Stolen TT License Plate

[Randel J]

We had something perplexing happen a while back while camping in a California State Park RV campground along the central coast.

One morning while I was puttering around my trailer, a camping neighbor came up to me and asked if we heard anything unusual the night before. We said we didn't. He said he and his wife were awaken about o'dark thirty by some noise outside his trailer, but figured somebody was dumping trash in the nearby dumpster. When the neighbor got up that morning, he walked around to the back of his trailer to start up his generator and saw that his trailer license plate was missing! He said it didn't just fall off because he knew it was bolted pretty good to the plate holder. My neighbor wasn't missing anything else. Not his generator nor any other camping equipment. Just the trailer license plate!

He contacted the California Park rangers to report the theft of his license plate because they have jurisdiction over the CA State Parks. The Rangers came out fairly quick to take his report and they told him that stolen trailer license plates are a growing trend in the state RV parks (I assume private parks as well). They also told him to keep an eye open for these types of thefts, but how in the world do you secure your trailer license plate from being stolen?!? And of course he spent almost all day with the local DMV office arranging to get a new license plate sent to him so his family could keep on traveling.

This just adds to a growing list of things we need to watch out for, but have little control over!!

[CAG]

Considering the rattling that the RV gets over most roads I would be more inclined to think it came loose and fell off. What is someone going to do with an RV plate. Can't use it on a truck or car it would draw police attention in seconds.



My boat trailer plate disappeared one trip and I figured the amount of bouncing a trailer does would explain the lose.

[Randel J]

CAG, I thought the same thing as you, that the plate somehow just fell off during his travels. But my neighbor was sure the plate was securely bolted onto the holder (the holder was still attached to his trailer). And that the Rangers said this type of theft is a growing trend here in CA. I also have no idea what the thief(s) would want with the plate, except maybe to cause mischief?

[JFlightRisk]

A set of these will slow them down. Plate thieves usually don't carry a full assortment of tools with them.

https://www.amazon.com/Aootf-Theft-L.../dp/B075C5CXCB

[CAG]

Originally Posted by JFlightRisk

A set of these will slow them down. Plate thieves usually don't carry a full assortment of tools with them.

https://www.amazon.com/Aootf-Theft-L.../dp/B075C5CXCB

I just think one of these thefts is so uncommon that going to mega efforts is not worth it. My guess is that there is one of these in fifty thousand plates in a century. It is just not worth worrying about. If it causes you mental anguish then spend some money and protect it but for me I will save the money to blow in a casino along the trip

[kirkelli]

In my days living in Sacramento, we had our rear lic plates taken from both or vehicles parked in our driveway one evening. Cops told us people steal them because when they run tags and see the tag matches to the same type of car it's attached to then it doesn't draw suspicion to stolen cars. Possible they are stealing RV tags for same purpose