Being careful

[Donna D.]

Don't forget the "test" button on your smoke or carbon monoxide alarm as an emergency alarm. If truly desperate this would give either a 4 legged or 2 legged intruder a loud warning.

Also, if you have an alarm on your tug... press the alarm button on the key fob! This tip has been running around the internet for a while as a free alarm system for your regular home. Keep the vehicle keys by the bed at night and press the alarm button if you hear an intruder.

[Roger H]

Folks, I hate to burst your collective bubbles about noisemakers, but the ADT security commercials where the alarm sounds and the crook runs off are just plain fiction. Residential alarms pinpoint exactly the time the burglary occurred, but that's it. Car alarms, other than alerting you that your alarm is sounding, are just useless. How many of you have called the police when you hear a car alarm? How many of you have set your alarms off by accident and other than you being embarrassed, no one else even takes more than a passing notice? A youngster might be alarmed by the noise and run off, but it's been my experience that someone who's determined to victimize you will just ignore it, and no one else will notice it enough to do anything other than to be annoyed.

I'm not trying to be a wet blanket, and certainly anything you do may help and is probably better than doing nothing, but I don't want anyone to get a false sense of security by relying on devices or technology to keep themselves "safe". One of the biggest myths circulating in society is that security cameras make us safer. If that's the case, why are there so many crimes captured on video? If they're keeping us more safe as a crime deterrent, then why are they capturing so many crimes in progress? They may be helpful in identifying a suspect at some point, but the sales claims the technology sector is making just don't stand up in real life.

Roger

[Donna D.]

I know what you're saying Roger...and believe you're 99% correct. BUT, alarms going off in the middle of the night or for longer periods of time in areas where they are not normally heard, does get more attention than those in asphalt parking lots at the local mall. If I hear my neighbors car alarm go off for long minutes in the middle of the night... I'm going to investigate. As would a lot of people. The same goes while camping.

Now the middle of the afternoon

[tracy.c]

Okay, so how about
4. If your dog finds someone not to his liking, trust the dog, there IS a reason for it, but
5. If your dog finds people to his liking, take that with a grain of salt too, as many dogs are just plain friendly with all, and you will need to assess numbers 1, 2, and 3 for yourself.

Excellent advice! My boxers are lovers so I need to take that with a grain of salt for sure.

[tracy.c]

Also, if you have an alarm on your tug... press the alarm button on the key fob! This tip has been running around the internet for a while as a free alarm system for your regular home. Keep the vehicle keys by the bed at night and press the alarm button if you hear an intruder.

WOW that is an excellent tip! I never would have thought of that one. thx!

[Gina D.]

Roger, I know zactly what you are talking about.. when at home. I am afraid I am guilty of ignoring the alarm of the neighbors car (Which goes off frequently.. I wish he would get it adjusted)

BUT...... in a close community of folks trying to sleep in not so soundproof trailers, tents and "other" temporary housing, a car alarm brings them out in droves to go shmack the owner for allowing it to disturb everyone. No matter what the original motivation, it DOES get peoples attention and makes them be visible.. go from there.

In the boonies, however, your expert observations are no doubt spot on.

As a side note, this is the first car I have owned with a remote. I sure enjoy fixing that sinking feeling that I forgot to lock the beast, after I have snuggled in bed in the trailer, by simply pointing the button, clicking, and rolling back over to snore.

[Loren G. Hedahl]

One thing that we do that I didn't see in the comments preceding is -- even though we could afford a much larger, newer, more expensive rig -- we choose to appear well experienced travelers.

Everything is functional, but certainly not new and spiffy. Our Scamp is older, with minor nicks, scratches added attachments, etc. Our tow is an 83 Jimmy diesel that is on its second engine as well as more than several transmissions.

We kinda look like po' folks and we like it that way. Probably not worth messing with.

[peterh]

Hold on, hold on.
I have a gun. A 50 caliber Black Powder Hawkin gun. Can you see me trying to load this muzzle loader while shaking so hard I can’t get the powder in the barrel? Then trying to take my one shot.
Nope, that wouldn’t work.

Mike, this is where older technologies are so much more dependable than new ones. Knocking an arrow takes moments, and I've never known an archer to mistake his toes for an intruder.

--P

[Pete Dumbleton]

Knocking an arrow takes moments, and I've never known an archer to mistake his toes for an intruder.

Unless the archer is using a crossbow, not a longbow...

Here's a black powder pistol that might be easier to unlimber, but you'd really want to load it ahead of time...

Duckfoot pistol kit

[David & Leslie]

Hi folks,

Tonight we are between Butte and Bozman, Montana in a truck stop (they even have a Casino) - We are safe!

Here is something I will always remember (Who is Tom Bodett?)

With that said we will leave you for the night.

The travelin' GEEZERS
Dave 'n Leslie.

[Alf S.]

Hi folks,

Tonight we are between Butte and Bozman, Montana in a truck stop (they even have a Casino) - We are safe!

Here is something I will always remember (Who is Tom Bodett?)

With that said we will leave you for the night.

The travelin' GEEZERS
Dave 'n Leslie.

Hi: He's the guy at Motel6 that keeps leavin' the light on
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Bigfoot Mike]

Tom Bodett, Click on http://www.bodett.com/ and click on listen in the upper right corner.

I love the way this guy writes and talks. His voice is so easy to listen to.

[Pete Dumbleton]

I had the opportunity to hear him give a prepared talk at a library gathering in Poulsbo WA a few years ago -- He is a riot!!

BTW, casinos are often a good place to overnight park if they are open 24 hrs; if not, I ask. If I park, I consider it good etiquette to drop some money in the slots or get some food.

[Nancy McKenzie]

Most of us have a key fob for our vehicles. I keep mine close by to hit the emergency alarm button. I use this for my home and in my RV. Hopefully the noise would draw attention and scare the boogy man away.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Most of us have a key fob for our vehicles. I keep mine close by to hit the emergency alarm button. I use this for my home and in my RV. Hopefully the noise would draw attention and scare the boogy man away.

That boogy man won't like that, he's likely to bump his head on the underside of your bed. That might make him mad.

[Bobbie Mayer]

I am normally not a fearful person. I do believing in going with your gut on bad feelings. Many years ago my sister and I were traveling across country, and had set up the tent and cooked dinner, but a guy hanging around nearby was giving us a bad feeling so after dinner we packed up and left. Drove all night instead, but to this day I think we avoided a bad guy.

In general, though, I think I'm far safer on the road than in Fresno.

Now my lines of defense are: a) looking poor. Four dogs as an early warning system. c) paying attention.

What I like least about camping is using public restrooms with no one else around. I do use them, but not in the middle of the night, and I am careful to look around before closing the door behind me. I kind of like the baseball bat idea.

Bobbie

[Pete Dumbleton]

Agreed!! Your gut is a reaction to observations that your subconscious has made on a whole bunch of subliminal input and it's wise to heed it. It might just be someone on a TV show that a person looked like or it might be meaningful, but it's best not to find out that it was meaningful....

[Judy Powell]

I travelled alone in my 1978 Boler this summer, well, not quite alone. I had my trusty 16 year old Shetland Sheep Dog, but she is blind in one eye and can't see with the other, almost totally deaf and most of her teeth have fallen out. Needless to say, unless I can get her to bark, she's not much help if someone decides to enter my trailer without permission. On the other hand, my 19 pound cat with fangs 1/2 inch long and claws almost the same length, would certainly provide me with some time to grab my baseball bat or whatever other weapon I might have with me at the time, if I threw the cat right into the face of the intruder. The intruder would never be able to remove the cat in time to see what I hit him with or if I just fled the trailer. Thankfully, in the 10 days I drove around central Ontario, this tactic was not required.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Ok, I'm gonna be a bit serious on this issue for a change.
I never really thought about it, but there's some things I do. Safety isn't reserved to the ladies.
When camped in a campground, the first thing I do is get to know my neighbors. I don't have to go up and introduce or carry on a conversation. What I do is observe them, their equipment, and style of camping. After observing people camping, and the vehicles around the campground you'll get to know what the norm is. You'll also learn what type of campgrounds to avoid. Here in Oregon, unless I'm camped with a group, I avoid most State Campgrounds during peak camping season. Off season, they're great.

I find that the people in the more remote campgrounds are generally quieter, less likely to be a problem. Because of the remoteness, the bad guys aren't likely to travel that far out the city. There's not enough victims in a small remote campground.

The more you're out the more you'll know when something isn't right. If you're jittery about something, go with jitters.

Then there's the odds. Yesterday a lady with a camper had an old tree fall on her camper and killed her. The odds against this happening are huge. The same with problems in most campgrounds, the odds against something happening are huge. With a little observation the odds get even better. Remember there's no guarantees is this life, so you have to with the odds and enjoy life.

[Greg A]

One thing that we do that I didn't see in the comments preceding is -- even though we could afford a much larger, newer, more expensive rig -- we choose to appear well experienced travelers.

Everything is functional, but certainly not new and spiffy. Our Scamp is older, with minor nicks, scratches added attachments, etc. Our tow is an 83 Jimmy diesel that is on its second engine as well as more than several transmissions.

We kinda look like po' folks and we like it that way. Probably not worth messing with.

We practice this philosophy as well. Exactly, why I don't want to do a custom paint job that makes the rig look like $$$$.
Kind of a chameleon approach to security.