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Old 04-18-2005, 04:22 PM   #1
campbud
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Campground Theft

We went camping this past weekends to one of our favorite campgrounds. On Sunday morning the couple next to us found there fishing boat half sunk and both motors gone! It was there first time at the park and probably there last. We have never had any trouble in this park. The security we thought was tight but now I am wondering. Seems noone heard nothing except some guy going up and down the road talking on his cell phone(now I wonder if this was on purpose, so people didnt hear anything else) I guess we will be locking everything now and in the future. It is those few that spoil it for alot. Sure hope this is just an isolated incident though.
 
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Old 04-18-2005, 04:49 PM   #2
fulltimedreamer
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Sorry to hear about the theft. On the bright side, nobody was hurt and hopefully the boat was insured. The theives may think they got away clean, but in the long run they'll have to pay. I guess this is a reminder to all of us to maintain vigilance even when were having fun. In my book a thief is about as low as they come.
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Old 04-19-2005, 02:14 AM   #3
Glenn and Lorraine
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Having owned a fishing camp in northern NY I know the feeling of having a motor stolen. I would venture a bet that the thieves never set foot on land but instead came by water, pulled the motors while still in their own boat and left without distrurbing a soul. They row in and row out. This is done so quietly that even someone close by on an adjacent dock wouldn't necessarily hear a thing. The sinking of the boat comes from hanging over the transom while pulling the outboard. This can lower the transom enough to allow water to flow into the boat.

An isolated incident? Depending on the size of the waterway, it's doubtful.
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Old 04-19-2005, 04:13 AM   #4
BillyRay
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the place we stayed at last year had a few stolen. so we now take our trolling motor off every day...kind of a pain, but at least it's safe.
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Old 04-19-2005, 04:20 AM   #5
Montana_2779
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As I recall, they used to hang horse thieves. Maybe they were on to something!
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Old 04-19-2005, 05:22 AM   #6
Jeff Heiser
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There was another thread here that talked about theft and door locks. This is just the thing I talked about in that thread. You just never know who is camped next to you or near you. It just seems to be such a shame. I remember growing up and camping with my folks, brother and sisters and we would setup camp, leave everything out for weeks on end and never once experienced anything being taken. Now a day it seems if you don't lock up everything shame on you. I am always watchful when camping. My family and I always try to make mental notes of who and what is camped near us. Over the past few years we have always thought that when camping on our farm we were always the safest but even there we are not. This past Thanksgiving I had to ride up to the front with my backup "Betsey" to run some no-gooders off the property. The only reason they were there was to cause trouble and damage. I tell my youngest son stories about when I was young and how and where we use to camp and he just cannot believe it has changed so much.

As much as we all hope that this is just an isolated incident we all know to some degree it happens quite often. More so than we all care for.

I see the problem like this. The bad guys are not scared off as easily as they were in the past and the deterrent is not there. Case in point: Last Memorial Day weekend we camped at Salt Springs State Campground in Florida. In the evening there was one park ranger on duty. There were close to 200 campers. The fence line of the campground runs very close to a main road. That weekend we had our kayak paddles taken, the people across from us had things taken from their truck and campers down the road had some of their camp gear taken. How is one ranger on duty supposed to stop a determined bad guy(s)? He’s not, he is there as a deterrent but he is not significant enough to deter the determined bad guy(s). It’s all of our responsibility to be watchful, on guard and make it hard or next to impossible for a bad guy to get our stuff. If that means locking things up, chaining motors to our boats or keeping a “BIG DOG” who barks when he knows an unknown is outside then that’s what we all need to do.


Jeff Heiser
Merritt Island Florida
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Old 04-19-2005, 12:02 PM   #7
Wordsmith
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You know, my father used to tell tales of when he grew up here in rural northern Georgia in the 1910s and 20s, and that they never had to lock the doors. Sadly, we cannot leave the house today without locking the doors AND setting the alarm. It is a sad state of affairs…

I generally lock the camper when we are out, but not the basement. Guess I had better start rethinking that policy. Jeff is correct—you never know just who might be camped near you or who might even gain access via a boat on the lake.
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Old 04-19-2005, 02:10 PM   #8
DiananColin
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I remember being told by a local law officer that if someone wants to steal from you there is absolutely nothing you can do about it - the best you can hope for is that they are a professional and just take want they want - the amateur takes it and then trashes the place. The best advice was to just make life a little difficult for the thief and they will then, hopefully, move on to where life is easier. Locks, alarms, lights etc will not stop a professional but will probably encourage the amateur to move on next door!
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Old 04-20-2005, 04:38 AM   #9
jsmitfl
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We need to go back to the 3 S's in this country to slow down the crime. Shoot'm.... shovel'm... shutup. No one is scared for what will happen to them for their actions anymore. I hear it all the time. "Its like going on a vacation ... free food ... tv.. work out... get some education @ the library inside"... nothing to spank them... sorry, I need to hush..
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Old 04-20-2005, 03:39 PM   #10
sreigle
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When I was a kid the only time we ever locked the house or the garage was when we were going to be gone overnight. Things sure have changed. We've never had a problem in any campground but we've just been fortunate.
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Old 04-22-2005, 03:58 PM   #11
trukdoc
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With all this said about how we "MUST" change our lives due to criminals. And it just fries my!@#$$ behind that some yo yo is concerned for the criminals rights.
Personally I kinda like the public hanging idea. For one it works.
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Old 04-23-2005, 05:06 AM   #12
HamRad
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We've been camping for years.... and in our Montana for the last couple of years and have had NO problems with things being stolen. It's been very interesting. I carry a couple of small gas cans and a 5 gallon diesel can in my truck bed which is NOT covered. Plus we have other things in the truck bed too. A small step ladder, a windshield cleaner etc.. We've parked in city parking lots, on the streets and along the road. We even parked at the Embarcadero in Puerto Penasco and nothing was touched.

Now here at home we have had things taken. About 2 months ago my wife left her car unlocked and someone helped themselves to her old beat up radio. And years ago someone stole my bicycle. We've only lived in this place for about 30 years. Guess that isn't too bad an average.

We do not let others or things that have happened to others change the way we do things. If we did we'd be rolled up in a little ball hiding somewhere in the back of a dark cave.

And I am not advocating "criminal rights"..... I am in favor of rights and protections for EVERYONE in our great country. That would include "Due Process" so taking them out and stringing them up or just shooting them is not the way to go.

We have found the nicest people RVing / camping. We will not stop or change the way we do things just because some yahoo takes something that belongs to someone else. Many of our best friends are ex-strangers we met RVing.

We wouldn't change a thing except to do more RVing and camping. We refuse to let the Fear mongers and Doom sayers change the way we look at the world.

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Old 04-23-2005, 08:11 AM   #13
sreigle
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We've never had anything stolen, either.

J.D. (Wordsmith), I hate to tell you this but probably 90% of the rigs out there use one of two keys for the lockers. Mine will open yours and vice-versa. Ours are number 751. I think the other one is 347 or close to that. Some folks have gone so far as to change the locks to have a unique key but we haven't bothered since we've had no problems. If you do decide to change the locks you need to do something to beef up the lock system. Those locker doors can be popped open by prying with a decent sized screwdriver. Takes just a few seconds. The entry door lock is a different story. Like in auto and truck keys there's probably duplicates around but there's enough different ones it's not very likely mine would open yours or vice-versa. At least not the deadbolt. The upper lock can be opened by anyone with a master key, like your Montana dealer.
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Old 04-23-2005, 08:31 AM   #14
Parrothead
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HamRad
I totally agree with you. I used to tent camp with my daughter when she was just a toddler and we would be by ourselves in a campground. I always felt very safe because campers are friendly people and always offered to help. We would have missed hundreds of great experiences if we had been scared.
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Old 04-23-2005, 12:23 PM   #15
trukdoc
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Before any feathers get ruffled, I am about half joking and somewhat serious. This would be a terrible place to live without due process. Ask any Iraqi. We should be innocent until proven guilty. Our Constitutional rights should be protected AT ALL COSTS. But once tried and convicted by a jury of our peers I belive a prisoner has the right to fair treatment and not much more beyond that, their rights end.
I to believe when we change our way of life with locks, alarms internet monitoring and so on, even if the criminal never gets one piece of anything from me they win.
It drives my wife nuts that I do not lock anything up. She says to me "What if someone comes in the middle of the night" well they better be able to fight off a very loyal Pit Bull and 3 mutts, then be able to out run a clip of 9MM bullets and if I still think there is a threat there is a semiauto 12 GA to back up the 9 MM. One thing I am certain of, if they get away I do not believe they would come back....ever.
Which brings me back to victoms rights, If in the process of all this I kill the intruder. Most likely I will become the criminal in the eyes of the law. I fully would expect a investigation and hope for nothing less. But if I am protecting my family and my property that I work very for why am I now the criminal? Make the life expectancy of a criminal unpredictable and there is likely to be less crime. That is all I am saying. Thank God for our second amendment rights.
PS: I am a seven year veteran. I have paid for my freedom and rights!
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Old 04-23-2005, 01:29 PM   #16
HamRad
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trukdoc,
Thank you for a very good clarification and I'm sorry if my reply indicated to you or anyone that I was attacking their statements. I was merely trying to state my position.

I believe the underlying principle regarding killing someone is that YOUR life or SOMEONE else's life is in danger if you do not take action. If your action kills someone in defense of your LIFE (not property) then you will most likely NOT be considered a criminal. Shooting or killing someone over some property on the other hand MAY get you in trouble. As hard as I've had to work for the "things" that I have I would find it hard to actually take someones life trying to stop them from taking them. But if they are attacking my life that's a different story.

Truckdoc I don't know if you're familiar with the author Robert Heinlein or not but he has a quote that I've always thought was interesting and goes something like this:
"An armed society is a polite society." [:-]

Thank you again for your clarification.

HamRad
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Old 04-23-2005, 01:53 PM   #17
Montana_440
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26 yrs ago,we outfitted a new pick up as a "camper".Went to Glacier ,Yellowstone & Grand Teton mtns.The bed of the truck held all our stuff.,except for my purse & his wallet.Took showers in the campground wash house,ate at the picnic table,whatever one pot dish I could make from a cooler & box of groceries.Never gave a thought to anyone stealing from us.....nor did we fear for our saftey.Not sure if we were just dumb,young or it was a different world.

In my long winded way,I started to say, we have never from that trip to this day had anything stolen,nor had any kind of problem while camping.RV problems,truck & tire problems....buying fuel problems....but never any serious trouble.
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Old 04-25-2005, 03:01 PM   #18
trukdoc
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Well folks thats why I spent the money I did on my Mountaineer to stay in campgrounds with other great RV'ers. I have never had a problem either. I rarely lock my storage compartments and there is always plenty stuff in the back of the truck for someone to help theirselves.
Furthermore it is not uncommon for a camper to come by when I pull in to see if I need any help.
And for Hamrad, I do not remember where I heard this but is appropiate, "A person who can own a gun is a Citizen one that cannot is a Subject"
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Old 04-25-2005, 03:10 PM   #19
Native Tex
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by sreigle

When I was a kid the only time we ever locked the house or the garage was when we were going to be gone overnight. Things sure have changed. We've never had a problem in any campground but we've just been fortunate.
Steve - I too remember when you could leave the house and never have to worry about a lock. We would leave the doors and windows open, just close the screen doors. We even had a signal that if family came by while we were gone, someone would turn a chair upside down on the kitchen table. We would know we had had company. Great days then!
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Old 04-25-2005, 03:15 PM   #20
Native Tex
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By the way, I will add to my comment above that I have since changed my mind on security. I have changed all my locks on the Monty from the really common CH751 to something less common. I have never had anything stolen and like to think most RVers are aware of the common key situation but are all honest folks.
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