Each week we reprint one especially interesting "discussion" from our RVtravel.com forum. This installment begins with a forum member reporting on the burglary of his RV with advice about how it may have been prevented. Others weigh in after his posting. If you would like to add a comment, please see the link at the end of this article.

The original post

I am posting this experience so that you may profit by it and hopefully the same thing never happens to you.

I was gone for the weekend and my Montana was in a very respectable Good Sam RV Park. When I returned last Sunday, I discovered the RV had been broken into and burglarized. They tried prying the door open and when that proved too much trouble, they popped the cargo hatch next to the door and entered the Montana through the laundry hamper door in the floor of the bedroom. Problem was the bathroom door was open over the hatch, so they kicked the hamper door off its hinges and then entered. Fortunately I did not keep anything of much value and the loss was confined to what they could carry out with them. I did not have anything in the safe and it was unlocked so they struck out there.

If you have ever been the victim of a crime, you understand the feelings of violation, anger, etc., that go with it. As I look back I realize that there are lessons to be learned, and I should have been more careful and less trusting.

I was parked in a more remote area of the park next to a river. There were plenty of street lights and the RV was flooded with light. The burglars came from the river side unseen and left the same way. That particular weekend there weren't as many fellow RVers around me. I had always heard from the magazines and forums that RV parks are about the safest place you can be.

Lessons learned:
--Leave lights on and a TV or radio playing.
--Notify others in the park that you are leaving and ask them to keep an eye on things.
--Secluded spots are not always best.
--Get rid of the laundry hamper door or seal it off permanently.
--Cargo hatches are easily pried open with a screwdriver even if locked. I found the screwdriver they used.
--Many of you may know this but I did not. Your cargo hatch key fits every other RV regardless of brand. Changing the locks will not help because the door can still be pried open easily.

The owners of the RV park have owned it for eleven years and tell me that this is their first burglary. There's always a first time. I can see now that mine was an easy target waiting to be hit. As they used to say on Hill Street Blues after roll call, "Let's be careful out there."

Responses:

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Hopefully insurance will repair/replace taken and damaged items. You brought up some very good thoughts and ideas that all of us RVers should keep in mind when we are going to be gone for any length of time.

***
One lesson learned is never, never, never accept a site in an RV park that is too isolated or cannot be seen by others. We had our spare tire stolen last trip out. It was there before we went to bed that evening and gone next morning.

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We used to store our 5th wheel in a storage facility (it's in our backyard now.) Our license plate was attached to the back on the plate holder and it was stolen. The storage facility owner told us that this is not unusual. People not wanting to pay taxes and fees often steal plates with long expiration dates. It costs us over $300 to replace it! We now keep our license plate inside the 5th wheel when it is not on the road, and place it in the back window when we're on the road.

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Non-RV, but worth the read: You may have heard of the recent murder of a Clemson, S.C. coed. The crime was committed by a repeat (and registered) sex offender from Tennessee. He gained entry to her home by going in the crawl space and pulling down the return air duct, then entering through the filter grille. I bought my house in 1992 and the crawl space door has never been locked until now.

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Allow me to add another perspective (retired 26 1/2 years as a policeman):

You will NEVER eliminate the possibility of being victimized. You can reduce your chances a bit. If the park owner said this is the first burglary in 11 years then it is STILL the safest place, regardless of the isolation.

I have investigated crimes where everyone of those tips was done. Please do not lessen the joy and quality of your RV lifestyle by doing everything with an eye towards preventing crime.

-- No one "asked" is going to watch your property 24/7.
-- Burglars know TV and lights don't always mean someone is there (they could have knocked first).
-- Doors and windows can be kicked in.
-- Seclusion sometimes means peace and quiet, and houses stacked side by side and apartments are broken into every day.

***
A National Park law enforcer told me of a series of burglaries in the Smoky Mountains in which there was no evidence of a break in. They discovered that the burglar had a master key from working in an RV service business. No isolation for me; I try to know my neighbors and we watch for each other.

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