Camping in Mexico

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Uplander

If news reports are to be believed Mexico is a dangerous place. Police officials all seem to be corrupt and involved with the drug trade. Why not vacation in Iraq, Libya or the DR Congo if you want to cash in your life insurance policy.

I agree that Mexico is a dangerous place but according to federal statistics there are 15 US cities with higher crime rates than Mexico . The firearm homicide rate in Mexico is 10 / 100,000 where the rate in some US cities is approaching 30 / 100,000. I am not trying to defend Mexico but just trying to put things in perspective.

[Bob Miller]

You are mixing Apples and Hand Grenades in your numbers by comparing specific US cities with the entire country of Mexico. In this link the number for Mexico is 9.97 deaths per 100,000, but the rate for the entire US is only 2.97 deaths per 100,000.
Gun homicides and gun ownership listed by country | News | The Guardian


And I am sure that the numbers for some of the cities in Mexico are far off the scale and will make 30/100,000 look like a Sunday school picnic


Moreover the greatest risk isn't from being shot at, but from being robbed, injured and/or kidnapped for ransom, where the events typically happen outside of cities.


But I would not plan on spending a vacation in my FGRV in East L.A., or any other major city in the U.S. for that matter. That's just plain common sense, that you might not have when travelling in another country.

[Mike Magee]

Bob Miller is right. Who wants to camp in the cities anyway? (edit: In other words, stats about cities are most relevant to those who wish to camp in cities... not that anyone's advocating such.) For example, I can camp all I want in Michigan and never go near Detroit (my sister lives in nearby Mount Clemens and I hear all the time how dangerous Detroit is).

Don't know if you ever heard of Tioga George. He wrote a popular blog about his boondocking adventures. He eventually spent a few years with his Tioga in Mexico and bragged about never having to pay bribes or having been robbed. He knew the ins and outs, and how to do it safely, he said. Then a couple of years ago, he had to pay a bribe. And soon after that (unrelated incident) he was robbed and beaten up IIRC. No more Mexico RVing for Tioga George!

RV in Mexico? I'd sooner take up skydiving with parachutes packed by a chimp, it seems safer.

[Bob Miller]

Mikes post is spot-on. Here in America we know where the dangerous places are located and avoid them. But in Mexico, where few here even speak the language, and Anglo's are a #1 target for crime, "Who ya gonna ask, Ghost Busters......?" for advice. Again, if someone has read all of this:
Mexico Travel Warning
and still wants to travel alone with an RV to Mexico, I can only wish them well.

[Jim Bennett]

I know a couple people who spend months every winter in their RV, and have never had issue. They love it down there. Just to be cautious, they say they just get on a main highway after crossing the border, and just keep driving until hours past the border, mostly on toll roads if they can.

I also have lots of good friends that drive down every winter for a few months (in fact we have a couple open invitations to join them). They just find inexpensive accommodation away from resorts, and live wonderfully without spending hordes. Many have been doing this for 30+ years how. They all exclusively only have good things to say about the locals, and have no fear of harm coming to them at all.

I have been to Mexico about 10 times, mostly staying in resorts, but sometimes just renting a room. The later is now much preferred since we no longer take small children. The only time I was in the least conserved for safety, was when we were staying in San Diego, and drove down to the border, to walk across and shop in Tijuana. A bit sketchy there, and not a place I really enjoyed, or would ever go back to. We found out later that the Chief of Police was murdered while we were in town.

For the most part, most of the murders appear to be drug related, so if you keep your nose clean, this will not affect you. Plus, it seems that most of the crime occurs in the northern parts of the country. The Baja, and around PV and south, as well as the Yucatan all seem to be relatively crime free.

I would not hesitate to RV in Mexico. I would however do diligent homework on where I am going, and be cautious of any potential for danger. Not unlike travelling in the US or Canada anywhere too.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

But in Mexico, where few here even speak the language,

according to Wikipedia Spanish is the second most common language spoken in the USA. Apparently at any given time well over 50 million folks in the US speak it as their first or second language, meaning the U.S. has more Spanish speakers than Spain itself does.

[Bob Miller]

The term "Few Here" meant those on the Fiberglassrv.com site.....


Now, while that's a good sounding statistic, you also have to read further in the article where "About 1/2" also speak English very well. Meaning that about 25 million don't speak English well (if at all), are usually immigrants and, by personal observation, not going to be a large part of the cadre on this site, much less driving an RV into Mexico.


Arturo, my good friend and neighbor across the street from me is a second generation Mexican American who owns all of the really big RV toys (Diesel dually TV & a toybox), speaks Spanish fluently, still has lots of family in Mexico and he won't drive, much less tow his rig into Mexico, mostly because of the risk of getting his truck stolen.


But I do notice a pattern in this thread. Those that are furthest from Mexico seem to downplay the risks, while those that live closer to Mexico, or who have actually gone there, are much more cautious, which is how I will remain.....

[Ken C]

A RV'er just added Florida to the "dangerous" destination list too I guess
Florida Man Shoots at **** in His RV's Front Yard, Starts Scary Trend

[Bob Miller]

Thanks Ken... I will add this article to my stack of reasons to not visit Florida.

[Mike Magee]

I'll add it to my list of things to do when I vacation in Florida, thanks.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

Thanks Ken... I will add this article to my stack of reasons to not visit Florida.

The PBS program NOVA had a show last night on Florida's sinkhole problem . If you wait long enough ,the way it sounds, Florida will run out of freshwater because brackish water is contaminating the ground water supply and eventually the whole state may sink . With rising ocean levels Florida could end up being underwater . We are looking at buying property in Southern Georgia as an investment because someday it may turn into valuable beach front property.
One more reason to add to your Florida list

[emers382]

Well we just made our first ever trip to Mexico on Monday, we walked across the Rio Grande into Nuevo Progreso and felt pretty safe as there were tons of Canadians and Americans doing the same. We had heard though that a while ago someone with a nice new vehicle who drove over instead of parking on the US side parked in front of a dentist. While having teeth done a guy in mask and gun came in and asked for the keys. The owner had no choice but to hand them over but the thief at least allowed him to get out some personal items before he stole the car!

Adrian


Sent from my iPad using Fiberglass RV

[Steve Outlaw]

Originally Posted by emers382

...but the thief at least allowed him to get out some personal items before he stole the car!

So see, it's not so bad in Mexico......... there's still some decent people down there.

[Randy P.]

Originally Posted by Steve Outlaw

So see, it's not so bad in Mexico......... there's still some decent people down there.

says the guy whose name is literally "outlaw"

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Steve Outlaw

So see, it's not so bad in Mexico......... there's still some decent people down there.

How easy it is to forget that per the car theft stats every 26 seconds a car is stolen in the US. Some of them still have the kids and family dog in them.

When was the last time you heard of someone letting the owner take their belongings out of the car before they stole it! I know the two times I have had a car stolen here in Canada no one came to the door suggesting I remove what I wanted out of it first

[Jim Bennett]

I too have had a couple vehicles stolen. One was last year, and had almost $20k worth of tools in it.

[Glenn Baglo]

We are already at the point that anything that you read on the web should be considered bogus. Soon, everything you read on the web will be bogus and the web will be of no use at all.

[Bob Miller]

Originally Posted by Carol H

How easy it is to forget that per the car theft stats every 26 seconds a car is stolen in the US. Some of them still have the kids and family dog in them.

When was the last time you heard of someone letting the owner take their belongings out of the car before they stole it! I know the two times I have had a car stolen here in Canada no one came to the door suggesting I remove what I wanted out of it first

Crime figures citing "Every X Seconds in the U.S." are popular, but really have only a theatrical meaning without considering the size of the data base they are derived from. As the U.S. has about 2.6 times more population than Mexico and also has about 3 times more vehicles per 1000 population (769 vs 266/1000) than Mexico, it means that there are a lot more vehicles and perps to liberate them.

However:
'Car Theft an $11 Billion Business in Mexico' (be sure to also pull down the "Countries" Tab for more information)
it is apparently the #2 business in Mexico and, as far back as 10 years ago you just didn't drive a Chevrolet Suburban into the US/Mexico frontier area and leave it parked on the street without a guard.

[Ron Merritt]

I'd love to camp on Baja some day. Some day the struggle between the drug lords and government will end and peace will return. I'm sure whoever wins would love the gringos to come back vacationing and spending their $.

I think alot of people just watch too many TV crime dramas. It just fuels the fear to unreasonable levels. If I avoided "sketchy" places in all my travels, I'd never have had any fun or met any interesting people.

[Carol H]

All good numbers Bob but it does not change the simple fact I was attempting to make. There is a higher chance of having your car stolen in the US than Mexico. So I don't get all the theatric's by some in suggesting otherwise.

Not to mention the desire by locals to have a Chevy Suburban has somewhat diminished in recent years due to the large number of folks who work in the auto manufacturing biz and get the employee pricing.... lets just say the street scape of many villages in Mexico over the past 5 years has changed greatly. Suspect most Mexican's would keep their brand new Jetta over a old Suburban any day ;-)

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

Crime figures citing "Every X Seconds in the U.S." are popular, but really have only a theatrical meaning without considering the size of the data base they are derived from. As the U.S. has about 2.6 times more population than Mexico and also has about 3 times more vehicles per 1000 population (769 vs 266/1000) than Mexico, it means that there are a lot more vehicles and perps to liberate them.

However:
'Car Theft an $11 Billion Business in Mexico' (be sure to also pull down the "Countries" Tab for more information)
it is apparently the #2 business in Mexico and, as far back as 10 years ago you just didn't drive a Chevrolet Suburban into the US/Mexico frontier area and leave it parked on the street without a guard.