Warning

[Deleted member 9237]

My son was called out to attend a robbery at 6.30 last night at a supermarket just outside Gandia to a couple traveling in a motorhome. This is how it works so don't be fooled by it. They put lot of oil under your motor watch for you to return with you shopping, then a nicely dress couple in there 50,s that look like they have just finish shopping will tell you that you have a lot of oil from your engine on the floor the man tells you not to start your engine takes his phone out and will tell you he is calling a man from the garage 5 minuets away will come and look at it for you the woman takes the shopping to put in there car and waits to see if his wife gets out of the motorhome to see what's going on most wife's would do this. the other woman will get in the van and take what ever she can find quickly. the man on the phone will tell you the man from the garage well be with you in 5 minutes and go. The couple that are doing this are not Spanish and are driving a Blue BMW so take care he did not get the reg of the car when they drove away .:wave:

 

[Deleted member 967]

Joan did all the shopping and I stayed with the MH wherever we were. We were aware of such scams and also how easy it is to enter a parked unattended motorhome. 8 years of full timing and no problems. It takes teamwork. If I was fueling or filling Gas she would stay in the van, then go and pay when I was back in the van.

 

[Fazerloz]

The moral is, don't trust anybody! Unless you know them!:scared:
Sad but true:sad:

I am glad not everyone has this attitude otherwise we wouldn't have had such wonderful treatment from many people all over Europe when we were traveling by motorcycle. One thing traveling by bike gives you is a bit of faith in people as none of your property is really secure.
In all the years we only had a top box broken into once. In Sintra Portugal in the middle of the night and the bike alarm and me throwing a riding boot at them out of the bedroom window scared them off.

 

[Fazerloz]

You want to try trucking all over Europe and not in tourist areas and not just for holidays. Day in and day out!
Then you really do need to have your wits about you as you are alone and not with mates to back you up!

You have no idea where I've been, or why, or for how long, or who with if indeed anyone. Not all bikers ride in groups some just ride alone or with their partners. Another stereotypical view.
You know virtually nothing about me.

 

[Fazerloz]

The moral is, don't trust anybody! Unless you know them.

The above to me is not just pointing out to "just be aware". The moral is, don't trust anybody! Unless you know them. Its more likely to put fear in some.

 

[n brown]

we travelled alone, and trusted or distrusted according to our instincts , which we really trusted !
but if you're surprised when someone robs a corpse, or steals a family's xmas presents, then maybe you can't grasp the ''junkie mentality'' or what lengths a desperate man might go to to feed his family
most stuff gets nicked because it's been spotted, or surmised- most campers will have binocs for example
if you feel a need for a popular tourist spot, leave the van on a site but generally,don't leave the van in dodgy places

 

[Fazerloz]

Sorry I didn't realise we were arguing. I thought we just had a different outlook on people we meet for the first time. I guess you must have been screwed over or people have tried to, more times than me.
Or maybe I am just naive or lucky.

 

[Byronic]

Spare a kindly thought for the thief, sometimes the boot (or flipflop) can be on the other foot as it were, I feel sorry for the character that nicked my flipflops from the back step in Lagos Portugal, and the one that nicked a pair outside my van in Dakla Morocco poor soles they must have been really desperate.

 

[Fazerloz]

Spare a kindly thought for the thief, sometimes the boot (or flipflop) can be on the other foot as it were, I feel sorry for the character that nicked my flipflops from the back step in Lagos Portugal, and the one that nicked a pair outside my van in Dakla Morocco poor soles they must have been really desperate.

The thief in Sintra must have been ok for footwear as he didn't take the riding boot I threw at him out of the bedroom window.

 

[Byronic]

The thief in Sintra must have been ok for footwear as he didn't take the riding boot I threw at him out of the bedroom window.

Or that you're just lucky that he wasn't a one legged scrote.

 

[Fazerloz]

Or that you're just lucky that he wasn't a one legged scrote.

He did hop it. Must have been the wrong boot.

 

[Byronic]

Probably just fussy, nothing less than Alpinestars would do!

 

[barryd]

Spare a kindly thought for the thief, sometimes the boot (or flipflop) can be on the other foot as it were, I feel sorry for the character that nicked my flipflops from the back step in Lagos Portugal, and the one that nicked a pair outside my van in Dakla Morocco poor soles they must have been really desperate.

Yeah like the person who nicked my cheap deck shoes outside an apartment in Tenerife one night. I left them outside on purpose as they flipping stank. I was going to dump them. Whoever nicked them wouldnt be very popular.

I generally feel pretty safe on aires and wild spots in Europe, especially in France. I guess it depends on where you park. If you were to park in some dodgy suberb of Marseilles or Barcelona then really you only have yourself to blame if you get broken into but a quiet village Aire in France or a wild spot 6000ft up an Alp? I think there have been several occasions ive not even locked the van at night or through the day. People are generally not out to rob you. I reckon your average Aire in France is probably safer than most places to park your van anyway as generally they our out in the open, there is usually other motorhomers around and they are quiet at night. I would quickly notice on an Aire if there was someone skulking around sizing vans up. If I was going to rob a van I would probably pick a shady dark spread out campsite where nobody knows who anyone is.

 

[Byronic]

I generally feel pretty safe on aires and wild spots in Europe, especially in France. I guess it depends on where you park. If you were to park in some dodgy suberb of Marseilles or Barcelona then really you only have yourself to blame if you get broken into but a quiet village Aire in France or a wild spot 6000ft up an Alp? I think there have been several occasions ive not even locked the van at night or through the day. People are generally not out to rob you. I reckon your average Aire in France is probably safer than most places to park your van anyway as generally they our out in the open, there is usually other motorhomers around and they are quiet at night. I would quickly notice on an Aire if there was someone skulking around sizing vans up. If I was going to rob a van I would probably pick a shady dark spread out campsite where nobody knows who anyone is.

I'd agree with all of that. The chances of Hanibal Lector wannabe turning up on some rural French aire or village carpark are probably less than a similar occurrence taking place in your supposedly safe little home in the UK. Unfortunately I don't have the stats. However an aire situated near some urbanised jungle does present the local lowlife with easy and convenient pickings when they note a vehicle on it's own loaded with Xmas presents one might say. You just have to weigh up each situation on its meritsand demerits and not get paranoid.