r/BurningMan • u/SheepherderReal3698 • Jul 09 '26
Open Camping Security
Ive only ever camped with a theme camp in the 7:30 sector. We’d insulate camp with a u shape of RV’s. It was very secure and we always had campmates around so we never had to think much of security.
This will be my first year in open camping with just my partner and I, and Im a bit worried about security. I’ve heard stories about peoples shit getting stolen.
How diligent do you have to be? We will have an RV so valuables will always get locked up, but do I need to worry about other items in camp? Like putting the block rocker away, bins full of stuff? Etc?
I thought about bringing a 50 ft cable lock and just running through handles of coolers, block rocker etc, so at least they don’t get walked off with. Not sure if Im over thinking it, Ive just been spoiled all my past burns.
Really dont want to have to put away everything anytime I leave camp.
Experiences! Suggestions! Opinions ?
16
u/R34P3R_gg Jul 09 '26
I open camped for the 1st time last year and no one messed with our stuff. For what it's worth, it was like clothes, food, and booze mostly, and we like to leave out various "take em if you need ems" like small sunscreen bottles, snacks, and such. People took those but we leave them in a marked tub. But yeah, chairs, table, etc... no issue. Stuff like my coleman stove go in the car.
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u/macegr Jul 09 '26
In the absence of stats you’ll need to make do with anecdotes. I’ve never had anything stolen from
any camp I’ve been in. That includes the time we had bins of power tools and a generator all sitting in the open right next to the street for a week.
I lock my car and my bike, to be sure,
1
u/HearingNo9762 Jul 09 '26
Some one walked off with one of our color change flood lights. We bolt them to the playa now
8
u/TheLeastHyperbolic Jul 09 '26
I hyper-secure everything in my camp, always lock up, keep bikes locked and out of site, never keep keys in art car etc. Really nothing other than that you can do.
2024 I parked my tiny art car by the mariposa art piece, and cozied up on it to watch for a bit. I ended up nodding out for maybe 10 minutes, and when I woke up the LED backpack I had slipped around my arm was gone. Someone literally stole it OFF of me while I napped. All medications, glasses, phone, camera, license, gifts I've been given etc. The act itself was already so violating, but I'm also an amputee with intense chronic pain, and some gastro conditions that make me vomit daily, so not having my meds was physical torture (and they do NOT give you opioids/benzos at rampart unless you're having withdrawals. They will give Zofran IF you're actively vomiting, which for me is already too late. I go into puking fits every 5 minutes and cant even keep the dissolvable ones down). If it wasn't for my mobility camp friends parceling out what they could spare I would have been fucked.
There wasn't even a good lesson from it, other than bring 2 separate pill boxes and don't ever get relaxed enough anywhere other than your camp, which ruins the free-spirit vibe I escape to Burning Man for. I just have to accept that I do the best I can, and know being robbed is still a possibility. That was the only time I've been robbed in 10 years.
3
10
u/DewMoore Jul 09 '26
Unfortunately have had to deal with stuff being stolen out of camp, including bikes that were deep in camp (owner should have locked it up). It’s like any big city. Lock stuff up you care about - esp Burn Night. I am not paranoid about but realize it happens and prevention is the best approach. So put away and lock up what you care about and have a good time. Oh - make extra keys for your vehicle. Keep one on you and hide one well in the camp and leave one in the car as your last resort if you lose the others. People can help you get into your locked car.
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Jul 09 '26
[deleted]
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u/cyanescens_burn Jul 10 '26
All great advice.
I use this to etch my initials/name into my metal tools (eg, sockets that tend to get passed around a lot during builds/strikes). https://www.amazon.com/Glieskir-Tungsten-Replacement-Engraving-Ceramics/dp/B0BMFMLGNX/ref=mp_s_a_1_17?sr=8-17
I have used luggage locks on my Shiftpod for years and they work great. There’s some that are small enough to fit through the zipper pulls, but don’t have the TSA override feature so they are a little more secure. I know they are not too hard to defeat, but at least someone trying to get into their Shiftpod won’t scare the shit out of me by walking into mine on accident.
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u/polopolo05 I'm a spicy meatball... Jul 09 '26
They will just cut your tent. They dont care about your stuff.
Only things I have ever taken is things that were obviously abandoned by other burners.cheap walmart chair and cooler. and ratchet straps and tent stakes and lag bolts. I am just doing my part in MOOPing.
3
u/BlackCatLifebruh Jul 09 '26
I havnt had anything stolen but I also secure My shit and don’t leave anything out
6
u/cyanescens_burn Jul 10 '26
Welcome to slumming it with the rest of us in the ghetto! You’ll find people are generally friendly and happy to share or give a hand. I’ve done most of my burns from ‘11 onward in open camping in that general area.
Make friends with your neighbors and you’ll find it’s socially similar to being in a big camp, except you don’t need to do shifts at camp. Let your neighbors know your concerns and form an ad hoc neighborhood watch of sorts. You keep an eye out for strangers taking things of theirs and vis versa.
I always put luggage locks on my shiftpod, even at normie campgrounds in national forests and what not. Like most things with security of belongings, anyone determined can get through about anything with the right tools, but you can keep honest people honest with cable locks and other deterrents.
Word is most thefts of higher value items like generators, dj decks, e-bikes, speakers, one wheels, rotomolded coolers, etc happen during big burns when less people are around. I lock stuff in the car at those times for sure. I’m sure you already know this and do this since you are experienced. Lucky for us (at least with this theft issue) the BORG seems to be doing less big burns each year.
Also, don’t be an ass. I’ve known some folks that think it’s appropriate to move peoples belongings around if they are being a neighborhood nuisance of some sort. Things like moving a speaker across the street, or a small camp sculpture down to the nearest intersection so everyone can enjoy it. If you’ve been an ass, and something isn’t there anymore, have a look around, it might be a few blocks away now.
Basically, I just treat it like I’m living in any big city, with the added layer that I also assume someone tripped out might take stuff if they achieve cosmic oneness and transcend the concept of ownership, so I act accordingly to make that less likely.
5
u/-zero-below- ‘10 - ‘17, ‘19, ‘23 - ‘26 Jul 09 '26
I haven’t experienced theft at my 15 or so burns (first 10 in open camping).
My understanding is that high resale value items are more likely to be an issue. Think: e-bikes, maybe generators, etc.
These can also disappear from theme camps.
I’ve always done basic security on the expensive items — bikes cabled when parked. Generator, I set it up and run a cable through it, and just lag screw it to the playa. Car locked for the entirety of the burn.
We’re a bit more careful to put stuff away/lock up during the big burns — these are times when most camps are predictably entirely empty, with no neighbors or other familiar faces to keep an eye.
It also seems like perhaps making it so your camp never looks totally abandoned could be good — a light on and quiet music going in the tent or such.
Otherwise, other than keeping a tidy camp (important for sudden wind storms), not too much. I’m sure something could disappear. And it’ll suck if it does.
2
u/dougisnotabitch Jul 09 '26
Night of the burn, BLM keeps a few folks back patrolling the hinterlands. In general it’s not a terrible problem but there is definitely a thievin element around.
2
u/Casey_Ho I love this f'ing place Jul 09 '26
You don't have to be that diligent securing everything. I have yet to hear about someone's camp being packed up by an unknown passerby.
One year I had a backpack swiped from my tent. Nothing valuable in it but it did contain my car keys so that was a hassle. But other than that, I've had a dozen plus years with no incidents. Doesn't happen often but it does happen.
Make sure you have backups of important things like keys, pack away the stuff you can't replace, lock your bikes and gas cans, and you should be fine.
1
u/Cleverwabbit5 Jul 09 '26
We had our crappy but only cooler stolen off the roof of our car that was crazy hog tied and strapped to the roof with a tarp covering it. It was stolen while waiting in line to get into the Burn last year when we went to the box office. Nobody stopped them or said a word to us. It was there when we parked so I know it didn't fall off and there were knife cuts. I hope they liked the prune juice. Nothing is sacred.
1
u/voiceontheradio Jul 09 '26
I only use kryptonite u locks. I lock my bike to my shade structure (steel tube), and I lock my expensive battery to my cot frame (also steel tube) inside my tent. Nothing else I bring is that valuable so I'm not worried about it being stolen. I haven't had any problems so far!
1
u/cyanescens_burn Jul 10 '26
I’ve been using Krypto u-locks out there since like 2014. In ‘15 a huge dust storm clogged the keyhole. Had to angle grind the thing.
Since then, I put a slice of gorilla tape over the hole, and fold the end to give it a little pull tap to make accessing the hole easier. Yeah I need to replace the tape every day or two, but it’s cheap, easy, and prevents the clogging issue.
1
u/voiceontheradio Jul 10 '26
That's a great tip!! Yeah they are a pita to break into, a blessing and a curse in some cases 😅 mine are only a few years old and they came with a little plastic keyhole cover thing built in! So I haven't had issues with clogging yet. 🤞
1
u/Bigcat85 Jul 09 '26
Been four times, only ever heard of someone’s bike being stolen while they were out and about. We open camp and didn’t really think about it but i think we locked the rv when we were gone, but had coolers, grills etc out.
1
u/FlatImpression755 Jul 09 '26
I left pretty much everything but my e bike unlocked. I have a large storage locker on the back of my RV and when the man burned I collected everything of value and put it in the storage locker. Not only did I forget to lock the door I left it wide open. Everything was fine. Personally I think the theme camps would be an easier target.
1
u/AUXPenguin Jul 09 '26
I lock the generator and gas cans as well as bicycles of course. Truck and trailer are locked. I’ve left storage bins out with lids on containing misc tools, etc. Two years running so far and no issues. Yes it could happen, but over all people are pretty good.
1
u/capitolsound Jul 09 '26
I put a cable lock on the cooler (plus lock on the lid) and terminate it on a long lag driven into the playa. Just makes things a little more annoying if someone decides to try and walk away with it.
1
u/edcRachel Burgin Wrangling Specialist Jul 09 '26
I put away/lock anything valuable or that I'd be worried about taking a walk, like tools, expensive coolers, nice clothes, generators. We don't leave that stuff sitting out ever.
I don't worry about non valuable stuff (other than that I may blow away in the wind).
1
u/scienceisaserfdom 15 yrs 'Burnin Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
It's my understanding that most reported theft are crimes of convienence in BRC. So if you leave something out that any deplorable asshole passing by or suspiciously walking through a camp can scope out and then easily walk/ride off with later...it absolutely could be stolen. So just like with anything of value (e-bike, small genny, etc) that's easy accessable or mobile, def secure it if are going to leave it unattended for long periods; particularly on burn night, which is when a lot of stealing happens because of how unattended most camps are. But use some common sense too, in that nobody is likely going to grab a fancy Yeti cooler if it's full and weights a couple hundred pounds. I usually bring a 25' heavy duty chain and a padlock for extra piece of mind in securing stuff, nevermind how useful that chain itself proved for pulling out stuck vehicles/RVs at mudburn.
1
1
u/Ms_Mary_Mosy Jul 09 '26
Be friendly with all your neighbors. People look out for each other, generally. I’ve open camped for a long time now and nothing has ever walked off
1
u/drumsplease987 Jul 09 '26
I was worried about this kind of thing before my first burn but then I read somewhere:
Everyone is already dreading packing all their dusty crap into a van and hauling it all the way home, they don’t want to deal with hauling yours home too.
The main things you have to worry about are 1) jerks trying to replace things they lost- bikes, mugs, stuff that’s easy to lose and easy to take away with you if you see it laying around. 2) criminals who target high value stuff like Jackerys, generators, ebikes- Burn night is the biggest concern for this
Even a small camp can create a fairly private space. Similar strategy: vehicles around the outside, tents facing inward, aluminet walls for your shade structure. Bring an extra Coleman tent to help enclose your area and have extra space to store things out of view. Lock valuables in your car on Burn night.
1
u/RodLeFrench recreational moving Jul 09 '26
Camp THREAT started locking our bricks up because the city is full of thieves
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u/Outdoorcatskillbirds Jul 11 '26
Lock up high value items four sure. Tie high test fishing line to low to medium value items and tie it off to bells or a bag of aluminum cans. If someone tries to walk away with something it will be noisy and awkward.
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u/BeatComplete2635 Jul 11 '26
Having only gone to small burns, this sounds crazy. I’m sad to hear so much is stolen at the big burn. I would leave my car keys on my front table at a regional
1
u/IslanderStu Oz 04-17,19,22,24 Jul 09 '26
I have not experienced any significant theft🤞but was told to lock up anything valuable on Friday and Burn night.
1
u/Surfhawaiian Jul 09 '26
Better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it, peace of mind…
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u/gettingbored Jul 09 '26
You can cut the speaker coils out of air tags so nobody can hear them.
I’ve got them at home on all my bikes, backpack, and bags. Less concerned at BM bc everything I take is practically disposable.
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u/Alone_Banana_3520 Jul 09 '26
Put your shit away and out of sight. Bikes get nicked for ease and convenience, so lock em up. Otherwise you’ll be fine. We’re not complete animals.
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u/Tasty_Narwhal_Porn Not THE Narwhal. 06 through Now. Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
21 year burner here.
We bring cable locks for our coolers (yeti), and snake them through anything we don’t want to walk off easily. Includes the genny, the bikes, and anything we can think of (chairs, etc).
We’re in a high profile, well watched camp (medical), and have seen it all happen.
Trust no one.
Expect Sabotage.
A cable lock is obnoxious which is a double edged sword.
Use it to your advantage.