Leaving OZ Tent unattended

ExplorerTom

Explorer
If you were to go camping in a campground, would you have any reservations about leaving all day with the OZ Tent set up and unattended? Lots of other people in the campground coming and going.
 

Hummelator

Adventurer
In a camp ground? Not at all.
I have done it plenty. Only ever came back to fish and feathers rooting through our stuff because we had left a fire blazing unattended. Otherwise I find most people are pretty good about respecting our campsite.
 

ExplorerTom

Explorer
Remote camping I'm less worried about. I'm talking about a campground. Like with picnic tables and plug-ins and flushing toilets. Traffic in and out of the campground will be significantly higher.
 

jeep-N-montero

Expedition Leader
Remote camping I'm less worried about. I'm talking about a campground. Like with picnic tables and plug-ins and flushing toilets. Traffic in and out of the campground will be significantly higher.

Yes, and this means more eyes to keep an eye on your stuff while you are away, not many people try to steal stuff in the middle of the day with the threat of you coming into camp at any minute. If you are worried I suppose you can always mount a hidden trail camera.
 

perterra

Adventurer
I dont think most would know a $1000 Oztent from a $100 Coleman. Though in areas with a high population of Javelinas leaving it up could lead to a wrecked tent as the snuffle around for food. Big Bend park rangers ask you to just drop the tent on the ground if you are gone for the day and reset it up when you get back.
 

OCD Overland

Explorer
In campgrounds, it's mostly little stuff that will get stolen. Too many eyes and too much of a chance that you'll be driving in any minute for someone to try to steal something big like a tent. On the contrary, I've known people with rooftop tents who would completely dismantle their campsite every morning and set it up again in the evening because they felt that a campsite without a tent made it obvious no one was there and more like the owner would be gone for a while. I do think that the more established your campsite looks, the less likely people are to walk through and pilfer. There's something psychological about it - establishing a boundary of ownership.
 

thefishhawk

Adventurer
I might put a few items if I was worried about them in the tent to be out of sight, but I think it's pretty rare for people to mess with other's campsites.
 

BritKLR

Kapitis Indagatoris
Yeti coolers. Yes.
Partner Camp Stoves. Yes.
Pelican or aluminum case. Yes.
Honda generators. Yes.
Removable Jeep doors. Yes.
The average iPad, laptop, cellphone, camera on the camp table. Yes
But in three decades of policing, with the last three in the Rockies I can't say we ever took a tent theft report. Hell, we couldnt even get the "summer campers" to take their tents when they left the forest.........just kidding. Theives will search for high value items they can steal quickly. Having owned an OzTent, it would be too complex for the average nucklehead to try and breakdown and steal. The items inside would be different.
 

huachuca

Adventurer
...............I do think that the more established your campsite looks, the less likely people are to walk through and pilfer. There's something psychological about it - establishing a boundary of ownership.

You may be on to something here. The only problem I've ever had was some fifty years ago. We arrived at a commercial campground in a VW Westfalia late at night and got up early the next morning to explore the area. Before leaving, I unpacked our chairs, cooking gear, coolers etc, stacked them on or under the picnic table and covered everything with a tarp. When we returned late that afternoon, it was all gone. Shortly afterwards, a guy a few sites over came walking up with my stove and sheepishly claimed they thought the stuff was abandoned so everyone had helped themselves. Fortunately, it was all returned. FWIW, I was just out of high school and recall most of the folks who took my gear being older adults. I've never had a theft problem when camped in the boonies.
 

Swath

New member
I've done a fair amount of remote camping in WY, CO, UT and a little bit in campgrounds. I don't like having to see or hear neighbors, my goal is not to be able to see anyones campfires. We typically explore out of a base camp so very often we are away from camp either 4 wheelin or fishing or just general exploration of the area for a good portion of the day.

I have never experienced an issue or much real concern about my camps being raided. I mostly worry about what the weather will do while I'm gone and make sure everything is prepared for a storm. I try not to leave high value items. Takes me a good hour or two to pack everything up. Been doing camps like this since 81 or so. Nowadays with an RV-5.

Rereading, your question was about campgrounds. My response was not helpful in that regard. I still say, I'm not concerned about leaving my setup alone in a campground, actually feel like it would be safer there but perhaps not. Maybe I'm too trusting, but where I typically rome, it takes some driving to get to so I feel like the undesirables are less likely to be trolling that far away from home. Closer to big populations would change my concerns I'm sure.
 
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