Motorway thieves at it again

[Martin24]

Well said Parksy, Used two services on the way down to Cornwall and two on the way back, at all times one of us was with the outfit while the other was sorting peeps or dowgs. As an aside we never leave the dowgs unattended outside a shop either, even for only a minute or two, no way of securing them against theft either, which is an all to common event too.

 

[Gafferbill]

Good post Parksy (Steve)

No point worrying about the window catches on your caravan barrychas!
......I once saw a youth gain entry to a caravan by punching a side window with his bare fist and shattering the plastic.
He was in in seconds...... you are right it is a joke!
A sense of humor is a requirement for going caravaning you know

 

[TD42]

Back to the OPs original remarks, I do think that is just a cheapskate saving of a few pence on the manufactures part regardin the non locking window catches they fit,especially when they are generaly fitted to most heiki type roof sliding windows at least they are on my Pageant

 

[Raywood]

I have to agree, it cannot be beyond the intelegence of the suppliers to come up with a window catch that cannot be dislodged from the outside.

 

[Sproket]

I have to agree, it cannot be beyond the intelegence of the suppliers to come up with a window catch that cannot be dislodged from the outside.

The one's that are on my windows cannot be disloged as it holds the windows in five places with a positve fixing catch, but there again if we have to stop at the services, one of us always stays with the van.

 

[otherclive]

OPs little rant is somewhat misplaced as no where in his original post does he say that he checked all catches before leaving his van unattended at the services, so whilst he may not like it some of us have found that catches can loosen during driving so our comments were meant to be helpful and not deserving of his rudeness.

(drafted on planet reality)

 

[ProfJohnL]

I'm sure many of us will have windows at home, and most of the recent fittings incorporate a push button/lock that you have to push before the handle will rotate. So the principal is there, its just that the caravan industry seems to be dead set on reinventing almost every domestic device we use in the home - and doing it badly.
Taps are another component that are often highlighted, as are door locks, hinges, lights and heater controls etc.

Now I know there are issues with weight, and if you were to use straight domestic components you would add several Kg to the basic caravan. But if the caravan manufacturers would talk sensibly to the domestic manufactures, I know that many would consider producing lighter weight versions of well established and proven products.

 

[ValA.]

I put a question to my OH this morning, asking 'How would you make the simplest DIY modification to the window stay to make it more difficult to open from outside, but not from inside'. His reply was think for a minute, then drill a tiny hole in the mount that the handle/lock slots into, on the handle side, then a slip a large headed panel pin into the hole, which stops the handle being rotated until the pin is removed! Took less than 1 minute - and that included locating the drill, changing the bit, and finding a panel pin. I've left him doing the rest! OK taking out the pins might be a bit of a pain when you want to open ALL the windows on a hot day - but it will help make the van more secure!!

 

[SteveW77]

I put a question to my OH this morning, asking 'How would you make the simplest DIY modification to the window stay to make it more difficult to open from outside, but not from inside'. His reply was think for a minute, then drill a tiny hole in the mount that the handle/lock slots into, on the handle side, then a slip a large headed panel pin into the hole, which stops the handle being rotated until the pin is removed! Took less than 1 minute - and that included locating the drill, changing the bit, and finding a panel pin. I've left him doing the rest! OK taking out the pins might be a bit of a pain when you want to open ALL the windows on a hot day - but it will help make the van more secure!!

That's very good, only trouble is when they broke into my van, they just used a screw driver and levered the window until the handles snapped off. They did 15 other vans in the storage yard all in the same way. So you can pin what you like but the handles are only brittle plastic and snap off very easily.

Steve W

 

[barrychas]

Ok . Time to put this to bed. Apologies all round to anyone I upset ..but the inference that I forgot to check my windows before departure was an insult to my intelligence and that I would post such a mistake on what is generally a brilliant forum ,suggests that I should be posting such forgetfullness on the Caravan Club forum.
I was angry in the course of trying to raise awarness amongst this comunity of the measures we have to add to our vehicles to simply protect our very expensive investment, only to be told that I may have been suffering from memory loss !! ...well let me tell you after having had one van stolen from a " secure" yard I am very aware of the opportunists that prevade this country and always do whatever I can to try to guard my property and therefore any sharing of info in this community must be beneficial to all.
Cheers ....and now I have prob upset all the Caravan Club Members...but I have just returned from the brilliant wonderfull Olympics,so bring it on.. (LOL) Laff out Loud ...to the non texters.