Any Recommendations for driveway security for my caravan

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JB1

Aug 4, 2022
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Hi I park my caravan on my front driveway which is totally open to the road . Any recommendations for security. ie a removable posts etc. My caravan is to one side so it only needs protecting one side and the front. Hope this makes sense. Thanks JB
 
Nov 11, 2009
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Removable posts don’t take much effort to be removed by a quick tug from the thieves Towcar. The best wheel clamp/wheel lock and hitchlock you can afford. Park the caravan nose inwards. Steady locks too. Basically the aim is to persuade the thieves that it would create too much disturbance and time to remove your caravan, and they go elsewhere. Then there’s the option of security trackers installed on the van, and lastly security camera covering the area, all app. enabled to notify you. It all depends on your budget.
 
Apr 20, 2009
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Removable posts don’t take much effort to be removed by a quick tug from the thieves Towcar. The best wheel clamp/wheel lock and hitchlock you can afford. Park the caravan nose inwards. Steady locks too. Basically the aim is to persuade the thieves that it would create too much disturbance and time to remove your caravan, and they go elsewhere. Then there’s the option of security trackers installed on the van, and lastly security camera covering the area, all app. enabled to notify you. It all depends on your budget.

With you OC on the removable security post, started looking myself and found that they either bolt to a solid base, (I have block pavers so no good) or they are concreted in,BUT most have a short stub to concrete in at approx 200mm (8inch's in old money) so again not really any use.
Thinking of making my own with a longer stub.
 
Nov 16, 2015
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Someone on the forum uses the hub locks , where the wheel is removed and a solid wheel "lump" is fitted, looks like the best imobiliting item I have seen.
 

JB1

Aug 4, 2022
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Thanks all, hub lock great but to much faff taking the wheels off every time I park the van up. Ok over winter but a pain when the van is in weekend use etc.
ive got a alko hitch lock and a basic wheel clamp, I just wanted to beef things up a bit.
has anyone heard of a post with a tow ball on the end that the hitch can be locked to kind of two birds with one stone?
 
Nov 16, 2015
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Thanks all, hub lock great but to much faff taking the wheels off every time I park the van up. Ok over winter but a pain when the van is in weekend use etc.
ive got a alko hitch lock and a basic wheel clamp, I just wanted to beef things up a bit.
has anyone heard of a post with a tow ball on the end that the hitch can be locked to kind of two birds with one stone?
JB, a friend of mine had one for his twin axle caravan in BowBrickhill, and an Alko wheel lock, the towrags just put a chain around the A Frame and towed the whole caravan away, about 15 years ago. And it was sideways to the road, on the bend of the road to Woburn.
 
May 7, 2012
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JB, a friend of mine had one for his twin axle caravan in BowBrickhill, and an Alko wheel lock, the towrags just put a chain around the A Frame and towed the whole caravan away, about 15 years ago. And it was sideways to the road, on the bend of the road to Woburn.
The hitch lock is no problem for thieves who come prepared as this shows. Most wheel locks are not a problem, what they cannot live with is noise. You need a good wheel clamp to deter the less professional thieves but basically an alarm that will wake the dead is about the only way to prevent the professional thieves . You should make things as difficult as possible though as that can make them choose an alternative elsewhere because it is easier.
 
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Aug 6, 2022
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apart from the obvious security things, my advice is to get a good insurance and never leave anything in the van that you would not like to loose. This also applies to caravans in storage compounds. What about security cameras around your house, at least then you can see how it was done if it does happen. Have you asked your insurance company what is required ?
 

JB1

Aug 4, 2022
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Thanks for replies, looks like we are all in the same boat doing what we can to protect our belongings, and trusting to luck we don’t get unlucky, and if we are unlucky then hoping the insurance is as good as it says it is. No magic wand or one security device to protect us against the unscrupulous people who would rather take something rather than own it by their own hard work.
luckily I do have decent Cctv, hitch and wheel lock I may try and get some removable bollards made up ( ones that can be set a decent depth in the ground for an added visual and noise deterrent) I think I can get the house alarm extended to cover the caravan as well .
i will also check with the insurance company see if they have any additional advise.
again thanks for your comments.
 
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Jan 3, 2012
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Well next door neighbour leave there caravan on the drive way there a lot of security lights that come on the house if anyone goes near but on the caravan it has alarm that is left on a hitchlock and wheel clamp and so far it not been touch
 
Nov 6, 2005
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Well next door neighbour leave there caravan on the drive way there a lot of security lights that come on the house if anyone goes near but on the caravan it has alarm that is left on a hitchlock and wheel clamp and so far it not been touch
We've had a caravan on our drive for nearly 40 years without any issue - the first just had hitchlock, the second had hitchlock, wheelclamp and alarm while the present has hitchlock, wheellock and alarm - all have been insured - the only insurance claim has been when local lads broke a window with a football.
 

JB1

Aug 4, 2022
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We've had a caravan on our drive for nearly 40 years without any issue - the first just had hitchlock, the second had hitchlock, wheelclamp and alarm while the present has hitchlock, wheellock and alarm - all have been insured - the only insurance claim has been when local lads broke a window with a football.
I had my old caravan on my drive for 17years ish , but the new to me caravan looks a lot more desirable , and I’ve opened my driveway totally, now there is no physical barrie, just back up cut off the locks and tow it away? I know it may be wrong to say but there are quite a lot of people around this summer, and as always things that are not bolted down can have a tendency float away. Search online for the Silsoe co op cash machine robbery? if it is still on the internet, a friend showed me it, quite concerning viewing.
once again thanks for your comments.
 
Aug 31, 2022
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A site called crookstopper.com make an excellent security post. It was originally designed as an anti-ram raid security post for commercial properties, but they have a few pictures on their site where they are now being used to secure driveways and vehicles. Probably because they are far better than any security posts on the market. They also have caravan security posts.
 

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May 7, 2012
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If you use a post, get one where you can fasten the caravan hitch to it. This is far more difficult to overcome if you have the hitch locked on it.
Thefts from homes are not inevitable, one that has been there for some time and has not been stolen is the norm.
 
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An interesting aside... I was talking to a friend yesterday who deals with leisure vehicle insurance as an underwriter covering boats, caravans and motorhomes. He was saying that with the huge explosion in these vehicles through Covid means that crime inevitably follows such a growth... He was talking about large outboard engines, and thieves chain sawing the transoms from boats to get the engine, so the situation is very different from a couple of years ago...
 
Jul 18, 2017
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An interesting aside... I was talking to a friend yesterday who deals with leisure vehicle insurance as an underwriter covering boats, caravans and motorhomes. He was saying that with the huge explosion in these vehicles through Covid means that crime inevitably follows such a growth... He was talking about large outboard engines, and thieves chain sawing the transoms from boats to get the engine, so the situation is very different from a couple of years ago...
In all the time that I owned a speedboat, it was kept in a boat storage by the lake with minimal security, I never removed the outboard engine, but this was way back in the seventies in the middle of Africa. Times have changed.
 

JB1

Aug 4, 2022
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If you use a post, get one where you can fasten the caravan hitch to it. This is far more difficult to overcome if you have the hitch locked on it.
Thefts from homes are not inevitable, one that has been there for some time and has not been stolen is the norm.
Thanks Ray I was leaning towards a post the hitch attaches to my only concern is does the hitch being permanently hooked on to a ball create a problem with corrosion In the hitch head?
 
May 12, 2019
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An interesting aside... I was talking to a friend yesterday who deals with leisure vehicle insurance as an underwriter covering boats, caravans and motorhomes. He was saying that with the huge explosion in these vehicles through Covid means that crime inevitably follows such a growth... He was talking about large outboard engines, and thieves chain sawing the transoms from boats to get the engine, so the situation is very different from a couple of years ago...
I had a transome sawn in 1967 to remove a Johnson 33 hp outboard. I probably made it easy as it was on a canal mooring and the theives could just step off the towpath to stand in the cockpit, it did have a lock but a big crowbar would have been able to break it.
 
May 7, 2012
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Yes things move on. If buying a padlock you do need a close shackle model which is harder to remove with bolt cutters which I think may have been how they got the one off your boat rather than sawing which takes time or a crowbar which would be difficult to get in most well fitted padlocks.
 
Oct 8, 2006
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Thieves don't like noise or lighting, so a couple of good, say 50W LED floodlights high up on the house with parallel PIR detectors so that they cannot throw stones at them or use a BB gun or air rifle, and something that beeps inside the house to show there is outside activity - or a noisy dog!
 
Mar 2, 2022
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I have a Alko wheel lock on one side of my van and on the other a motorbike chain through the allow wheel and through the chassis, also a hitch lock and a tracker. But I guess if they want it they will find a way of taking it, regardless of what security is fitted
 
Mar 3, 2022
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I've NEVER stored a caravan at home!
Soon as you go anywhere with the van all the local lowlifes know you're away and your home is empty and more vulnerable.
Good friend of ours bought a van and stored it on the drive. The very 1st time away the house, garage and 2 outbuildings broken into.
Much prefer to keep it away from the house in a secure storage facility, and my mates van is now kept a couple of bays along from ours.
 
Nov 6, 2005
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I've NEVER stored a caravan at home!
Soon as you go anywhere with the van all the local lowlifes know you're away and your home is empty and more vulnerable.
Good friend of ours bought a van and stored it on the drive. The very 1st time away the house, garage and 2 outbuildings broken into.
Much prefer to keep it away from the house in a secure storage facility, and my mates van is now kept a couple of bays along from ours.
On the other hand, we've stored our caravan at home for 40 years and not had a problem.

The reality is that if you're unlucky enough to have your house targeted, the low-life will burgle it regardless of what's outside.
 
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