Having had the very worrying experience of a nearly silent intruder to our tent at a festival last year and my plan to do some solo camping in my new Berghaus Air 4 tent, any ideas on how to make myself feel safer on my own - any tent zip locks / alarms / bells ? This is not to protect possessions as Im aware any one can cut into a tent. It is to alert me to someone opening a zip and getting in. I will have a personal shriek alarm beside me when asleep but I want to deter any casual thief or intruder at the point they open a zipped door.
You will find that away from festivals this is not a problem. Welcome to the real world of camping
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All I can say is whatever makes you feel safe, locking zips bad idea if you need to get out in a hurry. If you use a lock then you need a knife to get out, if you have a knife ready you don't need to lock the zips.
Middle of nowhere an alarm who will hear it ? On a campsite we have to look after each other, a danger to you is a danger to everyone. Same with valuables we are all in the same boat, Boot of car for small electicrals / valuables everything else is unsecured so again we look after each other. You don't have to know other campers but it is in all our interest to keep the campsite safe.
------------- Yesterday is already a dream and tomorrow is only a vision, but today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
In old days camping with the BB's we put heavy metal cutlery in an enamel mug on top of a enamel plate and attach the handle of the mug to zip or door lacing.
If anyone pulled at these the mug toppled and the cutlery falling on the plate woke us up immediately.
You could try something like this if you are worried about people trying to get into your tent while you are sleeping.
On a 'proper' campsite there is not much of that sort of thing to worry about.
I sympathise with your concern though, it happened to us on a temporary site, we once had a very drunk Dane mistakenly enter our tent and belligerently insist WE leave HIS tent!!!!!! We were two big hefty blokes very p**sed off from being woken up so were not at any great risk, but it still disturbs you.
Cheap and cheerful method of alarming the zip is a 'bag alarm' such as the one in the link below. Biggest problem is attaching anchor points - The one to the zip tag needs to be quick and easy for YOU to attach/remove for easy access and without falsely triggering alarm, the one to the 'fixed' anchor depends on your tent, if you don't have a sewn in ground sheet, a tent peg will do, if you have a sewn in ground sheet, then a heavy weight is easiest option, just make sure weight is heavy enough to ensure trigger pin gets pulled out easily, plastic milk bottles are quite good as handle hole makes for easy tying of cord, light to transport, just fill with water on site. Might need two alarms if you have a double zip flap. Also don't make it so critical 'hair triggered' that wind flapping the fly sheet triggers it!
It's deterrent value comes not from who it wakes up so much as the fact the intruders attempts have been discovered at the very start, not something they would usually be prepared for.
Get a dog? Mine wakes up at the slightest of noise when we go camping together.
I too am a solo female camper of a certain age, and have not encountered any safety issues when I stayed at C&CC Club Sites or other commercial sites that have good on-site security.
Hence I am reluctant to go tent camping at quieter sites such as C&CC's Certified Locations.
If an intruder wants to get into a tent, he/she just need to slash the tent with a very sharp knife rather than to undo the zip which makes a lot of noise in the dead of night!
I may try the quieter sites when I have my campervan as it will provide better security against intruders.
Never been to a festival in my life, it is not on my bucket list, and I do not believe I am missing out on anything.
DK
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Quote: Originally posted by dk168 on 28/5/2020
Get a dog? Mine wakes up at the slightest of noise when we go camping together.
I too am a solo female camper of a certain age, and have not encountered any safety issues when I stayed at C&CC Club Sites or other commercial sites that have good on-site security.
Hence I am reluctant to go tent camping at quieter sites such as C&CC's Certified Locations.
If an intruder wants to get into a tent, he/she just need to slash the tent with a very sharp knife rather than to undo the zip which makes a lot of noise in the dead of night!
I may try the quieter sites when I have my campervan as it will provide better security against intruders.
Never been to a festival in my life, it is not on my bucket list, and I do not believe I am missing out on anything.
DK
Haha, I was just about to suggest the same thing! A well-trained dog is a failsafe intruder deterrent.
As a woman of a certain age who has been solo camping for at least 20 years on a variety of sites, I haven't had any problems and have always felt safe. Considering how far a snore travels, I reckon a quick screech would wake the whole site. I did hear once that leaving a very large pair of wellies in the tent porch might act as a deterrent...
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I go to festivals with friends and the most effective way we have secured our tents at times when we are away but mostly at night is to set up a rape/personal attack alarm on the zip and loop of tent edge or the inside zips. We have made a point in talking to the people round about us so we make a wee group who can look out for each others things as we know who should be there and challenge people who shouldnt. Puts off thieves realising everyone is looking out for each other. P.s. Make sure you don't need to pee again before setting up 🤣
If anyone accidentally sets off a rape alarm in the middle of the night, forgetting it is there, or the wind blows the door or something, when I am camping for tranquil peace and quiet I will not be especially neighbourly about it!
Look on e bay for a Garage Grenade. Attach the pin to the zip slider and secure the body to pole/ground/big toe! Makes a loud alarm noise when the pin is pulled out. Cheap as well.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Tent alarm / bell
via mobile 27/5/2020 at 6:44pm
A well-trained dog is a failsafe intruder deterrent.
