FYI Becoming wary of traveling outside of state

[Joe Hogan]

Planning our trip north to Nappanee, leaving Monday.
Our first stop is Creekfire Campground. Talking with the front desk there, they readily admit there is a theft problem in the county and at the campground.
With the theft issues clearly present at Creekfire Campground in GA, and the night running street gun battles in Pueblo CO earlier this year, we have become very wary of travel outside of Florida.
Truckers suffering armed shakedowns at Truckstops, etc. We have real concerns with travel in and around interstates.

Granted we take as many precautions as are reasonable, lock everything, don't leave valuables unattended, etc. But the thought of armed thugs roaming Truck Stops, and potentially campgrounds has me on edge. The last thing we want is to have to rely on law enforcement to resolve an issue, report an issue, or explain my take events after a more serious issue has taken place.

Thoughts??

 

[Neal]

You can't be a prisoner of wherever. Just pick your CG's wisely and if necessary take longer days to get to better land. Leave earlier and do a 6-8 hour day with good breaks, etc.

 

[sheridany]

I echo what Neal said. I don’t trust reviews at all. I have never heard of truckers getting a shakedown and maybe that’s happening on the east coast. Common sense prevails and yes there are sketchy characters sometimes at truck stops I fuel at. I would not fuel late at night unless it’s a stop I know well and I certainly don’t hang around. I get my fuel and leave. You might consider a byrna if that makes you feel safer. Nothing should deter you from enjoying the lifestyle.

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[MemoriesByTheMile]

IMO, having more information at our fingertips can create an information overload, leading to too many “what if” scenarios.
The old phrase, “ignorance is bliss”, is one that I like as I can over analyze and cause my own anxiety over a potential corner case. We plan and research our stops but if an area feels sketchy when we get there, we just move on.
In our 4 years traveling the country, using rest stops and truck stops heavily while in transit from one area to another, we have only moved on a couple times. Never had any issue with safety.
We have an alarm system on the trailer and on the coach but despite plans to use them, we have never used the coach alarm system. Only used the trailer alarm twice, and haven’t bothered since.
And it’s not like we drive something that blends in, we tend to get more attention than we like.
Reaching a point in life where I don’t want to cause myself more stress and worry. Want to have peace and enjoy life. As long as the RV fits into that mentality, we will continue to use it. Once it stops fitting into that mentality, it will go.
As the ole’ song from the late 80’s said, “don’t worry - be happy”!

 

[ARD]

I have never heard of truckers getting a shakedown and maybe that’s happening on the east coast.

It’s happening in CO and Texas. In CO Venezuelan gang members were requiring payment of $50 for truckers to stay night in truck stops or their tires were slashed. Reports on a trucker site indicate an activist group are slashing tires in Texas. I’ll attach post.

@Joe Hogan I travel all over the place and you too can do so safely. Like Neal said, it’s a matter of picking your CGs wisely.

It is unfortunate about the Newmar rally in CO. It has become a real mess in certain areas. Personally, I would not stay at Creekfire. It is not located in a good area and quite frankly, it never was a nice park in the first place IMO.

Wishing you Safe and Happy Travels to the mothership.

 

[ARD]

 

[Buc]

Be alert, not paranoid.

You’re likely safer in Pueblo than in much of Florida.

 

[Joe Hogan]

Be alert, not paranoid.

You’re likely safer in Pueblo than in much of Florida.

Pueblo CO Crime Overview​

According to various sources, Pueblo, CO has a higher-than-average crime rate compared to national averages. Here are some key statistics:

• Total crime rate: 8,010 per 100,000 residents, which is 244.65% higher than the national average (2,324 per 100,000).
• Violent crime rate: 1,621 per 100,000 residents, which is 338.5% higher than the national average (370 per 100,000).
• Property crime rate: 6,390 per 100,000 residents, which is 228.5% higher than the national average (1,954 per 100,000).

Some specific crime rates in Pueblo, CO:

• Murder: 25.8 per 100,000 residents (compared to 6.4 per 100,000 in Colorado and 6.3 per 100,000 nationally).
• Rape: 162.5 per 100,000 residents (compared to 63.4 per 100,000 in Colorado and 40.0 per 100,000 nationally).
• Robbery: 321.4 per 100,000 residents (compared to 72.6 per 100,000 in Colorado and 66.1 per 100,000 nationally).
• Assault: 1,110.8 per 100,000 residents (compared to 350.1 per 100,000 in Colorado and 268.2 per 100,000 nationally).

 

[Neal]

Check out Albuquerque - should you not go to the Balloon Fiesta? It's terrible there, but in the wrong places as with most states/cities.

 

[Texas Clodhopper]

Check out Albuquerque - should you not go to the Balloon Fiesta? It's terrible there, but in the wrong places as with most states/cities.

I believe this to be true. I would guess the crime rate in a 5 mile radius of the Pueblo fairgrounds is much higher than other areas of Pueblo. The TA situation that Ard alludes to has been a high crime rate area for the past 50 years.

 

[J&JD]

we have become very wary of travel outside of Florida.

Come on Joe, it’s all good! Keep on truckin & rving. Rv’d through all 48 contiguous states for 20 years in a pusher with no threat to our wellbeing by bad guys. Plan ahead and enjoy!!

 

[AbdRahim]

Sorry to hear about Creekfire. That was on my bucket list. As far as truck stops go, I never had a problem or head of a problem when I was there. I have been sleeping in truck stops and rest areas for 50 years.

That being said. The entire world is becoming more evil. We have several generations of people who grew up with no conscience or sense of right and wrong. Seems like in Fl if you accidentally cut someone off on the road or don’t move fast enough they try to shoot you. If they can’t do that they want to run you off the road. Some people seem to get a kick out of cuting off large vehicles and hitting the brakes. Sees like the advertising of lawyers getting people hundreds of thousands of dollars, likely feuls this behavior.

I like truckstops and rest areas far away from major cities. I sometimes leave the dash cam running all night, but but mostly not.

Yes. Stuff happens, but even if one sells one’s rig and stays locked up at home, there is no guaranty of total safety. The Bible warns of these times. I may not be allowed to say that, but fact is fact. Nowit seems as a great majority of people ignored the warnings at their own risk. Unfortunately it put all of us at risk.

I do have a doorbell camera on the coach. My plan is to put another on the grill, two on the mirror arms an one on the rear. I sleep a little lighter in these places and have been known to peak ot several windows in the middle of the night if I hear something even close to suspicious.

Heck. It is dangerous to go to Walmart in the middle of the day now. A man tried to push a woman into her own trunk while she was loading groceries, in broad daylight. Luckily, a bystander saw and chased the man away.

Gangs are hiring teams of kids and shipping them various places to rob vehicles. They are trained to look for weapons. They hit a few places and then are shipped elsewhere. Our campground got hit last year.

All you can do is say your prayers, stay alert and enjoy your life.

On every trip lately I get approached at truckstoos by people with creative stories, asking me for money. On the last trip one of those people drove up in a small car, with a sad story. I was filling the coach with gas. I just pointed at it and indicated where the money is going. He got the message and drove away.

I often worry about the weather, hurricanes, tornados, etc. Can’t do much about them but try to dodge them, while praying for safety. Life is risky.


Ok, I have bored you enough.

 

[Rosy]

Be alert, not paranoid.

You’re likely safer in Pueblo than in much of Florida.

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[team bradfield]

Why on earth stay at a truck stop, rest area or walmarts, I only stay at real reviewed campgrounds. I travel with.a GSD, pepper spray and.a S&W 38, only travel in daytime. 30 years RV'ng not a single issue, GSD never used

 

[Texas Clodhopper]

View attachment 26014

I did some checking and this incident happened in Tennessee, not Texas. There was a shooting at a neighborhood Baytown gas station a few years ago with a death. Neither of the other reported Houston problems can be verified. The Hoston papers and none of the Hoston TV stations reported any of these incidents.

 

[AbdRahim]

Why on earth stay at a truck stop, rest area or walmarts, I only stay at real reviewed campgrounds. I travel with.a GSD, pepper spray and.a S&W 38, only travel in daytime. 30 years RV'ng not a single issue, GSD never used

For in and out overnight - saves a lot of money. Coffee, breakfast, fairly clean toilet, gas, supplies,, all right there.overnight at a campground, I would not even bother to open the slide, much less connect anything other than shore power.

 

[Joe Hogan]

Check out Albuquerque - should you not go to the Balloon Fiesta? It's terrible there, but in the wrong places as with most states/cities.

Understood, my point is to be aware of where you are, at all times. I live in a reasonably safe area and if I am not paying attention might let my guard down.

When we travel not only am I aware of the environment but also aware of state laws and law enforcement or lack thereof.
There are towns in Florida that we avoid, especially crossing I10 in Duval County. Also outside of West Palm beach. Tampa is getting that way as well but we have business reasons to be there.

Ballon Festival should have all kinds of security but prime theft territory. When we went there we were very aware of the environment. But then again it was 2019, much different than today.

 

[DennisT]

Situational awareness at all times is a good thing. Don’t have to be stressed out but paying attention to surroundings and what is happening.

We have got to areas we were going to stop for the night and decided to roll on down the road. Not worth the chance if you feel it is sketchy.

Choice of personal protective equipment available is also a good thing.

 

[Neal]

In my drive home last trip I ended up in downtown east Chicago due to a re-route for some back way into a truck stop for some reason. Talk about joy. My plan for breakdown was leave the RV, get in the toad and go! Bye bye RV. So yeah, there are times we end up in not so great places, not so great campgrounds, etc. We've all been to sketchy locations, I've yet to go someplace and leave because of the sketchy'ness but never rule that option out. Lock basements, lock doors, and be aware. It's all part of the experience in seeing the country, it ain't all good out there.

 

[redbaron]

Thursday my dad was driving from NIRVC Lewisville to Alvarado in his canyon star. An unmarked sedan with a light bar that was temporarily installed attempted to pull him over. When he came along side Dad could see that it was clearly not a police vehicle (no equipment, cage, gun, etc.)

Dad ignored him thinking if it was real helicopters and marked cars would soon appear. After about 3 miles the car removed the temporary light bar and sped off.

Use common sense.