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After reading some of the coments posted with regards to insurance for camping equipment I have a query...

As stated before The Greens are new campers yet to make that first trip (which is coming up this Tuesday).  I am wondering just how safe is your camping equipment once on site?  Is theft a problem whilst belongings are left unattended whilst you are away from the site (sight seeing for example)?  I now have this fear that we may arrive back to our pitch one night to find somebody has kindly packed up our tent and taken it for a walk.

Any advice re this is greatly appreciated.

You will find that most camping people are quite nosey (no offence intended) and the best thing is to get to know, or at least recognise, those camped around you, and they will do the same.  Then if anyone strange is seen wandering about they are likely to be seen by someone. 

Of course you cant completely secure a tent, even if you padlock the zips someone can cut the fabric, so the best thing if you are worried is to take valuables with you when you go out.

Have a nice trip - I hope you enjoy camping as much as we do.

Fat Bum

It' wasn't until reading this post that this occurred to me -

We have been camping for many years but with a canvas tent which had only one door - at the front, therefore entirely visible to our fellow camping neighbours.  We'd always relied on the fact that if someone was nipping into our tent, the neighbours would see it and hopefully pitch in (sorry for the pun!).  Now we have a Montana 6 that has 3 doors!  The rainsave door will be going to the back and therefore more at risk if anyone wanted to creep into our tent unseen by others.  However, I'm relying on the fact that the rainsave porch will be used as our loo so hopefully when presented with our bucket they'll take one look and turn around again! Ha ha!

firstly when you arrive get to know your neighbours that way they will know your face and you will know theres, so if a stranger walks up and trys to snaffle your tent, they wont get fare lol,

secondly, dont leave things on show, like portable dvd players, gameboys, cameras, keep them out of site, or locked away in the car,

someone else said dont leave stuff packed up in bags, its easy for someone to snaffle your stuff if still in bags, unpack it all, and put the bags in the boot of the car

also leave a radio on low on a night, if you go out or a afternoon, so that way it looks like someone is inside having a nap

we keep anything valuble like money and phones with us and our trooper has a secret compartment we put stuff if we need to

and dont worry 99.9% of campers are really nice  

Hi Beezers, I don't know anyone personally, but there were notices up at Great Langdale a couple of years back warning of this.  It's walking country, and I assume its the small technical tents that are at risk.  Wouldn't that be awful though?

As I've said before however, when we had stuff stolen it was late at night (no fellow campers about), they came in under our flysheet (no zip noise) and made off with the most likely looking bag.  So don't leave stuff in bags in the living area, unless it's SIG.  It's all well and good locking up the valuables, but its amazing how all those bits and pieces of equipment mount up.  We lost a daysack (not especially expensive), maps, guide book, water bottles, suncream.  Probably about £100 in all, but nothing you would class as a valuable.  Our friends lost another daysack, two stoves (gas wasn't attached), pans, cups etc.  Again nothing of particular value, but a sizeable amount when you start to add it up.  If someone strolled in during the day they wouldn't take that stuff would they?

Quote: Originally posted by beezers on 27/5/2006

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Well considering our tent is a Nebraska XXL,

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Never had a problem and I have been camping for donkeys years, saying that there have been threads about strangers walking on sites but generally as long as you look after your valuables and keep them out of site campers are probably the ,most honest of peole and will look out for each other, don't worry go and enjoy your trip. Hope you enjoy it.

Haz

As a few of said above, I think most campers get to know each other, even if it doesn't mean that you become best friends or anything, you sort of get to know who's staying in what and look out for each other - it's like an unspoken rule sort of. We have been camping lots over the last 5 years or so and have only had trouble once - but this was at a festival which is a totally different thing again. We even left out tent overnight at a campsite while we had to pop home. The tent was fine and in it was tv, fridge etc. I did lay a couple of traps so that I'd know if anyone had got into it. It is easy to feel vulnerable, and if someone really wanted to take your stuff or your tent then they'd  find a way to do it I'm sure, no matter how well you think you've secured it, but all in all I think it is fairly safe.