to carry a pistol or not

As this will be our inaugural West Coast road trip in our new motorhome. I do not intend to carry any pistols on my person, but I am considering including one or two in my initial packing for a 6 month visit to the West Coast. Our FBO will be Crescent City, CA and Brookings Harbor, OR. I anticipate carrying no more than 5K in cash plus the usual credit cards while staying in Good Sam type places. Our experience as adults has been limited to a few weeks of rental traveling in VA and NC.

I have some experience traveling with my parents as a teenager in their motorhome. Dad always kept at least one pistol at hand, both at home and on the road; he was old school and always carried a pocket knife too. We lived on a small ranch out in the sticks of Lake County, CA the closest neighbor was 3/4 mile away.

My research reveals various rules for each state, often with conflicting regulations regarding weapons on board. Some states treat a motorhome as a domicile while others a vehicle with different rules for each. So I thought I would seek the collective wisdom of the group.

I guess I have to ask why you feel you need to carry a weapon out west and not back east?  Is it because your afraid of the Indians?
You will find the crime rate here in the far west is about equal to what it is where ever you live.  As long as you are away from the major cities like San Francisco, Seattle, Portland or Los Angeles I see no reason to worry.  But if your paranoid about personal safety and you actually know how to safely use a gun i see no reason you cannot have one INSIDE your RV.

donn said:

But if your paranoid about personal safety and you actually know how to safely use a gun i see no reason you cannot have one INSIDE your RV.

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Personal safety is a healthy and normal concern. Owning and carrying firearms is a right not a privledge. Now where did paranoid come from?

Ken

donn said:

I guess I have to ask why you feel you need to carry a weapon out west and not back east? 

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I like to think of myself as self sufficient and well prepared as opposed to paranoid. I am more concerned about getting robbed while on traveling, not so much while
hooked up and settled on the West Coast. My wife and I  regularly wear nice watches in addition to her engagement, wedding ring and other valuable baubles.

Perhaps a robust taser and wasp spray would be sufficient to repel robbers?

    Come to Canada, you won't need a gun here.

Ed

Can of mace while out and about wasp spray for RV. Just be a where of your surroundings. Also check with www.crimemapping.com they will show you maps of area's so you can find the places NOT to be. :

You'll be safe until you cross the state line into California....or if you stop at any schools in between there and here.....then all bets are off.

I sailed around the world twice (80,000 miles and 57 different countries). I never carried a weapon. I have had experiences where producing a weapon would have more than likely ended up in my death, rather than making me more safe.

I just wonder why you would want to carry that kind of cash...... credit cards work in 90% of circumstances and Banks/ATM machines are seldom far off. I would never carry more cash than I was willing to hand over to a thief. Wearing expensive jewelry while traveling is just begging for trouble. Why would you do that?

I do carry weapons on occasion, but the truth of the matter is that in most cases, common sense is the key to safety, not weaponry.

Clearly discretion and situational awareness ie common sense are paramount. Regarding the necessity of that much cash or jewelry. It is not necessary, just normal. Whenever we go anyplace we think might be sketchy we wear nothing conspicuous, even places here like Key West or the French Quarter NOLA. We have traveled extensively throughout Europe, the Caribbean, Central and South America; but recently decided to spend our time and monies here, rather than ?over there.? Additionally flying has become such a chore and the Euro is still beating the Greenback...so we decided to explore OUR country for a while.

https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/ccm-columns/armed-senior-citizen/rules-of-the-road/  Is a good column to read, lots of good information here.


http://www.handgunlaw.us/  is a great web site with loads of advice, but more specifically; http://handgunlaw.us/documents/USRVCarCarry.pdf will address your concern without much further searching. 

To sum it up.  According to Title 18-Part I-Chapter 44-?926a One can carry a weapon as long as that weapon is unloaded with the gun locked in a separate compartment from the driver.  However, in California if you have a magazine in your possession which has a capacity of over 10 rounds, one CAN be charged with possessing an assault weapon. 

?926A.Interstate Transportation of Firearms, spells this out for you.

In addition, while traveling with a firearm it is very important to be cooperative as humanly possible should you encounter law enforcement.  If at night turn on your overhead lights, turn off the engine, put both hands in clear sight on the steering wheel, wait for further instruction, and comply completely.  Even when you know you are right and the cop is wrong, be compliant, don't raise your voice or argue.  Your stage is the courtroom, the cops stage is on the side of the road, and if you treat him/her with the utmost respect, you may not see the inside of a courtroom.  And if you do, you don't want to say anything that's going to make you stand out from any other stop he's made.

California, Illinois, Maryland, and New York are the only ones that I've found to be really picky.  In Texas it's required for CHL holders to inform the cop that you have the weapon on you, when he pulls up my license number it will tell him I have a CHL, so failing to do this will cause me trouble. 

Go to those sites above and read up on the state laws that you are entering, then you should be fine.

When traveling across the US it would nearly impossible to comply with all of the different state and local laws regarding hand guns. I have multiple hand guns  at my S&B house and an Indiana carry permit. I do not and would not carry a hand gun in my RV and my advice to you would be not to do it. If for some reason you feel the need to have a defense weapon inside the RV, consider a shotgun. The legalities of transporting an unloaded long gun is minimal or non existent when compared to handguns.

I'm with Selah, very tricky to comply everywhere. 

I would add- if it has to be unloaded, locked up, bullets in a separate place, etc. then it won't make for a quick solution in the pivotal moment.  If someone really wanted in, they could get in much faster than what it would take for you to get your gun, load it, then THEN there is the decision to shoot what could end up being a punk or addict just trying to score money/resource at your surprise.

If someone gets into your rig with you in it, it's going to be close range i.e. more likely hand-to-hand struggle.  Shotguns (to me) make more sense at a slightly greater distance. 

I personally carry a tazor- got it for $10 on amazon.  it is with arms reach by my bed.  I also have an opened package of human zip-ties.  If someone were to ever break in, my plan is I would tazor them, grab a zip-tie, cuff 'em, kick them out, drive away, call the cops.  If I'm feeling randy I may take a pic next to them and post it on the RV forum

Having said that, I have never even come close to needing it, and I've parked (even been broken down) is some very shady areas. 

Your inquiry seems to be more about laws and regulations as opposed to philosophical reasons for/against carrying a firearm, so I'll sum up with "it's pretty much impossible to cross state lines with a handgun and not break a law somewhere".  I won't tell though, do what ya gotta do....

Selah said:

When traveling across the US it would nearly impossible to comply with all of the different state and local laws regarding hand guns. I have multiple hand guns  at my S&B house and an Indiana carry permit. I do not and would not carry a hand gun in my RV and my advice to you would be not to do it. If for some reason you feel the need to have a defense weapon inside the RV, consider a shotgun. The legalities of transporting an unloaded long gun is minimal or non existent when compared to handguns.

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I've carried one since 1981 in a CMV 48 states and never had a problem with any law enforcement officer. 

If in doubt, unload it, put it in a lock box, put the ammunition in a separate lock box, then federal law protects you.  I do that in the crazy states that think cops prevent crime instead of just filling out reports on it.  Then when I stop, the ammunition goes back in, and the gun beside me. 

But usually I try not to stop or spend any money in those states that prefer law abiding citizens are murdered or robbed so the cops have criminals to find.

The point of the laws requiring the ammunition and weapon be separated is that it takes time to get both out and loaded, which gives one time to think about the situation.  The thinking here is that you may come up with another way to solve the problem.  Hopefully though, one is not carrying a weapon that has the mind set that it's the first line of defense.  It's a last resort to save yourself or the life of a loved one.  It must be thought of as a tool to save innocent lives.

We have been fulltiming for 16 years and have never felt the need for a gun for safety. A pistol in an RV can cause more damage than one can anticipate. I think the sound of a pump action shotgun, loaded or not, will cause a criminal to think twice before confronting the unknown source.

If you do carry, DO NOT venture into Massachusetts. The last I knew it was a mandatory one year jail sentence if caught!!!

I would suggest a container of bear spray. It is non-lethal but debilitating and will not create a problem with the law as far as I know! Just be sure you are not downwind of the spray.  ;D ;D

Jim Dick said:

We have been fulltiming for 16 years and have never felt the need for a gun for safety. A pistol in an RV can cause more damage than one can anticipate. I think the sound of a pump action shotgun, loaded or not, will cause a criminal to think twice before confronting the unknown source.

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So you started in the mid nineties as well, Jim. I've never had a gun on board during that time either - with most of it in California. But I still nurse the idea.

The Ben Avery Shooting Facility (BASF) in North Phoenix uses my SW - and while there a few years back I took a series of lessons from several rangers. Then the top cop spent several hours with me on one of the ranges. He recommended a revolver vs. an automatic or shotgun. The automatic could jam, and if awakened in the middle of the night by someone trying or entering you MH - wrestling with a long gun could get me killed by the time I had it ready to fire. His gun of choice for me was a S&W 66 - which for a number of years was standard issue for Kentucky highway patrol officers (I'm from Kentucky).

BTW, Jim -- I was the highest ranked shooter in my Bainbridge Navel boot camp company - about 100 years ago. 

I am a businessman and retired LEO (41 years service) and carry a firearm every day, in every state where we travel, as at home. I am permitted under Title 18 USC 926C and carry the necessary documents of authorization.

Various states  have their own regulations, for concealed weapons permits, for non LEO's, that may or may not be recognized by other states. You can easily find where you may legally carry a concealed weapon based upon your personal situation. I highly recommend that your make your own decision about this matter. It is my opinion that it is better to be prepared for protection and not not need the weapon than to need a weapon and not have it. This is why my wife and I also have fire extinguishers, first aid kits, etc. also along with our weapons. My own opinion is that everyone has the right, protected by our constitution, to bear arms, but there are various restrictions placed on that right by various regional governments.

Since you indicated that you did not intend to carry a handgun on your person outside your RV, you might consider just having a shotgun inside your RV. In your situtation I believe a shot gun would be even better protection than a handgun and the shotgun is not restricted in any state for carry in your vehicle. Have the shotgun unloaded, inside your RV, with ammo handy to load in the event a dangerous situation is developing.

Seems there are two separate questions here:
(1)Why do you feel the need for personal protection in your RV, but not when you travel otherwise. Different places? More cash?  In my experience, RV travel is extremely safe. Obviously one can stumble into a problem most anywhere, but [in my opinion] there is nothing about RV travel that makes you more of a target. We've been on the road several months a year since 1997 and our RV crime experience has been two bottles of beer stolen from a cooler left outside overnight.
(2) Potential difficulties with weapons regulations across the various states. The sources that 99WinAdventurer gave are excellent on this subject.

Whether or not to carry any sort of weapon, be it a handgun, taser, mace, or whatever,  is clearly a personal choice - you should do what makes you comfortable.

I do have to ask why you would carry that much cash, though. We never traveled with anywhere near $5000, even back before credit cards and ATMs were ubiquitous. These days I don't carry any more while traveling than I do around home, less than $100. We use credit cards most everywhere and use our debit cards to get "cash back" whenever we need to replenish pocket money (which isn't often).

Bob,

I've owned guns in the past but gave them to our son when we went fulltime. One of them was a Navy issue, 4 digit serial number, Model 1911 Colt .45. I'm sure it was Pat's uncle's from WWII! Her father had it when he passed away.

I did have a carry permit in CT for a year. I never did fire the gun and forgot to renew the permit. I've thought about getting another in FL, which has reciprocity with AZ and other states, but don't see the need. I don't plan on buying another gun at this point so it just doesn't make sense. If I ever did feel the need for a weapon, I think I'd get the pump action shotgun. That's an awful sound at night in the dark!

according to what I've seen on the news lately,  the best way to stop some crazy guy with a gun .....is with a gun.

when seconds count.......the police are only minutes away.