Free and low cost camping has a lot of benefits. As we write this article, we’re camping in our caravan at a Golf Course in Albany as part of our Western Australia itinerary.
It’s got a bit of space, cheap rounds of golf and there’s a toilet. That’s about it. To put it in perspective, with our family of 5 we were quoted $75 a night here in many of the Albany caravan parks. Here we pay just $15 per night.
We’ve used
that $60 per night saved to visit the National ANZAC Centre ($70), buy local
fruit and vegetables from road side stalls ($50) and a visit to Whale World
($75) whilst here. Travelling Australia
isn’t cheap if you want to see and do everything PLUS stay in caravan parks. Free and low cost camps make sense and for
many are a necessity.
But there
are real risks and real concerns when parking up your pride and joy in a free
or low cost camp, then heading off to explore.
Will it be there when I get back?
What if someone breaks in to my van? All real concerns and ones that many
people struggle with. Caravan Parks,
apart from generally better facilities, power and water, also provide a nice
layer of security.
We have taken security very seriously given we have just purchased our first ever caravan for our lap of Australia, so here’s how we secure our caravan when out exploring from free and low cost camps.
A note
about security. If someone really wants
to steal your van, they’re going to do it.
Security is really about stopping opportunists and giving you the best
chance to prevent the amateurs. Keep
this in mind and make sure you have everything adequately insured.
Milenco Tow Hitch Lock
Our first layer of security is first and foremost a visual deterrent. We like it as it is bright yellow, as well as
having the ability to lock not only the tow hitch but also the chains. It is bright, stands out and hopefully wards
off the opportunists.
WiTi Caravan Alarm
This is a great device on a number of fronts. Your car, allowing it is a modern one, will
have a basic push button and alarm in place.
This adds the same level of security to your caravan. You lock it up, push the button and the alarm
deploys. If there is a large bang or
bump (think someone breaking in) the alarm goes off. Sound and lights! If someone tries to drag out your caravan, IE
it moves, the alarm goes off with the added bonus of applying the brakes to the
caravan. Makes it hard to drag out, let
alone unnoticed as they move down the road with your pride and joy!
WiFi 4G Location Tracking
JD is a self confessed geek, and one of the first mods he made to our caravan was to install a wifi network. As a result, our road schooling tablets on board, including the Jayco on-board JHUB unit (which provides us with power and water consumption data) are able to be contacted and tracked from anywhere. So if the van happened to go missing, we can track it from anywhere.
D-Link Security Camera
We are caravan newbies, we planned on parking up in caravan parks initially, but budget has dictated we need a balance of low and free campsites. Having a camera on board, which detects sound as well as movement, provides one last layer of security. Alerts are sent to us if there is sound or movement, plus using the wifi we can connect and check in on our baby anytime. We could even have a two way conversation with someone back in the van if needed.
We’re not suggesting you need all of this, but hopefully this gives you a few ideas to help with your own security planning, and ultimately your piece of mind. There are other options out there, wheel locks for example, but due to size and weight we opted for the above and have been really happy with the performance and flexibility of the solution overall. More importantly, we’re really happy with our own piece of mind.
