The times when you could leave your front door unlocked have long since gone. And unfortunately RVing has has more risks to person and property than it did just a few years ago. This article is designed to give you some helpful ideas on how to travel and live more safely in your RV.

A recent incident reporting a nice motor home being stolen at gun point in a rest stop will give you some idea why it is important for you to prepare yourself for possible bad situations. The incident happened this way. At 3 am in a rest stop along I-5 in the West, a loud knock came at the main entry door and awakened the couple trying to get a few winks amidst all the truck noise. Going to the door, the person outside pleaded for a first aid kit to help with an injured child held bleeding in his arms. Without thinking the man opened the door and was greeted with a 357 in the face. The man and his wife were put out in their bed cloths and the perpetrator drove off in their nice new motor home. It was found on a side road the next day totally stripped of appliances, generator, TV, personal property, tires, wheels, engine, transmission, etc.

Another incident along a freeway in California, started with a crippled motor home displaying a large FMCA goose egg, and a waiving RV'er asking for help. A good samaritan RV'er stopped to help and suddenly found himself alone at the side of the highway as both RV's pulled out into traffic and departed the scene.

Both of these situation could have happened to any of us, and unfortunately you must think ahead to be prepared to know what you will do if a situation like this happens to you.

There are four major ways you can get this protection. They are:

1. BE ALERT - in all situations use all your senses to anticipate possible problems. Scan the whole scene and take in all the information that will help you understand the situation you face.

2. TRUST YOUR INTUITION - You have a powerful natural tool in your intuition and you must learn to trust it.

3. HAVE A PRE-DETERMINED PLAN OF ACTION - Develop plans for all the situations that you can imagine. Spend time as you drive thinking about all the situations that could come up and develop response plans for each situation. Dry-run typical situations while you travel as a way of making your response to each situation second nature. Have a traveling companion announce a surprise situation as you travel and execute your response as a practice.

4. NOTHING IS 100% EFFECTIVE 100% OF THE TIME - Do not get comfortable just because you have a good dog, an alarm system or a gun. Be wary as a second nature.


Using these four categories to pre-plan your response to a threat to person or property will help you change habits and develop new habits that will significantly decrease the probability of a loss to you or your property as your enjoy your RV. These new habits will also decrease your risks of loss throughout your the rest of your life.

When driving, there are many things you can do to reduce the possibility of bad consequences. Think ahead and decide to change your bad driving habits. One helpful thing is to change the way most of us stop in traffic. We all drive big rigs and often tow something behind. We also know how hard it is to back up. So just get in the habit of stopping far enough behind the vehicle in front of you so that you can go forward while turning to get out of the situation. This is especially important when you are driving your towed car in unfamiliar territory. When driving on the freeway in stop and go traffic, you may have a few eager drivers get in front of you, but at least you won't have to disconnect the towed car, so that you can back up. Another habit to cultivate is patience. Why hurry or get mad? It will only increase your blood pressure and make you grumpy.

Every day you hear of traffic disputes ending in gun fire. Let's face it, our rigs are big and some people can really lose their cool in frustration at us, even when we are driving well within the law. It is important for us to take some time and think of whether it's really worth it to lay on the air horn at some jerk who just cut in front of us. Don't do it any more. Yield whenever there is any question of right-of-way and plan NOT to get into an argument. You will get to the campground in one piece, and still with a spouse, only a few minutes later. Pre-plan your route whenever possible, because it can be unsafe if you get your rig going down a narrow road with no way to turn around. We all tend to think that we can keep heading forward, and that eventually we'll reach a place to safely turn around. But many times we drive ourselvess into increasing less desirable neighborhoods in the process. When you leave the highway, stop in well lighted areas to look at maps, and if necessary get out and ask directions. If you happen to get stuck in a bad area, don't stop under any conditions....drive until you find a well lighted shopping center or service station. And next time don't get into this situation at all by pre-planning your route.

There is a technique used by criminals called "Bump and Snatch" where they purposely cause a bump or small crash to stop you and then proceed to either steal your property and money or your whole vehicle. The way I have pre-planned to respond to this type of situation is:

1. Not get out to look or open the door.

2. Drive to a well lighted, populated location like a service station and signal for the other party to follow. I realize that this might be considered leaving he scene of the accident.

3. Have my real or fake Cell Phone up to my ear and if a real one call "911" immediately.

Try to travel through congested areas in low traffic periods. The last time we drove through LA, it took less than one hour to go north from Riverside passed Vilejo. We planned the time and route very carefully.

Use the fact that you have a companion to assist with your response. It is always good to have a camera that your companion can use record the facts of a situations. As we know "Rodney King" showed how important a video camera can be. We carry one of those cameras in a box dedicated to this purpose so it will always be ready to use. When two of you are responding the results will most probably be better than just one responding.

You all face this situation every night while you are traveling and have some skill in performing the proper activity. The rest stop story described above shows that there are risks that you might not think of. Rest areas along the freeways are getting more risky than ever, so if you have to stop because you are falling asleep, there are some things that you must pre-plan. If someone knocks at your door at 3 am, there is nothing good going to happen. Even if the person knocking has an honest problem, you must be prepared for the worst. DO NOT open the door, until you are absolutely sure that the request being made is legitimate and represents no possibility of harm to you or your property. DO NOT put your name on the outside of your RV, since that will allow a robber to use your name to get you to open your door. One of the best investments you will make in protecting yourself is to invest in a cellular telephone. The coverage area today is great, and except when you are driving in places like National Parks, you can get excellent coverage. The cost of having a Cellular Telephone can be controlled, by using it only in emergency situations. A "Fake" Cellular phone is better than nothing. In this Rest Stop Scenario, you can tell the person that is knocking, that you will call 911 in response to almost any situation and counter the stated reason for you to open the door. Cellular telephones are also valuable reporting emergency situations while driving, or when your rig becomes incapacitated.

Many truck stops are now providing space and even hook-ups for RV's. The publication "The Truckers Friend" is a national Truck Stop Directory that lists RV facilities for every major Truck Stop in the Country. Truck Stops may be a little more noisy, but they are a lot more safe than rest stops.

If you find yourself stuck in a big city at night looking for a Campground and can't find one, many of the parking lots provide for dry-camping overnight for a nominal fee. Some people try well lighted shopping center parking lots, but it's not pleasant being woken up by the security personnel, and being asked to leave. In some cities, its OK to park on a side street with the permission of the homeowner. It is also possible to park with permission at a local Church parking lot. If you have to try a free parking lot, try to get permission. If you really get stuck, stop a local police officer and ask if there is any area that it is legal to park. Many smaller cities allow overnight parking near or in their City Parks. It is always safer to park with another RV if possible. Some large hospitals allow RV's to park overnight, so even if you don't have someone in that hospital, you most certainly be safer there with other RV'ers than on the street.

The safest places to park overnight are obviously, in a private, public, or commercial Camp Ground where some security is provided. Well planned travel will allow you to use these facilities.

PART II of Mr. Gummersall's article will follow....Stay tuned!

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