Where Can I Get An 'Out Geocaching' Auto Hang Tag?

[+cacheseeker859]

Does anyone know where to purchase or get one of these?

I have seen one of these hang tags at an event earlier this year, but did not see the car owner to ask. I tried googling for it, but no luck as yet. The hang tag hangs on your car mirror & says something like, "Out geocaching. Will return soon (or time amount)." And maybe some other information. I'd like one of these for when we are out geocaching & I have parked someplace nearby. I don't want my car towed as an abandoned car or scare anyone, which is why I want one.

 

-cacheseeker859

[Mushtang]

I'll sell you one for $20 that will say anything on it that you want.

[+bittsen]

Does anyone know where to purchase or get one of these?

I have seen one of these hang tags at an event earlier this year, but did not see the car owner to ask. I tried googling for it, but no luck as yet. The hang tag hangs on your car mirror & says something like, "Out geocaching. Will return soon (or time amount)." And maybe some other information. I'd like one of these for when we are out geocaching & I have parked someplace nearby. I don't want my car towed as an abandoned car or scare anyone, which is why I want one.

 

-cacheseeker859

 

If there were a big enough market for them, I could make them. I own a plastic printing press. Unfortunately, for onesie twosies, I can only do credit card sized printing.

[+Smurf]

"Out geocaching. Will return soon (or time amount)."

-cacheseeker859

 

In my opinion, you might just as well change the wording to

 

"Please steal my car (or break into it),

I'll be gone for hours so you have plenty of time to get away before i report it"

[+steve p]

In my opinion, you might just as well change the wording to

 

"Please steal my car (or break into it),

I'll be gone for hours so you have plenty of time to get away before i report it"

Reminds me of the window signs I would see in cars in Boston that said "No Radio."

No thief would ever guess that it's in the trunk!

[+medic208]

sounds like this is what you are looking for...

 

Geocaching Vehicle Placard

[+KJcachers]

sounds like this is what you are looking for...

 

Geocaching Vehicle Placard

 

That's cool. Thanks for the link.

[namiboy]

sounds like this is what you are looking for...

 

Geocaching Vehicle Placard

 

oh....my.....gawd

[+brenda&&rew]

sounds like this is what you are looking for...

 

Geocaching Vehicle Placard

 

oh....my.....gawd

 

Is that a good "omg" or a bad "omg"... LOL

[+ngrrfan]

sounds like this is what you are looking for...

 

Geocaching Vehicle Placard

 

oh....my.....gawd

 

Is that a good "omg" or a bad "omg"... LOL

IMHO.... a bad one. As has been stated it advertises that you are out and will be back at a certain time. Might as well hang a sign in the vehicle that says "Break In."

[+kunarion]

As has been stated it advertises that you are out and will be back at a certain time. Might as well hang a sign in the vehicle that says "Break In."

 

No, I'll put up a sign for that crook that says "I'm In The Car. Don't Break In".

 

I use the previously mentioned vehicle placard from Geocacher-U. I don't write how many hours I'll be gone, but I often write the waypoint. The theory behing the placard is it looks "official" enough (at least to ordinary passers-by) to be a "pass" allowing you to be there. It's also a way to let other Geocachers know you're there. It doesn't prevent the Law Enforcement Officers around here from checking up on you, though. "LEO" may even catch that crook who was deciding if the sign said you were out.

Edited September 11, 2009 by kunarion

[+Arrow42]

I don't want my car towed as an abandoned car or scare anyone, which is why I want one.

 

-cacheseeker859

 

That tag won't accomplish your stated goals. At the best it will give you a false sense of safety.

[+sbell111]

"Out geocaching. Will return soon (or time amount)."

-cacheseeker859

In my opinion, you might just as well change the wording to

 

"Please steal my car (or break into it),

I'll be gone for hours so you have plenty of time to get away before i report it"

When I first saw this thread, I was tempted to post the same thing. However, I thought it over and I believe that the hang tag would actually dissuade more thieves than it attracts.

 

You see, most people don't have a clue what geocaching is. All they know is that the car has a placard that says that the owner will be back soon. Most thieves will likely move on to a car who's owner will not be 'back soon'.

[+sbell111]

I don't want my car towed as an abandoned car or scare anyone, which is why I want one.

 

-cacheseeker859

 

That tag won't accomplish your stated goals. At the best it will give you a false sense of safety.

It might help.

 

Certainly, it is less likely to scare someone who notices the placard. Also, if contact information is left on the placard, there is a slim chance that someone will ring the cacher prior to ringing the tow truck.

[+ngrrfan]

Amount of time for theft is irrelevant. Most auto break-ins are smash-n-grabs. Keep valuables out of sight and more than likely the vehicle is "safe".

[+Too Tall John]

How about a tag that says something like:

 

"Don't bother! As a geocacher, I brought all my expensive electronics with me. Nothing to steal here!"

 

Ngrrfan is correct, if nobody's in sight, a thief isn't going to care if a note says you'll be back soon. You won't be back soon enough to bother them!

Edited September 11, 2009 by Too Tall John

[+sbell111]

How about a tag that says something like:

 

"Don't bother! As a geocacher, I brought all my expensive electronics with me. Nothing to steal here!"

 

Ngrrfan is correct, if nobody's in sight, a thief isn't going to care if a note says you'll be back soon. You won't be back soon enough to bother them!

For a thief, which would be preferable? Breaking into a car owned by someone who may step out of the woods at any moment, or breaking into a car that was likely left in the lot by a carpooler?

[+wimseyguy]

I haven't seen a post from criminal in here in a while. We could be waiting for a long time to get an official response to that question.

[+Count Fartula]

IMO,

If someone is going to steal the vehicle they will do so regardless if there is a sign there or not. A non-car thief may break the window if they see something to take but most are opportunistic and will not bother unless the car door is unlocked and are certain no one is around.

Thats my city slicker perspective.

[+sbell111]

I haven't seen a post from criminal in here in a while. We could be waiting for a long time to get an official response to that question.

I don't believe that Criminal is a thief.

[+Wogus!]

My caching habits frequently take me onto (often unmarked) Forestry Service access-roads and other out of the way locations during "bankers hours".

• Chances of my car being approached by a thief under such circumstances: Possible, but unlikely, in my opinion.
  Chances of my car being approached by Forestry or BLM personnel: Much higher.
  

Something like this placard might serve to lessen the entirely understandable suspicions such personnel might have, should we wind up having a chance encounter; so yeah, this works for me and my situation. Thanks for putting it up!

[+bittsen]

All the fear mongering of what negative could happen if there were a hanging placard is useless.

The authorities actually suggest that hikers leave a note in their cars when hiking to let people know where you are in case you don't return. The not returning happens often in these parts.

 

If someone is going to break into your car, they will do it. As long as they can't see you, your car is as safe or unsafe as it is regardless of the placard. BUT, adding the GC# of the cache you are seeking CAN save your life if the unlikely event happened, that you are lost or injured in the woods.

[+kunarion]

adding the GC# of the cache you are seeking CAN save your life if the unlikely event happened, that you are lost or injured in the woods.

I was considering the situations where that could happen. It goes like this:

 

I write the GC waypoint on my sign, and go into the woods. And injure myself so badly I’m stuck out there. And the phone doesn’t work. And somebody sees the sign, calculates how long I’ve been gone, decides I’m dying, and he leaves (to go to where the phone reception works), where he looks up the Cache Page, finds out where I’m at, returns, heads into the woods without injuring himself and completes the puzzle and the multi. He finds me, then leaves (to again drive to the spot where the phone works), and calls for help. And I’m injured enough to die there, but not badly enough to die while I’m waiting to be rescued.

 

In which case, it would be life-saving.

[+bittsen]

adding the GC# of the cache you are seeking CAN save your life if the unlikely event happened, that you are lost or injured in the woods.

I was considering the situations where that could happen. It goes like this:

 

I write the GC waypoint on my sign, and go into the woods. And injure myself so badly I’m stuck out there. And the phone doesn’t work. And somebody sees the sign, calculates how long I’ve been gone, decides I’m dying, and he leaves (to go to where the phone reception works), where he looks up the Cache Page, finds out where I’m at, returns, heads into the woods without injuring himself and completes the puzzle and the multi. He finds me, then leaves (to again drive to the spot where the phone works), and calls for help. And I’m injured enough to die there, but not badly enough to die while I’m waiting to be rescued.

 

In which case, it would be life-saving.

 

Let me give you a different scenario.

 

You go looking for cache GCXXXXX and write it on the placard.

You go hiking into the woods. Your GPS breaks when you are going over a cliff. Your phone doesn't have reception. You aren't dying but your leg is broken.... You can't go anywhere.

The next day you don't come home and they look for your car. Someone spots it at a trailhead and sees the placard. They look the cache up on GC.com and find the most likely path you took. Within a couple of hours you are rescued.

 

It IS how things are preferred in Oregon. The forest service puts out memos each year and there are many people saved each year because they have notes in their car telling where they intend to go.

 

On Mt Hood, it's now mandatory (though not enforced) that climbers carry a beacon and log a recreation plan with estimated return time whenever they climb.

[+Too Tall John]

Ngrrfan is correct, if nobody's in sight, a thief isn't going to care if a note says you'll be back soon. You won't be back soon enough to bother them!

For a thief, which would be preferable? Breaking into a car owned by someone who may step out of the woods at any moment, or breaking into a car that was likely left in the lot by a carpooler?

A good thief won't care either way.

[+Cherokee Bill]

How about one that says "Deadly Force Authorized"?

[+Curioddity]

How about one that says "Deadly Force Authorized"?

As in: the thief can shoot you if you return to the car while he's breaking in?

 

Pete the Perplexed.

[+Arrow42]

 

Let me give you a different scenario.

 

You go looking for cache GCXXXXX and write it on the placard.

You go hiking into the woods. Your GPS breaks when you are going over a cliff. Your phone doesn't have reception. You aren't dying but your leg is broken.... You can't go anywhere.

The next day you don't come home and they look for your car. Someone spots it at a trailhead and sees the placard. They look the cache up on GC.com and find the most likely path you took. Within a couple of hours you are rescued.

 

It IS how things are preferred in Oregon. The forest service puts out memos each year and there are many people saved each year because they have notes in their car telling where they intend to go.

 

On Mt Hood, it's now mandatory (though not enforced) that climbers carry a beacon and log a recreation plan with estimated return time whenever they climb.

 

In that scenario having the coords on the placard might be a better idea... I wouldn't want search and rescue to waste time trying to figure out how to create an account on geocaching.com. If it was a multi, a mystery or a member's cache then I would be screwed.

 

I take back what I said previously - this makes seance for some scenarios. I was picturing city parks or the like.

[+bittsen]

 

Let me give you a different scenario.

 

You go looking for cache GCXXXXX and write it on the placard.

You go hiking into the woods. Your GPS breaks when you are going over a cliff. Your phone doesn't have reception. You aren't dying but your leg is broken.... You can't go anywhere.

The next day you don't come home and they look for your car. Someone spots it at a trailhead and sees the placard. They look the cache up on GC.com and find the most likely path you took. Within a couple of hours you are rescued.

 

It IS how things are preferred in Oregon. The forest service puts out memos each year and there are many people saved each year because they have notes in their car telling where they intend to go.

 

On Mt Hood, it's now mandatory (though not enforced) that climbers carry a beacon and log a recreation plan with estimated return time whenever they climb.

 

In that scenario having the coords on the placard might be a better idea... I wouldn't want search and rescue to waste time trying to figure out how to create an account on geocaching.com. If it was a multi, a mystery or a member's cache then I would be screwed.

 

I take back what I said previously - this makes seance for some scenarios. I was picturing city parks or the like.

 

The GC code is a reference. Nothing more. Putting coords would actually be inviting to any thief that has a GPSr. The thief would know exactly how far away from the car you were intending to go.

[+Arrow42]

The GC code is a reference. Nothing more. Putting coords would actually be inviting to any thief that has a GPSr. The thief would know exactly how far away from the car you were intending to go.

 

Oh?

 

All the fear mongering of what negative could happen if there were a hanging placard is useless.

 

 

Anyway, if you've accepted the added risk that the placard creates then there is very little added risk of a coord vs GC Code. A thief who understands GPS and coordinates well enough to calculate the distances involved is likley to be familiar with geocaching and able to look up the coords.

[+sbell111]

Ngrrfan is correct, if nobody's in sight, a thief isn't going to care if a note says you'll be back soon. You won't be back soon enough to bother them!

For a thief, which would be preferable? Breaking into a car owned by someone who may step out of the woods at any moment, or breaking into a car that was likely left in the lot by a carpooler?

A good thief won't care either way.

I think that your statement doesn't hold up. Thieves are like electricity, they will always take the path of least resistance.

The GC code is a reference. Nothing more. Putting coords would actually be inviting to any thief that has a GPSr. The thief would know exactly how far away from the car you were intending to go.

Oh?

All the fear mongering of what negative could happen if there were a hanging placard is useless.

Anyway, if you've accepted the added risk that the placard creates then there is very little added risk of a coord vs GC Code. A thief who understands GPS and coordinates well enough to calculate the distances involved is likley to be familiar with geocaching and able to look up the coords.

There are tons of people who know how to read a map or use a GPSr that have never before heard of this silly little game.

[+OKH]

I had a friend that had a magnetic "Centers for Disease Control Specimen Procurement Unit" sign on his car door for when he parked in malls or less illustrious areas. Worked like a charm.