Motorhome Break-Ins – How We Deter The Thieves
“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” John A. Shedd
I spend a lot of time reading motorhome blogs, so it’s reasonable that from time to time I’ll come across details of break-ins. The Our Bumble guys posted on Facebook recently to say their van had been done over in France, the door mangled and rear tyres punctured. A Major Break were broken into in Spain and a fair few things nicked. Errmmm, but thinking about it, that’s about the lot, that’s all I’ve come across. Tens of thousands of vicarious miles and hundreds of overnight stays, in tens of different countries, and that’s all the blogger break-ins I’ve read about. Wow.
In our last 2 year stint, some of the fab folks we were lucky enough to travel with were involved in two incidents. One couple had an attempted break-in (they failed to break the door locks) while they were in a museum, plus our mates Jacqui and Marc had their window removed in Portugal by some undesirables, who proceeded to rummage through all the places we thought were clever ‘hiding spots’ for stuff. We also chatted with as many people as we could, asking how they stayed secure. In all of this, I’ve only ever heard of a single case of someone trying to get into the van while they were in there (technomadics, while parked outside a port in Tunisia, and the ‘robbers’ were drunk and asking for alcohol). In our travels we’ve slept in about 500 different places, areas both rich and poor, and no-one has broken into the vans we’ve used.
Despite this soothing anecdotal evidence, the recent Our Bumble break-in got me thinking, as we’re just a few weeks from heading off out ourselves and I don’t much fancy being broken into. What did we do last time to help us stay safe? What can we do again? What is the biggest risk to us as we spend months out travelling Europe?
These are big questions, and I’m not going to do them justice in a single blog post. I suspect someone could write a book. Maybe start off by contacting all of the insurance companies and see if they’d give you data on motorhome claims. Which countries and areas were the claims made from? What was stolen? Where exactly was the van parked at the time? Which dates were the claims made? How did the thieves get in? Was anyone threatened? What time of day or night did the break-in happen? Was it an urban area or rural? Was the area well lit? What security measures did the van have?
As I started to think about all of this, I remembered something. The only damage which happened to Dave (our legend of a Hymer B544) wasn’t caused by robbers. It was caused by us. We forgot to wind down the main skylight, resulting in an open-air feel to Dave for a while. We didn’t put decent tyres on, which saw one blow out and mangle a wheel arch and a cupboard in the van. I reversed into that rebar sticking from a wall in Italy. I whacked a wing mirror against those unsuspecting worker’s van in France…
I also remembered something else. The tyre blowout scared us all. Stood in the grass waiting for the ADAC guys to come and get the spare wheel on, I remember thinking to myself ‘this was supposed to be fun, no-one is supposed to be getting hurt’. That thought stuck in my head as we went. As long as we stayed safe, then the van being broken into could happen and I’d get over it.
The follow-on thought was then: so how do we stay safe? What’s the biggest threat to us? Having read my fair share of Bruce Schneier (world-renowned security expert) I came to this conclusion: statistically the biggest threat we faced was driving. Whenever I got behind he wheel, the real risk to us shot up (albeit from practically nothing to something hovering just above). The way in which I drove, how well prepared Dave was, the conditions we drove in and the way those around us drove were all far more likely to impact our safety than the risk of someone stealing our stuff. This was (and remains) a welcoming thought, since much of this stuff we can influence directly.
But having said all of that, I’m still threatened by theft. I’ll face up to it. I’m far, far more threatened by the idea of not doing the things I dream about than losing some stuff I can (if I really needed to) replace, but all the same, we don’t fancy being targeted. So what do we plan to do to try and reduce chances of a break-in. Much of this was learned last time:
- Don’t go to the thieves. Sounds daft I know, but if I were a thief I’d want the least possible effort to get as much swag as I could with as little risk as possible, lazy swine that I am. I’d want the van to come to me, to be easily accessible, to be observable so I can see the occupants leave, to have no alarm and to be easy to get away from. Where are these places? I honestly have no idea, but can guess at some: tourist attraction car parks, service areas on non-toll roads and streets in cities (we use secure parking for cities in particular).
- Expect to be broken into. Live day to day as though you’ll come back to the van and find it emptied, or even gone. Harsh, I know, but this Armageddon-scenario thinking worked for us. If there’s something you’d need in that scenario, you need it on your person when you’re out and about. Passports, credit cards, cash, SD card with photos, maybe your laptop. Yup, could mean someone’s more likely to mug you, but again playing the villain, I’d rather nick from an empty van than a wild-eyed, bearded and un-washed gibbon boy (aka, moi).
- Hide our wares. We draw the blinds or curtains whenever we stop and both of us leave the van. That way the robbers can’t see your flash telly, or be 100% sure you’re not in there, waiting with that AK-47 you got at motorhomesurvivor.com (I made that website up). Note that I’ve come across others who suggest the exact opposite: take valuables with you, hide everything else in cupboards and leave the blinds and curtains open.
- Play our own game. We would pull down Dave’s overcab bed when we were doubtful about security, and use the cushions to make it look like someone was asleep under the duvet. We’d leave a curtain open a tiny bit so you could see this. We wrote hand-written notes in the local language saying ‘beware of the dog’ and stuck them in the window (yes, we did actually have a dog, but might have been better protected by a Guard Hamster). Other folks tie a dog lead to the step, or leave an old pair of shoes and a dog bowl there. Whatever works for you – the more innovative the better.
- Use our gut feeling, or just as someone. Let’s face it, if you’ve a black belt in karate, you’re maybe going to feel safer parked up overnight in a car park in Italy than the likes of us will. Everyone’s idea of what ‘feels safe’ is going to be different, but no harm in going on your gut feeling if there’s nothing else to go on. On the other hand, if there’s a tourist info office, police station or fellow vanner or two knocking about, we’ll just ask them.
- Don’t be mugs. Zagan has a Strikeback alarm, and it’ll be on whenever we’re out. A deadlock on the door, which will go on even if we’re leaving him for a minute to eyeball the local Lidl’s opening hours. Keys, obviously, will remain glued to my grubby paw and never left in the ignition. Our velvet bags of black diamonds will remain in the security vault in Switzerland (ahem).
- C’mon, c’mon let’s stick together. Where there were other vans, we felt safer on the basis they’d probably look out for us as we would for them. This didn’t stop us parking up alone though, we did that a lot, especially in rural spots.
Any thoughts on crafty way to deceive the thieves gratefully received – drop ’em in the comments below?
Cheers, Jay
We feel that our windows are our most vulnerable part of the Motorhome. Easily pull out and broken (plastic). We have Lock m out catches now but still windows can be broken.
Hi Nora, same feeling here. The windows are where I’d go in if I were a thief, although getting back out with all the stuff would be a pain, ideally I’d open a door from the inside, which most van allow (makes sense, for safety under normal circumstances). Nothing much for it but to use common sense where parking and take your valuables with you/don’t have any… Cheers, Jay
We have a strong metal safe screwed to the floor under the rear seats/bed. We keep our cash, van documents, passports and my camera in it and anything else of any value that will fit.
Hi Jean
This makes a lot of sense to me. As long as it’s well secured to the vehicle and hard to rip out. Adds some weight and you can only fit smaller stuff in it, but definitely worth considering.
Cheers, Jay
We have various LED flashing lights at visible points like the dashboard, cab windows, hab door window etc. The more ” homemade” looking the better we think as that way they are more likely to be thought unpredictable by someone who sees them from outside. Make sure all wires attached to them appear to be going somewhere where there might be an alarm etc hidden.
Hi Christie
Crafty! Like it! Good old Zagan already has £1000 worth of alarm/immobiliser a previous owner has fitted, and an LED up front in the bumper. All the lights flash and it beeps when it’s switched on, and there are warning stickers in various languages all over him. All the outside lockers are alarmed. As far as I can tell, the only safe place for a thief to attack is the loo, good luck to ’em in there!
Cheers, Jay
Personally, I think Europe has changed dramatically over the past couple of years, there are literally thousands of people willing to relieve you of your goods, who arrive daily from Syria, Libya etc. 36,000 last week alone found their way to Greece.
We no longer use the service areas or Aires, but now overnight on campsites, wild camping is not an option and with the likely hood of perhaps thousands on the move, is it worth the gamble to save a few Euros?
From experience the thieves prefer you to be in the vehicle, ready with your card details, keys for the safe etc, so an alarm has limited use, as for being a deterrent does anyone actually take any notice of an alarm sounding?
Only two weeks ago having just collected our new (to us) motorhome, a really shady character circled the van several times weighing us up, actually hanging around the rear of the vehicle for some time thinking I could not see him, but I was watching the reversing camera obviously not English and looking worst for wear, and that was at the services near Cambridge!
Mike n June
Hi guys
Sounds like you’ve had first had experience of being physically threatened while in your van. Sounds harrowing. I’ve not had this happen to me or anyone I know, something I’m very grateful for. On the other hand, family members were attacked at a villa in Spain.
I’m struggling to be convinced there is a correlation between immigration and crime. Just done a quick google and this came up early in the results: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/28732/. Indicates large scale movement of people from new EU countries into the UK didn’t cause crime.
I’ll keep looking into this, need to inform myself better.
Take care guys, Jason
Our T4 Trident was done over in a supermarket car park in Rome. Lost all the electrical kit Sat Nav, camera computer. We had become complacent. Car Insurance would not pay out as items were not locked away in the boot! Household insurance paid out biggest problem was changing passwords on internet accounts. Fortunately I had set the Hard drive of the computer to encryption (Mac Book). Endless to say now we are more careful. and secure everything every time. Irony is if in order to prevent the theft from your van you take a rucksack with camera and computer into a French supermarket they think you are going to shoplift and ask you to lock it up in one of their lockers.
Thanks Paul. Good reminder about the full drive encryption. Last laptop was encrypted with true crypt but that’s no longer available. Need to find a solution to cover the one we’ll take with us, thanks fella. Cheers, Jay
JandJ
Look I generally agree with most of your thoughts and the comments already added. But I thought I should comment on our experience.
We had a window forced in Tarragona Spain on last years trip. We were lucky in that although the Hymer was ransacked nothing was taken. Either because we came back and disturbed them, or someone else did perhaps. It was quite a disturbing experience, not to mention spending 4 hours in a police station just to get an incident #. I was able to re-secure the window temporarily and a £53 window latch kit from Brownhills and it was back as good as new.
Why were we targeted ? We did the normal thing Motorhomers often do, drove into a large carpark looked around saw a large tree with lots of shade and drove up under it and parked. The problem being it was 50-60 metres from the nearest cars and the tree gave cover to the robber.
The main reason for not losing our passports wallets etc was the small safe we had bolted to the floor behind the drivers seat. Our thought has always been we are better of leaving our most important valuables in the safe. Walking around with the minimum cash, one credit card and some id. Why because I had a wallet pick-pocketed in Paris one day.
This year we had a new alarm fitted, I actually wanted to get a strickback fitted but we couldn’t get an installation date suitable from them. Anyway we had an auto-watch system fitted, I had the technician fit central locking as well as external warning lights and extra locker sensors etc. We have been very happy with it so far. Just a sense of being more secure. We also have fiamma magnum fitted to the front door and a fiamma handle on the back.
All you can do be as secure as you can and risk assess before you walk away from your Hymer in a remote location.
Michael and Pam
Thanks Michael and Pam
My guess is it isn’t actually possible to avoid theft, it’s a fact of life and comes with the territory of pointing the old land yacht away from the driveway and living in the thing.
I’m suspecting the less stuff we have in the van, or at least the less stuff we really care whether it is nicked or not (we’re going out of this world naked at the end), the better.
Thanks for the info, much appreciated. Good luck and keep on trucking, Jay
Thinking about thieves attempting to break in whilst your still in the van I have decided to invest in some off coast parachute flares and a loud noise maker (probably a +140db attack/rape alarm) that way if I am unable to drive off I can signal for help by firing them through my roof windows and draw additional attention to my exact location by setting off the alarm and turning my hazard lights on…..if nothing else it will give the thieves something to think about and may scare them off.
Blimey Paul, you’re an animal man, an animal!!! I was thinking of just leaning on the van horn. :-) Cheers, Jay
We have a cobra alarm which you can switch on at night. It will arm the doors ect but not the sensors inside. I also have a disklok for the steering wheel and bought a couple of roofing bars from Jewsons, bend the ends and the fit over the front door handles. You then padlock them together as the bars have hols drilling all along them.
An interesting read, especially as I’ll be travelling as a single female, I am a little worried. To be honest, like you guys, my only real worry is the dog. I suppose if you make the van virtually unstealable with an alarm/immobiliser then the biggest risk is them leaving the door open allowing her to escape. I’m hoping I’ll only have to leave her very briefly for supermarket visits! Thanks for the advice.
Hi Lindsay. We met a few ladies travelling alone and they all seemed very happy indeed. Take it easy, keep your eyes open and enjoy! Cheers, Jay
Guys, Think I’ll sell my van and stay home!
I haven’t been abroad for a couple of years, what with moving house and setting up etc. I was planning to go next year, but am concerned in the present migrant situation. At the moment, I am visiting wife’s family in Colombia,SA and feel safer here, than it sounds in Europe. I have used Aires, etc, extensively in the past, but looks like it’s not going to be as enjoyable as it was. Another freedom gone.Stay Safe Guys and Girls.
Hi Brian. TV and media in general has a remarkable power to make the world look incredibly dangerous, even the parts you actually live in. In my (albeit limited) experience, it pays serious dividends if you go and look for yourself. Keep on travelling! Cheers, Jay
Hi Jay
I am reading all I can from your blogs and responders. Thank you for all the info I have gleaned.
I am about to pick up my first motorhome and as I am a lady on her own plus my little dog, I need all the help I can get!!!
My plan is to travel around the coast of UK initially and see how that goes.
I have so many questions…..
Bests
Jill
Watch out on busy car parks. We had our lock tampered with Blown)and thief’s got in our motor-home and took our computer, from under a seat. Why I have mentioned this incident was because the car park in Question Albir front nr Altea was the last place I would have expected, to have been broken into. Busy lots of cars coming and going plus a good clear view of the car park, from the front where their are constant pedestrians up and down. So beware where ever you park. also we where in Almera a couple of weeks before on a Sunday and the same thing had happenned to a Spanish family.
We lock everything in a bag and wrap it in a pacsafe then secure it around the metal rail inside the dining seating. We carry our pacsafe everywhere on our travels and even use it when staying in hostels/hotels. You just need a secure fixture to attach it to.