Crime And RVing

Through a herculean effort on the part of Miss Terry, we got the new issue of the Gypsy Journal mailed out, and now we can take a deep breath and relax. At least until next time.

In yesterday’s blog, I wrote about how Cheryl Howarth from Miller Insurance helped us get the ball rolling with National Interstate following our burglary, and I mentioned that another agent, from a different agency, also intervened on our behalf.

At that time I did not have her name available, but I do now. It was Gina Shaver, from Epic Insurance in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Gina’s office phone number is 605-271-8100, and her company website is http://www.epic-ins.com/.  She is another agent whom I highly recommend. I like supporting the people who support me. Of course, that’s a two way street, as some other people are now well aware of.

As I wrote when I first reported on our crime, RVing is a safe activity overall. But, as I also stated, crime can and does happen anywhere. Most of the crimes suffered by RVers are petty. Unsecured bicycles and coolers have a way of walking off in campgrounds, if their owners go away and leave them. Most of the reports of this activity we have heard about occurred in state parks.

A couple of years ago in Quartzsite, there was a rash of thefts of portable generators. Some were stolen even when chained to the owners’ RVs. The thieves cut the cables with bolt cutters and carried them off. Bicycles also were disappearing in Quartzsite about the same time.   

But crimes of violence, while uncommon in the RV world, do happen, as our experience, as well as this story in the Bandera County Courier show http://www.bccourier.com/Archives/News_detail.php?recordID=091210N5.

According to the news story, a couple camping at the Medina Lake Thousand Trails in Lakehills, Texas were accosted by two teenagers wearing ski masks who pointed a gun at them and said “Give me all your money or I’ll kill you.” As it turns out, the gun was a BB gun, and the boys were at the campground with their grandparents.

These two punks were damned lucky. If they had pointed a BB gun at somebody else, they may have found out their victim was carrying a real gun. Just because their gun wasn’t real doesn’t mean a victim wouldn’t have been justified in blowing them away. In the dark, who can tell?

As I also reported earlier, our only other crime related incident happened in our first months on the road, when somebody tried to steal our pickup while we were in a Coast to Coast campground in California. So much for the “security” of campgrounds, even membership campgrounds!

Still, you have to keep in mind that in over ten years of fulltime RVing, including hundreds of nights spent dry camping in every corner of the nation, those were the only criminals we have come into contact with. Most folks living in even a medium sized city rub shoulders with all kinds of thugs every day, and never know when they might become a victim.

By using common sense, choosing a well lighted area when spending a night in a parking lot, keeping your doors locked and your valuables out of sight, and by being aware of your surroundings, you will go a long way toward avoiding becoming a victim of crime. Remember, the most effective weapon you own is right between your ears, and you don’t need special training or a permit to possess it. So use it.

Thought For The Day – It’s never too late to be what you might have been.

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