Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Can you not rent an enclosed vehicle and pull the truck behind you on a trailer? I can't picture a way not to risk getting robbed doing what you're describing.
There usually is a fence or retaining wall or some other obstruction that I would back the truck up against to limit access.
I have backed two trucks together tightly also.
Just like you would with the highway motels in/near Raleigh:
Don't wait until you're INSIDE a city to look for a motel...
choose one at least 10 miles outside of town.
That's one thing I'm worried about with my PODS in my apartment complex. My complex is pretty safe but I'm wondering if regular combination locks are good enough?
The truck should be fine as long as it has a heavy duty lock and is in a well lit area. Your typical thief is looking for a passenger car with stuff visible on the seats so he can do a quick smash and grab from a side window.
Pick a place (you can use aeriel images to check) where the parking lot can accomodate a moving truck near the main entrances or a highly visable spot.
Park so as to discourage anyone from breaking into the back. That may mean parking so the back is fully exposed if that means to deny concealment to anyone thinking of breaking in. Use common sense in this area.
Make sure therte is nothing visable in the truck cab. No maps, no bags, no food packages, no trash..... nothing. You want them to think this is an empty truck being returned or a transport. If they think the cargo box is empty, they have no reason to mess with it.
Stay away from places where you have to hunt for a spot such as ina city or during a tourist spot. Consider staying at a place right off the interstae that is connected to a truck stop where seevral similar tricks are resting and people are constantly moving around.
If you know how to swing it, plot the sleep stops at a place with early checkins such as 8 am or 10 am. Get to the place an jhopurt or so before checking, grab something to eat, go and check in at first available. Sleep during the day and drive at night. Its only a couple of nights so no big deal. Of course you have to be able to check in early so if yuo have relationship with a chain they may accomodate you. And make sure its not abusy place or during a convention. You want a place with empty rooms sitting as they will rent to you to check in a 8am and leave that night.
we had a large uhaul as well as our suv with boat on our WI to SC move, all packed to the hilt. Spent 1 night in a hotel on the way down; to be honest by the time we found a hotel that would work (space for trucks/trailers, take a dog, etc) we were just content to lock everything up (used a strong padlock not a cheaper combo lock on the uhaul), and just took our laptops into the hotel with us. Anything visible in our suv was just plain boxes, clothes, etc.... no tv's or anything of value to a thief. Parked under the lights, and went to bed. And had zero issues. Though i'd add it was 1 week after a major ice storm and the parking lots were still glazed over, so that may have helped keep the criminal element off the streets.
As noted in other posts, park smart and you should be in good shape.
I prefer motels where I can park directly underneath or outside of my motel window; as a light sleeper I hear the passerby and what is going on, and like to look out and keep an eye on things in a well-lighted lot. The last time we moved, Most of our stuff went in a moving van, but I still had my pickup packed full of stuff, as well as DH's SUV. I had everything in the pickup truck tarped securely with multiple tie-downs criss-crossed over the tarps; and if we had to park in the middle of the lot, then DH parked his SUV behind the pickup to avoid a tailgate drop. Everything in his SUV was in boxes, nothing looked like it was something a thief would want. We stayed at motels away from big cities - one had a cornfield on three sides! - and where families with kids, dogs, etc were welcome. They were noisier but that was kinda the point - families walking dogs at all hours, and having kids outside makes for a more unsettled environment for thieves than a 'businessman' motel or a 'construction worker residence' motel, where one more staggering late night wanderer around the parking lot goes unremarked.
Like ranger17 said, a H/D padlock with a key is better than a cheap combination lock.
If you back your Penske up to your room window, be very aware of things like gutters, etc that can get snagged on the top of your truck.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
