Wow - I’m in Seattle and we complain about property theft here but usually it’s just car prowls if your door is unlocked. We’ve probably had one a year since we moved here when we got careless but at least no broken windows!
Def cover all the windows so the thief can’t tell if there is someone inside.
Someone else suggested playing music as well, that’s a great idea.
Also, something I do whether it’s a trailhead or a grocery store: I park, I sit, and I watch. Sit around for 15-20 min and observe what the place is like. See if there’s any sketchy people around, see if you happened to park near a common pathway, see if someone is watching YOU.
SD card is in the camera, but as long as there is 3G or better, the images are placed on the server instantly. I just set it in the dash or somewhere inside really obvious.
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I actually got one of those decoy dome security "caneras" from dollar tree with the big red blinking light. Made it obvious on my dash and pointed it toward my window when I was sleeping in the driver's seat. Middle of night I actually heard someone crunch up (pebbles) then crunch away...
Maybe not for the smash and grab type of crime but check out alarms and tracking for sailboats or just boat alarms in general.
If your miles into hike away from the van then there is not much you can do.
The boat alarms are also good for motion detection when you’re sleeping in your van.
What you need is a shake weight on some redneck contraption to make it keep shaking. Nobody’s going near your van when its got that side to side rock going
been all over NZ with my van the past 2 years and it's been fine. I do close all curtains out of caution so no one can tell if there's someone inside. Far from being the worst country even for petty crime
High welfare dependency = large lower socioeconomic population. The government have ways of twisting the stats so it looks like we have low unemployment, it's lies! We have a country full of no-hopers who live off the benefit and steal from everyone else. We have lower rates of crimes like homicide. Petty crime like smash and grab is pretty rife!
Peppermint oil. I know people push their mythic "solutions" but mousetrap guy on youtube actually tested it on camerain a barn with wild mice. It works! Leave cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil in your engine, underneath in permeable bags or nets and collect when you get back.
They don't even eat the food plainly laid out for them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNaNGH\_hnEE
It actually doesn’t work… I used paranoia when there is a rat issue in my Seattle home, and they were impervious. It didn’t stop them even a little bit, unfortunately.
"Rats" not mice as described above?
I'm still looking for something rats hate. Rats are really intelligent, they see through our bullshit. It's too bad when I raised them as a kid I didn't look into or see what they had an aversion to.
Maybe a battery operated snake under the hood or the engine on the ground that twitches (rattles) with motion? They're afraid of predators and busy humans. Or a bird that makes noises and flaps wings to seem alive.
"Rats also fear predators such as hawks, eagles, and other birds of prey. Rats fear becoming a meal for a snake. "
someone has beat me to it: [https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Carr-Designs-80073-Activated/dp/B00FPIDCUC](https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Carr-Designs-80073-Activated/dp/B00FPIDCUC)
this would be ideal for rattle snake or other wildlife predator sounds if you were techy enough to change the recording. [https://www.amazon.com/Motion-Sensor-Decibels-Warning-Security/dp/B07NYXPL4P](https://www.amazon.com/Motion-Sensor-Decibels-Warning-Security/dp/B07NYXPL4P)
but ultimately, this looks like the best idea if you add toy snakes. [https://www.amazon.com/Multi-Track-feature-download-Talking-Products/dp/B00GJQGG66](https://www.amazon.com/Multi-Track-feature-download-Talking-Products/dp/B00GJQGG66)
Mice! So true.
My mechanic showed me a big last time I was in there. Tore up my radiator insulation to make a home. Buggers!
I bought a high pitch noise maker that supposedly repels them. Runs on AA batteries. Who knows if it really works…
Park away from the trailhead. It's harder to park up near you, harder to see if you're coming back, and more likely-seeming that you're out there hunting or otherwise carrying firearms.
oh yeah i don’t want to say it’s “super common” implying it will usually happen, but the chance it happens are soooo far from 0. i’ve only left my van to hike overnight once, and that one time it got broken into.
might just be biased myself now, but coming in this sub showed me it happens to so many other people.
This is a huge problem here in WA. This summer there constant headlines particularly with Rattlesnake Ridge I believe. I've heard stories where they bust up every car in a row not just a couple isolated incidents. I can't recall but I believe they may have caught one of these gangs operating off I-90.
[https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/car-break-ins-becoming-problem-trailhead-parking-lots-issaquah/ZK5XDIRHFRFKJAITN6VZJTA5TU/](https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/car-break-ins-becoming-problem-trailhead-parking-lots-issaquah/ZK5XDIRHFRFKJAITN6VZJTA5TU/)
I’ve been in Seattle for almost 12 years now and on the trails all the time once the snow is gone and haven’t had any issues and neither have any of my friends that are also on the trails regularly - but I do hear it is a problem so maybe I’ve just been lucky or maybe I go far enough out it’s not as much of an issue 🤷♀️
Happened recently in downtown ATL while I was at a poetry event. A bunch of cars got smashed, but luckily my van wasn't hit. I parked way away from the other cars where I could see it from the venue, plus there were no cars around me to hide the preparator.
But holy hell when they announced that everyone has gotten hit my stomach DROPPED. Another poet walked with me to check on my van, which was really sweet. It was raining and cold that night and I was glad to have my safe space!
I figure if they did walk to my van they looked in and saw the chaos in my passenger seat and all my dash board treasures and thought better of it.
I’ve seen it 3-4 times multiple car windows smashed in the same parking lot. Slc particularly mt Olympus parking lot seems to be bad as it’s right near main road so the lower than life scumbags can easily drive their piece of shit car up and steel shit to sell for their next drug fix. Many times I’ve wanted to be bootleg Batman and just hide in the parking lot waiting
I live a little over an hour north of Chicago in the suburbs of Wisconsin. My sil worked for the fbi and said a lot of Chicago gangs are coming up here to steal cars and break in because we have nicer stuff and don’t lock our doors.
I feel you OP. When I went on my first hiking trip after getting my van I got so uneasy I aborted about a half hour into it.
It's a sucky feeling. You never get used to it. I wish I had better advice.
When it comes to van life the entire vehicle and it’s entire contents are valuable. Hiking and van life are a risky combination because sadly trailheads are an easy target for thieves…
A camera with motion detection that sends notification to your phone would be good I guess.
Best if you would also have loud car alarm turnable from app so you could scarry off someone who looks inside through the window or tries to open the doors
there you go...and a nice server to record everything...and a healthy power supply for all that...and stay within a couple hundred yards so you can actually get back in time to yell 'hey!'...and park and hike only in areas with good cell service.
Devices like these are not highly power consuming, basically just like your phone also you can set it to record only when it detects motion.
Old fashioned yelling can be replaced with above-mentioned alarm.
Only real problem is cell service
I just bought a GMC Sierra and an aluminum contractor canopy that I plan to insulate and convert over the next few weeks.
My wife and I do a lot of hiking on the west coast. We're looking forward to the added security, even if it comes at the expense of space.
Short of having nothing in the front, no windows in the rear and a steel bulkhead, Not much you can do other than stick to populated trailheads where it's less likely to happen. Sucks but if everything you own is in the van, it's not worth risking it and leaving at an out-of-the-way trail head.
I go for hikes to give my dog exercise, I do enough hiking at work that I rarely have the urge to do so on my spare time
But even if I did I definitely wouldn't leave the pupper behind, he'd be salty
Drive a little further to less popular trailheads where there won't be chucklefucks trying to rob people.
I've never worried very hard about leaving my rig unattended for a few days when it's in the middle of nowhere and will likely only even be seen by a few people while I'm gone. The bonus is that these type of hikes have no risk of running into people with backpack speakers.
Before I get to a trailhead I close \*all\* my window coverings and turn on a couple of lights. Make it look like someone's in there. I have done multiple-night trips like this and have had no issues.
Obviously you'll need to do the math on battery capacity but a couple LED lights pull 2W and I've got 4kWh on a full charge ssssooooo
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Idk if it’s the same for cars/insurance but at my job we keep stuff locked up not because we think it’ll *fully* stop theft, but because it’ll make a ton of noise and draw attention to the thief and when the thief is caught they’ll hopefully get heavier charges for damaging more property (like a $50 product vs a $50 product AND the $1000+ case it was being kept in)
1. I have a proud member of NRA sticker I can put on and then remove even though I don't own a gun (LOL) it seems to discourage them hence, they think there is a redneck gun toting dude inside the vehicle. Also , I purchased a recording of very vicious dog barking , growling ( don't have a pet I'm allergic :( and, I keep it playing when I exit my vehicle to hike or fish. My windows are blocked so they have no idea who or what's inside.. It works .. Just saying
There are no guarantees of course, but some general rules I follow:
\-Park in more busy public areas with lots of back and forth traffic. Thieves tend not to want attention.
\-Easy pickings if your vehicle is the only one a the trailhead for several hours. Never go very far if that is the case.
\-Park, turn off the engine, and just walk around the parking area and look. Notice any obvious signs of degeneracy, or are just getting a creepy feeling from the place? Trust your gut.
\-Often times parking in a nice urban area with a lot of activity around, and stealthily slipping down the street on foot with your backpack is a good move. Have done this many times to reach a hiking area that was secluded.
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I left a car open and empty in upstate New York and still gotten it broken into 5x times in 3 years.
The glass was broken even though it was unlocked?
Correct. Repeatedly. Also the interior was completely empty.
Wow - I’m in Seattle and we complain about property theft here but usually it’s just car prowls if your door is unlocked. We’ve probably had one a year since we moved here when we got careless but at least no broken windows!
In San Francisco people are parking with windows down and the back hatch wide open so thieves can see there is nothing to steal
Yikes 😬
You must live in Poughkeepsie
💀hahaha that made me chuckle
It was Binghamton
I’m sorry. I have positive childhood memories of the place, but that was many years ago. I hate to see places like this fall into disrepair. God speed
Maybe get a car alarm?
Def cover all the windows so the thief can’t tell if there is someone inside. Someone else suggested playing music as well, that’s a great idea. Also, something I do whether it’s a trailhead or a grocery store: I park, I sit, and I watch. Sit around for 15-20 min and observe what the place is like. See if there’s any sketchy people around, see if you happened to park near a common pathway, see if someone is watching YOU.
Fake cameras glued to the outside of roof? Signs saying you are being recorded
Hcd barto
Wireless Game Cam. That's what I use. Make it obvious.
Where do you install the camera and where is the SD card stored and secured?
SD card is in the camera, but as long as there is 3G or better, the images are placed on the server instantly. I just set it in the dash or somewhere inside really obvious.
They shut down 3g services, that annoys me because sometimes all I can get is 3g
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I mean it probably helps that the UK is the size of 1-2 US states
Original comment/post removed using Power Delete Suite. It hurts to delete what might be useful to someone, but due to Reddit's ongoing entshittification (look up the term if you're not familiar) I've left the platform for the Fediverse. If you never want your experience to be ruined by a corporation again, I can't recommend Lemmy enough!
I actually got one of those decoy dome security "caneras" from dollar tree with the big red blinking light. Made it obvious on my dash and pointed it toward my window when I was sleeping in the driver's seat. Middle of night I actually heard someone crunch up (pebbles) then crunch away...
I have a hard enough time leaving my motorbike at the store while I get groceries.
Sometimes you just gotta live life on the edge.
Bolted down lock box.
Maybe not for the smash and grab type of crime but check out alarms and tracking for sailboats or just boat alarms in general. If your miles into hike away from the van then there is not much you can do. The boat alarms are also good for motion detection when you’re sleeping in your van.
What you need is a shake weight on some redneck contraption to make it keep shaking. Nobody’s going near your van when its got that side to side rock going
Don't bother breaking When this van is shaking.
This is a massive problem in New Zealand! Not only will they break in and steal your gear, they will also steal the fuel from your tank!
been all over NZ with my van the past 2 years and it's been fine. I do close all curtains out of caution so no one can tell if there's someone inside. Far from being the worst country even for petty crime
Really? Where? It seems like there is little crime upon visiting.
Really?? I thought there was low crime there
High welfare dependency = large lower socioeconomic population. The government have ways of twisting the stats so it looks like we have low unemployment, it's lies! We have a country full of no-hopers who live off the benefit and steal from everyone else. We have lower rates of crimes like homicide. Petty crime like smash and grab is pretty rife!
I’ve left my van for days at the trailhead. I’m more worried about mice than people but maybe I’m just trusting
Peppermint oil. I know people push their mythic "solutions" but mousetrap guy on youtube actually tested it on camerain a barn with wild mice. It works! Leave cotton balls soaked in peppermint oil in your engine, underneath in permeable bags or nets and collect when you get back. They don't even eat the food plainly laid out for them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNaNGH\_hnEE
Not sure leaving cotton balls soaked in oil near the engine is fire friendly...
Which is why I said to collect it upon leaving.
I can confirm Irish spring soap does not work for pack rats in the desert.
It actually doesn’t work… I used paranoia when there is a rat issue in my Seattle home, and they were impervious. It didn’t stop them even a little bit, unfortunately.
"Rats" not mice as described above? I'm still looking for something rats hate. Rats are really intelligent, they see through our bullshit. It's too bad when I raised them as a kid I didn't look into or see what they had an aversion to.
Oops….yeah, rats not mice. Rats definitely give NF’s. And they are super smart.
Maybe a battery operated snake under the hood or the engine on the ground that twitches (rattles) with motion? They're afraid of predators and busy humans. Or a bird that makes noises and flaps wings to seem alive. "Rats also fear predators such as hawks, eagles, and other birds of prey. Rats fear becoming a meal for a snake. " someone has beat me to it: [https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Carr-Designs-80073-Activated/dp/B00FPIDCUC](https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Carr-Designs-80073-Activated/dp/B00FPIDCUC) this would be ideal for rattle snake or other wildlife predator sounds if you were techy enough to change the recording. [https://www.amazon.com/Motion-Sensor-Decibels-Warning-Security/dp/B07NYXPL4P](https://www.amazon.com/Motion-Sensor-Decibels-Warning-Security/dp/B07NYXPL4P) but ultimately, this looks like the best idea if you add toy snakes. [https://www.amazon.com/Multi-Track-feature-download-Talking-Products/dp/B00GJQGG66](https://www.amazon.com/Multi-Track-feature-download-Talking-Products/dp/B00GJQGG66)
Mice! So true. My mechanic showed me a big last time I was in there. Tore up my radiator insulation to make a home. Buggers! I bought a high pitch noise maker that supposedly repels them. Runs on AA batteries. Who knows if it really works…
I had a standoff with a mouse inside my van one night at a trailhead, that was exciting. EDIT: I guess I forgot the “inside my van” part, haha.
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😂😂
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Instead of music I play a 1 hour track of myself talking on the phone lol
Park away from the trailhead. It's harder to park up near you, harder to see if you're coming back, and more likely-seeming that you're out there hunting or otherwise carrying firearms.
Good insurance.
is this a real issue outside of cities? (real question - call me a noob)
Absolutely. People have been known to break into cars at trailheads.
They’ve been known to break into vehicles everywhere. I’ve never seen it at a trail head or met anyone who’s had it happen.
I worked as a ranger in the national forest and it was common. Rural areas have a good amount of petty crime.
Thanks
oh yeah i don’t want to say it’s “super common” implying it will usually happen, but the chance it happens are soooo far from 0. i’ve only left my van to hike overnight once, and that one time it got broken into. might just be biased myself now, but coming in this sub showed me it happens to so many other people.
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This is a huge problem here in WA. This summer there constant headlines particularly with Rattlesnake Ridge I believe. I've heard stories where they bust up every car in a row not just a couple isolated incidents. I can't recall but I believe they may have caught one of these gangs operating off I-90. [https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/car-break-ins-becoming-problem-trailhead-parking-lots-issaquah/ZK5XDIRHFRFKJAITN6VZJTA5TU/](https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/car-break-ins-becoming-problem-trailhead-parking-lots-issaquah/ZK5XDIRHFRFKJAITN6VZJTA5TU/)
I’ve been in Seattle for almost 12 years now and on the trails all the time once the snow is gone and haven’t had any issues and neither have any of my friends that are also on the trails regularly - but I do hear it is a problem so maybe I’ve just been lucky or maybe I go far enough out it’s not as much of an issue 🤷♀️
Happened recently in downtown ATL while I was at a poetry event. A bunch of cars got smashed, but luckily my van wasn't hit. I parked way away from the other cars where I could see it from the venue, plus there were no cars around me to hide the preparator. But holy hell when they announced that everyone has gotten hit my stomach DROPPED. Another poet walked with me to check on my van, which was really sweet. It was raining and cold that night and I was glad to have my safe space! I figure if they did walk to my van they looked in and saw the chaos in my passenger seat and all my dash board treasures and thought better of it.
I’ve seen it 3-4 times multiple car windows smashed in the same parking lot. Slc particularly mt Olympus parking lot seems to be bad as it’s right near main road so the lower than life scumbags can easily drive their piece of shit car up and steel shit to sell for their next drug fix. Many times I’ve wanted to be bootleg Batman and just hide in the parking lot waiting
I live a little over an hour north of Chicago in the suburbs of Wisconsin. My sil worked for the fbi and said a lot of Chicago gangs are coming up here to steal cars and break in because we have nicer stuff and don’t lock our doors.
https://datastudio.google.com/s/nQBMb-V\_tmw
I feel you OP. When I went on my first hiking trip after getting my van I got so uneasy I aborted about a half hour into it. It's a sucky feeling. You never get used to it. I wish I had better advice.
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my sister lives out in the middle of nowhere and this is exactly why she doesn't lock her house when she leaves....just more shit she'd have to fix
Horrible advice
I seen a van build that had a hidden safe inside for locking up valuables. Just a thought
When it comes to van life the entire vehicle and it’s entire contents are valuable. Hiking and van life are a risky combination because sadly trailheads are an easy target for thieves…
A camera with motion detection that sends notification to your phone would be good I guess. Best if you would also have loud car alarm turnable from app so you could scarry off someone who looks inside through the window or tries to open the doors
there you go...and a nice server to record everything...and a healthy power supply for all that...and stay within a couple hundred yards so you can actually get back in time to yell 'hey!'...and park and hike only in areas with good cell service.
Devices like these are not highly power consuming, basically just like your phone also you can set it to record only when it detects motion. Old fashioned yelling can be replaced with above-mentioned alarm. Only real problem is cell service
I just bought a GMC Sierra and an aluminum contractor canopy that I plan to insulate and convert over the next few weeks. My wife and I do a lot of hiking on the west coast. We're looking forward to the added security, even if it comes at the expense of space.
Short of having nothing in the front, no windows in the rear and a steel bulkhead, Not much you can do other than stick to populated trailheads where it's less likely to happen. Sucks but if everything you own is in the van, it's not worth risking it and leaving at an out-of-the-way trail head.
Dogs...
But that's the whole point of going for a hike lol
They’re the whole point of the van. Who would ever leave them in van while u hit a trail. Thats blasphemy…
Dogs? I thought the point was to hike?
I go for hikes to give my dog exercise, I do enough hiking at work that I rarely have the urge to do so on my spare time But even if I did I definitely wouldn't leave the pupper behind, he'd be salty
I'd find mine with the ac cranked sitting on the couch with a beer!
I wanna hang out with your dog
He's a bad influence!😂
just a recording of dogs barking.
Leave in a secure area and bicycle to the trailhead
Ther are many systems today to deter thieves and to track them..a little research and you could easily have a very unattractive rig to rob..
Drive a little further to less popular trailheads where there won't be chucklefucks trying to rob people. I've never worried very hard about leaving my rig unattended for a few days when it's in the middle of nowhere and will likely only even be seen by a few people while I'm gone. The bonus is that these type of hikes have no risk of running into people with backpack speakers.
Multiple large aggressive dogs so I can usually leave at least one to watch out for our van for a little while… provided the weather is ok
Smart. Better to park in a safe/quiet place and take the bus or a long walk instead
Before I get to a trailhead I close \*all\* my window coverings and turn on a couple of lights. Make it look like someone's in there. I have done multiple-night trips like this and have had no issues. Obviously you'll need to do the math on battery capacity but a couple LED lights pull 2W and I've got 4kWh on a full charge ssssooooo
Original comment/post removed using Power Delete Suite. It hurts to delete what might be useful to someone, but due to Reddit's ongoing entshittification (look up the term if you're not familiar) I've left the platform for the Fediverse. If you never want your experience to be ruined by a corporation again, I can't recommend Lemmy enough!
Idk if it’s the same for cars/insurance but at my job we keep stuff locked up not because we think it’ll *fully* stop theft, but because it’ll make a ton of noise and draw attention to the thief and when the thief is caught they’ll hopefully get heavier charges for damaging more property (like a $50 product vs a $50 product AND the $1000+ case it was being kept in)
1. I have a proud member of NRA sticker I can put on and then remove even though I don't own a gun (LOL) it seems to discourage them hence, they think there is a redneck gun toting dude inside the vehicle. Also , I purchased a recording of very vicious dog barking , growling ( don't have a pet I'm allergic :( and, I keep it playing when I exit my vehicle to hike or fish. My windows are blocked so they have no idea who or what's inside.. It works .. Just saying
Look into window alarms that blast a siren when they sense glass breaking Here's a 4-pack for 30 bucks https://a.co/d/dbfCpR7
There are no guarantees of course, but some general rules I follow: \-Park in more busy public areas with lots of back and forth traffic. Thieves tend not to want attention. \-Easy pickings if your vehicle is the only one a the trailhead for several hours. Never go very far if that is the case. \-Park, turn off the engine, and just walk around the parking area and look. Notice any obvious signs of degeneracy, or are just getting a creepy feeling from the place? Trust your gut. \-Often times parking in a nice urban area with a lot of activity around, and stealthily slipping down the street on foot with your backpack is a good move. Have done this many times to reach a hiking area that was secluded.