Security worries

[Okiedoke]

One common subject I see mentioned on websites, campground reviews and rv forums is worries about security when traveling. After 6 months on the road, staying at a wide variety of campgrounds, I have not noticed any indication of threats to our security or anyone else. Nor have I heard any crime stories from other travelers.

Of course we use common sense in locking doors when away, etc., but my guess is that rv'ers probably experience less crime than the average American. Am I wrong? Just how common is crime among the rv community?

[monkey]

I guess this could be better answered by full timers,, but then again,,, I'll add to it... We only travel for vacation, never stay at high end resorts, (nothing against that at all!! wish we could ) , but there has been only one time so far in several thousand miles and many different camp grounds I can think of that comes to mind... One time at a nice camp ground in NM that a guy drove by my DW while she was walking one of our Danes.. He was pretty head strong about taking a picture of her,,, she is 4'11" walking a 150 lb animal..When I walked out towards him, he drove off... He was "not" camping there.... Like you said,,, use common sense,,, watch your surroundings,,, just like a trip to your local grocery store... There are bad people around,,, no more in camp grounds than anywhere else from what we've seen so far... We LOVE meeting and talking to other campers... (people,,, not the vehicles,,, )

[Passin Thru]

After driving 4.2 million miles and having seen everything, I have encountered 1 person in Savannah Ga who I thought wanted to rob me. He climbed up on my running board and demanded money to get his kid to the emergency room. I told him to call 911. Most people are harmless and if you use simple precautions you should be safe. 1 is don't go around flashing a roll of money or going to an ATM after midnight when every 7-11 and convienence store has one. I have met nothing but friendley people in campgrounds and never a bad person fishing.

[WrongWayRand]

We travel quite a bit, although not always camping, and the worst that has happened to us so far is a pick-pocket (who got only a smile from me) attempting to lift a wallet that wasn't there on a crowded train in Spain. We have encountered the occasional questionable person in various campgrounds (we only stay in State and National campgrounds) but these have, so far, never turned into a problem. I was once approached by a van-load of very suspicious people presenting themselves as members of a church that I had never heard of, and they were escorting one dazed looking teenager, but my Husky deterred them from taking an interest in me (I did worry about the boy, but that may have simply been a misinterpretation on my part of a perfectly normal situation.)

Wherever you go you run the chance of encountering someone who may have a nefarious purpose, you just have to always be aware of your surroundings and keep your head about you in the event of an issue.

- Randy

[missourijan]

I agree with you, that rv'rs may have experienced less crime. In the past several years there have been several instances of violence or robbery against rv'rs, like the couple that was murdered by the prison escapees or the elderly couple that was kidnapped by meth heads. Nick Russell, who writes the Gypsy Journal, was parked at an rv repair facility and was broken into. They literally ran into the burgler at the front door, Nick slammed the door onto the man's wrist and broke it. They sustained some damage in their rv and some stolen property. I think all those instances are few & far between. We have fulltimed for 8 years and have never had a problem but, like others, we are mindful of security. We have overnighted at Wal Marts and on some BLM land. We would never open our door at night to a knock unless it was law enforcement.

[MSHappyCampers]

What Monkey said!

[Fred1609]

We travel for a month each summer and stay at CGs, we don't boondock and we haven't run into any uneasy situations or felt threatened. That said I am constantly aware of my surroundings and heade my instincts and spidey senses. If I get an easy feeling I put time and distance between me and the situation. Best thing to do is trust your feelings, don't rationalize and try explain away a feeling.