Security advice please.

[Angela3]

We have an Abbey GTS 418, purchased new last year,

after reading about the ordeal of a couple who were broken into via the door of their caravan, whilst sleeping, we are(or rather I am!- not husband) very worried about the same thing happening to us, as it seems to be the weakest point of entry into a caravan.

Would anyone know if it is possible to fit extra locks i.e. a door chain or similar to the inside of the door??

Is it a DIY job or is it better done by the experts at a dealer??

Also would it effect the warranty on the caravan??

Many thanks Peter and Angela

 

[SteveW77]

I found that the easiest answer to the problem was to use a small personal alarm, ( the type that women carry) I stuck the alarm to the wall next to the door with Velcro and I loop the wrist strap around the door handle. If the door is opened it pulls the cord out of the alarm and the noise is deafening. No one could sleep through it and anyone setting it off would probably die of fright.

The alarm was less than

 

[Sam_374394490]

Hi Angela

I have bought door alarms from Instore, purely to alert us in the night if the children decided to go walk about.

They come in a pack of 2 for

 

[cara89]

I think this is a great idea for peace of mind if we were ever sited near a river or main road which i try to avoid.My children are at an unpredictable age and I tend to go into a deep sleep when i first fall asleep, lighter sleeper in early hours.I am sure my kids wouldnt venture out of caravan but your idea has given me thought for, as I say, peace of mind.Thanxxx

 

[Angela3]

I think this is a great idea for peace of mind if we were ever sited near a river or main road which i try to avoid.My children are at an unpredictable age and I tend to go into a deep sleep when i first fall asleep, lighter sleeper in early hours.I am sure my kids wouldnt venture out of caravan but your idea has given me thought for, as I say, peace of mind.Thanxxx

Many thanks for your replies, what a brilliant idea, better than a door chain as we weren't happy about drilling holes in the door!

Thank you

 

[Mick_price]

I replaced the door handle and lock assembly on the outside of the caravan with one with a round key rather than a straight key. I may be wrong, but I imagine it to be more secure because you can't just put a screwdriver in the slot and force it. Not sure if you can still buy these, but I fitted it to one of my earlier caravans some years ago and I have just kept re-using it with each new model.

My other idea (yet to be properly developed) is to have a suitably sized and shaped piece of wood that would simply wedge under the door handle at night to prevent it being pulled down.

Regards

Mick

 

[Steve L]

Hi Angela.

Steve W, has given you an excellent tip and one I use for a multitude of situations. I pin one under our caravan and down to ground, so that should the van be towed away the alarm goes off.

From a point of view of internal security, I could recomend fitting a gas detector inside the van. You can get these from most alarm instalation companies. They are pricey but worth peace of mind, especially when abroad. What this alarm does is to detect any change of comosition in the atmosphere around you. You see, the favored way of burgulary abroad is to use gas injected into the van via a vent to drug the occupants prior to breaking in.

My brother-in-law had this happen in France last year. He lost all his cash and credit cards.

Good job they gassed him though, he is more than capable of taking on several bolkes at the same time, but a drop of gas rendered him useless.

I don't wish to scare people away from holidaying abroad, but take some degree of precaution. For example, don't use layby's or municiple sites. Go for the commercial sites with security patrols.

I leave my XXL sized hi viz jacket draped over the chair in our awning, just as a friendly reminder of how big a 6ft burly builder who plays rugby can be.

You'd be suprised just how much you can deter the casual blagger with a few strategically placed items to suggest he would bite off more than he can chew.

One thing I will say is DO NOT have knives, baseball bats at hand as these immeadiately say dangerous weapons, but a dry powder extinguisher can be just as effective, so don't throw out the out of date one.

Steve L.

 

[Gafferbill]

I endorse Steve W's method........

I have used it for a number of years in conjunction with a flashing red LED warning light displayed on the inside of the door window visible from the outside.

A flashing mini red LED gives a warning in any language!

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=22905

 

[Ianofwilts]

Angela

As Sam said, I think the best thing is the door alarm. The one my inlaws use at home was about

 

[jaffasdad]

I would not disagree with most of what has been said, but Steve L's advice not to stay on municipal sites in France is surely a bit OTT.

 

[Guest]

Agreed. 'Johnny Foreigner' is not sitting waiting for poor old Brit to pull in, just so he can have a swipe at your belongings. You have as much chance of getting broken into here in good old Blighty as abroad, and at least the Gendarmes will probably turn up, unlike Plod here. Also as the Europeans now know we are broke here in the UK they will not bother with us, as we have nothing left to steal.

Just be sensible wherever you are and do not be ostentatious by flaunting all the 'goodies' you have purchased.

 

[Steve L]

Quite agree about plod SL.

When the alarm used to go off at my factory, I dutifully raced to the sceene and always got there before plod. Then one day it dawned on me!

They were deliberately dawdling to the factory so that I'd scare off the blaggers so they wouldn't have to work up a sweat doing some thief taking.

So I went slower just to see if I could get there last. After all, the wooden tops have the right gear to defend pick axe handles.

Ron you are right in a way that I might of been a little OTT, but why tempt fate? I'd rather pay a bit more for a quality site for the peace of mind factor. After all, you won't stop a determined criminal where ever you are. Well not without breaking the law your self anyway. Then of coarse the crimainals do have their rights stacked in their favor !!??

Steve L.

 

[Angela3]

thanks to everyone that responded to my query on the alarm, and no I don't think any of the answers were over the top, I'd rather be for warned of other experiences and then it's up to the individual to decide what and how to deal with it.

We bought an alarm from Maplin,you're supposed to attach one part to the door and the other part to the frame, but the door seal prevents the alignment of the two parts, so what now!!!!!??

Attaching one part to a wooden block to make it come out further seems to be onr solution does anyone have any others please?

Many thanks

 

[Angela3]

any ideas out there anyone?? please. especially if you had and resolved this problem-without taking it back that is!!!

 

[Gumbo]

It would be interesting to see what tenters do for security ????