# High security door locks



## 88742 (May 9, 2005)

Am I missing a point here?, I keep seeing adverts for high security cab door locks, yet any 2 year old with a 'Fisher Price' toolkit can gain access via our plastic windows!!!


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## 89425 (May 23, 2005)

Its even easier through the roof, with less effort and no damage!

More details at http://www.motorhomefacts.com/postlite769-.html
____________________________________________________
*Steve 
aka A very wild....wild camper*
.
Click here for my van website!
.









_I do like a bit of feed back to my posts please_
____________________________________________________


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## 88742 (May 9, 2005)

Too right, I think the emphasis on security needs to lean towards internal alarm and vehicle immobilization.


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

Guess it all depends on the Van. I cannot imagine anyone being able to 
get in through the roof vents on my van, one vent is far too small and I think you would have to do a fair bit of damage to get through the heki.
All but one of the windows have a locking mechanism, again not easy to unlock. The sliding window and the door were weak points, the sliding window is easily made more secure using a piece of wood to wedge it shut from the inside and I fitted a Defender door lock so the door could not be opened easily. It really is about making it as difficult as possible for a thief. Internal alarms and imobilisers are a must in my view as well but what ever you do, a determined thief will get in if he really
wants to.

peedee


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## 88742 (May 9, 2005)

I agree it's all about buying yourself a bit of time, the more difficult you make it the more likely a thief will go elsewhere. A determined thief will get in, then you have to rely on your insurance  .


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

I think alarms are next to useless, frankly.

I mean, think about it - the majority of thefts take place when the van is isolated. What you really want is a way of securing the van itself, so it isn't stolen.

There's very little imho that you can do to stop a thief getting in your van and nicking stuff. Even an opportune thief could do it, by breaching the vehicle in the ways already outlined in this thread.

I think we have to be thankful that so very little theft takes place compared to, say, what there is in Venezuela.


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## Anonymous (Nov 10, 2000)

We are all rightly concerned that our "pride and joy" is broken into or worse still stolen. The best we can do is to make it extremely difficult to drive away and extemely noisy if they attempt to break in. Leaving valuable "goodies" on show is also asking for trouble. 

My stategy is this. 

1. Fit a really good imobilser such as "clutch claw" (already discussed in another post)
2. Fit a loud alarm that will scare off the opportunist.
3. Don't leave goodies on show, hide, or better still take them with you.
4. Don't park up in deserted locations and leave the van unattended.
5. When on site and especially when wild camping don't advertise the fact that you have a shiny new laptop, camera etc. by playing with them in full view of every passer by. Like it or not the crooks are out casing you and are making plans to liberate them from you.
6. Look at your MH from a thiefs point of view, how would you gain access if you lost your keys or locked them inside?
7. Make friends with your neighbours and look out for each other, this can done not only on sites but when wildcamping.

I know this is all a bit depressing and unfortunately the more valuable your MH is the bigger attraction it presents, I worry constantly when its out of view but in 35 years of caravaning, motorhoming and camping I've been fortunate enough never to have been broken into or had a vehicle stolen. Perhaps the perception of being robbed is greater than the reality. It would be interesting to see some hard facts. 

Jim


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## 89425 (May 23, 2005)

peedee said:


> I cannot imagine anyone being able to get in through the roof vents on my van,
> 
> peedee


If you read my post again you will note I never said anything about physically getting through the hatch, but to use a 'litter picker', it's a light weight tool, about 30" long, grabbing claw one end and a handle the other. By squeezing one end, closes the claw the other. My wheelchair bound mother has several, and its amazing what she can do with hers. With little practice I could remove quite a lot from my van without too much trouble.

I've seen several posts over the years where people have been robbed but didn't know how the sc** had got in! Hence me taking the time to inform others.

How many people lock their van, but leave the top hatch open?
____________________________________________________
*Steve 
aka A very wild....wild camper*
.
Click here for my van website!
.









_I do like a bit of feed back to my posts please_
____________________________________________________


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## MOTORHOMER (May 9, 2005)

Hi


We had our Autosleeper Clubman broken into while on our drive at 3am. one morning. I think I disturbed them when I went downstairs for a drink putting the light on. Ties in with what a neighbour told me the following morning. I didnt hear the alarm go off but i think that was what must have woke me up.

They ransacked half of the van. We never kept anything valuable in it but since that night I have discovered two things I cant find. A little radio & coice recorder & a small radio. More sentimental value than monetery. And I dont know whether they were in the van or not.



Motorhomer


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## dodger148 (May 9, 2005)

You can of course put what you like on cab doors but the plastic doors on the A-S Monocoques and Styofoam doors on the rest wont resist a break in for long, and windows have to be the easiest form of entry as previously mentioned


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## 90473 (May 1, 2005)

Just thought I'd add a brief note to the thread based on my own experience of dealing with auto crime over the years.

Fact: leisure vehicles/equipment are the subject of steal to order crimes where the property concerned becomes a total loss.
However, the majority of crimes against property in this category are a result of the opportunist thief who either breaks into/takes the property on the off chance that it contains something of value/is valuable.

Fact: the more steps an owner takes to safeguard his property obviously reduces the risk of becoming a victim of crime.

Fact: high visiblity deterrents reduce the incidence of crime although this statistic is based on the number of reported cases as it is obviously impossible to quantify the number of times prevention has occurred :!:

Fact: in the case of vehicles your average thief is in and out in under a minute. (sorry Steve no offence intended and your theory is a possibility of course). 

I won't try to start educating senior family members on how to extract the contents of eggs but lets keep it simple here folks. 
1. Everything of value - hide it or remove it completely.
2. Don't leave the property/vehicle in a remote location.
3. Contrary to popular belief a well lit area does not make it easier for a thief to see what he/she is doing. 
4. Be optimistic - not from the point of view 'it'll never happen to me' but more like - by G*d I'll make it more difficult for the bu**ers :!:


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

What you all need is a rottweiler (preferably one that can operate a fire extinguisher).

doh!


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