Last week mine and three other vans were stolen from a CaSSOA Silver award storage facility. 2 t/a's, my new Pageant Bordeaux and a smaller s/a. A number of vans and motorhomes were damaged on the site also.
Fortunately my van (Metis) and one of the t/a's (Phantom) were fitted with trackers and were recovered within 6 hours. The other t/a who's tracker was not operational was located next to mine (quel surprise) in a travellers site near Heathrow. I've not heard about the small van.
Lesson learned:
No amount of security fitted to your van can prevent a determined thief. I had Alko hitch lock, Milenco wheel clamp and steady locks and I'm sure the others did too.
Caravan door and gas locker locks are not secure.
The weak link on a solid looking gate are the hinges.
There are bolt cutters that can go through almost anything see www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC3hFr8p2ck
Communications between adjoning police forces are not as good as you might expect. They have different references for the same incident and as I was able to attend the recovery of my van my mobile was used to connect the relevant parties.
Make sure your tracker is activated at all times. Mine wasn't at the time of theft but once switched on it proved its worth.
Get a solid insurance policy - they've already settled and have been very good throughout. (TowergateBakers) Wonder what my premium will be like next year though?
Possibly most of all, something you never really know until after you've purchased a van, find a dealer with a good service centre. I bought mine from Reading Caravans (was Berkshire Caravans). Matthew the service manager and team have been great since purchase but through this incident have been excellent - we're off in our van again this weekend!
Caravan thefts have been coming down apparently and this incident hasn't put me off but we need to badger manufacturers to beef up the security of their vans as the car manufacturers did some year back. It won't avoid the need for trackers or owners exercising self help and diligence.
Fortunately my van (Metis) and one of the t/a's (Phantom) were fitted with trackers and were recovered within 6 hours. The other t/a who's tracker was not operational was located next to mine (quel surprise) in a travellers site near Heathrow. I've not heard about the small van.
Lesson learned:
No amount of security fitted to your van can prevent a determined thief. I had Alko hitch lock, Milenco wheel clamp and steady locks and I'm sure the others did too.
Caravan door and gas locker locks are not secure.
The weak link on a solid looking gate are the hinges.
There are bolt cutters that can go through almost anything see www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC3hFr8p2ck
Communications between adjoning police forces are not as good as you might expect. They have different references for the same incident and as I was able to attend the recovery of my van my mobile was used to connect the relevant parties.
Make sure your tracker is activated at all times. Mine wasn't at the time of theft but once switched on it proved its worth.
Get a solid insurance policy - they've already settled and have been very good throughout. (TowergateBakers) Wonder what my premium will be like next year though?
Possibly most of all, something you never really know until after you've purchased a van, find a dealer with a good service centre. I bought mine from Reading Caravans (was Berkshire Caravans). Matthew the service manager and team have been great since purchase but through this incident have been excellent - we're off in our van again this weekend!
Caravan thefts have been coming down apparently and this incident hasn't put me off but we need to badger manufacturers to beef up the security of their vans as the car manufacturers did some year back. It won't avoid the need for trackers or owners exercising self help and diligence.