Anchorbox; design project for caravan security

[KDonn]

Hello,
I am a design student and i would like to display my proposed project. Which as it is part of a University project is not yet commercially available. I am more interested in the opinions and feedback from caravaners.

Through my research I found a vunerability in hitch locks as they could be overcome with either a figure of 8 rope technique or a dropbox, and that most other systems that used locks could be defeated quickly with a cordless angle grinder or acetaline torch.

The anchorbox is inteneded to add another layer of protection above an anchor post. Essentially it still has the anchor post inside it but with sliding doors which clamp around the hitch preventing access to unlock the hitch, it is also possible to lock the hitch in place with a hitch lock and still close the doors.

A security system inside the anchorbox equipped with magnetic switches to detect if someone tries to open the doors, heat and vibration sensors if a cutting attack is attempted. If the alarm does go off it will call the owner of the caravan or a designated number to warn them that the caravan or trailer is being attacked and hopefully buy some time to intercept the thieves. Also through the size of the anchorbox it would be hoped that it would put off opportunisitic thieves who would previously have tried to overcome a hitchlock, due to the size of the anchorbox the methods of the drop box or rope would not work, although for added security it can be bolted to the ground.

Below are some pictures from a presentation i used recently at university for the Anchorbox, the fictional company i have created is "Safetrail" hence the large graphic.

I have created this 10 question survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/PQHXG9H

However if its more comfortable to comment on it in the thread let me know what you think, any comments, suggestions for improvements, potential problems or ideas on what sort of price it would be worth are welcome and would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Gagakev]

Always nice to see some one having a go for further security, however..
Think a high prcentage of caravans are reversed onto pitches, storage or driveways.
Your questionaire suggests taking it to a site!!

To me is far too big and bulky
What about the weight,
It would swallow the payload, if you had room carry it.
My van is reversed onto the drive, would I want to move your Anchorbox every time I get back or want to leave?
Sorry to be negative, but hope you take it as constructive.

 

[Raywood]

It looks practical for storing a trailer at home but the post would not be there on site although home is where they are most vulnerable anyway.
It looks as though the manufacturing cost might be high with if fitted with the alarm which might be a problem.
Caravan thefts are fairly low but horse boxes are very vulnerable so there may be a market for it there.
It has potential so good luck.

 

[KDonn]

Always nice to see some one having a go for further security, however..
Think a high prcentage of caravans are reversed onto pitches, storage or driveways.
Your questionaire suggests taking it to a site!!

To me is far too big and bulky
What about the weight,
It would swallow the payload, if you had room carry it.
My van is reversed onto the drive, would I want to move your Anchorbox every time I get back or want to leave?
Sorry to be negative, but hope you take it as constructive.

Hi Gagakev
Thanks for the comments, extremely constructive and welcomed.

It would not be something to take around with the caravan as it is a bit too bulky for that, the doors do come apart and with the thing apart it can be carried in its separate parts. However this would not be a practical proposition. It takes up the boot of my estate car to carry it! In total it is 70Kg so not really portable, other than using a small trolley cart to move it i would not consider this something to take between locations.

It is intended more to sit at someones house, or at a camp site. Particularly at a house bolted to the ground where the caravan could remain parked for the winter months. The campsite idea would be to use the anchorbox as intended but possibly incorporate the utility connections for electricity etc and in this case each bay would have an anchorbox rather than expecting the caravan owner to transport the box.

Although there would be the issue of having to push the caravan to the box you mentioned, rather than reverse the caravan into place. I know from the trailer that pushing it can be awkward, having said that i did meet with some caravan owners who pushed their caravan to an anchor post mounted into concrete. If the caravan could be parked then the anchorbox rolled in front of it via a trolley would that alleviate the issue of pushing the caravan?

It looks practical for storing a trailer at home but the post would not be there on site although home is where they are most vulnerable anyway.
It looks as though the manufacturing cost might be high with if fitted with the alarm which might be a problem.
Caravan thefts are fairly low but horse boxes are very vulnerable so there may be a market for it there.
It has potential so good luck.

Thanks Raywood:

The manufacturing cost is currently higher than i think desirable, it is using manufacturing techniques which are somewhat slightly antiquated (basically what i have available) and i would hope to be able to reduce the cost of manufacture through automation. Although approximately £140 is spent on materials steel, hardware, electronics, paint etc. £80 of the cost is in the manufacturing and overheads.

Thank you for the comments, and suggestion about horse boxes.

 

[paws]

Hi KDonn,
and well done with coming up with a new approach to security for caravans, trailers and the like.
Some folks are very concerned over security and go to a lot of trouble with wheel clamps, hitch locks, alarms tracking systems and the use of mobile phones etc...( insurance companies often specify that require a hitchlock to be in use when the trailer is left unattended, or wheel clamps or both!)

If someone has spent a typical £15000 to £25000 on a new caravan or perhaps a lesser amount on a smart new horse trailer they might be prepared to shell out some extra cash for extra security. A lot of folks only fit what they need to fit to keep the insurance people happy.... so maybe your potential market is a little limited and your target market might be those people who already have a tracker installed in both car and trailer or who are relaxed about costs in the interests of protecting their pride and joy?

Your device is still subject to attack by angle grinder or "gas axe" so maybe its main feature is to a certain extent relying on its alarm capabilities, and the time/noise that would be generated in an attacker trying to break it.? There is of course the "visual deterrent" aspect of a large metal security cabinet, and this might appeal to some insurance companies...

It might be worthwhile finding out what sort of premium discount they would be prepared to offer to users of this equipment?

Good luck with your project
regards
paws

 

[RayS]

Good idea and very well presented. However ( as they say on Masterchef etc.) I think it is still vulnerable to attack with angle grinder and unfortunately these are now readily available with good battery voltage and endurance.

Touch wood, I now live in a low risk area but would be looking at other ways of protecting my caravan than lock and key.
The idea of a special wired caravan light socket appeals. This would not only not work but would disable the lighting of the thief's towing vehicle should he plug in the caravan - which I think many would rather than risk being pulled over for having no lights in dark conditions. It ought to be possible to devise something along these lines which would do more than just this. Or some sensor device linked to a mobile phone app. ?

Caravan theft seems more likely to be deliberate and planned than opportunistic, so visible deterrents such as CCTV might help.

Like others, I am sorry to sound negative. As a Chartered Mechanical Engineer I always like a nice mechanical solution but not easy to make such commercial and angle grinder proof.

 

[colin-yorkshire]

hi Ray,
interesting thought. although the idea is not new. years ago a place I worked at had a set of charges for the electrical equipment. each one was specific to that piece of equipment. but most of the plugs were the same. one of the engineers [after several incidents of people plugging in the wrong piece of equipment] changed the configuration of all the plugs on the charges. so it could not happen again.

suppose one could wire your own van to a different pin configuration on both the van and the tow car so it would only work while plugged into a specific vehicle. and yes one could arrange the wiring so that a earth wire shorted out the lights on a tow vehicle using a standard plug. might work that. "well done".

as for the angle grinder you can buy locks that are grinder resistant but none are un-pickable. I have a high security lock on my garage. [wife calls it fort Knox] but was watching a U-tube video on lock picking. and thought wonder if"" so went out with my new found skills to try it. took 15 mins of fiddling to open it, [and it wasn't cheap].
on finding this very disturbing outcome I went to a locksmith in a near town to buy the best one I could that was un-pickable. he told me there was no such thing.
the only determining factor was the time taken to do it in, the harder it is the better the chances the thief will give up before he opened it.
best advice was to use more than one deterrent, the more the better. "sound advice" I think.
any extra level is better than none, plus don't leave anything of value in the van and keep it insured just in case.
I hope this guy makes a success of his invention. one more layer of security is good.
it won't stop the determined thief but the more one can slow them down the better the chances are the van will still be there when you want it..

 

[Martin24]

I would still want to have my wheel lock(s) in place which necessitates parking in a slightly different place each time to get them lined up. I do agree with the comments about horse boxes and trailers though.

Good to see some real thought going into a perennial problem.