# What to do in a frightening situation



## coppo

Following on from our recent experience which i posted about. We were on a Stellplatz in Scheidam Holland when at 3.30am some nutters began braying on the side of the van. The stellplatz is only a layby at the side of the canal which takes 2 vans. In the other van was a lovely elderly French couple who had the same treatment as us and immediately drove off.

We nearly s--t ourselves.

Then Barry,s ordeal last night

My interest is in what to do in an emergency.

I probably did the wrong thing as i went out to confront them but they ran off.

I was interested to read people saying get ready to drive off if need be before retiring to bed as i hadnt thought of that.

We have now crossed into Germany and we were at another Stellplatz on sunday( Dulmen about 15 miles from Munster) We had fun looking around the town, there was a big fair/market on. In the evening whilst sat in the van we saw quite a few tramps, winos walking around, we decided to stay though. I decided to put the silver screens on as I thought it seemed safer(less chance of a brick through the window). Also noticed the sani station looked like it had been broken into, the coin slot was taped up and it was free water for all. I never slept all night but did feel safer with screens on.

Ironically next day we moved to another Stellplatz a couple of miles down the road which was a beautiful location, really quiet and a woodland setting, glorious cycle paths and walks directly from it, free as well.

Its hard to know what to do for the best sometimes.

I,ve started keeping my cycle helmet inside the MH now to put on if theres any bother.

Paul.


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## DTPCHEMICALS

Have a powerfull fire extiguisher near the door. :lol: :lol: 

Dave p


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## coppo

DTPCHEMICALS said:


> Have a powerfull fire extiguisher near the door. :lol: :lol:
> 
> Dave p


Yes, but would you use it Dave or just drive straight off.

Paul.


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## inkey-2008

I always try to point the van in the direction of the exit. I would only put the silver screen on if I know the place or have a lot of company. I have used them internally. 

Andy


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## coppo

inkey-2008 said:


> I always try to point the van in the direction of the exit.
> 
> I must admit i,ve never thought of that either until someone said earlier when responding to Barry's thread.
> 
> Paul.


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## DTPCHEMICALS

If anyone was doing damage to my vehicle or threatening personal harm I would use it.
Our hab door window opens sufficiently to show an intruder that I would retaliate.

My first action would be defensive.
Turn lights and engine on and sound the horn and alarm.

Dave p


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## JohnGun

get a large sticker made for your hab door

WE LOVE ROCKWEILERS

OR WE BELONG TO THE PITBULL OWNERS CLUB

on a serious note, i would not be thinking of the legalities of the situation, my primary aim would be to protect 1:my wife and children and 2: the motorhome, i always have a large wheel brace and a torch attached to the inside of the door, if i hear anything strange, i send the wife out :lol:


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## rayc

Is this post only related to Germany? I know the original incident happened there but surely any advise would apply across Europe and beyond.
As part of my work I travelled along the motorways of England at night and I can assure you there are unsavoury characters at all motorway services.


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## rogerblack

Mention of large dogs :idea:

keep a CD/tape of a loud barking dog in the player overnight to play as a deterrent :?:


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## teemyob

*deal with it*

Hello Paul,

We have had a fair few incidents in the motorhome, Mostly when there have been a good few of us in it!.

Indeed we had a complete Nutter trying to run us off the road in France when there were 8 of us. Pity he was not stuck in a toll que when we pulled up behind him, the look on his face would have been worthy of a payback in itself.

But anyway, the Stellplatz/Aires Issue.

We are due in Germany again soon and I have been looking at Stelplatz V Campsites.

I notice some stelplatz can be quite expensive yet offering little in the way of services. Yet even in early July there are still some well priced campsites available.

So we are going to look at campsites and consider larger Stelplatz along the route.

What do / don't we do on Aire type Stopovers?

We don't use Ramps 
We don't use screens
We set the alarm if only 2 of us and sleep in the back bedroom
We Put leave the heated screen on if there is a chance of misting up
Habitation Door Strapped and locked
Passenger door seat belted
Front Bed Lowered
Facing Entrance/Exit
Fake Wallet with expired cards and a few Euros (if we can find it!)

Benny and Sid by our sides (these are the nickname given to our ball bating implements (one I bought in Benidorm that the kids said was too small and a larger one named after the El Sid soap).

If we were disturbed, would sound the air horns and alarm. Whilst Mrs TM dialed the Old Bill.

TM


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## teemyob

*johngin*



JohnGun said:


> get a large sticker made for your hab door
> 
> WE LOVE ROCKWEILERS
> 
> OR WE BELONG TO THE PITBULL OWNERS CLUB
> 
> on a serious note, i would not be thinking of the legalities of the situation, my primary aim would be to protect 1:my wife and children and 2: the motorhome, i always have a large wheel brace and a torch attached to the inside of the door, if i hear anything strange, i send the wife out :lol:


JohnGun!

Sticker with "Licensed Shotgun and Shooting Club Member"

TM


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## 96299

When we are away I always have a baseball bat with me and I would use it as a last resort for protection and self defence. I also have the ball next to it too. :wink: 

Steve


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## teemyob

*baseball*



Chigman said:


> When we are away I always have a baseball bat with me and I would use it as a last resort for protection and self defence. I also have the ball next to it too. :wink:
> 
> Steve


I practice using the bats with our Daughters.

How to hit a ball and how to disarm someone with a bat.

TM


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## spatz1

you never can tell how you ll react.... but wise to have a plan and
a red hot shower stops anyone in their tracks.


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## coppo

*Re: deal with it*



teemyob said:


> Hello Paul,
> 
> We have had a fair few incidents in the motorhome, Mostly when there have been a good few of us in it!.
> 
> Indeed we had a complete Nutter trying to run us off the road in France when there were 8 of us. Pity he was not stuck in a toll que when we pulled up behind him, the look on his face would have been worthy of a payback in itself.
> 
> But anyway, the Stellplatz/Aires Issue.
> 
> We are due in Germany again soon and I have been looking at Stelplatz V Campsites.
> 
> I notice some stelplatz can be quite expensive yet offering little in the way of services. Yet even in early July there are still some well priced campsites available.
> 
> So we are going to look at campsites and consider larger Stelplatz along the route.
> 
> What do / don't we do on Aire type Stopovers?
> 
> We don't use Ramps
> We don't use screens
> We set the alarm if only 2 of us and sleep in the back bedroom
> We Put leave the heated screen on if there is a chance of misting up
> Habitation Door Strapped and locked
> Passenger door seat belted
> Front Bed Lowered
> Facing Entrance/Exit
> Fake Wallet with expired cards and a few Euros (if we can find it!)
> 
> Benny and Sid by our sides (these are the nickname given to our ball bating implements (one I bought in Benidorm that the kids said was too small and a larger one named after the El Sid soap).
> 
> If we were disturbed, would sound the air horns and alarm. Whilst Mrs TM dialed the Old Bill.
> 
> TM


Hi TM/all

Thanks for the replies.

Its interesting to read what other people would do in these situations, i do think its one thing saying what you would do and then when something happens you react on the spot, fight or flight symdrome can apply.

You have all given me some good ideas of what to do although, again, i do think you just react on the spot, i was ready to chuck someone in the canal last week.

Regarding the campsite/stellplatz issue, we are abroad until December so can't afford sites much, although we are off to Berlin soon and will be on one there, then Poland which will be sites. Mainly it will be stellplatz though, we think they are brilliant, the one we are on now is wonderful, so rural and free, no facilities whatsoever though.

Rayc, no it doesnt just apply to Germany, I agree there is evil ones all over.

What a shame there's a few nutters/villains around the world.

Paul.


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## hireme

Hi
I think it would be time to let the two Alsations out for a snack
Regards
Tel


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## leltel

We quite often 'wild camp' in this country and always ensure that the van is facing in the right direction for a quick get away, we have a dog, which helps. One thing that I still don't understand though is why my hubby insists that I sleep on the outside, so would be the first to jump up, even though he does insist that he'd be able to jump over me first swinging the baseball bat!
On a serious note though, so far we have not had cause to be concerned, whether in this country or France. It doesn't hurt to always be as prepared as possible.


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## barryd

I saw a rock hard 2ft long piece of german sausage in a butchers today. Nearly bought it as it would certainly do some damage and I could tell the rozzers I had out ready for breakfast so it can't be thought of as a weapon.


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## teensvan

Hi.

Yes we do have a baseball bat at the hab door but last year we used 46 aires on our summer trip without any bother This year our 14 week trip is using the stellplatz system and so far we have used 3 aires + 8 stellplatz without bother. We find the stellplatz system a far better system than the aires. We have been very impressed so far and found the german people very nice and polite.

steve & ann. --- teensvan


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## DTPCHEMICALS

My alternative to my previous post is to let Lady p answer the door.
Hair in curlers, *** drooping out of mouth no teeth and jamjar specs

Dave p


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## lalala

Frightening experience for Barry, pleased he has coped so well. We spent just one week in germany last August and had 2 potential problems on stellplatz. The first with a German man, at the Minden stellplatz, who didn't like the British but the second and more serious was with some young men (possibly not German) who were intent on getting into our VW and the other m/hs at the site at Soest. This was even before it was dark! Very unpleasant. We didn't try to argue or fight, we left and moved a few kilometres to a much more secure site. Two Italian families also left in their vans.
It might have seemed a bit 'chicken' but we had our 5 year grand-daughter with us.
Had it been the middle of the night then moving would have been more difficult.
Two episodes in a week did put us off German stellplatz a bit though the other ones we had stayed at were lovely.
We've never had a problem in France but we have left aires where we have been the only van and they have been isolated from the village or town centre.
Lala


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## coppo

teensvan said:


> Hi.
> 
> Yes we do have a baseball bat at the hab door but last year we used 46 aires on our summer trip without any bother This year our 14 week trip is using the stellplatz system and so far we have used 3 aires + 8 stellplatz without bother. We find the stellplatz system a far better system than the aires. We have been very impressed so far and found the german people very nice and polite.
> 
> steve & ann. --- teensvan


Hi
Yes i agree the Stellplatze are much better than the French Aires.

We are currently sat out having a beer on a lovely rural one, surrounded by woodland, all you can hear is the birdsong.

AND its free, unbelieveable. You could be forgiven for thinking it was back in England on an expensive £25 a night site.

Been cycling through the woods all day.

Paul.


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## moblee

I too have a bat which I would use IF I had to,....but then again it's easy to be Brave whilst I'm sitting here.

But so far the occasion hasn't arrived, hope it never does.

Better Luck on your trips Paul & Barry


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## coppo

moblee said:


> I too have a bat which I would use IF I had to,....but then again it's easy to be Brave whilst I'm sitting here.
> 
> But so far the occasion hasn't arrived, hope it never does.
> 
> Better Luck on your trips Paul & Barry


Many thanks Phil.

Paul.


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## cabby

I can assure you that having a bat or similar is not the ideal tool to have to hand, it is too large to use in small areas and close contact.
IN this country you will be charged for its use.maybe also in others.
One of the ways around this we as cabbies found was to carry something you have for every day use that cannot be construed to be an offensive weapon, an ideal object is a handy hair spray, which has a nozzle to show the direction of spray.could also be a mr muscle one, must have a strong stream, to clean the windscreen with officer :wink: :wink: 
anyway you get my drift am sure.

cabby


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## 96299

cabby said:


> I can assure you that having a bat or similar is not the ideal tool to have to hand, it is too large to use in small areas and close contact.
> IN this country you will be charged for its use.maybe also in others.
> One of the ways around this we as cabbies found was to carry something you have for every day use that cannot be construed to be an offensive weapon, an ideal object is a handy hair spray, which has a nozzle to show the direction of spray.could also be a mr muscle one, must have a strong stream, to clean the windscreen with officer :wink: :wink:
> anyway you get my drift am sure.
> 
> cabby


Thats why I mentioned that I also carry the ball to go with the bat, for games like :wink:

Steve


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## Crazywater

How about this for an alternative approach - jump out of bed shouting and swearing then suddenly grab your heart and fall to the ground. Cue the Mrs then losses it completely shouting murder murder (or some such) bet the fecker would exit the van pretty quick and without any evidence to tie him to the scene. :lol:

Sorry to hear about your incident but glad you are ok.


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## teemyob

*tempted*

Connected  to a panic button!

I am tempted. to look for a single phase version :roll:


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## raynipper

We have carried a couple of CS gas sprays around in all our vans for many years. Legally bought in France.

Haven't had to use them in anger yet but just showed one to a yob pestering us at traffic lights and he was gone.

I feel I would use them if threatened as they are not terminal and in the event of making a mistake you can always apologise later.

Ray.


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## camallison

I always have a bottle of Mucoff in the door pocket - sprayed in the eyes (purely as a defensive measure) will certainly hurt them (officer). First thing to hand.

Colin


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## jhelm

Most of what I am reading about seems to be just kids wanting to scare us. That is the only thing I have experienced so far. That was in Austria in a big parking lot that allowed campers to stay over night. Someone pounded on the side just after I got in bed. This was in an area in central Vienna at a time when they were having a big soccer festival - lots of drinking going on. 

I keep a quite long very hard metal flashlight full of D size batteries next to the bed. No one could accuse me of keeping a weapon handy, but I don't think anyone would enjoy getting hit in the head with it either.

I had a conversation with a UK couple on our recent trip to the south of Italy. They told me they don't camp in France anymore as the French don't like campers. First time I heard that.

Common sense tells us, don't park where there is a lot of partying and drinking going on, park in well lighted areas, park where campers are allowed or where we are not likely to bother anyone, avoid seedy looking areas. Unless it's a gang of robbers one or two people trying to get into your camper while you are in it are at a big disadvantage and not likely to succeed. Why, because first even if you are sleeping while they are rocking the van and making noise trying to get in you will get up and have time to prepare yourself, shout, arm yourself, call the police, turn on the alarm, lights, etc. Put yourself in the shoes of the would be robber, would you really want to deal with the risk - the guy in the camper might have a gun, a knife, pepper spray, a dog, who knows what. He might even be a total wacko who would love to beat the **** out of some drugged out would be thief.

My point is be careful, but don't let some kids pounding on the side of your camper ruin your fun.

Try to rob me and you might succeed try to molest anyone in my camper and you face a mad man.


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## barryd

It's good that we are discussing this and that we are all aware of what to do in the extremely unlikely event of attracting an intruder or nutter. 

I really hope though that nobody is Reading these two threads And getting worried. Whilst a nutter like the one we had is terrifying it is highly unlikely they would have ever gained access to the van. So even if you are unlucky enough to be bothered by such a person the chances of being attacked are very very slim. Intact like gas attacks I don't recall a story of any motorhomers being hurt.

So in the words o crimewatch. "don't have nightmares" use the stellplatz and aires and wild camp where it feels safe.

The world is mostly filled with good people really


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## camper69

The thing is it can be very upsetting when violence is threatend or actually taking place, especially for those of us (the majority) who do not see it in daily life. 

Having had to tackle a drugged up youth who was kicking the **** out of his girlfriend, on a campsite in Oxfordshire, coming at me with a dog chain in his hand I can tell you you go from fear, as it is happening, to jubliation (at coming off unhurt) and ending up been very upset at somthing that is over in less than a minute. 

In this particular case the son of the attacker (about 8 years old) was not in the least bit upset and it seemed a normal day. Myself and kids( who witnessed it) were very upset.

What I would say is that no matter what is going on around you, you should try and remain calm. It is better to back off as much as you can and let the heat go from the situation. However if is coming to a fight then my advice is to hit first, hit hard and don't let them get up.
My experience in this country is that the police believe you not the attacker, will prosecute if you want and the court will give the right result. Mind you I had four witnesses who agreed with what happened but the police response was not dependant on them, only the court case.

Derek

Edit to add additional info.


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## Boff

Hi,

according to my experiences there are only very few camp sites which offer a significantly higher level of security than the average stellplatz/aire. On most camp sites I have been to anyone could walk on and off at any time, and even access with at least 2-wheeled vehicles like scooters is possible on some of them. And I doubt very much that site staff would be of any help. If there is anyone present at all in the middle of the night, it is quite likely they would look the other way.

Knowing this, security is *not* a concern for us when deciding between camp sites and aires/stellplatz.

In now 10 years of motorhoming, and many more tent camping, we have had our share of unpleasant situations, on camp sites as well as stellplatz/aires. With the exception of one of them, which was a genuine (attempted) burglary, all of them were of the unpleasant but harmless sort. Among others, we have had:
Local yobs passing by and banging against our van on several occasions both on camp sites and stellplatz/aires
A drunken camp site warden(!!!) trying to provoke a fight
Boy racers driving slalom between caravans and MHs on a camp site in Finland
As I mentioned before in Barry's thread, drunken yob banging against our door at 5 am on a camp site in Norway, begging for "smoke"
A mating couple, him pushing her against our van, making it rock, on a stellplatz in Germany (they were quite embarrassed when they realized the van was inhabited ... :lol
We have however never had any disturbances - apart from the notorious Norwegian lorry drivers sounding their horn every time they spot a MH on a car park - when wild camping! This may be due to our strong belief in the "safety by solitude" concept, but let us keep fingers crossed.

About preparations: We do not carry any weapons like baseball bats or CS cans around, and we have no dogs. In a frightening situation, my most important "weapon" would be my mobile phone, to call the police. But just in case anyone would really gain entry, I do have my 4D-cell Mag-Lite always at hand. It is upgraded with LED, and if the blinding beam of light directly into his eyes does not fend off the intruder, then the dark end of the torch, hitting him, most certainly would. :wink: And, at least when wilding, we always park so that we can get away without reversing or leaving the van.

Otherwise I trust my instincts, and if some site does not "feel" right, we move on.

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## bigfoot

Aldi currently have culinary sprays,I've just bought the chilli and oil one. Obviously for cooking but it could be a useful deterrent.
Many years ago we used to use CO2 extinguishers for minor crowd control especially when a freezing cold spray got someone in the gentlemens vegetables!


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## Kev1

Me thinks a cullinary spray is on the cards


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## armychef

*Aires & Stellplatz*

Were about to embark on a 6 week tour of Europe hadn't planned on stopping at any Aires or Stellplatz anyway but having read all these comments I'm glad we didn't. Most of the sites that we have booked are in the region of £145 for 5 nights all in, worth paying a bit more for safety & comfort I say :wink:


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## Boff

*Re: Aires & Stellplatz*



armychef said:


> Most of the sites that we have booked are in the region of £145 for 5 nights all in, worth paying a bit more for safety & comfort I say :wink:


Just wait and see what you'll get for all that money. As I wrote before I am not too enthusiastic about safety&security on camp sites. (With the exception of London Abbeywood Camping, that is ...)

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## tonyt

*Re: Aires & Stellplatz*



armychef said:


> Were about to embark on a 6 week tour of Europe hadn't planned on stopping at any Aires or Stellplatz anyway but having read all these comments I'm glad we didn't. Most of the sites that we have booked are in the region of £145 for 5 nights all in, worth paying a bit more for safety & comfort I say :wink:


Don't be put off using aires by reports of one or two incidents.

I've just returned from 3 weeks on aires - all free - no problems whatsoever - friendly bunch of campers.

You just need to use a little common sense as you do when you park anywhere.

Golden Rule - if you don't feel comfortable there - just move on which is why I always recommend that when planning where to stay for the night, always have a Plan A, B and C.

£145 buys me a lot of food and wine for 5 days :wink:


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## SpeedyDux

Being prepared to drive away at a moment's notice is a good precaution, anywhere. Always plan for the worst and hope for the best.

Always be suspicious of someone knocking at an odd hour. Why would a foreigner want to ask for help from a GB registered vehicle when there are other vehicles present from his home country? Does not make sense. Probably a scammer or worse.

Apart from getting my other half to phone the emergency call centre ASAP and ask for the Police (112 I think is the number in Europe) my other response would be to use a cheap digital camera to take a photo of the person trying to break in, through a window. I have a small camera with a very quick start-up, less than 5 seconds. The flash should make the scrote think about giving up and legging it. 

SD


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## armychef

*Re: Aires & Stellplatz*



Boff said:


> armychef said:
> 
> 
> 
> Most of the sites that we have booked are in the region of £145 for 5 nights all in, worth paying a bit more for safety & comfort I say :wink:
> 
> 
> 
> Just wait and see what you'll get for all that money. As I wrote before I am not too enthusiastic about safety&security on camp sites. (With the exception of London Abbeywood Camping, that is ...)
> 
> Best Regards,
> Gerhard
> 
> All that money?? I thought that was cheap, mind you I am new to this game Eurocamp charge £100 per night for a 2 berth mobile!
Click to expand...


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## Boff

*Re: Aires & Stellplatz*



armychef said:


> ... Eurocamp charge £100 per night for a 2 berth mobile!


Then you know where you certainly are never going to find me ... :wink:

This is my idea of an ideal overnight spot (notice the little white dot in the middle ...):


Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## jhelm

*Re: Aires & Stellplatz*



Boff said:


> armychef said:
> 
> 
> 
> ... Eurocamp charge £100 per night for a 2 berth mobile!
> 
> 
> 
> Then you know where you certainly are never going to find me ... :wink:
> 
> This is my idea of an ideal overnight spot (notice the little white dot in the middle ...):
> 
> 
> Best Regards,
> Gerhard
Click to expand...

Interesting in that we tend to favor more populated spots on the theory that robbers would be more likely to attack someone where no one else is around.

One thing I've found handy is parking near restaurants or in any area where we can ask the owner if it's ok to park the night. For example on our just finished trip to the South we spent some great nights parked all alone right next to some beaches this way. Sometimes the owners volunteer to keep an eye on us. And their parking areas usually have night security lights.


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## moblee

*Re: Aires & Stellplatz*



armychef said:


> All that money?? I thought that was cheap, mind you I am new to this game Eurocamp charge £100 per night for a 2 berth mobile!


I've spent Loads of time on Aires with my wife & children & *Never* had a problem.........but there's always the first time .


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## barryd

Armychef. Don't be put off. I started all this with the other thread but the last thing I wanted to do was put anyone off aires or wilding. It's as safe, if not safer than a campsite. I imagine there are more thefts and fights etc on campsites than aires or stellplatz. 

The whole point of my thread and I think this one is to point out the little things you can do wherever you stop to male it easier in the unlikely event of trouble and this would include a campsite when at 4 In the morning your as much on your own as an aire.

I find europe feels much safer than the uk especially France. I have no worries about using aires or wilding In remote spots on our own and intact actively seek them out.


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## coppo

barryd said:


> Armychef. Don't be put off. I started all this with the other thread but the last thing I wanted to do was put anyone off aires or wilding. It's as safe, if not safer than a campsite. I imagine there are more thefts and fights etc on campsites than aires or stellplatz.
> 
> The whole point of my thread and I think this one is to point out the little things you can do wherever you stop to male it easier in the unlikely event of trouble and this would include a campsite when at 4 In the morning your as much on your own as an aire.
> 
> I find europe feels much safer than the uk especially France. I have no worries about using aires or wilding In remote spots on our own and intact actively seek them out.


I,m going to second that and what Gerhard also said. The Stellplatze system is absolutely wonderful, we have met 2 German couples on this trip who have not used proper campsites for over 30 and 15 years respectively. They have no need to with such a great set up.

Please do not be put off, the scare we had in Holland was just drunken idiots passing by.

Paul.


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## kc10

It's never good to hear of the situations described in some of the notes here but I think the way this has been addressed has been excellent backed up with sound advice and none of the 'dress quietly and drive off'' silliness. 

We left Germany on Monday after eleven weeks and have to agree the Stellplatz system is great. We had no problems at all anywhere. Our stops were split between wild camping, Stellplatz and sites for the essentials. Now back in France we'll be making full use of Aires. 

Keith.


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## Phil42

Barryd wrote:


> I imagine there are more thefts and fights etc on campsites than aires or stellplatz.


You have a vivid imagination, clearly, but do you have any evidence?

Phil


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## Phil42

To come at the issue in another way: How many people are all ready to drive away/have serious weapons to hand when staying on a campsite?

Phil


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## barryd

Actually Phil I do. I had a boat in the lakes for years both on ullswater and Windermere. Two mates I drank with worked locally, one was a copper and the other an outward bound instructor.

There were a couple of campsites where there was often trouble. On one somebody actually smashed up and drove off with a cash machine. Frequently on a weekend there would be fights or thefts. I don't recall any such behaviour apart from the stellplatz nutter on any off site places we have stayed.


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## Phil42

Oh I see. Mates in the pub told you about a couple of campsites. Ah well then....


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## Grizzly

The only problem we have ever had was on a campsite in Slovenia. We were parked in a quiet area near to the entrance as the rest of the site was packed solid.

A drugged/drunken Irishman walked into the site and started banging on our van threatening to blow us up, report us to the President ( for whom he said he worked !) and threatening to kill us. He was clearly targetting us -UK van ?- but this went on for some time. I blew the horn (SOS or OSO as I don't do morse very well) for a long period and he went after about 20 minutes. We reported it to reception but nothing happened. He came back after dark and did it all over again and then went away. Reception was closed by then.

Next day he went further into the campsite and started threatening others so the police were called but we left soon afterwards.

We would not have dreamt of going outside while he was in action and postponed our walk to town to do our e-mailing. We've never had trouble at aires, stellplatz or sosta but would not leave the van whatever happened. We do leave things ready to drive off if necessary.

G


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## Kev1

Grizzly
If it happens again!!!!!
Open the door and let your AVATAR
Have a go.

Problem solved


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## Grizzly

It's what to do with the avatar when we're travelling- on the bike rack ?

What ticked us- afterwards- was a German couple nearer reception than we were and the only other van in our area. They were putting up their awning as all this happened and I made signs and pointed to indicate I'd like them to go and report it to reception. They smiled sweetly and did nothing.

When the man had gone away I walked over and asked why they'd not gone to reception. Their answer was that the man was talking English and they did not understand him so did not know what he wanted ! Considering he was violent enough to leave dents in the van and was spitting and screaming at several points I don't think you needed a common language to tell he was up to no good.

Never rely on others helping !

G


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