When traveling on the road, your vehicle is your home away from home. Your vehicle is what offers you shelter and security on the road. Unfortunately, vehicles are an easy target for thieves and vandals. This article will cover ten ways to help ensure the security of you vehicle and its valuable contents which include your belongings along with you and your family.
Keep it Locked
This may seem like it is a no brainer, but this is the easiest way to keep your vehicle secure. It is also the easiest to forget as well. Make sure you are in the habit of always locking your vehicle. This is important because it is a first step at deterring theft. Many thieves are looking for easy targets and will move on when faced with a locked vehicle.
Keep Valuables Out of Sight
You may love all of your fancy camping gadgets and want to display them to the world, but unsavory characters may love them too much and decide they want them for themselves. Do not leave anything in plain sight that would tempt someone to break into your vehicle. This includes GPS devices, laptops, jewelry, guns, electronics, and other expensive camping gear. So make sure you tidy up and keep the curtains closed. It is also a good idea to avoid storing expensive items in the RV while you are away from it if you can.
Install an Alarm System
An alarm system is a great way to deter would-be thieves from breaking in to your vehicle. These can be set up to detect doors opening or when things make contact with the vehicle.
Do Not Use External Storage Compartments
Many Recreational Vehicles such as fifth wheels, motorhomes, and folding tent trailers have external storage compartments for storing gear. The problem is that these compartments are easy to break into. For this reason, you should avoid storing anything of great value in them as these compartments are often the first choice of thieves.
Park in Well Lit Areas
Make sure there are no areas where your vehicle can be approached in the cover of darkness. This will also help you make use of the security cameras mentioned above.
Use Security Lights
Security lights are another great deterrent for thieves. Well lit areas make for harder targets of theft, and motion-sensing lights are energy efficient and effective.
Use Security Cameras
Many RVs and travel trailers come equipped with rear view cameras for added road safety and parking. Some companies have begun having these cameras do double duty as security cameras as well. These cameras allow you to view what is going on outside without leaving the safety of the vehicle.
Install a GPS Tracking Device
While these systems can be spendy, they can help to recover you vehicle if it gets stolen, and can help locate it if you get lost as well.
Keep Track of Your Keys
Locking your vehicle does no good if you leave your keys lying around for anyone to take and enter your vehicle with. Keep them in your pocket or attached to yourself securely at all times.
Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers
While it may seem like a friendly thing to do and a good way to meet new people, it is a dangerous risk to let a stranger into your vehicle, as you have just allowed them to bypass every other security measure you have in place.
So when you hit the road, be sure to take these precautions to insure the safety and security of your vehicle, because nothing can cut a trip shorter than having your gear or even worse, your vehicle with all of your gear inside it stolen.
Author bio: Bob Mortensen loves being in the outdoors whether it is camping, RVing, backpacking, or just taking a walk in the woods. Bob also enjoys writing about the outdoors and travel, and is a blogger for rvzen.com, who specialize in RVs for sale in Nevada.