Community Forums

tamaridge · 10-01-2012, 01:55 PM

I am amazed at the number of people who are packing! I am a single woman who has traveled across the country many times and find Walmart parking lots and truck stops to be very safe. Walmart often has security patrols through the night and truck stops are filled with truckers who rely on each other all the time for help. In all the time I have been on the road alone I have only had someone bang on the door in the middle of the night. I turned on the light and looked from behind the night shades,( ninety pound dog made his point at the same time) it was on a Navaho reservation and it was a drunken indian begging. I told him in a loud voice to go away and he did. Fear and anxiety can cause many more accidents to happen than anything else. I love being in my motorhome because of the freedom of going where I will and finding new experiences. I know there are criminals around but I feel more safe in areas where there are other people around than in isolated campgrounds. I once stayed in a state park where I was very isolated and was more concerned. I think you should stay around people , other rvs or where there is a lot of coming and going. I can make a lot of noise with my Hadley air horns.

kenjh · 10-02-2012, 02:01 AM

just got back from a 2 day run to the hills of Vancouver island ..had more problems on the highway with the cop's then anything while "boondocking"..cop's are bigger thieves then anything else out there,, but this is canada..

georgetown350 · 10-02-2012, 06:49 AM

Quote:

just got back from a 2 day run to the hills of Vancouver island ..had more problems on the highway with the cop's then anything while "boondocking"..cop's are bigger thieves then anything else out there,, but this is canada..

Are we supposed to know what that means? Did the police steal something from you?

Dunner · 10-02-2012, 07:45 AM

Sounds like they generate revenue for every little thing, thus robbing a person of their money.

calhyatt · 10-02-2012, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by win35p

When overnighting while traveling between the relative safety of campgrounds i.e. Walmarts, truck stops and you get a knock on the door in the middle of the night - how do you handle that? It could be a good semaritan telling you of something, a cop or a criminal. We are new to this and wondering what most do!

Lock and load and then take a look and see who is knocking. Don't open that door until you are 100% sure you are in for a safe conversation. If it's someone of authority, they should identify themselves. Look, don't open the door. Be safe first.

calhyatt · 10-02-2012, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dunner

Come on in. I dare you!

Good one Dunner

GoldenCrow · 10-02-2012, 07:19 PM

I feel the same way, Be Safe First!!!

As the previous post said,

"Lock and load and then take a look and see who is knocking. Don't open that door until you are 100% sure you are in for a safe conversation. If it's someone of authority, they should identify themselves. Look, don't open the door. Be safe first."

Dunner · 10-02-2012, 07:35 PM

In our camp, I'm usually the last one to hit the rack(3-4 AM), long after the fire is out. If someone comes knocking, I'm not unlocking the door until I know it is someone from our camp.

kenjh · 10-02-2012, 11:58 PM

Hi ..just being pissy ..our cop's here spend more time standing on the side of the road with spotter scopes looking for seatbelt or phone infractions..my truck was broken into and after telling the cops on the phone I was going to paint ball the kid ..I was warned I WOULD be charged with unlawfull use of a firearm "ie the paint ball gun" ..and you guy's have REAL GUN'S...guess we just don't have the same problems here ..

Murf2u · 10-03-2012, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenjh

Hi ..just being pissy ..our cop's here spend more time standing on the side of the road with spotter scopes looking for seatbelt or phone infractions..my truck was broken into and after telling the cops on the phone I was going to paint ball the kid ..I was warned I WOULD be charged with unlawfull use of a firearm "ie the paint ball gun" ..and you guy's have REAL GUN'S...guess we just don't have the same problems here ..

Not that I'm advocating anything here, but ..............

There's an old adage about gun use.

"You're better off being tried by 12 of your neighbors (jurors) than you are carried by 6 of your friends (pallbearers)."

A number of years back a nieghbour of mine was having a problem with gasoline disappearing from his bulk tank at night but only on weekends. Then tools & stuff were going missing too. Then he put up a motion sensor light. The very first night it went off he looked out the window and saw a skunk tearing up his lawn. A couple of shots from his 12 gauge scared it off nicely.

It just so happened that there was a strange pickup he didn't recognize in his yard at the time and some of the shot took out the windshield and a front tire.

Being a responsible citizen he phoned the police to report his "accident".

They had a few pointed questions for the young men who had 'accidentally' parked in his yard at 2am.

He doesn't lose gas or tools anymore.

georgetown350 · 10-03-2012, 08:53 AM

Quote:

"You're better off being tried by 12 of your neighbors (jurors) than you are carried by 6 of your friends (pallbearers)."

In Kenjh's case instead of being carried by 6 he would be billed by 6 for dry cleaning.

JohnBoyToo · 10-03-2012, 08:59 AM

I like you already Murf2u

excellent cover story since we are typically off the grid -
next time you're in Texas, come on by !!!

elkhornsun · 10-06-2012, 08:58 AM

I go camping to get away from such concerns. I worry more about Rambo want a be's than some burglar coming to my camper door in the night. If its a bear the use of pepper spray is going to be more effective than a firearm.

All this paranoia is great for the gun industry though. Remington sold more than 1 million firearms last year and more than 1 billion rounds of ammunition. Fear sells as Karl Rove knows all too well.

Cubey · 10-06-2012, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fred1609

Very few unlawful entries occurr in the evening, most occurr during day time when folks are out. Crooks, for the most part don't want a confrontation. Its real simple if you don't overthink it. Acknowledging the persons presence would likely cause the person to move on or to communicate what he/she needs. If its a bad guy, get on your cell to 911, and yes police will get there in a hurry for a prowler call. The third thing is if he knows your in there and tries to get in, all bets are off, defend yourself with whatever you have using as much force as necessary to stop the threat. See its simple

I think it would be faster to just drive way, assuming you are in a motorhome anyway. This is one reason why I sold my truck and got a motorhome. You can park and drive away without going outside. Especially great in bad weather... not just about being in an unfamiliar place.

What are they going to do, start shooting the vehicle as you drive away? It wouldn't be worth their trouble for at most a couple hundreds dollars someone might have on them. It would bring an awful lot of unwanted attention, especially in a Wal-Mart or truck stop parking lot for someone to be chasing a vehicle while shooting at it.

I'd say you're more likely to be robbed at night (and I don't just mean someone breaking into your living space) in a campground or RV park than in a 24hr Wal-Mart parking lot. RVs have side compartments that can be appealing to a thief since even if someone is inside, you have to go outside to confront them face to face. I'd imagine that compartments are easier targets than contents if it's known someone is inside the vehicle/trailer.

I lived in what I thought was a relatively safe and semi-secure RV park for 6mo and I bough a 250cc scooter with a bad engine (and otherwise had some damage from being wrecked). I left it on the trailer the night I got home as it was a long drive to get it. The next morning, someone had already torn up the ignition with a screwdriver in the night.

A 24hr Wal-Mart or truck stop has a lot of people coming and going at all hours of the day and night. Not so much with campgrounds and RV parks.