Do you close your hatch at night?

[bobhenry]

I close it. It only takes a minute.

Wish mine did !

Empth the counter ~ flip up the counter ~ Remove and disassemble the props ~ flip in the sink counter ~ flip in the cook top counter ~ stack all the counter junk in the sink and on top of the cook counter. And finally lower the hatch.




Each and every night ! To keep the raccoons out




And NO they are not this cute !

[Wolfscout]

I used to borrow a pop up a lot.
it's best to close up at night. and lock up when I leave the campsite.

[planovet]

Each and every night ! To keep the raccoons out

[asianflava]

If I'm in the area or at gatherings I leave it open. If I leave the campground or go to bed, I'll close it.

This

I'll close it at night but not lock it. I'm not as worried about 2 legged theft as I am four legged theft.

So true, you don't even have to have food there, just the scent of food. I couldn't believe how bold the raccoons were at Purtis Creek.

[zapj]

Yes close at night but not necessarily when taking short bike trips during the day. Don't need little critters scratching or gnawing at the wood trying to get into the food drawers while I sleep.

[caseydog]

I absolutely close the galley hatch at night, although mine does not lock.

Why? Critters. Even if there is no food in the galley, the raccoons will tear things up looking for it.

CD

[Py0tr]

We dont close ours at night and so far the worst we've had was a stray cat sniffing at the trash bin.

We have a 3 X3m gazebo over the rear of the trailer and this has 3 sides so to get to the kitchen you have to pass the door which I also leave open. Our regular campsite is very safe which is one of the reasons we keep going back.

[GuitarPhotog]

I generally don't close up, because of the hassle of tearing down the galley (the counter sticks out past the hatch lid). If there are critter warnings or if I'm away from camp in the car, I'll close up.

I generally keep the food cooler in the car, to keep it cooler So raccoons aren't an issue anyway. And I'm not fond of sharing campgrounds with bears.

<Chas>

[caseydog]

It looks like a lot depends on where you camp.

Here in the SouthCentralTears region, raccoons are a big problem at night, and at our annual Christmas gatherings at Lake Ray Roberts, skunks are a problem.

Planovet got up-close and personal with a skunk at that gathering in 2010.

I will leave it open during the day, even if I walk away from my TD. I don't worry about theft by humans. It's the little thieves and vandals that come out at night I worry about.

And, Planovet would probably say, "Use caution when lifting a tipped over trash bin early in the morning."

CD

[Lindahun]

Where I've been camping you better close it at night. The animals will steal your food. I also make sure I take my trash off before I go to bed. Last time I was camping alone the dogs we walked to take the trash off. I didn't have anything I really wanted to eat for dinner, so decided to eat pb crackers. Had locked the camper, so laid my crackers on top of the teardrop. When we came back the animals had stolen my crackers, so no dinner for me that night. One way to lose weight.

Linda

[kirkman]

Lots of bears and coons where I camp so it gets closed!

[hiker chick]

An unattended cooler or trash bag in a national park can result in a $75 ticket.

So if the skunks, bears, chipmunks and squirrels were not incentive enough - that'd do it for me. Those are all issues where I camp.

I haven't had any problems with theft but the teardrop is a magnet so strangers may invite themselves to take a close look at your kitchen while you're out walking. I've come back to my campsite to see people peering in the teardrop windows out of curiousity.

[Senior Ninja]

Since our TD is open front to back, we close it at night or if we are going to walk around. We left it open because we planned to slide out the solid foam and the soft foam to make changing the bedding very easy. Works fo us.
Steve

[planovet]

And, Planovet would probably say, "Use caution when lifting a tipped over trash bin early in the morning."

And don't forget about the squirrels