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Hiding Valuables
One easy, but costly option is to purchase a safe to fit in your RV. I recommend a fireproof model. Also, if the safe can be welded or bolted into some permanent part of the RV (such as a bed mechanism), this may prevent it from “walking off” if a theft should occur.
The good news is there are probably more readily accessible hiding places inside a large RV than there are in a house. The simple reason for this is that RVs are built with lots of hidden access panels throughout—think “secret compartments.” These panels may be found at the inside bottom/tops/sides/backs of cabinets and closets, sometimes they appear as a normal part of a wall, or even in the ceiling. Access panels may be held in place by screws (sometimes bolts), Velcro®, spring-loaded drawer latches, or other method. Often, screw heads or fasteners, holding the panel, are hidden in some fabric. Removing a panel gives you access to some normally hidden cavity.
The RV manufacturer/designer uses these cavities for wiring, plumbing, and structural access—important—but hidden with the panel in place. Typically, higher-end RVs have better hidden (more nearly invisible) panels since this is a result of the finish-out work inside the RV.
When you take your RV in for service, the technician may need access through various panels. Also, when you talk to a technician, they can tell you where and how to access various panels. I have asked.
For someone not familiar with RVs—let’s assume our potential “thief” is not an RVer—it is impossible to easily locate these panels. The really good news is that even if our “thief” is an experienced RVer, manufacturers put their access panels in different places and even secure them differently (screws, Velcro®, tape). Simply, your stuff, well hidden in your RV, is going to be extremely difficult to find without taking the coach apart—not tearing it apart by simply searching and tossing stuff out of the cabinets but methodically using tools and dismantling it.
Hiding Cash
Keep in mind that anything hidden in this manner—behind access panels—will not be readily accessible. If you have to remove screws to access your hidden cash or valuables, you will not be able to do this in an emergency. After an accident, you may be able to return and access your hidden compartment. In case of a fire, you will likely lose whatever was hidden.
A personal story… A few years ago, we ordered a new motorhome and had sold the one we were living in. We were cleaning it in preparation to hand it over to the new owners. We saw some “dust bunnies” but could not reach them with the vacuum tool.
I removed an access panel and found an envelope of cash just inside. Yes, it was ours. We had hidden it there before a major trip overseas several months earlier (the motorhome was stored and we did not want to take the cash with us).
If you are assuming that we have so much cash we can disregard some of it, you would be wrong. We returned from overseas and were scheduled to do an RV show (we had our vendor booth and presented seminars). We ended up with cash from the show, immediately got busy, didn’t need the hidden cash, and promptly forgot about it. Good thing we cleaned the coach!
What Next?
You must be creative in locating a hiding place you can use. In your underwear drawer or in an empty coffee can on your pantry shelf is not creative. This is too similar to a house. Find someplace in your RV that is unlike any part of a typical house. And don’t forget to clean thoroughly!
Questions??? Contact Ron Jones at info@rvstuff.org or visit his website www.rvstuff.org.
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Ron Jones has been camping on wheels since 1962. He and wife Sandy are full-timers and have traveled extensively across North America in their RV. They present seminars on the RVing lifestyle at rallies, shows and other gatherings nationwide. Ron has written eight books including co-authoring “All the Stuff You Need to Know About RVing,” and the recently released “Fulltiming for New and Used RVers,” and "RVing Alaska." He also was collaborator with Sandy on “Wrinkle-Free RV Laundry.” Ron’s articles and columns have also been featured in all major RV magazines, including Highways, Motorhome, and Coast to Coast. He is a regular contributor to the Good Sam website, providing weekly RV tips.
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