How to protect my car from being broken into at a motel?

August 24, 2008 3:50 PM

I'm driving from San Jose to Seattle with all my belongings on Tuesday. It's a 14 hour trip so I plan to stay one night at a motel. How can I best protect my car from being broken into and robbed at night? And any suggestions for places to stay?
posted by lpctstr; to travel & transportation (20 comments total)

San Jose to Seattle is a pretty easy drive all in one go. Start early in the morning, and take a long lunch in the middle. The hardest part of your drive is just north of the Oregon border. The only other thing to consider is that you will want to avoid Portland's rush hour traffic. Try to hit Portland after 7PM or so, that should get you in Seattle by 10 PM.

Even LA to Portland is doable in a single day, but that drive is a lot more taxing.

Directly addressing your question, I drove a black Mercedes that was obviously full of crap from LA to Yreka, chose a decent looking hotel, and then parked by a Lexus. No one touched my car, and the run from Yreka to Seattle was an easy one.
posted by b1tr0t at 4:12 PM on August 24, 2008

I have done this sort of thing many times. depending on where you stop/what your options are, you can:

look for a place with a monitored parking lot or deck

if you stay at a "motor lodge" type place where you park right in front of the doors, do your best to get a room on the main parking lot (ie well lit) and where you can park near/in front of your own door, then back into the spot.

obviously, remove any items that are readily identifiable as 'expensive'.

I have moved from NJ to CA in a hatchback full of stuff (ie 4 nights on road) and had no problems.

good luck! have fun!!
posted by supermedusa at 4:17 PM on August 24, 2008

I drove around the US for two months with my entire life's possessions in the back of a Honda Civic with a space blanket thrown over it. Never had any trouble. Just pick a motel in a decent town that's near a main road, you'll be fine.
posted by Nelson at 4:35 PM on August 24, 2008

7 Feathers Casino, in Oregon, might be a good bet. It's about midway.

Somewhere decent and well lit in Ashland would probably be good, too.

Anyway, it's an easy single day drive. I used to do the drive from SJ to Seattle and back again on a weekend. If it's a sports car, drive it in short, fast bursts (just don't get a ticket). If it's a wagon, drive at 75 the whole way and make three stops for gas - bonus points if you can avoid getting fuel in Oregon.
posted by krisak at 4:57 PM on August 24, 2008

You can bypass downtown Portland entirely by taking the I-205 bypass.

But to directly respond to your question, the best thing you can do is to avoid offering temptation. If you have a big blanket, or bedspread, or comforter, spread it over the top of your stuff so that a casual passer-by cannot see anything that's in the car except that cover.
posted by Class Goat at 5:07 PM on August 24, 2008

Oh, wherever you stop, if they have a valet, slip 'em $10 when you give them the keys. A place with a good 24 hour valet is the best way to be safe.

Also, for the drive: corn chips, power bars, and gatorade.
posted by krisak at 5:10 PM on August 24, 2008

I completely agree with the blanket. I drove a ton of things cross-country and stayed four nights on the road. I filled the trunk first, then put the rest in the back seat. Then I put a blanket on it. Whenever I parked, I picked a spot by the entry or the office of the motel.
posted by halonine at 5:43 PM on August 24, 2008

Just do it in one go. I5 is mellow up until Eugene OR, which will be the bulk of your trip. If you really want to split it up, Ashland in southern OR is a rather safe place to stay (and beautiful), as well as Corvallis in mid OR (which is off the freeway, but only by 20 mins or so). Make sure you take 205 around Portland, because I5 through Portland is very unpleasant. I've done Portland <> the bay a number of times, both spending the night & not, and I've never once had a problem (though I don't recommend staying at the sketchy just-off-the-freeway motel in Yreka if you can avoid it).
posted by devilsbrigade at 6:04 PM on August 24, 2008

Also, Oregonians have a tendency to pass on the right. Most of our freeways are two lanes with a lot of truck traffic, so the left lane isn't especially fast, and people going fast don't necessarily wait for you to pull back into the right lane. Just something to watch out for. It apparently throws a decent number of out of state drivers.
posted by devilsbrigade at 6:11 PM on August 24, 2008

if you stay at a decent hotel--i mean, a hampton inn, holiday inn, that sort of rang--and park right by the entrance and the lights, you'll probably be okay. i've done this a few times and been alright. probably not the best time to go for the $28/night motel 6.
posted by thinkingwoman at 7:07 PM on August 24, 2008

bonus points if you can avoid getting fuel in Oregon.

Why? IIRC, the two states that don't allow you to pump your own gas, NJ and Oregon, actually have lower prices than their neighbors.
posted by b1tr0t at 7:29 PM on August 24, 2008

We drove from Philadelphia to Seattle with a big chunk of our most expensive and stealable possessions in our car (guns, instruments, etc.).

We made a point to stay in hotels outside towns. We stopped at the little filling-station-hotel-and-post-office villages, on the principle that they were probably pretty short on junkies in need of a fix. The Interstate isn't like the city; there aren't any random crooks wandering around all night canvassing the neighborhood for likely cars to rob.

In the thousands and thousands of miles that I, my midwestern family, and my midwestern friends have driven over the country, I've never heard of anybody having their car broken into at any motel outside of a major city. That said, lots of people who've been stupid enough to stay at the Motel 8 in the shitty part of [INSERT CITY HERE] have been rewarded with jacked gear. But, that's what you get for staying in the city.
posted by Netzapper at 8:11 PM on August 24, 2008

How about driving up with a friend and paying for their flight back? Then you can switch off driving and do it in a day. A one way flight from SJ to LA could probably had for a little more than the cost of a motel, and you've got company on the way.
posted by cnc at 11:14 PM on August 24, 2008

That should be Seattle to SJ. Don't know where I got "SJ to LA."
posted by cnc at 11:15 PM on August 24, 2008

NYT Article about hotel/motel security.
posted by plinth at 6:11 AM on August 25, 2008

I second Corvallis. It's a small college town and there's a nice Hampton or Holiday Inn Express (can't remember) with a well-lit parking lot that I've stayed in several times. I would guess it's about 5 - 6 hours from Seattle.
posted by slo at 6:42 PM on August 25, 2008

find an rv park that rents cabins?
posted by docmccoy at 6:42 PM on August 26, 2008

Thanks everyone for the advice. I made it to Seattle with no problems, doing a 2 day trip. I ended up staying at Medford, OR (close to Ashland) for $49 plus tax, with free wireless.

I marked all the posts that helped as best answer.
posted by lpctstr; at 2:28 AM on September 9, 2008

if you had to do it over again, would you try for one day, or keep it two?
posted by b1tr0t at 10:28 PM on September 9, 2008

Probably two... so I don't fall sleep at the wheel.
posted by lpctstr; at 8:28 AM on September 10, 2008