Paranoia

[Happy Camper]

That wasn't confusing at all...

 

[Trailhop]

Just mount a turret. That'll make people think twice. It might crowd your interior a little. But why not? Lol

Lol, for "paraphernalia" I was thinking more along the lines of military dog tags, but a turret would work.

I like the idea of straps to hold the doors closed for a bit longer. It would give me more time to prepare plan B.

In the event that something happens in a super remote area, having the ability to call for help is unlikely to do any good. By the time help arrives whatever the criminals intended action is would be all done.
To (legally) own and carry a gun is not to invite confrontation. No one needs to know you have one until/unless you ever need it, which is unlikely. The gun would be an inanimate object, sitting in a case. So far the only thing my gun has done, besides sporadic target practice, is sit in a case and give me some peace of mind. Peace of mind helps me sleep like a baby at night. Anywhere.

I believe in Canada only a shotgun is legal, for hunting. A shotgun would do the trick in an emergency.

I hope you find a solution that works for you.

 

[Morgana]

Maybe don't pretend to be a veteran if you're not.

 

[Conundrum]

a)
re -- establish camp in the afternoon
.
We watch innumerable camping (and the trendy 'over-landing' [snorts derisively]...) videos.
Occasionally, somebody is searching for camp at...
...Mad-Slasher Midnight.
No good can come of that.
.
If you are wandering around at night:
Can you imagine parking on a night-dormant ant-hill.
Can you imagine parking next to railroad tracks.
Can you imagine parking near the driveway of a school... and at 07:45am, all the drop-off parents are squawking.
.
Our System:
Between camps, we time our vehicular strolls-n-moseys so we arrive during the afternoon.
This gives us time to settle into 'camp-mode' and out of 'travel-mode', fuss with supper, shower, sight-see, and share after-care including swapping tales of the day and folks along the way.
.
This amount of settling time also gives a margin in case of break-downs... or 'taking TheScenicRoute©'.
.
.
b)
re -- self-ignited fears
.
I notice significantly less stress traveling with our caravan chums.
This revolving bunch of Permanent Travelers has centuries of aggregate wisdom.
And we make a dandy Mutual Assistance Group in case of rabid skunks or crippled starving bears.
.
You might infer my disdain for lights and whistles.
Although those tertiary tools can be useful in a secondary sense, they pale in comparison to the primary effective tools:
* a motivated assertive trained group acting as one to protect the Tribe!.

Thank you for the suggestions. Because I drive long distances, it is almost always at sunset that I look for some place to park for the night. I don't set up camp. No awning out. No sitting outside. I mostly travel in areas that are a nighmare of deer flies, horse flies, mosquitos and no-see-ums. As for becoming part of a caravan of campers, that is way beyond my socializing skills.

 

[Trailhop]

Maybe don't pretend to be a veteran if you're not.

Big difference in someone actually pretending to be a veteran and someone using decoy to avert potential trouble. I'm not a vet, but my vet relative is the one who gave me the idea for when I travel alone. I don't need it, though, because I have other methods of safety and protection.
A police bumper sticker or similar could work just as well.

 

[user 423]

Because I drive long distances, it is almost always at sunset that I look for some place to park for the night.

Start earlier in the day?

 

[bullfrog]

Size 13 beat up work boots setting beside a big dog water and food bowl next to a log chain dog collar. If you really want to get crazy use a door knob motion sensor activated recording of a shot gun loading and a pit bull dog barking along with your outdoor lights all available on eBay. Might give you a few seconds to turn the key in the ignition and get moving! Lol!!!

 

[Happy Camper]

Come on bullfrog. All he needs to do is play some banjo music and the bad guys will pucker up and move on. If that doesn't do it just toss in a nice " my camera shows you got a real pretty mouth". That should do it.

 

[Tony's Dream]

I initally had those same concerns. At one point I thought about buying a security wire defense system that connects to a blank shot gun shell casing. You set up a trip wire and if someone trips the wire, boom....the shell goes off. I didn't want to be the one had a deer set that off in the middle of the night and scare the crap out of anyone around me. At some point I had to make a decsion and I did. I try to make the best decsion I can on where to stay. I have never had any nightly encounters and I feel secure in my van. I try to avoid places where I will be the only camper.

In June I stayed at a state park in MO. Since I don't require RV hookups, I stayed in the tent camping area. There were nearly 300 camp sites and I was the only one there. Just up the road, less than 1/2 mile, there were about 30 RVs. I decided to stay and it was great.

 

[rruff]

You are right that my fears are an internal problem. They are also an internal survival mechanism. Because I am in fear of becoming a victim of crime I am seeking ways to avoid that I will become a victim.

This kind of persistent anxiety is not a survival mechanism. It just makes living unpleasant, and it distorts perceptions in a bad way. You don't need fear to survive, and I doubt it ever even helps.

You are believing and reinforcing "fear thoughts"... that's at the root of it. Will that really change if you have better security? It has very little to do with reality, so no amount of security can fix it... unless you really *believe* in your security. But you could believe other things that would work a lot better...

You are much more likely to be killed or seriously injured while driving. Take reasonable precautions, and then forget about it. If you meet the humans you encounter openly, friendly, and without fear, good things happen. Magic. Even with the humans who might have bad intentions. The reality is that we are living in the safest period in history, in one of the safest countries.... and we are all on this earth a short time and will die one way or another.

Someone mentioned conquering fear. To me it's more like surrendering resistance to the emotion. Just let it pass through... don't grab it with your mind and play it back in a loop over and over. Relax. Peace.

 

[user 22017]

The reality is that we are living in the safest period in history, in one of the safest countries....

Very inspiring post, but this is wrong. The U.S. is way down the list of safest countries. We are one of the unsafe ones.

 

[RoamerRV428]

I understand your concerns and safety is always an issue for us of course but you also titled your thread, Paranoia so.....

good posts for security and how to rig your vehicle for protection etc but it is such a wide swing.....paranoia and how you deal with just that?

wishing you the best way safety forward that works for you on the road!!

 

[Morgana]

We could argue about this till the cows come home. On this question, broad generalizations are meaningless. Even if the United States as a whole is a safe country (I have opinions too, but I haven’t studied the complicated statistics on that any more than anyone else here has), whether you’re safe in it depends a lot on who you are, where you are, and what you’re doing.

It makes sense to ask yourself “How much risk am I willing to tolerate to get what I want? How can I manage that risk?”

But it makes no sense to assume the answers will be the same for all of us.
And it makes no sense to speculate about other people’s emotional state.

Being willing to acknowledge that danger exists (for example, by asking questions) is not the same as being timid. Often, the people who refuse to acknowledge risk are more scared, not less.

Because someone — with a different personality, life history, skill set, budget, and network — makes a different choice than you would … does not make them braver, or more timid, or more or less of a lover of life. It just means they made a different choice.

The OP asked about “equipment recommendation and technology advice,” not psychology or sociology. Safety issues are full of trade-offs (like stopping earlier or camping with others vs feeling isolated); we each have to make our own.

 

[rruff]

Very inspiring post, but this is wrong. The U.S. is way down the list of safest countries. We are one of the unsafe ones.

It's true that the US is on the low end compared to developed countries, but we are not unsafe compared to the world.

We are 41 out of 194 for life expectancy.... 77 years vs the best at 84: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy

Regarding the things that kill us, driving accident death rates are >2x homicides.

Murder rate: This is hard to read, but the US is that red bar near the middle. Not so good, but most countries have far stricter gun laws compared to the US. Also, the great majority of homicides occur among gangs and criminal activity, and are not a high danger for the average person.

Though the US is not impressive regarding murder rates, it does much better when looking at assault rates. That could be an upside to having so many guns... ?

 

[rruff]

Oftentimes, noises, voices, the sound of engines approaching and then being turned off nearby, keep me in a state of alert.
I am seeking equipment recommendation and technology advice.

Based on the posts you've made in this thread, it sounds like you are most concerned while sleeping at night in places where you are alone. Lights are not going to be a deterrent if you are isolated. I think carrying a legal length (18" long barrel) tactical 12 ga shot gun with high powered buckshot shells would be your best defense. You are in a locked van so no one is going to sneak in without your notice. You can safely ignore anyone who comes around *unless* they touch your van. If that happens, then it's time to wake up, grab your shotgun, and let everyone know who's within earshot that you are a trigger happy crazy person just itching to blow someones head off!

You need to practice both firing the shotgun (and visualize blowing the baddy's head off), and your "trigger happy crazy person" act, so it will be easy when the time comes. Honestly you'll never need to fire the gun because nobody with even one functioning brain cell is going to break into your van under those conditions. So... you wouldn't even need the gun, really... but you'd probably sleep better if you have it.

Another thing... I'd avoid empty campgrounds if possible, since there is a chance predators might cruise those areas looking for prey. You are better off parking randomly on NF or BLM land. Of course a little scouting might be required then to find a good isolated spot, so best to park before night.

 

[user 22017]

Though the US is not impressive regarding murder rates, it does much better when looking at assault rates. That could be an upside to having so many guns... ?

Doubtful. That chart compares only 17 countries.

Conundrum: I've never been to Alaska. What is the longest you have to drive between towns, state police stations, 24 hour truck stops, etc.? Days? Is there any way you could plan your trip so that you don't have to sleep in isolated places?

 

[Morgana]

Those statistics are more than 20 years old and given without much context.

I'm curious how many of the tactics recommended in this thread for defending yourself from an aggressor or intruder are things people have actually tried and had success with.

IIRC the OP had a fair amount of money to invest in this. Maybe they should consult a security expert.

 

[Conundrum]

This kind of persistent anxiety is not a survival mechanism. It just makes living unpleasant, and it distorts perceptions in a bad way. You don't need fear to survive, and I doubt it ever even helps.

You are believing and reinforcing "fear thoughts"... that's at the root of it. Will that really change if you have better security? It has very little to do with reality, so no amount of security can fix it... unless you really *believe* in your security. But you could believe other things that would work a lot better...

You are much more likely to be killed or seriously injured while driving. Take reasonable precautions, and then forget about it. If you meet the humans you encounter openly, friendly, and without fear, good things happen. Magic. Even with the humans who might have bad intentions. The reality is that we are living in the safest period in history, in one of the safest countries.... and we are all on this earth a short time and will die one way or another.

Someone mentioned conquering fear. To me it's more like surrendering resistance to the emotion. Just let it pass through... don't grab it with your mind and play it back in a loop over and over. Relax. Peace.

US stats 2020 = 1.2 crimes for every 50 people

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States

With the 2021/2022 increase we are probably at 1.5 for every 50 people now

Example: https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/05/us/new-york-city-crime-wave-2022/index.html

Now factor in "after dark", "isolated areas", "low income areas" and what do we get? 5 or 6 crimes for every 50 people = 1 for every 10 people... finding themselves repeatedly in low income, isolated areas, after dark...

Naturally crime is low at night in your house with alarm system, triple locks, in a gated commmunity, in a good income part of town...

 

[rruff]

Those statistics are more than 20 years old and given without much context.

I picked those charts because they were the best ones I could find on the internet. Violent crime is lower in the US now than it was then, so what is your point? You are more than welcome to do your own research and present it.

 

[Jimmyflorida]

My guess would be that those numbers go down considerably if you stay away from major cities that seems to be where the majority of crime happens in my opinion