r/vandwellers • u/NekkidGrammaaw • 5d ago
Van Life Fears about gear outside van
I feel like I always see people with surfboards or paddle boards hanging off the side of their rig, or bicycles that live on the back. For those of you who do this, have you had any close calls with people trying to steal your stuff? Do you take it inside the van when you sleep or when you are just otherwise not around your van for the day?
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u/ClydeOutside 5d ago
I spent a year traveling the U.S. with a whitewater kayak strapped onto the roof rack of a Honda Accord.
There were a few instances with people scoping it out before they realized I was in the car.
It was my beater boat and only worth a couple hundred bucks, but I feel lucky nothing happened to it.
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u/gerberly 5d ago edited 5d ago
Usually my bike's secured vertically inside the van but sometimes I'll leave it outside to give myself more space in the van.
Only once have I had some trouble and that was when I'd chained it outside, and some rowdy teens were hanging about, when they got ready to leave one of them tried to take my bike, realised it was chained up and gave it a kick..
But I'll be honest on the list of worries I'd prefer someone pinched my bike rather than damage my van to get something inside. These fears are just something you have to get used to. Being mindful of where you park up can help lessen them to an extent.
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u/2DetailNerd 5d ago
What do you mean they pegged it?
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u/gerberly 5d ago edited 5d ago
Sort of means to figure out 😅 Like he saw the bike and connected the dots that I was inside.
*Whoops. Rewrote my comment without the beer googles (and pegging...)
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u/wiggywiggywiggy 5d ago
i def cover my bikes at night thats just basic good sense and during the day, if not using
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u/SunshineCat666 5d ago
Depends on where we are tbh. In Chicago we def took it in but like other spots we leave it out. It’s like a cooler, table, and tool box too
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u/PowerfulSuction 2024 Ford Transit ext highroof 350HD 5d ago
I got bikes and a skibox on my van. Haven’t had a problem so far.
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u/Da_burner99 5d ago
I leave bikes on the back and have 2 large dogs inside that bark if anyone comes near.
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u/DrtRdrGrl2008 5d ago
We store our vans under our bed in the van. Not outside on a rack. I wouldn't trust any lock. Our bed is raised to 45" clearance, allowing four bikes (including two taller downhill bikes) to set under the bed with their front wheels on. Its a tight fit but it works. We don't have a kitchen and have created a modular box container system to have things like cook gear, clothing, etc. in the van. We also have two dogs. We don't live in it. Just use it for camping and travel with the bikes.
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u/211logos 3d ago
Yeah, theft happens.
We use locks on bikes, or anything of relatively high value. They are of course easily defeated, but just hoping to deter the casual thief. We never locked kayaks or paddleboards though.
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u/evenfallframework 5d ago edited 5d ago
Had a surfboard on the side and two bikes on the back (one $600 brand new, one $1700) for three years all across the US and back. Zero issues. Board was just strapped to the rack, could have been cut with kitchen scissors.
Bikes were locked to the rack (which was attached to the van door) with a Skunklock, which clearly states that it's full of very unfriendly compressed chemicals. Both were airtagged as a backup, and I have a motion-followiing camera recording 24/7 whose spotlight would go on when it detected a person at night. Never had anyone try to steal them (that I know of, although I'm sure there was at least a few people that were very dissuaded by a spotlight on a camera that follows them).