Protecting gear in your car

What are your best tips and tricks for protecting your gear from prying eyes? 

Here in Utah there are dozens of people every year who get their gear stolen out of their car up Big & Little Cottonwood (See N Utah section for recent theft thread). My wife and I will be visiting a couple national parks on a road trip this summer and we'll be climbing a little but the gear will spend most of the time in the car. So due to all the horror stories of thousands of dollars of gear gone, I'm looking for best solutions.

Do you use a dash cam (Any favorite brands)? Just cover your gear with a blanket? What else? Let me know what's worked for you or what you think would work!!

Edit: Driving a subaru. Any better luck leaving gear in a tent?

If you’re in a car I’d recommend keeping the gear, along with ANY other valuables in the trunk. Out of sight is important. I removed the jack from my van and built a locking steel door to cover the cavity. That gives me piece of mind, but is far from fool proof. At the end of the day locks/ glass only keeps out the honest thieves. 

Don’t put too much faith in a dashcam, definitely not a theft deterrent. If someone’s breaking into a car with the intent of stealing your shiz, what stops them from stealing the dashcam as well…

I don’t know what your vehicle is, but if you can get something like this situated somewhere, either bolted down or cabled to a frame member somehow, you can at least protect your most valuable or irreplaceable items that have to stay in the vehicle while you’re out and about. I did this the last couple seasons I was out van dirtbagging BITD. I kept my laptop, camera equipment, extra rope and rackables, cash, credit cards, etc… as well as a stash that was still illegal in all states at the time. I had it bolted down in plain sight, it was a pretty good deterrent, as wannabe thieves knew they’d have some tough work ahead of them!

ryan climbs sometimes wrote:

hard to do in a subaru. the little slide thingy might work. as long as the rest of the car is clean and neat

True. Best practice is if it really matters to you sentimentally don’t bring it. The road can be cold lol

I second the lockbox idea. I often travel solo and I have everything from full frame cameras to climbing and oil painting gear. I put as much of the valuable stuff as possible in a heavy wooden lockbox made from 3/4" plywood. And that box is locked to the car with a steel cable. It will slow down the smash and grabbers and/or force them to use cutting tools. Really, you are  just trying to make them move on to the next car that doesn't have a lockbox. And be sure to have at least renters insurance, and or special riders on your policy for the top items. Like my camera gear is covered at replacement value...and I have photos of all my cams. But most important of all: I keep a big rubber chicken on the front seat. Knock on wood, but that freaking chicken has worked for 40 years.

I frequently climb in the cottonwood canyons and am worried about theft. I have window covers for all of my windows. You can make your own, but I got mine from Heat Shield. I feel like people are less likely to smash a window if they're unsure anything is inside my car. Better than the blanket idea in my opinion. From the outside, it looks like I'm just covering my windows to keep my car cool from the summer sun, which is an added benefit. They're also great for sleeping in your vehicle. 

Ditto on the renter's insurance. I'm going to Vegas soon and will be taking a video of all my gear before I pack it up. 

I usually feel pretty safe in national parks. It's everywhere else that gets you. I have secret compartments in my van build that are a total PITA to get into. So much so that I haven't used them yet. The idea was to have a stash for cash and passports. 

In response to OP’s final question, while, as always, it depends on the specifics, leaving gear in a tent may be safer than in a vehicle. This is especially true in organized, busy campgrounds as opposed to an isolated tent somewhere. I, personally, have never had gear taken from my tent, while have had several instances of theft from parked cars, though I am sure that others have had different experiences.

When traveling abroad, I almost always keep my passport on my person ( as well as some cash) even while climbing, usually in a ‘valuables belt’ around my waist and under my shirt. My wallet, too, is usually with me, often in my pack.

As much as possible I try to keep my car empty, and what is necessary to be there, kept out of sight, but realize that this isn’t always possible, especially on a road trip.

I fold my backseat down over rack. rope and dog seat cover in backseat floorboard of my cross trek. Mine also came with that cover that can extend to block view of items in the hatch area. If you have that it has worked for me nicely. No stickers saying hey there’s definitely extra climbing shit in here.

it used to be so easy when I drove a beater and had nothing worth stealing. I’d drive to the area, park and leave my windows down. I’d blow a kiss to my $20 stereo I had put in and hope it’d be there when I got back 

Break-ins are a huge problem in WA’s state and national parks. My rule of thumb is to simply leave nothing in the vehicle, and to make it obvious. Bins, duffle bags, lock boxes, shit covered in blankets, all allude to something valuable being in the car.

A huge number of car break-ins are simply to check if something is in the trunk (for example, going for the rear passenger window to lower the back seats). Flip your seats down if you can so folks can see an empty trunk, and don’t cover up the windows.

If I leave anything in the car, it’s always of insignificant value, and always very obvious, often in either a grocery bag or a clear bin. If I had to consistently store stuff in the vehicle for logistical reasons, I’d seriously consider getting a more concealed storage utility stem like Decked or Front Runner’s drawer system. 

Chris C wrote:

My rule of thumb is to simply leave nothing in the vehicle…

If I leave anything in the car, it’s always of insignificant value, and always very obvious, often in either a grocery bag or a clear bin. 

I think the point of the OP is that they’re going to be in situations where it will be necessary to leave things in the car. Not just out cragging for the day, but a road-trip that is only part climbing, and the rest of the time their climbing gear will be in the car… Totally different situations.

I have a beat up dirty dented and scratched Honda fit, so already less obviously break in worthy, if that makes sense. I then put a tarp I’ve used for gardening over my climbing gear- think worn, full of holes, dirty, etc. Finally I have an old rat trap, smooshed seltzer can, and potting tray I sprinkle over the top. Add in a 5 gallon bucket of potting mix on top of that, nobody’s going to want to steal from that car. Worst case though, I have an AirTag sewn into my climbing bag, and an utterly unhinged, scary note in the top pocket along the lines of “if you’re reading this, that means you stole my shit. I know your location, description, and who you are. I’m coming for it now. There are four other trackers that you missed. Leave my stuff alone and you might survive.” The actual note is much scarier sounding- I know it won’t actually do anything if my stuff does get stolen but I hope it will make the thief deeply unhappy for a while. 

Teton Tom wrote:

I think the point of the OP is that they’re going to be in situations where it will be necessary to leave things in the car. Not just out dragging for the day, but a road-trip that is only part climbing, and the rest of the time their climbing gear will be in the car… Totally different situations.

I edited my posted after the fact to add this:

If I had to consistently store stuff in the vehicle for logistical reasons, I’d seriously consider getting a more concealed storage utility stem like Decked or Front Runner’s drawer system.

Teton Tom wrote:

Don’t put too much faith in a dashcam, definitely not a theft deterrent. If someone’s breaking into a car with the intent of stealing your shiz, what stops them from stealing the dashcam as well…

I don’t know what your vehicle is, but if you can get something like this situated somewhere, either bolted down or cabled to a frame member somehow, you can at least protect your most valuable or irreplaceable items that have to stay in the vehicle while you’re out and about. I did this the last couple seasons I was out van dirtbagging BITD. I kept my laptop, camera equipment, extra rope and rackables, cash, credit cards, etc… as well as a stash that was still illegal in all states at the time. I had it bolted down in plain sight, it was a pretty good deterrent, as wannabe thieves knew they’d have some tough work ahead of them!

I drove an old jeep for many years and used one of these bolted to the floor. Fit perfectly where the back seat used to be. I doubt this is realistic for OP but strong/job boxes like these are really fantastic for anyone else wondering. The locks are typically enshrouded in the box so you would need to use a cutoff wheel just to get to the locks. 

Such a bummer that this is the norm now.

Constantly weighs on me as many times a year I head to these area and have no option but to store in a vehicle. Many times rental car so welded in lockbox isn’t an option.

I tend to bring a big tent footprint (aka tarp) and cover everything up. While it does probably create curiosity in potential thieves, if not covered, there is no doubt that thousands of dollars of gear is a window smash away. 

back in the eighties, I had a dedicated "trailhead car", an old junker that people would go out of their way to keep a distance.  I routinely left that car unocked, with hundreds of dollars worth of gear in the trunk, at infamously insecure trailheads, and never lost so much as an old hex.   I rationalized "who's gonna turn over a turd to see if there's a dollar under it?"  Don't know if it would work these days, but it sure worked then!

Adam Fleming wrote:

I feel like people are less likely to smash a window if they're unsure anything is inside my car. 

Not any more. Perps are breaking windows regardless and moving things around. Including flipping the backseat down to see if something is in the trunk.

Keep your stuff out of sight.

Don’t draw attention to your car. (aka dont have stickers all over it describing that you have expensive gear)

Have a shotgun. 

What good is the shotgun. It's just one more thing to steal. 

Get yourself a sign to make someone think twice!

those things are always st00pid.

#1 it tells the thief that there are firearms to be stolen

#2. if you do have to use your firearm for  self defense that sign will absolutely be used against you in the resulting legal proceedings.