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How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

Tom Nevesely
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

I'm just curious how other people keep their camera gear secure in their vehicles while out on a photography road trip. I have bag protector from PacSafe that I sometimes use when I need to leave my backpack in the car but I'm sure there are other solutions and I'd love to hear about them!

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Jun 26, 2024 at 09:03 AM

chez
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

I never leave anything in my car. I’ll carry my gear into a restaurant with me.

Jun 26, 2024 at 10:50 AM

CharleyL
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

Out of sight, in the locked car trunk and inside a large cooler for the insulation during the hot part of the day. No ice, just for the insulation. Mine has a place for a padlock too, so I can lock and chain it to a mounting bolt if I wish, but I never have. Most thieves are looking through the windows for valuables on the seats to do a smash and grab. They are much less likely to be looking for food, so the cooler offers less for them, and since they don't know what is in it. If inside the car on the seat, I sometimes throw a blanket over it, but leave the lower part of the cooler exposed so they can see that it's a cooler. Other cars in parking lots near mine have been hit, while mine was left alone. Luck? Maybe, but I think my method is working well, though nothing is a 100% guarantee. A good insurance policy is the best backup to this.

Charley

Jun 26, 2024 at 11:11 AM

oguruma
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

I use a Pelican case with a few padlocks with a bicycle chain that goes through the padlocks and connected to the seat rear bracket.

Jun 26, 2024 at 12:05 PM

Norm Shapiro
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

Thos pack protectors are good to keep someone from grabbing your bag and taking off with it. But with the right tool they can be cut up. I’ve seen that happen at a sporting event.
As far as parking my car with any equipment left in it happens only when I can see the car at all times and can walk to it quickly. Otherwise if it is a single camera/lens or several pelican cases they never stay in the car, even at home.

Jun 26, 2024 at 01:40 PM

Fred Amico
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

chez wrote:
I never leave anything in my car. I’ll carry my gear into a restaurant with me.

Same here.

Jun 26, 2024 at 04:48 PM

johnvanr
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

Norm Shapiro wrote:
Thos pack protectors are good to keep someone from grabbing your bag and taking off with it. But with the right tool they can be cut up. I’ve seen that happen at a sporting event.
As far as parking my car with any equipment left in it happens only when I can see the car at all times and can walk to it quickly. Otherwise if it is a single camera/lens or several pelican cases they never stay in the car, even at home.

But you’re in Hawaii, infamous for theft out of cars.

Jun 26, 2024 at 05:11 PM

johnvanr
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

I just made sure people couldn’t see that I had a bunch of gear in my car, but that’s about it. Never really worried about it. May be different now that I’m in Europe and probably sometimes in tourist areas with foreign plates.

In any case, I’m more worried about the gear overheating than it getting stolen.

Jun 26, 2024 at 05:14 PM

Choderboy
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

Lock it in the toilet! (seriously)

Jun 26, 2024 at 05:35 PM

chez
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

Thieves will break your window just to rifle through your glove box. Doesn't take much to pull the trunk release and do a looksee at what is hidden out of sight. Thieves might be stupid...but they are not dumb.

If you don't want it stolen, don't leave it in the car...simple as that. Yes, you can be lucky and have nothing stolen through the years...but it just takes one time to really change your views on locking things in the trunk.

I've photographed in the Columbia Gorge area quite a bit. The trail head parking lots are full of broken car window glass. That says enough for me.

Jun 26, 2024 at 06:18 PM

JBPhotog
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

Leave it in a vehicle, expect it to be stolen and be surprised if it isn't.

Jun 27, 2024 at 01:49 PM

johnvanr
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

JBPhotog wrote:
Leave it in a vehicle, expect it to be stolen and be surprised if it isn't.

I was once at Conowingo and had set up a few hundred meters from my car. Conowingo is a crowded place, and I couldn’t park any closer. I had my main setup with me, but left smaller stuff in the trunk. For some reason, when I walked away from my car, I had by mistake opened the trunk with my remote key. Only discovered it about an hour later when I walked back to my car. Trunk wide open. Gear bags out in the open. Nothing was touched.

Since then I check whether my trunk is open as I walk away…

Jun 27, 2024 at 02:38 PM

rscheffler
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

chez wrote:
Thieves will break your window just to rifle through your glove box. Doesn't take much to pull the trunk release and do a looksee at what is hidden out of sight. Thieves might be stupid...but they are not dumb.

If you don't want it stolen, don't leave it in the car...simple as that. Yes, you can be lucky and have nothing stolen through the years...but it just takes one time to really change your views on locking things in the trunk.

I've photographed in the Columbia Gorge area quite a bit. The trail head parking lots are full of broken car window...Show more →

My previous car (Audi A4 B6 platform) had a couple great features: 1) it was possible to disable the trunk release inside the car, meaning the only way to open it was physically with the key from the outside. 2) Rear seats had locks (using the ignition key) that would prevent them being folded down from inside the passenger cabin. Therefore the trunk was only accessible with the key (but perhaps it would still be relatively easy for someone with the knowhow to force it open - not sure).

Valet key would not open the trunk (which I think is standard) and would indeed give it to valets instead of the standard fob.

I also try to avoid entering/exiting the car with cameras and lenses clearly visible. This was difficult to do when I worked at a newspaper and covering multiple assignments per shift. Colleagues who became complacent about this occasionally were targeted, but it was company gear and not their own that was stolen. Also difficult when doing weddings. When wandering around, even in my own relatively safe neighborhood, I generally try to put cameras back in bags several blocks from where I'm staying. Same with leaving home or a hotel on foot - I'll go several blocks before the camera comes out. But if someone is really determined, they will follow you long distances. See the various reports of photographers being targeted when stuck in traffic, at an intersection, etc.

That said, I will rarely leave gear in the car/trunk if out of line of sight or for extended periods. I will bring at least the camera bag/case into the restaurant. In part also because my commercial insurance has a high deductible and exceptions for theft from a vehicle.

Jun 27, 2024 at 04:22 PM

vbnut
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

rscheffler wrote:
My previous car (Audi A4 B6 platform) had a couple great features: 1) it was possible to disable the trunk release inside the car, meaning the only way to open it was physically with the key from the outside. 2) Rear seats had locks (using the ignition key) that would prevent them being folded down from inside the passenger cabin. Therefore the trunk was only accessible with the key (but perhaps it would still be relatively easy for someone with the knowhow to force it open - not sure).

My previous car (2001 Mazda Miata) had #1, and, since it had no rear seats and no access to the trunk from the passenger compartment, no need for #2. I assumed #1 was a specific to convertibles that are (1) often parked with the top down and (2) easy to break into the passenger compartment, and thought it was a great feature. I always felt pretty safe locking valuables in the trunk, even so I avoided opening the trunk after parking at my destination either to put stuff in or take stuff out.

I had to replace the Miata early this year (engine failure), and settled on a Chevy Bolt EV. It doesn't have any secure storage, but the rear storage area has a "false" bottom, so I can "hide" stuff under it if necessary, and also has an automatic cargo cover (pretty typically these days) so at least people can't see what's in the rear storage area. It has a "remote key" and the key cylinder in the driver's door (for use if the battery is dead) is hidden, so normally all the doors, including the rear lift gate are unlocked by pressing a button with the remote key nearby. I don't know if that is more or less secure than traditional door locks. Of course, none of that matters if somebody decides to force entry into the car and search for valuables, but my impression is that most thieves are looking for an easy target (e.g. unlocked doors) unless they have evidence there are valuables inside.

Jun 27, 2024 at 05:03 PM

rscheffler
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

vbnut wrote:
It has a "remote key" and the key cylinder in the driver's door (for use if the battery is dead) is hidden, so normally all the doors, including the rear lift gate are unlocked by pressing a button with the remote key nearby. I don't know if that is more or less secure than traditional door locks.

I guess it depends on whether someone with one of those key fob scanner/code readers can capture the transmissions between the fob and the car when you access or lock the car and then use that to gain access when you're gone. You've probably seen the reports of car break-ins and thefts from people's driveways because the thieves were able to 'ping' the key fobs sitting somewhere nearby in their houses... Which is why we try to remember to put our fobs in a RFID blocking pouch whenever we're home.

Jun 27, 2024 at 05:28 PM

chez
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

vbnut wrote:
My previous car (2001 Mazda Miata) had #1, and, since it had no rear seats and no access to the trunk from the passenger compartment, no need for #2. I assumed #1 was a specific to convertibles that are (1) often parked with the top down and (2) easy to break into the passenger compartment, and thought it was a great feature. I always felt pretty safe locking valuables in the trunk, even so I avoided opening the trunk after parking at my destination either to put stuff in or take stuff out.

I had to replace the Miata early this...Show more →

Yes, thieves look for unlocked doors, but they are not shy at smashing a window to get in. I would think the majority of car breakins are through smashed windows.

Jun 27, 2024 at 06:04 PM

Todd Warnke
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

I work in IT security, and we preach that any sufficiently motivated bad guy can get into your systems (or, in this case, your car). To beat them, reduce your attack surface, raise the hassle factor if they do go after you, and prepare for the inevitable. In terms of cars and camera gear, this means, first, don't leave gear unattended, and if you have to, secure it hidden from view, and do that at a time when bad guys can't see you do it. Second, make your vehicle as secure as possible. Bad guys either want a surefire big hit, or they want the easy one. If you've done step one correctly, they don't think you are the surefire big hit. So, make sure your vehicle is somewhere with lots of traffic, is obviously secured, and is obviously alarmed. Do anything that makes it look hard to get into your vehicle and they will go on the next vehicle that looks easier to break into. Last, get insurance, because a sufficiently motivated bad guy will outmaneuver any precautions you can set up.

That said, I really like the idea of either the false floor if you have one, or the cooler. Simple ideas that will force the bad guy to take more time, and they always want to reduce the time it takes for the theft. Also, unless I need the new, FWD vehicle, I tend to take the older family car as it looks less likely to have something expensive in it. Nothing like an M-B, BMW or Audi SUV parked all alone at an obvious photo place (think backroad near Ouray during fall colors) to say, I've got good stuff inside.

Jun 27, 2024 at 08:46 PM

elkhornsun
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

When I leave my truck at a trail head any thief knows I will not return for hours. So I use a pickup truck and a metal storage box with two drawers along with my locking tailgate. No one can see inside to know what is in the bed and if they did manage to break in they would be faced with the locking drawers.

In hotels and lodges I use a Pelican case that has two padlocks and then I run a wire cable and lock the case to a piece of furniture to make it very difficult for a thief to grab the pelican case and leave the room unnoticed. Not being able to see inside also reduces the chances of someone seeing something valuable and walking off with it.

https://www.truck-tool-box.com/shop/bed-tool-boxes-with-drawers/bed-box-bb-series-standard/

There are small versions that bolt to the floor of a SUV and are used by law enforcement agencies but with them bolted down the cargo area cannot be used for anything else. The truck box I attach with turnbuckles and can remove it in 15 minutes or less to have full use of the bed of the truck.

With a SUV or other vehicle I have used a "pet bridge" that attaches to the front and rear headrests and provides a safe place for photo gear while in transit and also provides a place that is out of sight with bags on the floor of the passenger area. When renting a car I get a sedan as its trunk allows me to have gear out of sight.

Jun 28, 2024 at 02:33 PM

fgphoto
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

I drive a hybrid SUV with a cargo cover in the back. I run one of the heavy duty cables under the rear seat framework that attaches to the car body and then run the other part of the cable to the rear cargo area where I have a Pelican case that I lock to the cable.

If someone really wants it, they can get it, but like mentioned further up, it greatly increases the hassle of having to break the locks or cut through the cable to snag the pelican case and normally car burglars want to get in, grab valuables, and get out. They generally don't want to make a lot of noise, take a lot of time or draw undue attention to themselves.

I also don't put gear in or take gear out of the box before leaving the car unattended. If I am going to a shoot, I put the gear I need on the floor in the back seat so when I arrive, I can grab the gear and then walk away without getting in the back at all.

Jun 28, 2024 at 06:43 PM

AmbientMike
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · How do you secure your gear in a vehicle?

Yesterday I kinda had to leave a camera in the car, the one having rhe big lens and flash seemed like a more obvious target so I took it along. Left the one having the smaller lens on it in the car, put some paper towels over it, to hide it a bit.

If I go into the store, I lock the car. If they have to break a window it's kind of obvious so even locking the car probably cuts down on things.

Sometimes using inexpensive gear cuts stress. Still usually worried more about losing photos on the card

Jun 28, 2024 at 08:39 PM

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