Canoes outside at hotel motel,,,,and are we insured?

Driving me crazy when i go somewhere with my canoe trailer and need to stop for the night. I have driven waaay longer on trips then i should, just so i do not have to stay at a motel, and leave my canoes and equipment outside on the trailer. It is easy to have a few thousand bucks on the trailer. I want to go farther from home, but it is hard to find a room i can drag my canoes inside with me! You guys worry about it?

Edit. Are our toys insured by the vehicle insurance?

Nope.
I just lock the boats the best as possible. We used to do two cross country or up and down country trips a year that would involve some level of motelling
Now we have a small travel trailer and don’t think about it at all as we are right there
Maybe consider a van for your next vehicle. When you have a trailer of course you can’t have another with canoes in tandem

This is what I lock my kayaks with. One set per kayak.

https://rei.com/product/737645/lasso-kayak-security-lock-for-touring-and-recreational-kayaks

I would either use a really good cable lock and/or I’d sleep in the car to keep an eye on them. It all depended on where I was. It’s a pain but it’s the price one pays when traveling. When I had my Aire inflatable kayak I’d just bring it in the room. I miss that boat.

I would either use a really good cable lock and/or I’d sleep in the car to keep an eye on them. It all depended on where I was. It’s a pain but it’s the price one pays when traveling. When I had my Aire inflatable kayak I’d just bring it in the room. I miss that boat.

There are at least 2 cable sizes available for the lasso lock. One can gnaw through the lighter one with a decent pair of side cutters. I’m sure the heavier cable is also something that can be cut through. I use a lasso for each of my 2 kayaks when on my vehicle, but I consider them only a deterrent to thieves by increasing the time to stage a theft plus requiring tools. If a thief has time and wants your kayak, the lock just makes it a bit more work.

I drove from New York State to Whitehorse and Dawson City and back this past summer with a $6000 C4 canoe plus gear on top of my Subaru Forester. I had a cable lock on it and always checked where my hotel room was before parking so that I could park as close to my window as possible. Had no problems at all.

I used to have a kayak worth close to $5,000 – when I traveled with it, besides cable locking it to the rack I also carried a lightweight canvas 5’ x 20’ painters’ tarp and a skein of rope to “mummify” the boat overnight. I figured nobody was going to want to make the effort to unwrap it to see if it was worth bothering to steal. Also kept bird crap and tree sap off it when I was parked around trees. Never had anybody mess with it.

I drive from New Jersey up to Nova Scotia every summer with two composite kayaks on the roof of my SUV and it always requires a stop-over in Maine on the way there and on the way back. The kayaks have cockpit covers on them and I lock the Hullavator arms and add a cable lock to the stern of the boats. It still wouldn’t be that difficult for someone to steal the kayaks but I’ve never had a problem at any motel/hotel.

It’s always best to be cautious. I lived peacefully at home for 40 years of my life and then I had a criminal smash in my backdoor in the middle of the night. Thankfully I was prepared. I’ve had my car broken into twice while backpacking. Even though I didn’t leave any valuables in the car I had to replace a broken window. Thankfully it didn’t rain while I was gone.
If your boats are important to you and/or you can’t afford to replace them, do whatever it takes to keep them secure. Eventually they will be stolen.

When Motel Seems the Norm

There she lays
mirroring sun rays,
outside my motel door.
Her sleek lines prone
to old Ford’s dome,
dusty Taurus charged once more.

Her glistening skin
inviting sin,
my bombshell’s a sexy surf ski!
After highway hours
of wind and showers
the parking lot’s her lee.

But still unease
sweeps over me.
Is she tied-up with cruel fate?
I’m so uncertain.
Is this her final curtain?
(as the neon sign glares “Bates.”)

Thief can steal most anything. You try to make it visually unattractive by covering it. You make it physical slow for them to take possession of it. You can also put a tracking device or movement alarm in the kayak / canoe. Then add a NRA STICKER on your car and boat.

@canoeswithduckheads said:
When Motel Seems the Norm

There she lays
mirroring sun rays,
outside my motel door.
Her sleek lines prone
to old Ford’s dome,
dusty Taurus charged once more.

Her glistening skin
inviting sin,
my bombshell’s a sexy surf ski!
After highway hours
of wind and showers
the parking lot’s her lee.

But still unease
sweeps over me.
Is she tied-up with cruel fate?
I’m so uncertain.
Is this her final curtain?
(as the neon sign glares “Bates.”)

Brilliant!

I normally don’t worry about it, but we are leaving tomorrow and will be in motels two nights. On the roof I have two $3500 sea kayaks, two $1200 paddleboards, and a brand new sixteen foot extension ladder, so I am using my trusty PVC coated dog run cable with a padlock.
Naturally a pro crook could cut the cable with bolt cutters, but this discourages the low lifes.
We never have had a problem in the past twenty years, but it is always a relief to look out in the morning and see our toys are still there.

Jack L

I have a couple cables with locks that I use. Makes it inconvenient, but not impossible if the crook really wants your boat. I also try to park where it’s in front of my room and well lit. You can only do so much. There’s no use in wasting my time worrying; some things are just out of our control.

Many hotels have video surveillance. If you find out where the camera is aimed, and your boat is gone in the morning, hopefully, the crooks will be on TV and you can get the police interested in pursuing the matter. I too, try to park within sight of my room, but I go to sleep. It is probably wiser to park under the unblinking eye of a camera.

I’ve probably overnighted in hotels with boats on the vehicle thirty times, and had no problem. I’ll usually secure with a bike lock and cable, which would be very easy to defeat, but might deter the lazy or casual thief. Fortunately, I think most of the thieving, stealing type don’t know what our boats are worth, aren’t prepared to carry or hide them and boats are not the easiest thing to quickly convert to cash, which is what most thieves are after.

So, take precautions, but don’t loose sleep over it.

~~Chip

From my bicycling days . The cable type lock is the worst possible choice. You can cut through a cable with a small pair of side cutters in a minute or two. Side cutters that fit in your back pocket. A chain is much better then bolt cutters are needed. If you want to go all out you can buy chain uncuttable by 4 foot long top of the line bolt cutters. Cant remember the chain name. Then get a Abus granit pad lock. Then your roof rack is the easy part to cut. But I would at least use a chain.

@rsevenic said:
There are at least 2 cable sizes available for the lasso lock. One can gnaw through the lighter one with a decent pair of side cutters. I’m sure the heavier cable is also something that can be cut through. I use a lasso for each of my 2 kayaks when on my vehicle, but I consider them only a deterrent to thieves by increasing the time to stage a theft plus requiring tools. If a thief has time and wants your kayak, the lock just makes it a bit more work.

Just take the car, trailer and canoe.

Do you lock the trailer to the tow vehicle? I’m thinking a lot of folks would love to steal a small trailer that wouldn’t be interested in the boats! The average person schlepping around looking for something to steal has no idea the value of a high end boat, no way to transport it, and no market to sell it. I’d lock it, sure, but I wouldn’t worry much about it.

@tjalmy said:
Do you lock the trailer to the tow vehicle?

Well yes, and in the yard . Most door handle jigglers are looking for quick easy loot. Stuff easy to hide. Canoes are too much trouble.