My husband and I will be traveling in our RV this summer. We are driving through gun friendly states. My question is if we are living in the RV all summer can we have a gun for protection even if we don’t have a permit in the specific state?

-From Shannon T. 

Answer: The laws about guns and RVs differ from state to state. I would consult an attorney for specific laws in your state.

But in most states if you can drive your RV, it’s considered a vehicle.  If you can start the engine and drive off it’s a vehicle and the laws are the same as a car.

Depending on the state this could mean the firearm needs to be unloaded, locked and stored in a rear compartment. It shouldn’t be anywhere that someone can easily reach it.

However, if your RV is set up such that the slides are out and you are hooked up to utilities then you can’t just drive away. In this case some states would consider your RV a home.

This would give you the right to protect your RV like you would you home. You could have a firearm readily accessible inside your home.

 

For the first time in my life, I purchased a brand new car. It has a built-in garage door opener. The dealership programmed it to work with my garage door. Should I worry about this from a security standpoint?

-From Oliver R.

Answer: I’m sure many garage openers of the same model use the same frequency or code to open a garage.

So, it would be simple for a criminal to drive through a neighborhood and push the opener and see if any garage doors are synced with the same opener as the car.

Unfortunately, garage doors are oftentimes an easy way for criminals to access a home so I would opt out of using the universal door opener in the car.

Instead, I would buy a separate garage door opener that has better security features.

Also, if you need to make sure your garage is secure you can put a padlock on the inside of the door track. But you would have to remove it every time you wanted to open the garage door, which would be a big pain and you would only do this when you went on vacation.

 

I have stockpiled gasoline for my home generator and I’m ready for the unexpected. My dilemma is if I have to bug out should I take my gasoline stockpile with me? I assume gas stations will run empty.

-From Nick R.

Answer: Storing gasoline is a great idea if you plan to bug out or to run a generator.

The thing about storing gas is that it’s like food storage where you need to rotate it out. If you’re going to let the gas sit for 6-12 months make sure and add a stabilizer.

As for taking it with you, this is a good idea but you need to do it safely. What I mean is, you don’t want to put the gas inside the passenger area. The fumes could be dangerous.

When you fill the gas cans only fill them about 95% full. Leave some room for air to help avoid spilling. Also, make sure the gas can is secured. A 5-gallon gas can could become a dangerous projectile in a crash.

Finally, I would suggest checking out Jerry Cans. These are great for storing gas and traveling with it.

 

I have a small creek that runs behind my home. During an emergency I always planned to get water from the creek. But lately the creek has been contaminated with algae. Can I still use this water during an emergency?

-From Carol L.

Answer: Yes, if you filter the water you get from the creek. So, just don’t drink straight from the creek, use a quality survival water filter.

 

Thanks to your awesome videos I have become a knife guy. I have purchased many knives. My question is whether or not you recommend wrapping knife handles in something such as grip tape?

-From Edgar C.

Answer: There are a lot of reasons folks like to wrap knife handles. For instance, it can make the knife easier to grip and is less expensive than buying new handles to replace old ones.

Also, you can make the handle whatever color you want. Some people wrap knife handles in paracord so you will always have it if you need to unwrap it in a survival situation.

The biggest drawback to wrapping your knife handle is that the tape or paracord will soak up moisture. This can make it difficult to handle.

I personally don’t wrap my knife handles in tape or paracord. I would rather pay for a quality knife that has good handles from the manufacturing process.

 

I have made home security my biggest priority over the last few years. I am confident that my home is secure. The other day my neighbor said my house looks like a fortress. Does going extreme with security make me a bigger target?

-From Neil L.

Answer: The majority of thieves steal for money. They often steal to support a drug habit or other problem. Most criminals aren’t doctors or lawyers. They aren’t the smartest people on the planet.

My point is, they are looking for easy victims and targets. Criminals would much rather target a home with no security system and a cheap door lock.

Thieves want to break into a home in silence. They don’t want a loud alarm going off.

The fact is, if I am a burglar, I want the home with the easiest access, not the home that’s going to notify police.