Am I being Staked out?

[Parksy]

Our local council have addressed the issue of groups of travellers setting up camp in parks, industrial estates and playing fields.
Despite local opposition the council built a temporary stopover site for travellers who pass through the borough.
The council charge rent and council tax for spaces on this site.
Not surprisingly, the travelling community won't use this temporary site because they have to pay.
If they now turn up anywhere in the borough and set up camp illegally, they are turfed out within 24 hours because provision has been made for them to stay for a limited period if they pay.
They steer clear of this area now.
It goes to show that a local 'temporary travellers site', despite its initial unpopularity with local residents, can sometimes be a blessing in disguise. 😉

 

[Dustydog]

[
It goes to show that a local 'temporary travellers site', despite its initial unpopularity with local residents, can sometimes be a blessing in disguise. 😉
[/QUOTE]
Something good from Sandwell Council😜

 

[Parksy]

Something good from Sandwell Council😜

It makes a change.
They probably haven't got their mates or family members within the travelling community 🤨

 

[Buckman]

It makes a change.
They probably haven't got their mates or family members within the travelling community 🤨

A bit off thread. Where a friend of ours the road is diabolical and they have been complaining about it for ages. Someone who was living in the same road was elected onto the council. Strangely enough a few months later the whole road was entirely resurfaced. Coincidence?

 

[anotherDavid]

I have a Hobby that is particularly attractive to thieves and use one of these JSB Hublocks. My dealer lost 2 before he started using them, lost non since.
Its a pain having to remove a wheel when we get home and refitting before we leave but to the best of my knowledge nobody has succeeded in cutting one off without destroying the hub in the process

 

[Raywood]

If, as they look to be, locking wheel nuts, then it is possibly as good as you will get. I think any thief will find an easier target than that.

 

[Buckman]

If, as they look to be, locking wheel nuts, then it is possibly as good as you will get. I think any thief will find an easier target than that.

Some storage compounds will not allow them and for some insurance companies it does not fill their criteria for a wheel lock

 

[hogrider56]

Unfortunately yes it seems very much like the toerag was checking you out.
Apart from the caravan I be concerned about your vehicles too. Thefts of and from vehicles on driveways, particularly those with keyless entry, has been going on for years. Works vans are always a target but where I live there has actually been a recent spate of late model KIA thefts in particular.
Most people leave their car keys near the front door so, somebody with the right scanner, which apparently can be purchased easily online, just needs to get close enough to read the key code which is constantly being transmitted by the key. This reading is then instantly transmitted it to someone standing near the vehicle with a receiver. The vehicle is unlocked, started and driven away while the keys are still in the house. It literally takes seconds.
The vehicles are then dismantled and the parts sold on to satisfy the demand caused by the global parts shortage. And there lies the problem in the form of the person who would buy parts unobtainable from legitimate sources but readily available in the pub, from faceless online sites or dodgy breakers yards. They are the cause of the demand which criminals are all too happy to supply.

My son is an electrician and some scumbags broke into his van years ago when he was an apprentice. They took his tools which he'd accumulated over time and cost a fortune to replace.
Many people relish the opportunity to buy tools which might be worth £300 for £25 off some geezer down the pub. What they fail to realize is that what they're buying has cost some hard working individual the means to do their job.
Moral rant over.

I now keep my keys in a tin box in the middle of the house but I've ordered a couple of Faraday bags from Amazon to shield the keys from scanners. Another reason why I dislike keyless entry. Manufacturers are aware of this vulnerability but won't do anything about it. At the very least there should be a method of turning the key off so it's only transmitting when required or do away with keyless entry altogether.

If you took the battery out of the key would that prevent it from being scanned? I know its a pain having to do this....particularly when the reason is because of the scumbags at large nicking cars.

 

[otherclive]

If you took the battery out of the key would that prevent it from being scanned? I know its a pain having to do this....particularly when the reason is because of the scumbags at large nicking cars.

I just keep mine in a tin box in a draw at the far end of the house from the drive.

 

[RogerL]

I just keep mine in a tin box in a draw at the far end of the house from the drive.

I just made a point of not ticking the keyless option when I orderd the car - it's really no big deal using a key every time.

 

[Gozza2]

Some storage compounds will not allow them and for some insurance companies it does not fill their criteria for a wheel lock

Most insurance companies only ask for one wheel lock - so how about one of those hublocks on one side and an insurance-approved wheel lock on the other?

While not doubting Buckman's word, I don't really see why a storage site would object - whether you use a hublock or a conventional wheel lock, they're not going to be able to move the caravan in an emergency so what's the difference as far as they're concerned?

 

[otherclive]

I just made a point of not ticking the keyless option when I orderd the car - it's really no big deal using a key every time.

I didn't have that option unfortunately.

 

[Buckman]

Most insurance companies only ask for one wheel lock - so how about one of those hublocks on one side and an insurance-approved wheel lock on the other?

While not doubting Buckman's word, I don't really see why a storage site would object - whether you use a hublock or a conventional wheel lock, they're not going to be able to move the caravan in an emergency so what's the difference as far as they're concerned?

A hub lock is different to a wheel lock so maybe the insurance do not appreciate the difference?
In storage may the storage owner feels that if the caravan has a hub lock and needs to be move in an emergency the storage owner cannot move it. They can still drag a caravan with ALKO secure locks if necessary?
We would never consider a hub lock as too much hassle to fit and also remove. Then you need storage for the wheel.

 

[otherclive]

My storage did not allow winter wheel stands, or the storage of the caravan on axle stands/ blocks without the road wheels still in place. As Buckman says it was so they could still drag a caravan using the quads/ tractor if an emergency situation required rapid removal.

 

[Raywood]

Many storage operators and sites do not like the caravan stored without the wheels. The theory is that it is difficult to move them if there is a fire, but to me that is not a realistic option now. Most caravans have wheel locks of some kind, so moving them quickly in the event of a fire is simply too difficult, possibly they might be able to get one out further up the line, but even that may not be feasible. You would have to look at the least effective lock and hope you could overcome that.
Dragging them out with a tractor could be impossible if they have a hitch lock, so while we have hindered potential thieves we are preventing any serious fire precautions. Even removing one caravan from a line might not work as the distance between them might still be too small.

 

[RogerL]

Many storage operators and sites do not like the caravan stored without the wheels. The theory is that it is difficult to move them if there is a fire, but to me that is not a realistic option now. Most caravans have wheel locks of some kind, so moving them quickly in the event of a fire is simply too difficult, possibly they might be able to get one out further up the line, but even that may not be feasible. You would have to look at the least effective lock and hope you could overcome that.
Dragging them out with a tractor could be impossible if they have a hitch lock, so while we have hindered potential thieves we are preventing any serious fire precautions. Even removing one caravan from a line might not work as the distance between them might still be too small.

The often imposed insurance requirement to have a hitch-lock and wheel-lock makes a mockery of the perceived need to drag a burning caravan out of a line - I'm sure the Fire & Rescue Services would advise not going near a burning vehicle with LPG on board!

 

[Gozza2]

The storage site I'm on, I was specifically told "use what locks you like, in the event of a fire that's what insurance is for". That said, it's a condition of storage that no gas bottles or other flammables are left with the caravan - not sure how universal compliance is with that, or if / how they check.

Come to that, how many storage sites have staff on site that could move a caravan in an emergency anyway?

 

[Beachball]

Most insurance companies only ask for one wheel lock - so how about one of those hublocks on one side and an insurance-approved wheel lock on the other?

While not doubting Buckman's word, I don't really see why a storage site would object - whether you use a hublock or a conventional wheel lock, they're not going to be able to move the caravan in an emergency so what's the difference as far as they're concerned?

On my last caravan at the storage site we use a wheel clamp and i use to leave a key with them in case they needed to move it with a tractor