Rooftop Tent Owners: How do you protect your tent from being stolen?

Hi all,

Just curious on any security measures you guys take to avoid your Rooftop Tent from being stolen. Any suggestions?

Also, do you guys keep your RTT on your truck as a daily driver?

 

I mean they weigh a couple hundred pounds usually.. and are held on by a bunch of bolts. Generally several extra feet off the ground. Not really an easy target.

 

I hide it under the softopper!!

 

Normally I'd agree but at the price they going for, a thief may think it's worth the effort.

Exhibit A:

 

I hit it with a little bit if this and it seems to work

 

You can zip a set of rims off in 60 seconds with a battery powered impact.

 

Yeah, not really an easy target.. I mean I know on mine (Tepui) you actually have to have the tent opened up and get a wrench under the mattress on the top side of the bolts to get it off the rack..

In comparison I would be way more worried about people taking all the other shit like shovel, MaxTrax, fire extinguisher etc

 

Sleep in it?.

 

You can buy security nuts and bolts from places like McMaster-Carr. Easy enough to use a cable lock as well although you may need to drill a hole. All you can really do is make it a bit more difficult for a thief, if they want it bad enough they'll get it.

 

Just ordered a set of these.


https://www.wheeleveryweekend.com/c...ts/rtt-security-clamps?variant=28006604767316

 

That's pretty slick. If I didn't need the bed space I would absolutely hide mine under the softopper.

 

I seen those! Couldn’t justify the cost as my only thought was well screw it unbolt the bed rack! Take it all!!!

 

I’ve got a trailer and a huge tent so it’s an investment I want to keep.

 

Hmmm .....
wheel locks
CHECK ✔️

 

Live in an area where you don't have to worry about such things. IMO if you can afford nice things like RTT you should be able to afford to live somewhere where people don't steal your shit.

 

While that logic may apply in theory, real world experience will prove otherwise. Especially if you travel at all to places where you might not be familiar with. Thieves are everywhere, unfortunately living in a "nice" place doesn't mean you don't have to worry about people stealing your stuff.

 

I keep mine on my daily driver 24/7/365. No special tools or fasteners. Never had a problem. Of course I don't live in the ghetto but yes, theft can happen anywhere.
When traveling I don't really worry.

 

This is honestly one of the dumbest posts I've read today, probably the dumbest I've read all week. Firstly, thieves are just as mobile as you are and typically travel to where they know the good stuff is.

"Because that’s where the money is."- attributed to Willie Sutton when asked why he robbed banks,

Secondly, do you leave the tent locked in your garage or do you actually take it outdoors. If you do take it outdoors do you sit at camp the whole time or do you actually go on hikes or leave your vehicle unattended? Think about all of the posts on just this forum about folks having their catalytic converters stolen- with portable power tools it's very easy to steal most stuff these days. If I'm a thief I don't have to unbolt your tent then mount it to my truck, I can just cut the mounts, put it in the bed and drive off. Not everyone using the back country is a friendly granola eating, peace loving hippie, there are lots of scumbags out there even amongst your fellow outdoor enthusiast. If you've never had anything disappear from your camp site you probably haven't been doing this for very long, sadly it happens frequently as evidenced by the volume of reports filed by NPS police, BLM police, park rangers, etc. Heck, look at the number of boats, motors and trailers stolen every year and those have serial numbers and have to be registered and they still get stolen.

 

Well, I've actually loaded and unloaded a CVT Mt. Hood (140lbs and 76") alone on several occasions. This was off a bed rack on no less. Unloading was probably less than 20 min from start of nut removal to tent on the ground. And that is with me being careful not to damage the truck (something a thief won't care about).
New tent I have in route is smaller but 190lbs. I guarantee I'll be taking steps to make it a huge pain to remove without specialty tools. Not theft proof but a harder target.

 

To be honest, nothing will stop a dedicated person. But locking nuts/clamps would be a good deterrent