RV. There are campgrounds, campsites, parking spaces and more. But whatever you choose, make sure to choose wisely. Like choosing who your next leader would be.
There are lots of applications and sites that can help you find a parking space near you. However, it would be best if you still were vigilant in picking the place where you plan to stay. I recommend you always read the other users’ reviews, and if it has even one negative review, simply do not go for it or take the risk.
Research the area you’ve picked and have a little knowledge about it, such as knowing how the personnel or management run and ensuring that all are secured, and security cameras are everywhere.
3. Install Security Cameras In Your RV
Over time, there are lots of inventions that have been around to protect and help us in our everyday lives. We are in modern times, and we should take advantage of all the innovations that technology can offer us, and one of those inventions is the security camera.
A security camera is a kind of camera that lets you have a video or footage of your home even when you are away. You can access it by connecting it to your gadgets such as your phone and tablet, as long as you have an internet connection. Its motion-activated feature helps you record everything from every nook and send you an alert whenever it detects something unusual.
Normally, security cameras can be found outside, in the living room where families usually gather together, and in the nursery to monitor kids’ activities when parents are not in the same room. Installing a security camera keeps burglars away from your place, giving them a hint that they should not even try to steal anything from your RV because they will probably get busted with the help of your security camera.
When shopping for a security camera, I suggest you go to a more high-quality one for better resolution, motion-detectors, features and so you can use it longer. It will also be helpful if you will research and have knowledge about it at least. Once you have figured out all its benefits and cons, you are now ready to make your RV theft-free.
4. Changing Your Locks More Often
When you buy an RV, normally, companies use a standard pattern for all their locks and keys. And surprisingly, sometimes, people with the same RV brands can use their keys to unlock other owners’ RV. Also, there is a lock called CH751 that manufacturers use, and it can be opened using different keys.
Changing the current locks of your RV doors and even pins after purchasing can be a great help to keep your RVs secure. Since there is a possibility that an intruder knows about the manufacturer’s way of using the same lock patterns and universal keys, they might come up with a plan to trespass your RV. If you won’t change your locks, you only made it easier for them to take what they can take inside.
To change the locks of your RV, you can call a locksmith, a professional who is trained to change and repair locks. Or it would be even better to upgrade for a newer system of locks like the one that uses fingerprints to unlock.
5. Get A Dog And Train It
A dog is a man’s best friend indeed, and having a dog on your RV journey can help a lot. They are the best security we can have in our lifetime; not only will they keep the RV secure, but they will also make sure that as our best friends, they also have to protect us. But remember to read the rules regarding having a dog because there are states that do not allow dogs to be alone in an RV.
Dogs are great for security purposes for they have a strong sense of smell, they are intelligent, affectionate, and loyal. It doesn’t really matter if it is a big or small breed because trust me, every breed is great in its own way. And speaking of a strong sense of smell, it was also believed that dogs could sense if a person wanting to get close to you is a bad guy or not. That means keeping them around can give you an indication or sign if you should stay away from that person.
Training a dog and getting it familiar with the ones around him and the things he must and must not do will be a tiring yet fun activity. You just have to get your dog’s trust and give him treats every time he does a great job. I recommend applying classical conditioning when training these beautiful creatures.
The smaller breeds will be perfect if you don’t mind having a playful and noisy best friend! Their barks are sometimes piercing through your ears, making them such a good alarm. However, they are also usually the ones that are hard to get a hold of.
When a dog becomes too attached to you or anyone in your family, their loyalty is something that cannot be taken away. You can expect that it is you and only you whom they will trust in their lifetime.
Aside from all the reasons why dogs keep burglars away, I strongly believe dogs also help us with our mental health. They are the best companion to have if you are going through tough times. They perfectly understand you and comfort you in their own lovely ways. Just having them around makes everything light.
6. Keep Your Valuable Things Away From Other’s Eyes
For sure, you have important belongings inside your RV, and the last thing you want to happen is for it to be stolen from you. Whenever you have a visitor, or you are outside your RV or away from it, make sure that all your valuable possessions cannot be seen in plain sight.
Flaunting or showing off things where you invest in your money, like jewelry and other expensive gadgets you’ve bought, can be a temptation for some. It would be good to hide it in a safe place like a vault or cabinet with locks.
If you own a toy hauler with a pen at the back, which is enough for you to store a bicycle or motorcycle, make sure you have a padlock to secure it. Along with that, you might also want to install an alarm that has enough noise to be heard from the inside, informing you that someone is trying to steal your things.
7. A Motion-Detector Light Would Be A Great Help Too
A motion detector light is an outdoor must-have that detects any movement from a dog, a person approaching, a car nearby, or even the lightest leaf falling from the tree that passed on your motion-detector light. This is one of the most common finds when it comes to giving security, and many are adding this to their list because it is very helpful, cheap, and easy to install. Some motion-detector lights are waterproof so that they can withstand heavy rains.
Mounting your motion-detector light between six to nine feet high or near the ceiling of your Rv is enough for it to detect any movements because it is its best sensitivity zone. To test if it is perfectly working, simply walk back and forth to where your motion-detector light was placed. If it lightens up before you even go nearer, you don’t have to worry about it anymore.
Some RV owners sometimes find motion-detector lights a bit annoying because of their bright lights and sensitive features like what I have mentioned; it can detect even the lightest leaves falling. The trick to somehow avoid it from turning on and off is by setting its distance range to limit the area it can detect.
For me, the best thing about motion detectors is it also helps the people around you. It makes it safe for everyone to walk at night. A win-win, isn’t it?
8. Get A KingPin Lock And Deadbolts
Over and above, you must protect not just the things inside your RV but the whole RV as well. To make it harder for the bad guys to steal or drive your RV away when you are not around is to attach a kingpin lock and a deadbolt.
A kingpin is a specialized lock made especially for RV or tow-behind trailers. It is also known as a bumper hitch that prevents someone from hooking on your RV. While the deadbolt, on the other hand, helps secure RV or trailer doors and windows, for it provides a much sturdier lock than the regular ones.
9. Keep Your Curtains Or Shades Down
This may be one of the simplest tips that I can give. And it is always to keep your shades down. This gives everyone inside the RV privacy and blocks people from seeing what is really inside, preventing a robbing incident from happening because they don’t have an idea of all the belongings that you have.
Keeping all your windows’ shades down is not only applicable when staying at a campground but also when you are on the road, especially when your rig windows are not heavily tinted.
10. Learn From Kevin McCallister Of Home Alone
I’m sure nobody hasn’t heard of the movie Home Alone, where an eight-year-old boy was left all by himself in their house. If I am not mistaken, on Home Alone 1, there is a scene where Kevin made a clever idea to pretend that he has his family with him inside their house, but the truth is there is none.
When you are out for a trip or shopping and you leave your RV on a campground or campsite, it would help to make people believe that someone is looking after your RV. You can turn the radio and lights on, indicating that there is a person inside. More likely, thieves will keep their distance from your RV and just shrug the idea of robbing you.
11. Think Like How Thieves And Burglars Think
The last thing that you can do to prevent thieves and burglars from breaking into your RV is to think the way they think. When you are in your RV, checking all your belongings, always put yourself in the burglar’s shoes and look for the things that also tempt you so you can subconsciously secure your possessions.
Thinking the way these criminal minds think is being aware that some of your things might get their attention, and the only way for it to be safe is to prevent a burglary from happening.
Now Have A Theft Free RV Life!
Indeed, living in an RV also means being alert all the time because crime is everywhere, and your best weapon would be being well-informed and even apprehensive. Along the way, you will encounter a lot of people, and that’s part of it. They might become someone you can be friends with or have trouble with. All you have to do is to be vigilant at all times, and I hope the 11 tips and tricks that Nomadically Yours prepared for you can help you have a theft-free and crime-free RV journey!
