​What to do with the vehicle parked on a long trip?

[red langford]

Never ever had an issue. I've even forgotten to lock my doors on more than a few occasions. Once my truck was keyed but I suspect I know who did that. We may have expensive groceries and no restaurants but I always feel good about leaving my vehicle

 

[yellowcanoe]

I thought we were discussing parking locking when you leave your "foreign" car in the bush when its obvious you will be away for a while.. Home would be different. I don't even know where my house keys are nor do I lock the car and have a habit as others of leaving everything in the car. At home.

 

[Guest]

I keep saying that is why I drive a minivan. Nothing good to steal in a minivan.

That's the hope anyway. Sad that it happens but I do believe it is sometimes luck of the draw.

A bad draw. When my sons were little we tripped with another couple with small children. Coming off a trip on the Buffalo they found their Dodge minivan with doors open and a broken window. There wasn’t much in the minivan to steal, but it was another clean out; the wife was upset that they had taken even her hairbrush and Chapstick from the console, worst of all the kid’s baby blanket comfort items were gone as well.

Pick up trucks are the hot item around here, so to speak. And their tail gates.

On a truck with a locking cap one entry point is the tailgate. The cap locks aren’t much, but even with the cap door locked the tailgate can be forcibly yanked open.

Pop and Lock tailgate locks:

http://popandlock.net/

Thanks to a suggestion on this board I have one on the Taco. The only time I lock the tailgate is when parked and off on a trip, but in that guise it was worth $50 for some added insurance.

 

[red langford]

I thought we were discussing parking locking when you leave your "foreign" car in the bush when its obvious you will be away for a while.. Home would be different. I don't even know where my house keys are nor do I lock the car and have a habit as others of leaving everything in the car. At home.

I was talking about parking in the bush. Did you mean American plates on Canadian soil? Or Non American cars? My car was keyed while parked at Leano Lake. I also had everything in my box taken out and put under the truck another time. Just some minnow buckets and other non valuable things that always seem to find a home in the box of my truck.

 

[Guest]

Pick up trucks are the hot item around here, so to speak. And their tail gates. It's gotten to the point that you'll see trucks driving around without them, drivers having removed them to prevent theft. Or maybe they were all the victims?

Brad, I didn’t realize that stealing the tailgate from pickup trucks was such a common parts theft until I saw the links at the bottom of that Pop and Lock link. I imagine a replacement tailgate is a pricey parts piece.

All the more reason to add a tailgate lock. I may start locking the tailgate on the Taco even on day trips.

I'm actually surprised Alan still had a car to drive.

I have no idea what Alan drives as a canoe hauler, but being a mechanic I wouldn’t be surprised if he had installed a kill switch.

 

[Guest]

I leave my car filthy dirty and put used fast food containers on the back seat and floor

That may be a marketable idea. A ratty blanket with empty fast food containers, Big Gulp cups and chewing tobacco tins permanently attached.

What else? Maybe a faux dirty diaper, smeared with brown paint. Ugh, I’m not touching that, I don’t even want to break a window and smell it.

Just toss it across the seats or floor. You young single guys remember to put it away before picking up a date.

 

[Sweetfancymoses]

I carry passport, credit cards, driver's license, permit, and cash with me in a waterproof pouch in the leg pocket of my pants. Good advice on not leaving papers that identify your address in the car. Leaving beer as a peace offering sounds good to me even though it's a little bit like conditioning bears.

 

[GearFreak]

Leaving beer as a peace offering sounds good to me even though it's a little bit like conditioning bears.

Picture this...bored kids looking for coffee money/stuff go thru your car and find your beer. Proceed to party in and around your car till its all gone and then trash it as they are now drunk and still bored. Or they could be those younger males who seem to need to show feats of strength when alcohol fuels the testosterone release while inhibiting the brain.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Try not to leave any valuables in the vehicles

This is not feasible for the kind of canoeing trips I usually do.

I load up my Magic Bus -- which is a full size 1997 Dodge van conversion -- with thousands of dollars worth of canoeing and camping gear, clothing, food, photographic equipment, computers, weapons, and sorts of other favorite personal gear -- for one or two month road trips I take all over America and (never again) Canada. I live out of the van. Along the way, I stop and park for day trips or short overnighters into the lakes and rivers I encounter. Sometimes I pay to have my van shuttled to the end of a river run.

Meanwhile, my van remains parked with much of the gear inside while I'm paddling. Sometimes, I carry two or three different kinds of canoes or kayaks on my van for different waters, so the extra boats will also be on the parked van.

There's nothing much I can do except take the risk. I do have curtains that I close on all the windows. On occasion, I've taken my expensive laptop computer with me in a dry bag simply to to protect that life-inclusive device, and of course I always take my wallet and keys.

I do have Woodstock stickers on the back of the Magic Bus for whatever they're worth. I also have Catholic rosary beads and a crucifix hanging from my rear view mirror, prominently visible through my windshield. I'm not certain they have any deterrent effect, but I speculate they have more effect when I canoe the Tiber than the Euphrates.

 

[GearFreak]

I hear you Glenn, but that scenario was kind of outside my replies. I have traveled cross country in a 30' Jayco trailer - and it only got broken in while in storage. Unfortunately our trips were too short - but I enjoyed them!

 

[yellowcanoe]

Beer? Not good. In some dry reservations totally illegal. Otherwise a temptation for the underaged to break in.. And leave glass shards under your tire. The other thing is beer left in a hot car can explode.. Don't ask.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I hear you Glenn, but that scenario was kind of outside my replies.

Just to be clear, I wasn't responding to the scenarios in your replies, GF, but the the scenerios of my actual canoe trips. I only quoted you because several people suggested not leaving anything of value in parked vehicles.

The only canoeing scenarios I can imagine where I could avoid having anything left in a parked vehicle are daytrips from my house or a single-destination extended canoe trip where I could load everything in the vehicle into the canoe. Those have simply never been realistic scenarios for me over the past 40 years. There's always something left in my vehicles, and then of course the vehicles themselves are at risk when parked for long (or even short) periods of time.

My risk with the Magic Bus is essentially the same no matter what kind of canoe trip I take, because all my canoe and camping gear and clothing, and most of freeze-dried foodstuffs, are stowed in my van all year long. The Magic Bus is a dedicated canoe vehicle. I just hop in and drive to the water whether it's an urban day trip or an extended trip to a wilderness location. The only thing that changes is the amount of electronic and photographic gear I'll take, and some specialized seasonal clothing, because I don't store those things in the van.

So my parking risk scenarios are sort of steady state. The only risk that changes is that I'll probably have less valuable electronic and optical equipment in the van for day trips from my home.

Fortunately, I've never had a vehicle theft or break-in anywhere -- not in urban areas, suburban areas or remote wilderness areas. Over the years I also pasted a few faux stickers on my vehicles, such as auto alarm company stickers and law enforcement group stickers. And then there's the CanoesWithDuckheads sticker I got from the originator of this thread. Hmmmm . . . maybe . . . .

 

[Steve in Idaho]

My method for years was the red/white '88 Isuzu Trooper that many of you have seen in photos. If there is an official list of least stolen vehicles, that one has to be near the top. It also had the look of "nothing valuable here", because who would drive such a heap anyway? And all the windows are flat. The cheapest car window replacements ever. Yes, it may sound silly - but I did have a pistol target with .45 caliber holes in the center and "nothing here worth dying for" taped to the window when parked at certain locations. I have no way to document whether that does any good, but it's fun to look at...and hey - it never got broken into.

Sadly, the old Trooper died a smokey death a year or so ago. Newer vehicles seem to all look like a target. The 98 Explorer made me nervous enough, even though it is beginning to look like the kind of thing a person who has nothing might choose to drive. But I have to sell that to recover what I can of what I spent on the Tundra, which I had to buy to pull the wife's portable palace (it's the only way she'll go camping with me). That truck looks like money (false advertising), so I guess I have to be more picky about where I park. No one will believe the driver of the pretty blue Tundra is enough of a desperado to poke holes in a thief or vandal

Speaking of that - thanks for the Pop and Lock link Mike - but they list no lock for ARE or for the Tundra. Guess I stick with the stock ARE lock and maybe rig something manual from the inside for the tailgate? At least, the windows are tinted....

Taking off the racks is a good idea. The new Yakimas dismount easily, once you reach them. Oh yeah - I have to bring a step ladder to reach the racks. So if a thief breaks into my cap, I can lose the racks and the ladder.

 

[tump_lion]

my truck is so old that one time someone broke in and installed a new radio...

 

[Guest]

Speaking of that - thanks for the Pop and Lock link Mike - but they list no lock for ARE or for the Tundra. Guess I stick with the stock ARE lock and maybe rig something manual from the inside for the tailgate?

Steve, I am surprised that no Pop And Lock fits the Tundra. From looking at the P&L site and selecting a random model year it appears that an $80 remote Pop and Lock would fit, but its hard to tell from their website. It might be worth calling them.

The tailgate on my ’84 Hi-Lux had side latches, and the lock latch on the repurposed aluminum cap was broken. I installed a hasp and padlock between the tailgate and cap. It was ugly, but so was the cap (and truck), and it worked.

 

[lowangle al]

Never leave valuables in the vehicle at a trailhead regardless of how long you will be gone. My car got broke into while I was on a 1 mile hike, not even gone for an hour. It was a busy trailhead with people coming and going and my guess is that they did the "smash and grab" before we got much more than 100 yards out of site.

 

[Guest]

Never leave valuables in the vehicle at a trailhead regardless of how long you will be gone.

Al, that is doable on day paddles close to home, where I bring only what I need.

On longer trips, while possible, it would be a serious inconvenience. I have an array of truck camping and travelling gear along in addition to dedicated canoe tripping gear. I don’t leave obvious valuables in plain sight, but a theft from the truck could see me replacing stuff like tools, Atlas & Gazetteer’s, guidebooks, spare clothes and boots, etc.

On long truck trips I bring three sleeping bags, a zero degree bag, a 20F bag and a summer weight bag. I often use all of them during the course of a long trip, but select only one to bring in the boat.

On solo travels I would like to start bringing both a (large) tripping canoe and a smaller, lightweight canoe for day paddling along the way. I have skipped paddling some little lakes because I was too lazy to get the Monarch or soloized Penobscot off the racks and carry them down some trail to the lake for an hour’s explore. Some 30 lb canoe I could grab with off the racks one hand and carry to the water with a paddle, PFD and daypack would be ideal.

The dilemma is that the day boat will be left (locked, but. . . .you know) on the roof racks while I am away on a longer trip. Someone could cut the cable and steal my tripping canoe while I’m off noodling around for the afternoon, but the larger risk seems leaving the truck parked for a week or two with the day use boat racked on top, especially in a launch area that screams “I’m away on a trip”.

I could, even with my Scot’s blood, afford to buy a nice (used) 14 or 15 foot kevlar solo canoe, but I can’t bring myself to leave a $1000 canoe unattended on the roof racks for days or weeks on end.

I’m still searching for my preferred solution: Find a beater kevlar solo with rotted wood gunwales and brightwork, maybe a hull crack or three, for a couple hundred bucks and rebuild it for small change. heck, I might even fix it so that it is structurally sound but leave it (or make it) look like a complete beater.

A “rat rod” canoe; it might be fun challenge to see how much of a beater appearance I could design into the rebuild. Maybe add a garish striped paint scheme that would make it especially distinctive if stolen.

 

[Alan Gage]

I've done lots of traveling with a canoe on top of the car and never had a problem; even when I leave it parked in the woods for a couple days while I go hiking. Then again I'd never had a problem with someone breaking into my unattended vehicle until my last trip either.

In hindsight I should have never locked my car at the put-in. It was obviously no deterrent. Thankfully the car was pretty well cleaned out as everything needed to come along in the canoe. Maybe just leave a note on the window that says "nothing valuable inside. If you don't believe me you can check for yourself, the car is un-locked."

Since I was leaving for 1 1/2 months I disconnected the battery just in case there was enough drain to kill it while I was gone. After seeing my car broken into I realized this was a good policy in case someone should leave a door ajar or turn on the interior or headlights while they were fumbling around.

Actually the other day I thought of perhaps the best theft deterrent: I simply won't fix my broken out rear window and will leave it covered with plastic. When I leave my vehicle unattended I'll pull the plastic off so any would be thief will see the broken window, think he's been beaten to the punch, and move onto the next victim.

Alan

 

[yellowcanoe]

Um Alan if it rains?

 

[Guest]

I've done lots of traveling with a canoe on top of the car and never had a problem; even when I leave it parked in the woods for a couple days while I go hiking. Then again I'd never had a problem with someone breaking into my unattended vehicle until my last trip either.

I recognize that I am being overly cautious/paranoid, especially when it comes to a canoe left locked to the roof racks.

In the late 80’s I spend 18 months on the road crisscrossing the US. I was mostly away from the truck on backpacking trips, but I had a solo canoe on the racks, and a lot of tools and gear in the truck, parked for extended periods at dirt road trailheads around the country.

I never had a problem, but the closer I got to my truck on the last day the more eager I became to see everything still there and intact.

Is trailhead/launch thievery more commonplace today?

Maybe not. Maybe so. There are whitewater parking areas on the Potomac near DC where paddler’s cars are broken into dang near every weekend. Some are smash and grabs and some are more clever; pop the door lock with a slim jim, find the left behind wallet, pull out the credit cards and then put the wallet back and relock the door. All the more time to run up charges.

I have a locking side shelf cabinet built into the truck, largely because I could not hope to replace my carbon paddles, sails and etc while on the road, A thief would need to somehow force the Pop & Lock on the tailgate to get access to the cabinet shelf door, and then defeat a padlock and hasp. I could buy a new sleeping bag or tent in the next town, not so much the paddles or sails.

No matter what I do I doubt I can avoid the “Crap, I hope everything is still there” feeling as the truck finally hoves into view.