In through the garage door...

[deegee]

I am still looking for the perfect van to buy. As I will sometimes be full-timing in it, security is a paramount concern and I have always shied away from models with a garage as this is another entrance door to secure. Am I right, or is it possible to secure this door with extra, reliable security?

[MandyAndy]

Had the van 4 years now, done wilding and Aires more than anything and don't even think about security, we just lock all 3 locks on both garage doors and that's it.

 

we have 3 other doors to contend with and we just lock them too, just remember you maybe worrying about someone getting in but one day you may be trying to get out in a hurry and an easy access may just save your life. :-D

 

We love our garage and wouldn't be without it, makes for much more room in the van and a fixed bed to boot, not everyones taste but it has been a good choice for us.

 

Mandy

[Robinhood]

I have ot say that having had 2 'vans with a garage in the last 6 years, I wouldn't like to be without one.

 

In reality, the locks on mine are really no more insecure than, say, the windows. If you start worrying about such vulnerabilities you will rapidly find others as well. (Of course, the level of exposure also depends on whether the garage is "blind" or is accesible from the 'van interior).

 

Having said that, in 22 years of motorcaravanning all around Europe, we haven't suffered any "incident" that would raise my level of concern, though we are "sensibly" careful about where we park and overnight.

 

However, many garage door locks and handles appear a trifle flimsy; if you want a further deterrent then something like Fiamma Safe Door locks can be added to most garages (and lockers and entrance doors). (though be aware that there have been some reports of key problems in the past with these particular items).

[JohnP]

I fitted these locks to habitation and locker doors. IMHO they are much neater than locks where the mechanism fits on the outside and hopefully more secure.

[francisgraham]

Me too. It's not about being paranoid, it's about deterrence. You are more likely to be broken into on a busy aire where campers congregate, than when wild camping in the country. If a thief sees a well protected 'van he will simply move on to the next easier target.

Suffering damage or break-ins on holiday is inconvenient and expensive and if you can minimise it by spending a few bob on visible security then that to me is common sense. I too fitted the Fiamma Door Safe and fitted them myself. I say that because I am a useless handyman and pay people to do the simplest of jobs but these really were very easy to fit.

You need to choose the Fiamma Door Safe Frame, which screws into the side of the door frame as opposed to the one that needs bolts right through the body of the 'van.

http://www.campervanaccessories.co.uk/fiamma-safe-door-frame-security-lock-p-574.html

[francisgraham]

Oops - double post!

[aultymer]

I worry more about the fact that there are 6 plastic windows secured by flimsy plastic catches between me and being robbed.

Spending ££££ on extra locks to secure the more secure elements ( doors) is a triumph of marketing over common sense.

[francisgraham]

aultymer - 2011-06-30 10:23 AMI worry more about the fact that there are 6 plastic windows secured by flimsy plastic catches between me and being robbed.Spending ££££ on extra locks to secure the more secure elements ( doors) is a triumph of marketing over common sense.

Why is that? If your valuables aren't on display there is little incentive to break into a motorhome but a thief doesn't know what's in a garage and may well assume that it has something worth stealing in it.

A colleague had her four-wheel-drive broken into because she's pulled the tonneau cover over the boot space. There was nothing under it as it happened and now she leaves the boot space visible.

You can deter thieves from breaking through windows with these, which are about two pounds each. They have a flashing LED and a loud siren if the window is opened. But I say again, this is about deterrence and if your 'van is on an aire or motorway services and is next to mine, it's yours that the thief will choose. That's common sense.

[aultymer]

For clarification - when I say I worry more about the plastic windows I am talking about in relation to other doors and window - and I do not worry at all about them. If I worried I would not have a van!

I am not sure how your example of a car being broken into because, there was a cover in place equates with thefts from a motorhome?

Are you suggesting that, as well as alarming every window, we should leave lockers wide open to show that they only contain low value items?

Extra locks only slow down honest people - don't waste your money!

 

[scramblers]

I have an alarm fitted by Vanbitz.

 

All doors are alarmed, transit bonnet alarmed and a movement detector fitted in the van's interior - this is switchable so the van can be alarmed while we are asleep.

 

There is also an extension so that we can include items on the bike rack or stored near the van.

[francisgraham]

aultymer - 2011-06-30 12:50 PMFor clarification - when I say I worry more about the plastic windows I am talking about in relation to other doors and window - and I do not worry at all about them. If I worried I would not have a van!I am not sure how your example of a car being broken into because, there was a cover in place equates with thefts from a motorhome?Are you suggesting that, as well as alarming every window, we should leave lockers wide open to show that they only contain low value items? Extra locks only slow down honest people - don't waste your money!

My friend's car was broken into because the thief didn't know that there was nothing under the cover. He assumed that, as it was drawn, that it may be hiding something.

If a thief looks into a motorhome and sees an expensive LCD TV then there's an incentive to break in. If he sees nothing valuable he may still break in on the off-chance but the incentive isn't as great. 

With the garage he sees a locked container that could contain anything or may even be an easy way into the 'van's interior so he may be tempted to break in just to check what's behind the door.

But all this is really irrelevant! The entire point is that if there is a thief on the prowl it is very likely that he will ignore my 'van, which he sees is very well protected, and go straight to yours, which just has the ordinary flimsy locks. So in effect I suppose I should be grateful to everyone who eschews extra security because it lessens my chances of being burgled!

It's all about deterring your property and trying to make the thief go on to an easier target and we do this with our homes and our cars as well. Well, I do anyway!

[aultymer]

Or, he will look at mine and say: 'no extra security -' poor bugger' can't have anything worth nicking'

 

and look at yours and say: ' Wow, must be something tasty in there with all that security' as the perp in your friends case obviously thought!

[Guest JudgeMental]

The garage is just about the only thing I miss about our coachbuilt :-S we had a pair of locks same as John P (heosafe) plus the Cat 1 alarm had a sensor on door as well. BUT! we still chained our e bikes together when in garage as well. Had it for 4 years no problem, out of sight out of mind!

 

I mean where else do you store all the related camping equipment......

[Guest JudgeMental]

aultymer - 2011-06-30 1:58 PM

 

Or, he will look at mine and say: 'no extra security -' poor bugger' can't have anything worth nicking'

 

and look at yours and say: ' Wow, must be something tasty in there with all that security' as the perp in your friends case obviously thought!

 

Nooooo thieves are lazy bu$$ers, they will break into the easiest option I would think..... :-D

 

Anyway easier to get a leg up on to the roof and drop down through a Heki! :-S

[francisgraham]

aultymer - 2011-06-30 1:58 PMOr, he will look at mine and say: 'no extra security -' poor bugger' can't have anything worth nicking'and look at yours and say: ' Wow, must be something tasty in there with all that security' as the perp in your friends case obviously thought!

Where did I say that my friend had extra security? It is a bog-standard soft-roader that was on her drive. Perhaps if it had some visible extra security the thief may have moved on to next door's car. Like Judgemental I too work on the principle that the average car thief isn't a genius and will be easily deterred especially if there is a softer target next door.

I can guarantee that if I'm on a car park or an aire and a thief decides to pay a visit he will pass on from me so, as I said, I suppose I should be grateful to all those who present him with any easier target.

[Derek Uzzell]

deegee - 2011-06-30 3:53 AM

 

 

...is it possible to secure this door with extra, reliable security?

 

Yes - JohnP has provided an example using an HEOSafe product.

[Brian Kirby]

These arguments are rational, but driven by a degree of fear. Thieves seem, on the whole, to be irrational, but driven by greed. Those who break into motorhomes, on the whole, seem to go for money, cards, mobile phones, and passports. Small, easily portable, and worth enough for their next meal, drink, or fix. We are not dealing here with towering intellectuals. Those goodies will most likely be in the van, not the boot.

 

Easiest point of entry for many vans is to break a cab window, reach in, and release the door locks from inside. Quiet, and very quick. Deadlocks on more recent vans will reduce this means of entry, but expect broken windows until the penny finally drops! The thief will be relatively unlikely to spend long inside, and will tend to go for vans where something worthwhile (to him/her) is visible. Why go on fishing trips, when the instant gain is on view?

 

Parking in well used formal parking areas, and in the relative security of proper aires or campsites, where others are around and oversight likely, is probably the best means of defence. Having said that, if your van has a nice new i-phone visible on the dash, and a strung-out heroin addict just happens by, expect trouble. Avoid, wherever possible, little used car parks, especially those on the fringes of towns. Look for any signs of broken glass granules on the ground, it won't be from windscreens, most are laminated these days. If there is, move on. Where possible, park the van somewhere secure, and visit the town by bike, scooter, or public transport. Stick whatever alarms or locks you like on your vans, but remember there is really no such thing as a secure motorhome, and someone who really wants to get in will at least try, usually doing considerable damage whether they succeed or not.

[JohnP]

I had my van broken into a fortnight ago whilst on the site at Chartres (France). In all about ten vans, M/H and tents were raided in the middle of the night. My Strikeback alarm was armed for occupation so did not go off.

 

In the case of the caravans and M/H all had their windows opened by the thief/s, the blind was raised, items removed from the table by the window, blind lowered and in the majority of cases the window was then lowered to the closed position. In the case of two Hymers (including mine) the thief did not know how to lower the window so these were left fully open but with the blind down.

 

The thieves must have thought about this because no windows were opened at the end where the occupants were asleep. They have worked out that when most people go to bed they empty their pockets and put keys, wallets, handbags, watches etc onto the nearest table and this was in all cases the thiefs target area.

 

In no case was a van entered. The poor tenters came off worst with tents being slashed by the heads of the people who were asleep and property removed. One Dutch lady had her all of the money with her in her sleeping bag and this was taken.

 

So don't be complacent about any alarm system or the extra door locks. Windows are the weakest point of any van. Hide your property away at all times, even at night when you are asleep in the van.

 

What did I lose? A watch which I gave £10.00 for twelve years ago, so I was lucky.

 

There is obviously a problem on this site because the Warden issues a typed warning notice about theft to all new arrivals.

[Guest JudgeMental]

Bad luck John! but an excellent heads up for the rest of us who do exctly as you say......I think I wil fit a floor safe to new van but will I bother putting everything and anything in it every night I wonder! :-S

[Mel B]

On our previous van, a Rimor Sailer 645TC (low profile), which had a massive rear garage and 2 big doors. When a friend on this forum who had a similar Rimor Superbrig (overcab) one, found out we'd got one he told me to check to see if we could open the garage doors without unlocking them .... not the sort of thing you want to learn about at 11.00 pm at night after you've packed everything in there that day! *-)

 

Hubby went and had a tug and hey-presto, the doors opened, quite easily!!! 8-) Oh b*gger!!!!! Out came everything of any value and the house looked like we were holding a car boot sale! I trotted off to one of the local motorhome dealers the following day and purchased 2 Fiamma Safe Door (bolt through type) locks and fitted them (quite easy, although at a later date, I purchase some of the 'filler' bits to narrow the gap between the plate and the door so had to fit them too, again not a problem). The fact that the Fiamma locks were on also meant that when travelling, if the door lock 'released' the door would not swing out and clobber someone, get clobbered, or allow all our gear to make a bid for freedom. :->

 

However, had the original door locks been holding it closed properly, I'm not sure we'd have bothered with the Fiamma ones as they were a nuisance when we wanted to get in the garage, and weren't of a brilliant quality as some of the paint started to come off after about 18 months, plus we had an alarm on with locker door sensors.

 

[Big Momma]

I guess it depends on what you refer to as a garage, large type or smaller. I have what is called a garage, it stretches the full width of the van at the rear but there is no access to the interior of the van ie: the habitation bit. There are two entrance doors, one on either side, both have double locks, top and bottom and are linked to the alarm. Never had a problem yet.

[Guest JudgeMental]

In John P's example above the only thing that would have probably worked is Francisgraham's window alarms....

 

Francis do these have to be individually set each night? I am also thinking of a laptop safe to bolt to the floor

for all the valuables :-S

[francisgraham]

JudgeMental - 2011-06-30 8:03 PMIn John P's example above the only thing that would have probably worked is Francisgraham's window alarms....Francis do these have to be individually set each night? I am also thinking of a laptop safe to bolt to the floorfor all the valuables :-S

Yes I'm afraid that they do, but...................

I only bother flicking the switch if I'm somewhere dodgy. They couldn't be easier to fit. There's a piece that sticks onto the frame of the window and the unit itself sticks on the window. They come complete with the self-adhesive pads.

Obviously you have to align the two units and, when switched on, if the units are separated by opening the window there's an almighty shrieking noise.

The best bit of course is the visual deterrent. When you switch them on an LED flashes (you can just see the pimple on top of the one in my picture). This is very visible at night but can't be seen in the 'van because it's behind the pull-down blind, so no irritating flashing whilst trying to sleep. On the back of the unit, in big letters, it says 'Milenco Alarm' so thieves know what it is.

As I have said twice in this thread, if my 'van had been on this site where the robberies took place I am utterly convinced that they'd have left me alone and moved on to the next unprotected one.

Switching them on takes seconds and you can also see the switch on the front of the unit. I'm afraid that I exaggerated when I said that they are a couple of quid each. They are actually £20 for six. I have four installed but two of them are on high windows on either side  of the over-the-garage bed and the difficulty of someone climbing in through these when I'm asleep is such that often I don't bother and just turn on the two on the vulnerable lower windows.

I have two spares now which is handy if a battery should go during a trip.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Milenco-Sleep-Safe-Window-Door-Alarm/dp/B002PIBG1C

[deegee]

Thanks for these helpful comments. In my previous van, a self-build, I fitted unobtrusive window grilles to the van area and cab windows. They gave us an enormous sense of security when in Turkey, Iran and Pakistan where we were sometimes in quite risky areas and where we witnessed someone try to get in (and failed!). It is easy on a panel van conversion because there's metal to fix to. I wonder if they could be fitted to modern fibre-glass/aluminium constructions. I had them made up as a simple frame with strong wire mesh welded across the middle, had them hot stove enamled the same colour as the van and bolted them through their frame and through the van body. They were very light. I was thinking of doing this again but fitting them INSIDE the van windows with a simple catch that would allow them to be completely removed (from inside only). It would stop wandering hands coming in when the window is left open or forced open.

 

Does anyone know if modern vans have a frame around the window areas that could take this kind of addition without having to bolt through the complete van body to the outside?

[Derek Uzzell]

deegee - 2011-07-01 5:31 AM

 

...Does anyone know if modern vans have a frame around the window areas that could take this kind of addition without having to bolt through the complete van body to the outside?

 

I would guess that the bodywork of most modern coachbuilt motorhomes will have some sort of strengthening 'infill' (wood is probably still the most common) between the external and internal skins surrounding window apertures to allow the windows to be securely attached to the bodywork.

 

Not sure exactly how you'd add your wire-mesh grilles without compromising operation of window blinds. If you had 'fully framed' windows (eg. Seitz S4), you might consider attaching your grilles to the internal window frame rather than to the motorhome's bodywork and that shouldn't impede operation of the blinds. But, if the windows were not fully framed (eg, the "Remiflair units) adding the grilles might prove trickier. As long as there was clearance, I guess you could build secondary frames around the windows inside the motorhome and attach the grilles to those. I'm certain you could do what you are suggesting, it's just a matter of the best way to proceed.