Article by Greg Rickman, Tiffin Ambassador
(The following article is part three in a three-part series on staying safe while traveling)
This third and final article on situational awareness will focus on how to stay safe once you reach your campground or other RV destination. But as in past articles, I will start with the definition of situational awareness. I believe this a mindset and cannot be stated enough. One last time, here it is.
Situational awareness by definition is the ability to perceive, understand, and effectively respond to one’s situation. It involves comprehending a given circumstance, gathering situational relevant information, analyzing it, and making informed decisions to successfully address any potential risks, hazards, or events that might occur.
In simple terms, situational awareness means being aware of what’s happening around you and understanding the situation, so you can make informed decisions and react appropriately.
Hopefully if you have read the other articles on this topic, that definition will stick in your mind. So let’s move on.
How many times has this ever happened to you? You plan a trip, making reservations and planning fuel stops along the way. Everyone is excited about this journey and things are going great. But then you pull into THAT campground. You know, the one that just doesn’t feel right. It just doesn’t look like the website you researched or the photos on the internet. It looks a little shady but not in the leafy tree way. Now what do you do?
This has happened to me several times. No matter how much research you do, we all know the internet sometimes lies. You pull in after a long travel day or after dark only to discover the place you thought was going to be heavenly suddenly looks just the opposite. Maybe it looks run down or trashy. The roads are broken up or in poor condition. The employee working the front desk at the office looks like the guy in The Shining movie. (Hint: if he introduces himself as Johnny, run like Forrest Gump!)
Again, now what do you do? You’ve made all these plans and everyone wants to set up and start having fun. But your gut is telling you this is not good. My advice: listen to your gut. Don’t risk your safety or the safety of your family for a reservation. As inconvenient as it is, there is always a better place nearby or a short drive away. You would probably be fine if its just a one night stay but anything longer would not be comfortable. I had this happen to me in north Florida one time. I booked a very large park that I had been wanting to stay at for years. It offered beautiful campsites in a wooded setting with evening entertainment and lots of amenities. I made my reservation for November 1st thinking we would have the park to ourself. What I didn’t know is that the park hosts a yearly Halloween event that has turned over the years into a drunken spectacle that I’m sure causes headaches for the local law enforcement. When we pulled up that morning, it looked like a scene from the Night of the Living Dead zombie movie. There were numerous people stumbling down the road, wet and muddy from the overnight rain and obviously in some kind of stupor. The roads were so rutted I couldn’t get down them. The whole park was a disaster. To their credit, the park apologized and refunded my deposit. Even though I didn’t know where I was going to go, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. After explaining the situation to a nearby state park, I was able to secure a reservation there for the duration of the trip. I felt like I had dodged a bullet. So, listen to your gut. If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.
Now, moving on. You have arrived at your destination, you get all set up and are ready to have fun. The campground is nice and everything is great. But that doesn’t mean you drop your guard. Remember, situational awareness is staying alert to ever changing situations and being prepared to react to them. You don’t have to be hyper vigilant, just vigilant.
During your campground stay, it is important to remember all of the other tips about keeping safe. Personally, I try to avoid holidays and other popular times if I am camping in an actual campground. They tend to be more crowded during popular times which sometimes leads to rowdy campsite neighbors. The 55 and up resorts tend to be more quiet and restrained so I am fine staying at these locations during these times. If you do encounter a neighbor who is disturbing your peace, try not to escalate the issue. If you think you can calmly approach them then try to, but remember a little lost sleep is not worth an altercation. Most people abide by the campground rules so this is a rare problem.
Some safety tips are obvious. Never leave anything valuable out unsecured. Electric bikes, scooters and other expensive items are prime targets for thieves. I lock my Ebikes to the wheel or the slide frame of the motorhome. Also never leave any food or food residue as it attracts animals that can cause damage or scare your socks off! Always let a family member or friend know your itinerary. If you are a single traveler, make your campsite look as though there is more than one person staying there such as setting up more than one chair outside. For single female travelers, an old set of men’s work boots outside your door would help deter a would-be opportunist.
Now let’s talk about stuff. And what I mean by that is tools, not for working but for protection. Everyone knows that part of being prepared for the unknown is to have the right equipment with you. For example, you should always have a working flashlight, a well stocked first aid kit with blood clot packs and a tourniquet. Always have a fully charged cellphone with the power cords or a satellite phone if you are in a remote area. Keep an old fashioned whistle in your pocket. Depending on where you are, have some pepper spray or bear spray. And, know where the nearest hospital or urgent care is located.
You should also have some type of weapon to protect yourself. As a former law enforcement officer, I am a firm believer in carrying a firearm. But I also realize that they are not for everyone, especially those who are not trained in their use. A person who is untrained in the use of a firearm can only make a dangerous situation worse for everyone. I am also not a believer in those types of weapons that look like a firearm but shoot a pepper spray or tear gas bullet. While it sounds wonderful since it is less lethal and legal to carry, the sad reality is these types of situations develop so quickly and are usually over within seconds. There simply is no time to: (A) find or remember where you put it, (B) get it out of the case and try to remember how to load it, and (C) come up on point and dispel the threat. If a situation develops where you need such a weapon, the stress level alone will most likely overcome most people. And with some of these criminals today fueled by drugs, that type of weapon might not have any effect. It might make you feel all warm and fuzzy to have one in your RV but that feeling quickly fades when things go bad and you really need something NOW.
Lastly, one of the best tools you have is your mind. Sometimes a situation just doesn’t look right. You see something while camping that catches your eye and just doesn’t add up. I realize that people these days are reluctant to get involved for fear of doing the wrong thing or coming up with the wrong assumption. Nobody wants to offend anyone, I get it. So I’ll wrap up this series with this tragic story. I won’t mention the campground or the victim’s names out of respect for their families and the employees there.
In August, 2025, a lone male subject checked into a campground in a beautiful area near the Shenandoah National Park. This subject had NO camper or RV of any kind and was traveling in a small car. This subject was very large in stature, reportedly around 400 lbs. I only mention this because it helps explain who strange the situation was. He later took a tour of a cavern nearby and then purchased a sleeping bag and a large “Rambo” style hunting knife at a local Wal-Mart. That night, he slept in the sleeping bag ON TOP of the picnic table. Extremely odd to see someone doing that these days.
The next morning, local law enforcement responded to a burglary at a store near the campground. The subject mentioned above had rammed his car into the front of the store and then illegally entered it. Nothing was stolen from the store and the car was abandoned there. A search began for the man who had now been identified.
The next night around midnight, a 911 call reporting a home invasion was made from a residence nearby. This same male subject had broken into the home through the front door where he confronted a 62 year old teacher who lived there with her husband and fatally stabbed her with the knife he had purchased at Wal-Mart. He then attacked the husband, who had rushed to help his wife. The violent encounter spilled out into the driveway where the husband was able to retrieve a firearm from his vehicle where he shot and killed this individual. An absolutely horrific tragedy.
But here is the strange part. This individual had no prior interactions with this family. He was not from the area or even the state. He had no prior criminal history or interaction with law enforcement. This was a completely random attack. But what if somebody had said something? You know, the “see something, say something” mentality. Could something have been done? Probably not, but based on my training and experience I can tell you that the entire situation is not normal. People just don’t rent a camping spot and then sleep on the picnic table, especially in these days and times and even more so considering the large size of this male subject. As I look at this horrific situation, I ask myself what would I have done. To me, sleeping on a picnic table with a large knife and no other camping gear nearby or in his vehicle looks suspicious, like he was running from something. He could sleep in his car at a rest area, so why a campground? A dozen questions go through my head but one thing is clear: a call to law enforcement to check this guy out would have been warranted. Would it have changed the outcome? Maybe, maybe not.
But this is what I mean by always being aware of your situation. The situation might not be directly around your campsite or RV, it could be something you observe nearby. Something that don’t look or feel right. Something that don’t pass the “smell” test. Something you report to the campground office or even law enforcement.
As I wrap up this series, it is my hope that something I wrote here will stick in your mind and prevent or get you through a bad situation. The world is not the same as it was when I camped with my father and grandfather. But a little vigilance and some common sense will get you through most situations.
Stay safe out there and happy travels!
Greg’s dream was to own a motorhome after his retirement from a long career in law enforcement. He and his wife Tina live in Baneberry, TN part of the year and travel this great country in their Tiffin Phaeton 40IH, enjoying the excitement of exploring new places and meeting new people. Their motto is “If you can’t wear shorts, flip flops and a t-shirt, we ain’t going!”
