Safety and security while travelling

[Jeff]

Later in the year I will be travelling from Sydney to Perth to race my sidecar. I am thinking of camping on the side of the road to save a bit of money, as previous trips I have stayed in motels.

Is it generally safe to camp on the Nullabor etc on the side of the road? My race bike, tools, spares are quite valuable and my trailer looks obviously a motorsport trailer even without signwriting. I have heard of people having stuff pinched and wonder would it be false economy. For most of the trip I will be travelling alone and am thinking either roof top tent or swag. Would caravan park sites be better?

Jeff

:rocket:

[austastar]

Hi,
We found plenty of safe stopping spots from Melb - Perth and have not had any dramas.
If you are camping with other travellers, being within sight of the road is not such a drama. Stop for a 'cuppa' for a while and suss out who else is stopping there. You will soon get a feeling for who is a genuine traveller and who may be trouble. If you are uneasy, keep rolling.
We prefer to map read and find side roads to about 3km from the highway and then tuck off into the scrub some where that is unlikely to be found by anybody looking for trouble.
Caravan parks are something we avoid if at all possible, especially if it is occasionally visited by opportunistic 'locals'.
Cheers

[spudboy]

Yeah - we've roof top tented and swagged out in the middle of nowhere and have had no dramas.

It's a bit unsettling when someone else pulls up nearby when you are asleep, as you've no idea of their intentions, but in many years of travelling around have never had any issues.

Friday/Sat nights we stay well away from towns, as idiots + boozing is not a good mix.

Adelaide is not quite on the Perth Sydney route, but if you want a safe place to bed down for a night in the Adelaide Hills give us a hoy. We have buckets of space & shade & water on the farm. Be interested to take a look at your sidecar!

[circlework]

A lot of folks probably won't agree with this, but when you have a lot to lose, you never travel alone. I usually take a mate ... like Mr Winchester.
He comes in handy sometimes and knows how to catch rabbits as well. We make a great team ... he catches 'em and I cook 'em.

Good luck with the trip and the racing.

[Michael2]

I think bush camping is safer than caravan park camping.

And definitley safer than leaving stuff in a motel car park.

If I'm staying in a cabin, or even a serviced apartment with secure parking (in a city), I always take the valuables out of the car, but with a motorsport trailer that might not be possible.

Simple deterrents like cable ties to stop people flipping hatches open to see what's behind it, or a chain around the wheel will often stop the thought from becoming an action for an opportunistic thief.

You can buy a mini 12V HDD Camera that will record out the windscreen for example, and have it on all night (maybe get an IR version), so that if anything does happen, you can identify the thief. There's only one road, so with a positive ID a cop at each end will soon get them.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

WOW!
the passenger gets a works ride,
flies in, races, flies out
:cool::cool:

[V8Ian]

WOW!
the passenger gets a works ride,
flies in, races, flies out
:cool::cool:
:no2: I think they wear full face hemets these days, Pedro. :p

[akelly]

Dunno about the nullabor, but I travel all over NSW for work and have never had a drama. Stay in motels, caravan parks and sometimes bush camps - no problems. I lock the car (defender) and the back just has the canvas (130) - all my work gear is in there.

I would say if you pay attention to your surroundings, take cues from what the locals do and use commonsense it's safe as houses.

[austastar]

Hi, (again)
If you are near a town on Fri or the weekend, with moonlight and it's warm, keep away from regularly visited spots like lookouts, jetties, or any where where local youths are likely to 'hang out'. Look for signs like skid marks, cans/bottles, cig/other butts, syringes etc that may give a clue.
Some times it can be hard to get out of the way, like when we were travelling down the coast past Perth - suburbia for a few days, but a bit of map reading can usually find an out of the way spot that will have little local attraction.
cheers

[Basil135]

I might pay putting a simple alarm on the trailer.

That way, regardless of where you are, if someone opens it up, you, and they, will know about :D

[Bigbjorn]

Caravan parks with a significant proportion of permanent residents usually have an above average number of unsavory types.

[akelly]

Caravan parks with a significant proportion of permanent residents usually have an above average number of unsavory types.

+1000!

Same goes for 'hostels'...

I dodge both those scenarios.