I’ve been RVing for over thirty years and can probably count the number of people that told me they carry a gun in their RV on both hands and not use all my fingers. So you can imagine my surprise when a recent article in Trailer Life (October 2011) claimed that recent market research indicates more than 70% of all RVers own a handgun for personal protection. I would like to see that research!

The article appears on Page 10 and is titled: Self Protection for RVers and describes two products from Crimson Trace (www.crimsontrace.com) of Wilsonville, OR. Several things concern me about this kind of reporting.

First, I do not believe for a minute that 70% of all RVers carry a handgun. I’ve never met anybody in a campground or RV resort that told me they have a gun onboard. Now I’m sure several do and they would prefer not to advertise how they choose to protect themselves and their loved ones. But 70% of them? Never.

Is this responsible reporting from Trailer Life? The article doesn’t even quote the source of their statistics so we have no way of knowing if this information came from an editor putting the short piece together or if Trailer Life has done market research and is reporting on their findings. I would like to know where the number came from so we can validate it.

I question the responsibility of the reporting due to the nature of the products they are writing about. Crimson Trace makes a product called Lasergrips. The article states, “Lasergrips allow you to point your laser on the target and the shot will follow the red dot precisely, taking the guesswork out of threatening situation.”

Is this the RV lifestyle we all know and love? Is this the way we want to report on the joys of RVing. How many times have you wished you had a laser guide on your gun so you could blow somebody’s brains out in the campground? This isn’t something I’ve ever encountered in my many years of camping.

Why would Trailer Life even write about this stuff? If an RV prospect was researching the lifestyle and saw this article, do you think they would run right out and buy an RV? Or do you think they might seriously question the value of the lifestyle if 70% of RVers have to carry a handgun?

I suggest this is simply irresponsible journalism and they must be struggling to find worthy news to put in their magazine. If I’m the crazy one here please enlighten me here.

Dealers – do prospects and customers tell you they carry a gun in their RV?

Consumers – do you in fact carry a gun in your RV?

I’d like to think the majority of people that enjoy the RV lifestyle do so because they can get away from the environments where having a gun may be a necessity. I simply refuse to believe that 70% of today’s RVers are packing heat in the woods!