DerekF Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 After reading Bulletguy’s recent post regarding his robbery in Spain I wondered if any members have fitted a small safe inside their motorhome? I'm considering fitting one under one of the habitation seats but would not like to drill through the motorhome floor. Does anyone know of an adhesive that would be suitable for fixing the safe to the floor. From my initial search the safes appear to weigh approx. 6kgs when empty. Best regards Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 I have a safe which I use. The best advice I believe is to attach it to the chassis. The problem, if fitted in a bunk, is to actually access the inside of the safe and to see the contents - not much room to open the door and get your head inside the bunk, unless of course there is a drop down opening too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 The problem is that if you locate a safe where it's easy to use it will be easy to find in a quick search by scumbags and if you put it where it's hard to find you will be less inclined to use it! Unless you bolt it to something very solid - like the steel chassis - it will easy to rip out so you not only lose your valuables and safe but have an even more damaged van too! We prefer to be more inventive about how we stow things so they are hard to find but easy to access rather than be lulled into what could be a false sense of security by a safe or strongbox? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B. Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 We have an electronic safe which I fitted in a cupboard and the bolts that came with it are totally obscured by the way they fit-consequently little chance of someone being able to rip it out. The bolts go in through a hole (You have to drill this) then when you tighten them up a 'fantail' opens on the bolts preventing them from coming out of the holes. The bolt ends then are tightened up inside the safe so the cannot be undone unless the safe is open. We put everything in when we are travelling ie passports, money, credit cards, van & bike docs etc and when we park up we put the radio front, satnav, phones and watches in before we go to bed. I have a small baseball bat at the side of the bed as well-bought in Spain 'Instant Calmata' it says on it!. If they can get past me and the bat and then get into the safe whilst the alarm is going off and rob me, they are pretty determined and I doubt I would be in a fit state to bother afterwards. On a serious note-I personally think a safe is an absolute necessity in a van these days and should be included by the manufacturers. I have fitted one in our last 3 vans and feel a lot safer with it (Excuse the pun) along with the gas alarm which fortunately hasn't been needed either. As an extra security, we always alarm the van at night as well but just leave the interior motion sensors off. Paraniod? Maybe but better safe than sorry -Ouch! another unintended pun-sorry Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Mrs Batty Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Unfortunatley scum that attack / break into houses and motorhomes now usually come 'tooled up'. Any form of adhesive would not survive a crowbar or heavy driven screw drive under it. The safe at some stage would be detached for its fixing and removed by the low life to be opened at leisure back at his / her troll cave. We too hate the idea of any holes drilled anywhere in our M.H. However this must be the most secure way of actually fixing the safe with internal bolts / washers only accessable when the safe is open. It does then cause a problem of where to make a secure fixing ? The main one available is direct to the chasis but this really limits where you can site the safe. We have devised ' hidden' places withing the van / garage areas that we use for valuables - not overly secure I know but VERY hard to find. If an actual safe if found by some nasty tooled up thug we would be very concerned about the damaged that would / could be done removing it. The Bs xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Mike - all good stuff, but I'm personally not a fan of the baseball bat idea in the confined space of a motorhome. I remember training from many moons ago that long, swinging weapons in such a situation are not nearly as effective as stabbing weapons. Remember, in any fight situation, that if you are really going to fight (potentially for your lives), your force needs to be overwhelming, disabling, and instantly effective. If that means terminal, then so be it. I've got a length of heavy steel tube down beside the drivers seat (it's an extension bar for my wheelbrace Officer....) for any outside-of-van action. But I keep a very short handled mini-axe, and also a long bladed, very substantial, knife at the head of the bed for two-handed self-defence against any intruder who has actually got inside the vehicle. We've also gone the "hide our valuables in a secret stash place that you'd spend hours trying to locate and still not find" route, rather than a safe-in-a-cupboard.........but it's horses for courses. I suspect that our best anti-theft device is the MH itself. Parked up against modern Gin-palaces, I can't imagine any thief ever thinking that there's anything much worth nicking out of our old-dog when they could go after all those awesome modern vehicles instead - which is basically true; there really ain't much of value in ours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chas Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 This idea of fitting a safe as been covered quite a few times in the past, however new members may not know the ins and outs of the idea. The safe MUST be bolted down securely even if only through the floor with large spread plates on the underside. In an ideal position then the bolts fitted to a chassis member. I have had ones in my vans for many years, however there are some who are detered by posters saying some insurance companys forbid them because of the damaged that may be caused by the thief, I would rather repair the damage than lose valuables such as credit cards/ passports ect. My thought is that many thieves are the type that want in, grab, and clear off quick, not spending half an hour trying to detach a safe from its fixings, particuly if one has a quality alarm raising merry hell in the process. You takes yer choice. *-) As regards being confronted by intruders in your van, my choice would be to let them have your valuables and hopefully let them then clear off. Your valuables are no good to you if your badly injured or dead ! If in this country if caught, they would probably only finish up with community service !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekF Posted December 18, 2011 Author Share Posted December 18, 2011 Hi All Thank you very much for your prompt & informative responses. I will now take a closer look inside the motorhome and see if I can locate a suitable place to fit a safe using using bolts rather than an adhesive. Best wishes Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 IMV I wouldn't fit a safe, the fact that it really needs to be positioned somewhere hidden makes it unlikely to be used as much as it should be. I'd rather hide stuff in various locations (split money and credit cards so if one lot is inadvertently found, the other hopefully wouldn't be) not obvious but fairly easy to get at if needs be. We have some good hiding place in our van but I'm not saying where on an open forum!!! All I will says is have a really, really good mooch around the areas that you wouldn't normally give toooooo much close attention to! If you would rather let an intruder get away with something, as has been suggested before on the forum, put an old wallet with a few notes in, and even an old mobile phone and camera, somewhere where they are likely to look first, hopefully they would then grab them and clear off. As for a baseball bat ... forget it, you'd never be able to swing it sufficiently and are more likely to damage your van trying ... a sock with your loose change in though could be more effective. Also something to spray at them (hairspray, deodorant etc) which you would legitimately have in the van could prove more useful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Fit a safe and then hide all your valuables elsewhere. The thief might rip the safe out but it's empty! They spend so much time getting it out they won't hang around. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 I met a German with a hired van at a campsite in Siena. He had parked his van in a street, I forget where, but different town, while he visited a museum. The van was broken into, in broad daylight, while he was away. The hire firm had thoughtfully equipped the van with a safe. He had put everything of value in the safe, and locked it. So, the thieves found nothing of value in the van, but they found the safe - base of the wardrobe, not difficult. So, apparently aided by a crowbar of some sort, presumably the one that had used to force the habitation door (in broad daylight, remember), they attempted to remove the safe. Since the safe was securely bolted through the van floor that didn't work, but the poor chap showed me the damage caused internally by their attempts. Motorhome furniture is not as strong as safe fixings, indeed, it is not at all strong when used as the fulcrum for a crowbar, and apart from the wardrobe itself, which was more or less wrecked, most of the adjacent sofa base had also been severely damaged. I doubt they were there long, but just don't base your expectations on thieves who are neat and tidy, and will take care to minimise damage. The state of his van was a real eye-opener! Whether or not to risk that degree of damage is a personal choice, I decided against. We, too, spread cash around, here and there, but carry some each, as well. When we are out of the van we generally take cameras, passports, cards (credit and debit, one of each with each of us, individual credit card accounts, so one account remains available if the other's card is lost/nicked), driving licences, etc with us. We have copies of all as .pdf files on a laptop and on an SD card (thanks Mel!) that we carry. Our photos are backed up to a memory stick that is tucked away. We take our phones. We have CCP insurance for all our cards so in the event of loss or theft we can stop them pretty well instantly and, if necessary, get duplicates delivered. Carole now has a shoulder/back pack bag by "pacsafe" (try Amazon if interested) that incorporates stainless steel wires into its straps and has a fine stainless steel mesh incorporated into its body, plus a few fiddly catches on zips etc. It is intended to resist snatches, razors, and "stanley knives", no more. However, it would have resisted the "dip" Carole experienced leaving a tube station in Athens in 2010. So, all else that remains in the van is some money, scattered around but concealed, vehicle documents etc, of which we have the electronic copies, and a couple of laptops the loss of which would be a nuisance, both of which are insured, neither of which contains useful personal information. It isn't foolproof, but it pretty well ensures that whether robbed in the street (happened once, CCP were excellent.) or while parked, the important stuff is duplicated, we have back-up cash, and we can provide documents to prove who we are and where we are from. All travel involves risk. By far the greatest is on the roads, and we all take that more or less without thinking. Theft is everywhere, and it is almost impossible to resist the determined thief. All one can do is try to make life a bit more difficult for the thief, in the hope it slows him/her down and encourages them to escape before they get the lot, try not to leave our vehicles in dodgy places, and leave all the family heirlooms, especially Aunt Matilda's diamond tiara, at home while travelling. Be lucky, folks, but don't just rely on luck! *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Den Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Friends of ours use an old purse with a little money and old cards in. This they hide in an easy to find place and hide the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekF Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 Thanks to all who have contributed to this thread (& Nasher for the PM). I've enjoyed reading your comments. Seasons greetings and best wishes for 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly58 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Our Nuevo has a safe fitted by Autosleeper the trouble is anyone looking around AS motorhomes at any shows can see where its installed.One thing we have done is photocopy both passports and driving licences laminated the page and hidden it in the motorhome so in the event of a theft abroad at least we have some photo ID details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bounty hunter Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Years ago I bought an Elnagh which had a safe already fitted. When I sold the van I kept the safe and fitted it in the next 2 vans under the front passenger seat. Fitting was by removing and replacing the seat and securing safe to floor with door facing the front, and only, access point which was too small to allow removal. Safe is now fitted to our Carthago, unfortunately not under the seat, and I always use it even though access is not as quick and easy. Regards John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickt Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I fitted a lowered seat box from Wyvern Accessories . This is a solid bit of kit , two of the bolts are inside the box and go into the floor, front of box has a door with a multi lever lock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.