Security

[MrLynn]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

Have you ever hit a deer with a car? I’m an underachiever in iowa because I’ve only hit two. I have a friend who hit one, got her car fixed and hit another one on the way home from the body shop. So Tom is right, bad things do happen. My day to day routines are not filled with worry but I do try to concentrate on situational awareness and the task at hand. In the fall, during the rut, I come back from town in the early evening and often report “I passed up hitting a deer or two deer on my way in or back”
Lots of things can, and sometimes will go wrong. Your level of comfort, just like your milage, may vary.
Iowa Dave

A college classmate of my daughter's was killed when the car she was riding in hit a deer in Virginia. The deer apparently flew into the back seat where she was sitting.

Fortunately, I've never hit one. They are beautiful, but a plague. I hope the hunters out there get more of them.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by MrLynn

They are beautiful, but a plague. I hope the hunters out there get more of them.

Plague is right. At any given time I'll see 5 or 6 bucks, 20 does and numerous fawns on my property. Here in the Texas Hill Country they eat everything you don't want them to eat, like all your flowers and shrubs. You see a dead deer on the roadside about every mile or so. Way overpopulated. And people scatter deer corn for them in their front yard. They're only contributing to the problem.

One thing that would help is if the TPWD temporarily lifted the 5 animal per year bag limit and expanded the hunting season. Nope.

[cpaharley2008]

The one time we hit a deer, our daughter started to cry because she thought it was Santa's deer we hit.....fortunately both the deer and daughter survived!

[Telescopist]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

Have you ever hit a deer with a car? I’m an underachiever in iowa because I’ve only hit two. I have a friend who hit one, got her car fixed and hit another one on the way home from the body shop.

No. But my wife did. Buick rolled 3x and down a 50 foot embankment. Broken neck. Never did locate the other shoe.

[Dave Walter]

My extra security for my trailer is the 3 ft deep pile of snow on my side yard that a thief would need to shovel in order to access my 19'! I don't worry too much about trailer theft.

[Iowa Dave]

You never know when they will come out of the ditch, across the shoulder and onto the road.
It all happens pretty fast. A few years back I hunted in the rain till shooting hours ended. After I long walk to my pickup I was tired, wet and 75 miles from home. Hadn’t seen any deer that day though I could hear them in heavy brush. Driving home in the rain I underwent the final insult. I had to stop on a blacktop highway while two nice bucks sparred on the centerline. They ignored the car horn and the high beams. Finally ambled off into the woods.
Better than a wreck that night though.

[Chasing Trials]

Originally Posted by WillyB

Here are my thoughts on security.

1) I choose not to spend my life in constant fear of the "what ifs".
** I never spent one second of my life worrying about getting Cancer. Why? Because there is nothing I can do about it. It will either happen or not.

2) I buy insurance and put other protections in place as best I can afford to cover those concerns.
** After 40+ years of paying home owners insurance I received a new roof 2 years ago. Roof damaged - Roof Fixed.

3) I never put myself or my family in situations where danger is high.
** EVER! Period! If it happens unexpectedly, See #2

4) I keep my head on a swivel.
** Why do you think the birds at your backyard feeder are always looking around?

Put your protections in place and enjoy life.

I too lived that way most of my life. I never locked my houses or vehicles 95% of the time. But always lived in pretty good places til now. But also never really HAD anything worth stealing to "most" thieves. No "real jewelry", No TV, simple camera, etc. So if they were going to come in & look? OK, no need to break a slider or something. Drove used work trucks, etc. I do lock house when gone Long trips now, but also the whole property is fenced & "Loose dogs" signs up. I do lock truck while on the road.......& said dogs, are in it, with a Guard Dog sign on windshield. But, I guess it's time to tighten up. This country is not the same.

[Escape_19]

Originally Posted by Chasing Trials

I too lived that way most of my life. I never locked my houses or vehicles 95% of the time. But always lived in pretty good places til now. But also never really HAD anything worth stealing to "most" thieves. No "real jewelry", No TV, simple camera, etc. So if they were going to come in & look? OK, no need to break a slider or something. Drove used work trucks, etc. I do lock house when gone Long trips now, but also the whole property is fenced & "Loose dogs" signs up. I do lock truck while on the road.......& said dogs, are in it, with a Guard Dog sign on windshield. But, I guess it's time to tighten up. This country is not the same.

What do you live in East Flat Rock or something?

[Chasing Trials]

Originally Posted by Escape_19

What do you live in East Flat Rock or something?

Close by................. Yesterday I just saw another Classic 19 nearby! First in the wild, for me.

[HABBERDABBER]

Rogue, damaging deers lurking about and looking for a dust up battle with my brand new vehicle? And then, the rogue, malignant, wretched, thief scoundrels lurking to make off with my Escape!

Say it ain't so, Joe.

No where to run, no where to hide.

[Iowa Dave]

If you can find a nice campground, not too far away, stock your tow rig up with essentials, drive at minimum speed to the CG so you can dodge the deer, travel mid day in full light, get to your site, set up and just stay there till you go home. Minimize exposure, and leave a road guard posted if you need to resupply. Stay outta Compton. You’re welcome.
Iowa Dave

[WillyB]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

If you can find a nice campground, not too far away, stock your tow rig up with essentials, drive at minimum speed to the CG so you can dodge the deer, travel mid day in full light, get to your site, set up and just stay there till you go home. Minimize exposure, and leave a road guard posted if you need to resupply. Stay outta Compton. You’re welcome.
Iowa Dave

Stay outta Compton

Words to live by.

Enjoy life and don't worry about the Boogie Man.

[SteveSgt]

Originally Posted by WillyB

Stay outta Compton

I've ridden a fully-loaded touring bicycle through a bunch of places where people are generally warned never to go. For example:

• Oakland, including Fruitvale and along International Blvd.
• East Palo Alto, CA (which used to be the murder capitol of the Bay Area)
• Some bleak neighborhoods of North Hollywood
• East L.A. around Union Station and southward along the L.A. River (including through Compton) all the way to Long Beach

Not once in those places did I feel harassed or even uncomfortably conspicuous, even with a fancy bike and obvious cycling garb.

[HABBERDABBER]

I also don't fret about the boogie man lying under my bed. It's maybe a fault, but I've had very good experiences in sketchy locales. Maybe dumb luck, as it ONLY takes ONE incident to change an outlook. There's always that "black swan" occurrence to unsuspectingly come along.

But Bambi, lurking at dusk....that's something to reckon with. So far, so good.

Road accidents and injuries are terrible with whacking a moose, so I understand. No moose hereabouts, yet. Huge bodies, spindly, long legs, and don't mess with them in rut. Our good neighbors in Canada know these issues well.

I'm taking to my bed until the Summer Solstice. On second thought, maybe just the Vernal Equinox. That should do well enough.

[Ooshkaboo]

Originally Posted by SteveSgt

I've ridden a fully-loaded touring bicycle through a bunch of places where people are generally warned never to go. For example:

• Oakland, including Fruitvale and along International Blvd.
• East Palo Alto, CA (which used to be the murder capitol of the Bay Area)
• Some bleak neighborhoods of North Hollywood
• East L.A. around Union Station and southward along the L.A. River (including through Compton) all the way to Long Beach

Not once in those places did I feel harassed or even uncomfortably conspicuous, even with a fancy bike and obvious cycling garb.

I’m a bit familiar with California, been to the areas where certain races don’t buy homes in. I’m not as epic as some but me living 10 minutes away from the Walmart in Ferguson that everyone watched on television a few years age go up in flames, let’s say California doesn’t really skare me.
In fact I was in California visiting when the party started, couldn’t land for awhile on the return due to the AK shots being fired at the planes…
10 minutes deeper in and Ferguson looks like Beverly Hills.
I don’t just cruise thru, I stay there-you get to this area we can meet up at 9:00 at night for a soda at the new Quick Trip in Ferguson, the one that replaced the one that went up in flames.

Everyone living here would love to know your secret..

[Iowa Dave]

Sorry I got folks stirred up on neighborhoods by mentioning Compton. I’ve not been in Southern California though one of my cousins was a letter carrier with a route in Watts back in the day and he never had a problem.

I had been watching that tv show on Prince Andrew and his wife Meghan and realized how shallow my education is. I never realized the intensity of the tabloids in England and when they “revealed” or whatever the word is, that Meghan was “straight outta Compton” I was surprised at the inferences and falsehoods the tabloids thrive on. I never knew people in England were that fascinated with stupid “news”.

So if any readers are from Compton and are offended, I’m sorry. I’ve been in some pretty rough areas in a number of US cities and as noted, I can’t say anything about personal mistreatment.

I do prefer small town life, bars, mom and pop stores, etc. I enjoy spending my money in them even if it costs me a little more. Seems like it’s appreciated and for me that’s a plus. Your Milage May Vary.

Iowa Dave

[WillyB]

When I traveled the country for work I used www.neighborhoodscout.com as a quick visual guide to know where the high crime areas of each city where located.

It served as a reminder to keep my head on a swivel when needing to go to or pass through those areas.

[HarleyD]

Originally Posted by DanandDaphne

No but they do carry tools, two wrenches and they could have that Anderson adaptor off of your trailer in a few minutes. Or a grinder and punch since they wouldn't be worried about ruining it.

I would not consider the Anderson hitch any kind of serious theft deterrent.

If you have an Anderson I would recommend getting a fort knox lock.

If you have a standard fifth wheel hitch I would go with a commercial trucking fifth wheel lock.

One of the 3 top reasons we chose a 5th wheel was the security advantage it has. Many 5th wheels are very large and would require a large truck equipped with a 6 or $700 hitch.
A stat I dug up, of all RV types TT's are the most prevalent, 38%, 5th wheels are second at 20%. A graph elsewhere on this forum shows the % of trailers stolen by type of RV.
TT's are stolen at an 82% rate of all RV's stolen, 5th wheels are stolen 2.5% of the time. Makes sense to me.

[cpaharley2008]

There is always the home made 5th hitch setup seen here....