Safety and security

packnrat wrote:
most drivers, rvers carry a bang stick or six.. a dog of three that will bite.

Not true in our large circle of RVing friends. We're not paranoid. We just use common sense and then relax. What fun is it to always have to look over your shoulder?

Ralph Cramden wrote:

tropical36 wrote:

2oldman wrote:

tropical36 wrote:
As for campgrounds, we've been in some pretty dark ones and do make it a practice for leaving a lot of exterior lights on, all night.

No, don't like that.

Not talking flood lights here and with our rig, once our lights are out and eyes shut, I don't see anything, but darkness.
With four that I like, they don't call them dock lights for nothing.

Those all night lights may just cause someone to open 3 or 4 cans of sardines at 3AM and toss them near or under your rig. Those local Skunks and Raccoons love those sardines and sometimes can make quite a racket having a scrap over them. :E

Orrrrrr maybe, a would be perpetrator will just walk on by the one with the lights, that's making some racket and go to work on the one, that's hidden in dark.

packnrat wrote:
most places i have parked at. the bg fears you more than you fear them. as most drivers, rvers carry a bang stick or six.. a dog of three that will bite.

but if you stop and the area gives you the jitters keep on down the rd.

i have over nited in many a parking lot. side/ back street. even in a suburb.
only time i got the jitters was out in the open desert. along hwy 395 in ca. a pu stopped next to me. i just started up and drove away. wanted to be alone in that area. and it felt strange someone would stop right next to me that way.
so i say go with your gut.

Poor guy probably had the jitters and felt safer with having some company....:)

most places i have parked at. the bg fears you more than you fear them. as most drivers, rvers carry a bang stick or six.. a dog of three that will bite.

but if you stop and the area gives you the jitters keep on down the rd.

i have over nited in many a parking lot. side/ back street. even in a suburb.
only time i got the jitters was out in the open desert. along hwy 395 in ca. a pu stopped next to me. i just started up and drove away. wanted to be alone in that area. and it felt strange someone would stop right next to me that way.
so i say go with your gut.

Use common sense and take reasonable precautions. We don't stay in rest stops or truck stops. Too noisy and just not for us. We have stayed in Walmarts, Cabelas, Sam's Club, Lowes and Home Depot. We always ask beforehand (except Cabelas which usually have RV spots). If we are not comfortable with the location we move on.

We have two dogs who bark if they hear or see someone around the coach. I lock my outside compartments and can activate an audible alarm from my coach key fob. We may leave our docking lights on if it is otherwise dark where we are. When I take the dogs out before going to bed, DW watches us from inside the coach with the door locked. We have small arms in the coach if anyone should try to break in while we are there.

Been traveling around the US since 2004 and never had an issue. Not saying it can't happen but I think you can reduce the possibilities by being aware of your surroundings and taking reasonable precautions.

tropical36 wrote:

2oldman wrote:

tropical36 wrote:
As for campgrounds, we've been in some pretty dark ones and do make it a practice for leaving a lot of exterior lights on, all night.

No, don't like that.

Not talking flood lights here and with our rig, once our lights are out and eyes shut, I don't see anything, but darkness.
With four that I like, they don't call them dock lights for nothing.

Those all night lights may just cause someone to open 3 or 4 cans of sardines at 3AM and toss them near or under your rig. Those local Skunks and Raccoons love those sardines and sometimes can make quite a racket having a scrap over them. :E

LED lights outside tend to be softer and less bright so leaving them on all night isn't as annoying as it is with the incandescent bulbs.

Also, we're on the 3rd page with this and there has only been one story of a basement compartment theft? That seems pretty good for us average occasional parking lot camping RV'ers. Pretty low occurrence rate in this group.

2oldman wrote:

tropical36 wrote:
As for campgrounds, we've been in some pretty dark ones and do make it a practice for leaving a lot of exterior lights on, all night.

No, don't like that.

Not talking flood lights here and with our rig, once our lights are out and eyes shut, I don't see anything, but darkness.
With four that I like, they don't call them dock lights for nothing.

Not to hijack the OP thread, reading all these posts remind me why we don't dry camp anymore. We sure did many years ago & I take my hat off to those that enjoy it. In a CG I could sleep through an earth quake like a kitten. In practically any free overnight stay I hear every car door, voices, vehicle starts, etc. End result for me is the dry camp experience generally cost me a decent night's sleep so these days we stick to CG's.

Daisy and Molly hear everything. And if it is really bad Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson are available.