Motor Coach Security

[ken&ellen]

In an earlier post by Bill Adams on Prevost-Stuff he had commented on the ease of forced entry to the Prevost bedroom windows. Then last week Lew had mentioned the " jailer " who goes from compartment to compartment with a large set of keys. Belt fed firearms aside, Jerry, what is the consensus of the group as to security aboard the motor coach....either on the road or in a campground. Electronic security? Defensive weapons? Lighting around the coach? Guard animals?
According to a report quoted in a past issue of FMCA 65% of RV's are thought to have some type of weapon aboard; therefore the criminal element avoids this segment of the traveling population. Is this overstated?
As always your opinions or comments are valued. Thanks. Ken & Ellen

[truk4u]

I would suggest having a good security system, lock the Coach and all bays, be armed and most of all, be aware of your surroundings. I know there is a lot of controversy regarding firearms and the various state regulations, but being a former Police Officer and pro gun, I wouldn't be without one. If you are a gun owner and are concerned over the various state regs and you don't have a carry permit, one option is to carry a shotgun. Most states are shotgun friendly and if your real concerned, separate the ammo from the gun.

If none of this works for you, buy a Doberman.

[Jerry Winchester]

I am sure most of these coaches, mine included, have an alarm system. We also utilize the electric locks on the bays but we are always prepared to go on offense.

While I seriously doubt someone would try to enter the coach while we are there, our coach doesn't sit out at night without us in it. The exceptionn is when it sits in front of our house the day before we leave. But our neighborhood is patrolled and the most significant crime is door to door sales.

So our coach has the standard motion detection and pressure sensors in the floor, so someone getting in would be startled and the dead would arise.

Then there is always the 9mm Sig (and before all you 45 cal guys get cranked up, if you can put 8 rounds in the X ring, a 22 will work) and we have a Winchester 1300 Defender shotgun with 4x00 that will open a hole in the coach if need be.

[MangoMike]

No firearms in the Mothership as I would be afraid Mrs. Mango may use it on you know who.

Jerry, who installed the pressure sensitive floor and motion detectors. This is the first I've heard of this on a bus.

Mike

[Jerry Winchester]

Mike,

I don't know the answer to that. It was installed on the coach when I got it. It has switches to arm the "mikes" and "pressure mats". On my home alarm, the only time it has gone off was when we left and the girls had a helium balloon upstairs. When the AC came on, it caused it to move and the motion detector went off and the alarm company called me. I think I need a big barking dog alarm to go off inside when we are gone.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Lew pulled our chain on a post on the other forum about not locking our bays, but over the years we have come to realize that Prevost owners are not well loved. The concensus is we all got our money by taking advantage of somebody else.

For that reason we trust no one. When overnighting anywhere but in a campground everything is locked. We have alarms, but for whatever reason we have never activated the system. Maybe it is because, like Jerry, we are inside. We have a double barrel shotgun, but by the time we got it out from under the bed, found the shells, loaded the gun, and pointed it, the bad guy would have everything, including the fillings in our teeth.

Having said that we are now likely to bring a pistol with us, and illegal or not, keep it loaded and accessible to us. Our grandson was our previous factor, and now that he is a high schooler and does not spend a lot of time with us conditions will permit the use of a pistol.

[Kevin Erion]

I grew up in So California and now I have 3 beautiful girls and we lock the door and the bay doors. I am sorry but no guns and no alarms. I guess I think that I am safe because of where I choose to park. If I make a bad choice, I must be stupid, do I want to be so afraid of the area that I pick to spend the night with my family.
Time will tell,
Kevin

[rfoster]

My coach is an automatic, my other automatic is .44 There a lot of idiots on drugs these days---- I'll ask questions later.
Roger

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I want to clarify a previous post. My original line of defense if things get ugly is to drive away.

We would have never ever considered personal protection if my wife had not had a guy in a MO welcome center hang with her, asking questions as she walked the dog. After she got in the coach we watched the cops arrest this guy and take a large knife from him. We don't know why the cops arrested him, but we do know I watched him talking to her from the coach and all I had to protect her if he decided to do something bad was a butter knife.

I'm in full agreement with Roger.

[ken&ellen]

Jon, Ellen & I have gone through a defensive training program and both carry concealed weapons. Actually, Ellen, qualified number one, in the class, on the firing range.
The first and most important rule is to be aware of your surrounding and avoid situations that are potentially dangerous. We were at a rest stop, late one night, to change drivers in route to Atlanta last year. Our routine, when stopped, is to check the toad vehicle. Ellen jumped out and I watched her on the camera as well as the mirrors. As she walked back along the coach she was approached by two individuals who, as it turns out, were begging for money. Although, I was prepared to come to her aid I was very concerned for her saftey. The point here is that we let our routine dictate the proceedure instead of following our training to go together to check the toad. We now go together to walk the dogs, fuel stops, or any function in and around the coach at night. Ken & Ellen