New to world of trailer camping. Want to make sure our 13' scamp is safe as can be while on adventures & when home resting up for next one. Family has suggested a Denver Boot style wheel locking system, been reading there are many others. Know we can not make it impossible, but want to make it very hard & noticeable that someone is messing with it if we are gone on long hike or away from home - or even in the store getting supplies. Thinking two options, one for day use and other for longer stays in one place.
Realize they are cute and hard to find, so family is worried it could be more of a target for theft. The peace of mind for family not traveling is big point to have best options so they do not worry so much.
Being new to the world of camping it is understandable that you have security concerns, both for your new Scamp and your Personal Safety/Security.
With regards to your new Scamp, your best protection is a good Insurance Policy with Replacement Cost Coverage. Many Insurance Policies cover "Depreciated Value" like on your car, however, Scamps either hold their value, or appreciate in value so you need to have a good insurance policy to cover you, just in case of a loss.
It is also valuable to look at the "Big Picture" when it comes to the security of the Scamp either while you are away from the Scamp or it is in Storage. Realistically, what is there to Steal outside of the Scamp itself? You will have a few dishes, some camping equipment, a sewer hose and a few clothes. Unless you travel with a 60 inch 4k TV and a $4,000 sound system in your Scamp let the thieves have it, you will be inconvenienced, but you will be covered by your insurance policy.
Look at your Scamp from a Thief's point of view: What can I steal to QUICKLY turn into CASH? Answer: there's not much in that little trailer that I could SELL FAST or Trade for Drugs. Additionally, when you are out camping it is not very likely that a thief is going to commute 50 miles to steal from your campground (not impossible, but unlikely).
This being said, there are a few reasonable steps you can take to not make it too easy to steal your Scamp. Reese makes a lock kit that includes a hitch coupler lock, a hitch lock and a hitch pin lock all in one convenient package (see link below) that will make your Scamp a little bit harder to steal than simply backing up a truck and hauling your Scamp away into the night.
Reese Towpower 7014700 Tow 'N Store Lock Kit
Personally I think a "Boot Device" is overkill and, it may actually attract thieves who seek to punish those individuals who try to thwart their efforts to steal stuff ( If I were the thief, I'd steal your stuff just to prove I can beat the "Boot" ).
As far as your personal security goes, you should have the same level of security and protection as you have in your home. You may also want to include a few "enhanced" options since you will be in remote areas and in unfamiliar surroundings.
Additionally, always know the address of where you are at, just in case you need to call for police or medical assistance.
Bottom line, if you visit a campground you will see that a lot of stuff is sitting out in the open, waiting to be taken, even overnight, but, it is still there the next morning.
As Always,
Happy Scamping !!!
I agree totally with what ManWithAVan says above. Good insurance, good hitch lock like the one he links too, and don't bring the diamond jewelry camping. One thing we always do in IT is evaluate the security risk by asking if what we have is worth the risk of stealing it. With molded fiberglass trailers, they're too easy to spot, the alerts if one is stolen go right out over all the forums, and most thieves would think they're not worth much since they're tiny. Pretend ur a thief and you're at a campground looking to rip off something. Are you going to break in the 40 foot toy hauler with all kinds of expensive toys that go in and out of it, or the dinky lil Scamp?
We're on our 5th Molded Fiberglass Trailer and have been camping in them for over a decade. Never had a problem, but we do hitch lock it and are careful not to bring items we can't lose. Only heard of a very few of these that have ever been stolen, and if I recall, they were taken from the house when stored there. Don't recall any being stolen from professional storage lots. It seems like one years ago was stolen while the people were in a restaurant eating, which is important to have a hitch lock in place when towing as well.
Anyway, there is not much risk here for theft, probably more so personal items removed from the camper. So get good insurance, get a good hitch lock, don't bring items camping that would be disastrous to lose, use common sense when selecting camping sites (especially boondocking) and go Scamping.
If for some odd reason anything were to happen, post here immediately and we will post in all the fiberglass forums and you'll have 100's of thousands of folks hunting for your trailer within an hour. Another reason a smart thief wants nothing to do with Scamps.
Our Trailers:
2015 19 Escape
Buying or Selling Molded FG Trailers:
Fiberglass-RV-4Sale
Last year I thought about putting my trailer in a storage about 1K miles from home for about a month. I almost bought a Spot Trace satellite locator but ended up not storing the trailer. Last year they were giving away the spot but you have to get a service contract. It lets you know when the trailer moves and where it is. I was going to mount it under the louvered vent cover. BTW I agree with the above posts.
Eddie
http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=128
I too agree with the above comments. I think the biggest risk with these small trailers is that someone could very simply and easily hook up to the unit and tow it away. We have owned our 1974 SCAMP 13" 40+ years, and never had a problem. But we always have a hitch lock in place.
Thank you all for the confirmation, that is what I have been reading over the past months - but family is skittish that someone will just drive away with our sweet addition -- not really concerned about contents inside aside from actual family members.
It sounds like we need a sway bar too, could those have anti-theft features on it as well? Planning a dream trip to see as many national parks west of Rockies in a few months so starting to gear up for the big adventure.
Really appreciate the insights & guidance - HUGE help for us.
We joined the Good Sam club and looking to join Harvest Hosts to help with the trip as well.
wandering for fun
We had pop-up that weighed over 2,000 lbs removed from our yard when we lived north of Tucson, AZ out in the county. We never heard anything. It was some distance from the road and there were gouches in the dirt showing it had been dragged to the street. Earlier in the week, I had seen a flat bed trailer being towed around by a pickup and they were looking around all over the place. I just thought they were looking for someone in particular. We had a heavy duty hitch lock in place. It was later found by the police in south Tucson when they went out to serve a warrant for another reason to a man who wasn't home but the women there said that we loaned it to them but must have forgot. Yeah, a $10,000 pop-up that was 4 years old and we "forgot". The police impounded it. The insurance had paid out. It was still impounded when we left the state as evidence. It was the first new camper that we bought and we went all out with the extras.
This is what we now use and have used it on both TT and pop-up: Reese Towpower 74917 Trailer Keeper
Cathy