Securing Dora

A motorhome is not a castle, and the reality is any good thief could get into it. You can slow them down and deter them. These are devices we use and the steps we took to secure Dora.

Locks

Dora is not the newest of vans. She has no central locking, and like most motorhomes, the habitation door does not have a particularly difficult lock to break. This is something the manufacturers could really address with multipoint locking systems. The advantage of the older van is that they look less appealing than the newer ones, less desirable. Whether this makes them easy pray to the thief, or less valuable we have not researched the statistics on. What we did do was supplement the habitation lock with a Fiamma Safe Door Frame. This is a lock that is secured to the door frame and rotates in front of the habitation door. We also used Sikaflex 552 adhesive to bond the lock to the frame.

We have had some problems with this lock. The key is quite stiff and one of the two keys broke. Now you cannot get replacement keys easily, and as we are on the road have not been able to get a new one cut.

I am not sure why Fiamma design the key with separate parts, this is a weak point and was where the key snapped, so bear this is mind. Also remember that you should not use this lock when you are in the van, especially asleep. The habitation door will be your primary escape route, and should not be blocked.

   

Window alarms

Another weak point in the motorhome is the windows, which are plastic and flexible. We purchased a set of six window alarms. These are by Milenco. They are in two parts. When the alarm is on, if the two parts are separated the alarm activates. You can separate them by about 20mm, which means you can open the window for ventilation still with the alarm on. They also have a small flashing LED to show they are working. Each alarm has a small sliding switch which is quite fiddly to operate, a good thing. Each alarm runs on three small button batteries. These are quite easy to find, but are also small so we took replacements, they are very cheap.

We positioned the alarms up the side of the windows thinking that it would take longer to wrench open the window, reach in, destroy the alarm or switch it off. The alarms are secured by a strong double sided tape, which you may want to improve on by using a strong adhesive. We have placed these locks on all the windows, including the roof lights. We have also alarmed the driver, passenger and habitation door, these we turn on when leaving Dora on her own.

Safe

We installed a safe. No we are not telling you where, it is well hidden. We use a Rottner travel Safe. This is bolted to the floor of the vehicle. We have also constructed a strongbox for our laptops when we are away from the vehicle. It could be broken into, but it would really slow down any thief, and would cause a lot of noise as they tried to get into it.

Security Film

The front windscreen is laminated so it is quite difficult to break, whereas the side windows are safety glass, so will shatter easily. We have applied safety film to them. Another slowing mechanism.

Be careful though. We have manual window winders. In the unlikely event we fell into water we could unwind the windows. Those with electric windows would have to smash there way out. No so easy with safety film.

It was easier to fit than expected, only one or two small bubbles you can hardly detect. Would have been even better if I could have removed the glass completely, but this was too much hassle.

Steering wheel lock

We actually bought this second hand off eBay. A false economy when we had to spend another £7 on a spare key. Quick to fit, and another way to slow down the thief.

Wheel clamp

Another really good deterrent we use when we are away from the vehicle. It is likely to slow any thief down, and might put them off, if there are too many such devices to get through.

This type is quite cheap, doesn’t weigh too much, but importantly doesn’t take up too much space. Not like the traditional wheel clamp.

Stability stays

These are part of the van, and great when it is windy and the van is waving around. Ours are manual so mostly we don’t bother. We do when we leave her alone, and we hide the spanner. What thief is likely to check!

Tracker

Not the £500 version, professionally fitted. A compromise yes and we haven’t connected all the features (door locks- we have no central locking). It won’t get you an insurance discount, but for less than £30 and the cost of a sim card it can track your vehicle. You can also see where the vehicle is and turn off the petrol pump remotely.

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm

Not so much security, but health and safety. What we didn’t get was a gas alarm. Really, if you believe in gas attacks, you are more gullible than us. We are just surprised that insurance companies pay out on such motor homers that have obviously just had a little bit too much of the old local vino!

But a good smoke alarm, essential.

Stickers

These are the height of deterrent, especially as we are travelling around Europe, so who knows how many thieves will understand them. It does have to just put one off, your thief to work, and they are very low cost and easy to install, so why not.

You can get ones with your number plate on, which could be even more convincing, worth a try.

Window blinds

These came with our vehicle, but didn’t fit so a few adjustments and they are just fine. Always pull the blinds down and don’t show any would be thief what is around!

So far, so good.

GDR and SM