Solar panels nicked

herbie · Guru

Solar panels nicked

jandas fun · Guru

Only takes one low life to ruin your trip.
Would like to catch the buggers. So much for having other campers around. Surely someone saw something they thought was suspicious.

Johnw

dazren · Guru

Between 10-30 and 11.00 Hmm that was a quick market trip ??

rockylizard · Guru

Gday...

The devil in me suggests it just may have been one of the 'watching' other campers. They would have ready use for them and were right on the spot. Easy to tuck these into the van without arousing suspicion. Easy to see which other 'camper' is watching too.

If a local had been walking they would have had to carry them off under their arm (bit obvious) or if they pulled up in a vehicle and pinched em - again a bit obvious.

Given how the area is laid out, and when I was there for a week, the locals did not seem to use the area very frequently, except for weekends.

Either way, thoughtless people with little in the way of values.

Cheers - John

AmandaJayne · Guru

how terrible for you, that certainly sucks... I hope karma catches up with them big time

Weedy Pigeon · Senior Member

Seems to becoming quite a popular event. In the Daintree a couple had the panels taken one week and the inverter and batteries taken the next. They were only away for a month and the general consensus was that locals were involved much along the lines of rockylizards reply.

Birdy1710 · Veteran Member

That,s why i have them fixed to the top of the van, they have to work a bit harder to get them.

neilnruth · Guru

But were they sitting out from the van catching the sun and not padlocked? I would say that I'd be putting portable solar panels away when I went away from the van after all they are just that....portable. Still leaves a bad taste in your mouth though when you can't trust people.

Gerty Dancer · Guru

We would never leave our portable solar panels out if we were going away from our van in a free camp.

brickies · Guru

Herbie you are great source of bad news

Bent Axle Bob · Senior Member

Solar panels securely fastened to the roof of your van, poptop or your tug, while not impossible to steal, certainly makes the task much less stealthy for the "nickers". The small loss of efficiency of roof mounted, as compared to portable and angled panels, is small as the roof mounted is working even as you drive to your next camp. Roof mounted panels are a lot cheaper than folding portable units and usually lighter as well. . However, it is a personal decision , and no doubt we will continue to hear more of portable panels being stolen

GaryKelly · Guru

I've always thought those portable panels were just waiting for a thief to arrive. Roof mounted for me.

sandsmere · Guru

Didn't get this from another forum did you herbie ???????

smile

elliemike · Guru

I did a survey about this a while back to see if anyone had actually experienced solar panels or Sat Dishes being nicked. There was none had any nicked.

I have never had anything taken while camping anywhere. This includes Europe, USA, NZ, and Australia. Been camping since the late 1950's.

Perhaps I was lucky.

herbie · Guru

Maybe the couple we were chatting to at Winton ,was the g/ns that this happened to.I did ask if they were members of this site but they said they had never heard of it. ..We were talking to some fellows back at the pub at McKinley {Walkabout } and they were telling us they had their fishing rods and a bait bucket nicked back at a c/ park in Winton,so you do not have to be in a free camp to have gear knocked off.

cannylass · Senior Member

Also watch out for your back tyre cover friends of our went to get petrol and noticed some one around the back of there van , he was half way in removing his nice new cover from his tyre