Theft stories from Guatemala - how much concern?

I had surfboards on top of my truck, so I was also a traveling billboard. I never had anything walk off on my trip, but I was fairly careful about where I parked - especially for the night. A locking surfboard rack is a good idea.

In general, the horror stories are just that - stories. Every now and then things definitely do happen, but it is the exception rather than the rule and mostly due to carelessness. You can almost always find secure gated parking, which is a necessity to prevent theft in places like rio dulce, sipacate, antigua, panajachel, etc. You may have to spend a bit more to stay at a place that lets you park off the street, but its worth it if you have a lot of stuff.

Whenever I stayed somewhere that did not have secure parking, I brought my surfboards and fly rods inside just to be safe. It also helps to keep things in bins out of sight.