How to Lock A Tent (Tent Security Inside or Outside From Theft)?

Last Updated on January 7, 2023 by DAVID

Can locking a tent bring any good for you? As you know it is a very soft or fragile thing to be torn or scratched by anything or anyone easily… Well, no good does not mean bad. Even if you cannot get any reasons for locking the tent, it brings no harm, but tons of mental safety brought to enjoy your camping. So, lock a tent inside or outside, whichever suits your situation.

Secure a tent will cost you a few pennies but bring mental security when you are out of the tent or inside to enjoy a good sleep.

How do Lock a Tent from inside or outside?

There are some moments when we need to close the door of our room as accomplishing a sound sleep. During this time, you may be unconscious that intruders come and take some valuable things in minutes. Then you need to close the door of the tent with a lock.

The same types of locks can be used from outside of the tent if you keep busy with other activities away from the tent.

Lock a Tent with a Padlock

No tent is cut-resistant, but you can manage the minimum safety of the tent with some padlocks. The most standard form of locking anything is a Padlock. You can put three different types of padlocks and do not bother about the system of securing these as all of these are the same to some extent.

First of all, make sure your tent has zippers that can be seized from both inside and outside of the tent. Then insert one open end of the cable inside the hole of one of the zippers and go through another cable and thus secure it to the padlock. Let’s see at a glance three different types of padlocks.

Combination Locks

You can create the best-secured option of the padlocks with three digits with a preferred combination. The zippers cannot be opened without knowing the combination and thus possibilities of unwanted theft would be eliminated. But ensure your memory about the number that you put for the locks. These weather combination locks are smart enough to use.

Cable locks

It is quite different from the first one. There is a cable trigger that you can press to pull the cable length as your necessity. In the final stage insert the cable to a locking port at the side of the lock. You can hear the clicking sound when it is secured. Do the process softly as hard maintenance may hamper the locks.

Mini key padlock

These are slightly distinct from the previous two in the locking process. These locks are maintained with keys and smartly designed.  You can use these in any traditional zipper by inserting the horizontal cables inside the holes of the zipper chain.

Tent Locking With a Shoestring

Locking with a shoestring is not applicable from the outside rather from the inside is the best option. Because the knot can be opened easily by the intruders but if you tie the knot from inside it cannot be unlocked without reaching to the shoestring. You can use a heavy-duty elastic rope despite the shoestrings and shoelaces too.

The locking system is traditional here as a strong knot that cannot be opened from the outside is enough to keep the entrance of the tent secured. Just insert the shoelace inside the holes of the zipper and make a knot that is simple as what you put on your shoe. Don’t put a knot that is tough to open as you may need to get out of the tent on an emergency basis.

Lock Tent with a fixed object

This way is not applicable without the existing condition of the place where you are about to settle the tent. You cannot make immovable objects, but such things are common in the place like fences or bench poles, or wood trunks.

Lock tent with Pet Dogs

Another way of locking, not actually; securing your tent is letting your pet dog guard the place. Dogs are thought to be the most loyal and faithful guards of human beings. In this way, your tent would be secured as nobody can barge in by damaging the tent for the fear of dog attacks.

You may also read: how to clean a tent with mold?

How do I keep my tent from being stolen?

In the above, we have talked about the security of a tent from a simple burglary or sudden intruder. But how can you manage the security of the whole tent from being stolen? There are some ways-

Select Secured Campground

There are specific organizations that are authorized to provide secured campgrounds with a camp spot reservation system. There, you do not have to worry about locking or securing your camp tent or any valuable belongings. Sometimes people go with family and groups of all ages and search for a suitable and safe place to maintain the security of their persons and valuable belongings. Selected campgrounds are the best place for this. You may have a good sanitation system with toilets and bathrooms in the campgrounds too. Camp spot customer service is also favorable to all.  The only drawback is that you must follow all the rules specified by the organization with proper respect. Sometimes adventurous people may not like this. So, you must observe the factors behind choosing the place for your camping.

Don’t set up tent near trees and bushes

Trees and bushes can give you a cool environment in a warm area, but some things are important to be considered. Like-

Tent under trees is not recommended as the direction of wind always come through the trees. Thus, your tent may be flown away or fallen by a gale. Another negative phenomenon is the thunder -tall trees are the most attractive elements for the lightning threats. So, if you sit near the trees, you may be the second or first prior target of lightning strokes. Broken or fallen trees also are the risk factors for tent placement. That indicates the softness of the ground which is not viable for pitching a tent. So now you can get lots of directions to pitch a tent.

Select Campground around other people

The authorized campgrounds are secured to offer camping activities for youth group camping or family group camping. In these areas, you may not have that much privacy as other people would be seen doing activities around you. But thing is that you cannot get all the things in a basket. There are always comparative advantages to everything around you.

Tripwire Alarm

You can fetch a perimeter trip alarm which is a skinny wire system. It is designed in a way that if someone comes across it or trips over it; the alarm will be activated. To adjust the security alarm to the whole area of the camping, you can use a paracord, snare wire, or fishing line which must be heavy-duty as a perimeter line. You can add the bear alarm too through which irritable sounds for bear come out and thus bear would run away. There are lots of options to make a trip alarm as you can see.

You can add some signaling devices too like a laser. You must consider two points that never put the alarm within just 5 feet perimeter away. Maintain the distance of about 100 to 200 feet away otherwise you may not be prepared with the defense actions. Another point is that make a funnel with tree branches or leaves or any other things so that the wires are camouflaged, otherwise, intruders come up without your notice when they see the wires.

How do you secure a tent at night?

It is dark at night to skip many movements, so some sort of distinct secured ways are important to deploy.

Motion sensor lighting

You may use some detection tools for monitoring the tent when you are away from the tent. Motion sensor lighting is one of those tools. It detects any type of movement around the tent and a light will be visible like an occupancy sensor that you can notice.  It is the best security in the dark that people can focus on this easily in fewer moments. You have to select the detection distance of the lighting as beam angle so that you can notice the light easily and it provides the proper results in the proper time.

Pretend Role-playing Activity

There is an increased rate of the possibility of vandalism when there is dark. And it increased to another level when you are not inside the tent at night. Remember, some of you in your teenage went to night parties by keeping your parents unaware of it. Some kept playing a recording of a loud study or some put some pillows on the bed resembling a human sleeping. Thus, they pretend to be in the room but are not actually. You can apply this idea during camping at night. You can keep lighting a camping lantern which indicates somebody is inside. The music playing is another effective role-play. You can get out by turning on the device to movies or songs.

Wrap your tent

Whatever the security levels, a tent is always more prone to be risky from outsiders. An open tent always attracts others. You can wrap up the tent during an outing at night and keep the valuable things with you if possible, or in a vehicle or hide it in any other secret place so that nobody can found.