What about security?

[WyoFree]

My wife said she didn’t think she’d feel safe boon-docking. All I could think to tell her is that I thought a motorhome would be safer than our actual home. At home there are all kinds of doors and widows to break into. In a motorhome you basically just have the door but you’d have to come with a crowbar to open it. As for windows you’d have to come with a stepladder and again the crowbar.

I’m not 100% sure how accurate that is but it sounds right. I also told her you can drive off in a motorhome. I know that’s more complicated than it sounds with having to bring up the leveling jacks and take in the awning etc. But in principle anyway.

What more can be done from the safety standpoint without putting bars on the windows? One thing I’ve noticed is most coaches don’t offer video and com systems at the door, allowing you to see and talk to whoever’s there? Is there a system you guys use or don’t you worry about it?

I also understand that interstate rest stops can have some problems?

Any other tips and tricks would be appreciated

[stepside454]

Dogs are good deterants. Scare lights outside , the alarm button on your key fob. Consider putting steps in at night . There are several less than lethal self protection devices if you choose not to be armed .

[wildtoad]

Get a dog. Next put up a sign - "Premises protected by my 2nd Amendment rights"

[Gary RVRoamer]

Like anything else, it depends on where you go to boondock. The term generally includes any "no hook-ups" location and is not necessarily in an isolated area.

Most urban areas have far more break & enter and home assaults than rural areas, including campgrounds and unimproved campsites.

Basically, though, you ought not to camp anywhere you - and she - do not feel safe. It ain't fun if she is worried all the time.

[raineman]

Personally, we have never boon-docked where we didn't feel safe. That maybe because of the (2) 45 semi-autos we carry and our dog. We are Concealed Weapons Permit holders.

Not the type you see with stickers in the truck window of a weapon or brand logo of a weapon . Just old fashioned and safe.

[stepside454]

I personally would never put up a sign or stickers advertising my stance on 2A

[raineman]

Originally Posted by stepside454

I personally would never put up a sign or stickers advertising my stance on 2A

To each their own but i agree

[Wryly Blithe]

You are FAR more likely to be pestered or harassed by local wildlife than you are by a human intruder. You're also far more likely to hear a knock at the door while over-nighting it in a Walmart parking lot or truck stop. Sure, anything can happen, but when you think about it - what are the odds of a prowler being out there in the middle of nowhere on the off-chance that some RV'er might park their rig there someday?

So, all that said, your wife is not alone. It's more common than we think for some people to get the heebie-geebies parking out in the middle of nothing. We're creatures of habit, and four walls is a comfortable habit many of us cling to. To put her mind at rest, I would install motion-detecting outdoor lights. I don't typically leave any outside lights on overnight when boondocking - there's no value in advertising your location - but motion-detecting lights would be just fine. They also add a lot of security for those nights when you're out to dinner away from your rig and they're really convenient when they light the way after you come home.

Wireless entry-door intercoms are also pretty handy, and they're very affordable at your local home improvement stores. If - and it's a BIG if - you heard a stranger outside, a simple warning over the intercom like "What are you doing out there?!?" or "You have no business invading our personal space at this time of night, and I'm fully prepared to defend it with lethal force if your don't leave immediately!" should do the trick. It would probably scare away any wildlife too if that's what the noise was.

Remember - this is personal defense, not offense. The goal is to get them to leave without escalating the situation beyond anyone's control.

Also, reassure her that there's almost no chance of someone breaking into your rig quietly, meaning that you should have plenty of warning if someone did try... which, again, is extremely remote while boondocking. I don't see anything wrong with carrying pepper spray, stun guns, stun batons, tasers, etc. in your rig. I have 4 cans of pepper spray strategically located throughout my rig so I can grab a can from anywhere I am. With the amount of warning you're likely to have, grabbing one of these would be pretty quick and easy.

Guns are problematic, especially when carrying them across state lines. Don't get me wrong, I'm not at all against them - I'm considering buy a couple for myself - but not everyone is as comfortable using them, especially when there are plenty of very effective less-than-lethal options to choose from. Besides, even if you do have to shoot and/or kill someone in legitimate self-defense, not every state has the same lethal force laws, and even in states that do allow it you'd likely end up spending a lot of time and money in court defending your actions. You'd likely be acquitted, but not until you've racked up pretty hefty legal bills, to say nothing of what happens if the family of the intruder decides to sue you in civil court.

I know, I know... "I'd rather be judged by 12 than carried out by 6." But that doesn't mean it's always the first, best option.

To be perfectly honest - and I'm not sure this helps - but I feel much more vulnerable in an RV park that's near any bad neighborhoods or high-crime areas. Those really ARE target-rich environments, and it's far more likely that something bad could happen there than out in the middle of nowhere. A perfect example is my home town of Las Vegas; the east side of town is just not a nice place, and North Las Vegas has some pretty dicey areas, too. There are a lot of parks out there, and while I've never heard of anything bad happening in them, that's the kind of environment I'm talking about.

I hope she can get over her fear, because it would be a shame for you both to miss the magnificence of parking your rig in nature and surrounding yourself with all the beauty. In a nut shell - the chances of something bad happening are so remote that the experience of nature in an RV is absolutely worth that tiny amount of risk.

Good luck - safe and happy travels!

[WyoFree]

Wryly, what a thoughtful post! Thanks so much

[Ranger Smith]

.380 and .45 . . . Nuff Said

[Okiedoke]

It is a grand testimony to safety that so very few instances of security problems while boondocking in a MH are reported by the thousands of members on this site.

I would recommend small steps to start; camping within eye/ear shot of other campers. We've had no such problems in more than 200 days of mostly wilderness, but also some urban, boondocking over the past three years.

[Wayne M]

In all my "camping" experience we have never had a bad encounter with anyone trying to break in. I'm sure it happens but if there were a "poll" button I would wager that the amount of times it has happened is a very small percentage. My vote would be "never happened."

[Terry L T]

I think I will leave my cannon at home this year and get some bear spray. I will be going into Canada so I will need to see if that is a problem. I was just going to leave my cannon in a safety deposit box before entering Canada and picking it back up on the way out. With Bear Spray I can enter and leave by separate routes!!

[computerguy]

Originally Posted by wildtoad

Get a dog. Next put up a sign - "Premises protected by my 2nd Amendment rights"

2x
Also, "Protected by the Castle Doctrine"