Motorhome security
My daughter is about to buy a Motorhome - a complete new venture - or adventure🤣! Any advice on the best security devices would be welcome . As caravanners we have always used both hitch lock and wheel lock but I guess is a bit different for a MH. I was wondering about steering wheel locks? They are picking it up in a couple of weeks so need to get this sorted. Thanks
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It'll be a great adventure 😃
Does the insurer want anything? Where us it being stored? Lots of variables..
I'm sure a steering lock Wouldn't go amiss. It's a visible deterrent.
Sadly if they want it they'll do whatever is necessary to take it 😪😪
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Good advice from B2. A steering wheel lock is favourite with many MH-ers and some use a pedal box which locks across the pedals. Be guided by the insurer but they'll possibly be happy with just the basic vehicle immobiliser.
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VanBitz Growler. Not cheap but it's reckoned to be the best around. They're based down in Taunton with a campsite attached for you to stay on while they do the installation. If you are a subscribing member of Motorhome Fun, you get a bit of a discount. A steering wheel lock is a useful additional budget deterrent to the casual opportunist.
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Last nights Dragons Den had an anti tamper alarm featured which was primarily targeting works vans, but I would expect it’d work just as well on a camper van. Not sure if it can be used whilst occupied, but thought it was a really good idea 😊
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I thought it was totally impractical. It will be triggered by passing pedestrians, birds and goodness knows what. A swipe with a lump hammer or covering of Expandafoam would soon sort it.
Similar devices are already available which trigger an alarm in the house or, wherever you place the sounder. They don't annoy the neighbourhood but I know of folk who are frequently woken at night when an animal triggers the alarm.
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Steering wheel locks are removable in about 30 seconds. They either cut through the wheel or cut the lock off with battery powered tools. An alarm with an immobiliser is about the best. If they want to get in they will just open one of the plastic windows with a screwdriver.
As for Motorhome fun 🤑
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There are probably hundreds of devices available some better than others but all capable of circumvention by a determined and/or professional thief.
My advice would be to purchase a book called Motorhome Security Handbook which is free to download if you join a Forum Called "Motorhome Fun"Membership costs £20 pa but for a newbie it has great benefits including a 10% discount on Van Bitz Alarm.
The following are a handful of possible devices
Lock M Out window locks which I think are a worthwhile deterrent
Laminate glass windows, cab and rear £250-£350 (professional service by Pentagon for example)
Good Alarm Van Bitz Growler is regarded as as good as you can get cost £600-£1000 ?
Tracker
Its all about what the Police call target hardening, in other words making it that bit more difficult for a thief so that they choose a different van to break into.
The security handbook is about security awareness and practice as well as devices and I encourage my daughter to read it if she was going to be a motorhomer. The author owns/runs Motorhome Fun but was a security professional.
Hope this helps
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Here is my list of security devices I use on our motorhome, to hopefully deter theft and also to help if keys are lost or the worst happens. Some are really cheap, the wheelclamp the most expensive, apart from the tracker subscription.
When I'm parked up on my drive at home, I have a Stronghold wheel clamp on one wheel, and a claw lock on another. When trouring I leave the Stronghold at home on the car and just take the claw which is easier to carry.
Inside I have a Milenco steering wheel lock and also turn the drivers seat to face the back and then use a seatbelt car lock – a steel loop lock that locks into the seatbelt buckle on the seat, looped round the door armrest to prevent the seat from being turned. Hopefully a thief would realise they won't be able to drive off.
Also, for additional security on the cab doors, I have two lengths of nylon cord, with a spring loaded dog lead clip on one end and loop on the other, which is fastened round the door handle and round the bottom seatbelt fixing on the door pillar, thus preventing the doors from being pulled open even if not locked. I'd looked at a locking bar that clips inside the doors and goes across the cab seats, but it blocked the use of the seats while parked up.
On the habitation door I have a Fiamma security folding handle. On my previous van I also had another length of cord, as for the cab doors, which was looped through the inside door handle and through a handle inside the van to secure the door when inside. My current van doesn't have the inside handle so have to do without that now.
After a friend had his keys and wallet stolen while abroad (and had forgotten the spare set) I thought I'd take precautions. I bolted a digital key safe, with a 6 digit code (12 button options, not sure of the number of possible combinations), onto the chassis under the van. In this I keep spare keys for the Fiamma security lock and habitation door, and inside the van have a spare ignition key hidden away. So should I lose my keys I can still get in and drive away.
Also, as my spare wheel is accessed from outside the van, I have a steel cable cycle lock, to lock that up, to prevent it from being stolen. Breakdown services can only change a wheel, if you've got a spare.
When I bought the van it already had a tracker fitted and I've kept up the subscription for that. It also was registered with the Central Registration and Identification Scheme (CRiS) and is protected by the VIN chip police traceable scheme. This has two long range RFID chips hidden in the vehicle and several stickers around the vehicle with the VIN number on. Not an anti-theft device but allows the police to identify it. Also all the wheels have locking wheel nuts.
The most recent item is a large stick on registration on the roof, which again is not a deterrent but will allow the van to be picked up on ANPR cameras even if the proper plates are changed. This also came with seven mini stickers, which are located out of obvious sight around the van.0
