If your algorithm is anything like mine, you’re bound to see a high-speed chase or two if you spend any amount of time on YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok. But you likely won’t see many high-speed chases pitting police against desperate criminals in a stolen RV.

And desperate they were. At one point, the driver resorted to ramming into a police vehicle in an attempt to get away.  

Florida or not, you have to be a little crazy to use a stolen RV as a getaway car

A Florida couple had no idea their recently purchased Class-C motorhome would end up in the wrong hands. “It made me feel sick to my stomach,” the RV’s owner told an interviewer. “It was a big investment for us to get that to begin with.”

That’s how one of the RV’s owners felt after a week-long ordeal in which a handful of thieves had broken into and stolen her beloved RV. Police reportedly caught up with the ill-gotten recreational vehicle after two of the criminals shoplifted items from a nearby Walmart.

The team of thieves then used the RV as a getaway vehicle, leading police on a high-speed chase, including instances where the RV plunged into oncoming traffic and performed abrupt U-turns.

Police say the driver even resorted to ramming into at least one of the PCSO SUVs before the officers were able to pull him out and arrest him. As for his fellow thieves, they bailed, leaving him to face his fate. 

These thieves were serious about the RV

The criminals didn’t just take the RV from someone’s driveway or a hotel parking lot. According to WFLA News, the thieves found the RV behind a gate and electronic lock in a Port Richey storage area.

But even heavy iron fencing and a keypad lock weren’t enough to deter the thieves. What’s more, the sticky-fingered joyriders took it upon themselves to swap the license plates on the RV, further complicating identification for local authorities.

So, what can you do to combat RV and car thieves? Well, this owner did the right thing by putting the rig behind a layer of security like a locking fence line.

However, proactive owners can also install security measures like a kill switch or steering wheel club to make their vehicles that much more difficult to steal. Beyond that, redundant tracking devices are now relatively inexpensive and make it much easier for police to track your stolen property.