Mate has just had his brand new camper van stolen from outside his house.
Luckily, it has a tracker, and they located it about 3 miles away. Lots of
damage done to the electrics and so on. But they obviously managed to
drive it away, without the keys. So much for immobilisers.

Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?

--
*Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 23/08/2019 11:51, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Mate has just had his brand new camper van stolen from outside his house.
Luckily, it has a tracker, and they located it about 3 miles away. Lots of
damage done to the electrics and so on. But they obviously managed to
drive it away, without the keys. So much for immobilisers.

Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?


Interesting, the brand new £60,000 camper parked at the end of the
cul-de-sac has gone today.

On 23/08/2019 11:55, Andrew wrote:
On 23/08/2019 11:51, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Mate has just had his brand new camper van stolen from outside his house.
Luckily, it has a tracker, and they located it about 3 miles away.
Lots of
damage done to the electrics and so on. But they obviously managed to
drive it away, without the keys. So much for immobilisers.

Or they just lifted up te front and towed it


Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?


Interesting, the brand new £60,000 camper parked at the end of the
cul-de-sac has gone today.


--
Future generations will wonder in bemused amazement that the early
twenty-first centurys developed world went into hysterical panic over a
globally average temperature increase of a few tenths of a degree, and,
on the basis of gross exaggerations of highly uncertain computer
projections combined into implausible chains of inference, proceeded to
contemplate a rollback of the industrial age.

Richard Lindzen

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
Mate has just had his brand new camper van stolen from outside his house.
Luckily, it has a tracker, and they located it about 3 miles away. Lots of
damage done to the electrics and so on. But they obviously managed to
drive it away, without the keys. So much for immobilisers.

Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?

nah they just hacksaw through the rim of the steering wheel and remove
it.......

On 23/08/2019 11:51, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Mate has just had his brand new camper van stolen from outside his house.
Luckily, it has a tracker, and they located it about 3 miles away. Lots of
damage done to the electrics and so on. But they obviously managed to
drive it away, without the keys. So much for immobilisers.

Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?


The Thatcham approved steering wheel 'Disc-lock' certainly will slow
them down a lot, and is pretty well protected against an angle grinder.
Coupled with an alarm with pager it will keep away most thieves.

I would not bother with the old krooklok style locks as they are very
easy to remove and make an ideal tool to break the ign. steering lock.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
Mate has just had his brand new camper van stolen from outside his house.
Luckily, it has a tracker, and they located it about 3 miles away. Lots of
damage done to the electrics and so on. But they obviously managed to
drive it away, without the keys. So much for immobilisers.

Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?

That might well depend on whether there were any more
vulnerable camper vans, or equivalent targets around for
the thieves to steal instead.

That then depends on how wide an area the thieves case
before deciding on which one to nick. Your mate's might
have been identified as a target days or weeks ago as a
result of the thieves scanning a wide area.

Although from the damage you describe, and the fact that
it was recovered might suggest its not only canper vans
they target

If the van's left standing for any length of time then its
advisable to disconnect the battery in any case. So no
driving away. Although a visible deterrent clamp or
crooklock would help. They'd probably think twice about
ransacking a van outside somebodies house (potentially) because
of the noise and their being caught bang to rights
inside the van.

michael adams

....

In article ,
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 23/08/2019 11:55, Andrew wrote:
On 23/08/2019 11:51, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Mate has just had his brand new camper van stolen from outside his house.
Luckily, it has a tracker, and they located it about 3 miles away.
Lots of
damage done to the electrics and so on. But they obviously managed to
drive it away, without the keys. So much for immobilisers.

Or they just lifted up te front and towed it

Then why do all the damage to the electrics?


Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?


Interesting, the brand new £60,000 camper parked at the end of the
cul-de-sac has gone today.


-

--
*A day without sunshine is like... night.*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
michael adams wrote:

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
Mate has just had his brand new camper van stolen from outside his house.
Luckily, it has a tracker, and they located it about 3 miles away. Lots of
damage done to the electrics and so on. But they obviously managed to
drive it away, without the keys. So much for immobilisers.

Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?

That might well depend on whether there were any more
vulnerable camper vans, or equivalent targets around for
the thieves to steal instead.

I'd guess the fact it is only a month or so old was a factor.

That then depends on how wide an area the thieves case
before deciding on which one to nick. Your mate's might
have been identified as a target days or weeks ago as a
result of the thieves scanning a wide area.

They took it to a spot some three miles away. Police said they left there
to see if it was being tracked. If it was still there a couple of days
later, they'd move it on.

Although from the damage you describe, and the fact that
it was recovered might suggest its not only canper vans
they target

Anything they can sell on, I'd guess. Unlikely to be for their own use.

If the van's left standing for any length of time then its
advisable to disconnect the battery in any case. So no
driving away. Although a visible deterrent clamp or
crooklock would help. They'd probably think twice about
ransacking a van outside somebodies house (potentially) because
of the noise and their being caught bang to rights
inside the van.

The very fact it was parked close by meant the theft was discovered
quickly. Noticed it missing from the bedroom window at about midnight.

--
Is the hardness of the butter proportional to the softness of the bread?*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
MrCheerful wrote:
On 23/08/2019 11:51, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Mate has just had his brand new camper van stolen from outside his house.
Luckily, it has a tracker, and they located it about 3 miles away. Lots of
damage done to the electrics and so on. But they obviously managed to
drive it away, without the keys. So much for immobilisers.

Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?


The Thatcham approved steering wheel 'Disc-lock' certainly will slow
them down a lot, and is pretty well protected against an angle grinder.
Coupled with an alarm with pager it will keep away most thieves.

That's the one I was thinking of. Neighbour uses one on their replacement
Disco. ;-) Thanks. Wasn't sure how angle grinder proof it was.

I would not bother with the old krooklok style locks as they are very
easy to remove and make an ideal tool to break the ign. steering lock.

--
*Gaffer tape - The Force, light and dark sides - holds the universe together*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 23/08/2019 12:45, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Fri, 23 Aug 2019 12:25:15 +0100, MrCheerful wrote:

On 23/08/2019 11:51, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
[quoted text muted]

The Thatcham approved steering wheel 'Disc-lock' certainly will slow
them down a lot, and is pretty well protected against an angle grinder.
Coupled with an alarm with pager it will keep away most thieves.

Except the ones with a low loader and a crane.


Exactly, anything can be stolen, thieves in Russia stole a bridge a few
weeks ago. But in general thieves are deterred by anything that slows
them down, makes a noise or attracts attention in any other way.

On Fri, 23 Aug 2019 12:25:15 +0100, MrCheerful
wrote:

On 23/08/2019 11:51, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Mate has just had his brand new camper van stolen from outside his house.
Luckily, it has a tracker, and they located it about 3 miles away. Lots of
damage done to the electrics and so on. But they obviously managed to
drive it away, without the keys. So much for immobilisers.

Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?


The Thatcham approved steering wheel 'Disc-lock' certainly will slow
them down a lot, and is pretty well protected against an angle grinder.

+1

Coupled with an alarm with pager it will keep away most thieves.

Yup. The object of the exercise is to make it as difficult for them as
possible (you won't stop them) so they expose themselves as long as
possible, increasing the chance of getting seen / caught etc.

I would not bother with the old krooklok style locks as they are very
easy to remove and make an ideal tool to break the ign. steering lock.

Yup.

Even locking a folding seat forward onto the wheel (with a decent lock
/ chain etc) will deter most hoping to just drive it away.

Anything 'different' has a greater deterrent effect than stuff they
know and have practice on / with.

Even parking your car on your drive facing inwards is 'advised'
apparently to slow their exit and might also give a better picture of
their faces on your CCTV?

Ex bosses wife saw a caravan go past them (in the opposite direction)
that looked very much like theirs, only to find it was theirs when
they got home soon after. I think it actually got recovered (because
they got onto the Police quickly).

I wonder why more people don't put big security code letters (partial
CRiS) on the tops of their caravans / motor homes? Make them much
easier to spot from the Police helicopter and a bit more difficult to
sell on / hide.

Cheers, T i m

On 23/08/2019 12:54, MrCheerful wrote:
On 23/08/2019 12:45, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Fri, 23 Aug 2019 12:25:15 +0100, MrCheerful wrote:

On 23/08/2019 11:51, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
[quoted text muted]

The Thatcham approved steering wheel 'Disc-lock' certainly will slow
them down a lot, and is pretty well protected against an angle grinder.
Coupled with an alarm with pager it will keep away most thieves.

Except the ones with a low loader and a crane.


Exactly, anything can be stolen, thieves in Russia stole a bridge a few
weeks ago.Â* But in general thieves are deterred by anything that slows
them down, makes a noise or attracts attention in any other way.


If you have ever had the misfortune to watch 'overhaulin' you will have
been struck by how easy it is and how little attention is paid to people
in hi vis loading a stolen vehicle onto a tow truck.


Everyone assumes its official or the owner ordered it



--
"I am inclined to tell the truth and dislike people who lie consistently.
This makes me unfit for the company of people of a Left persuasion, and
all women"

On 23/08/2019 12:48, Jethro_uk wrote:
Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?

I would go for noise.
Buy a cheap (£10) pin alarm, attach to underside of van and the piece of
cord extend it and attach to something on the ground, if they move it
you will have plenty of decibels + as it is attached to the van will
continue to sound as they drive down the street.

Oddly, it seems this £50 grand vehicle didn't come with an alarm system
fitted. Unlike every car I've owned in the last 30 years. It was parked
close enough for the alarm to have been heard.

Police have been good for once, and checked it for fingerprints and did
DNA swabs - seems the thieves were likely wearing gloves.

AA were also very good and got it started and followed them home with it.

Just waiting on the insurance company to see what will be done.
Continental holiday starting next week likely cancelled.

--
*You can't teach an old mouse new clicks *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 23/08/2019 13:02, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 23/08/2019 12:54, MrCheerful wrote:
On 23/08/2019 12:45, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Fri, 23 Aug 2019 12:25:15 +0100, MrCheerful wrote:

On 23/08/2019 11:51, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
[quoted text muted]

The Thatcham approved steering wheel 'Disc-lock' certainly will slow
them down a lot, and is pretty well protected against an angle grinder.
Coupled with an alarm with pager it will keep away most thieves.

Except the ones with a low loader and a crane.


Exactly, anything can be stolen, thieves in Russia stole a bridge a
few weeks ago.Â* But in general thieves are deterred by anything that
slows them down, makes a noise or attracts attention in any other way.


If you have ever had the misfortune to watch 'overhaulin' you will have
been struck by how easy it is and how little attention is paid to people
in hi vis loading a stolen vehicle onto a tow truck.


Everyone assumes its official or the owner ordered it



Certainly, but that is not a common method of theft, in the OP case a
decent steering lock and an alarm would have been very likely to have
deterred the theft.

On 23/08/2019 12:53, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
MrCheerful wrote:
On 23/08/2019 11:51, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Mate has just had his brand new camper van stolen from outside his house.
Luckily, it has a tracker, and they located it about 3 miles away. Lots of
damage done to the electrics and so on. But they obviously managed to
drive it away, without the keys. So much for immobilisers.

Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?


The Thatcham approved steering wheel 'Disc-lock' certainly will slow
them down a lot, and is pretty well protected against an angle grinder.
Coupled with an alarm with pager it will keep away most thieves.

That's the one I was thinking of. Neighbour uses one on their replacement
Disco. ;-) Thanks. Wasn't sure how angle grinder proof it was.


I have a couple of them and took a good look at how an angle grinder
could be used, it would certainly be quite a few cuts and plenty of
levering to get one off, hence the Thatcham certification

On 23/08/2019 12:18, Jim GM4DHJ ... wrote:
"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
Mate has just had his brand new camper van stolen from outside his house.
Luckily, it has a tracker, and they located it about 3 miles away. Lots of
damage done to the electrics and so on. But they obviously managed to
drive it away, without the keys. So much for immobilisers.

Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?

nah they just hacksaw through the rim of the steering wheel and remove
it.......



There are full circle devices like a pair of dustbin lids with an arm
projecting from the side that make this more difficult. They cover
the whole rim.

Not much will withstand a battery-powered angle grinder though.

On 23/08/2019 13:39, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Oddly, it seems this £50 grand vehicle didn't come with an alarm system
fitted. Unlike every car I've owned in the last 30 years. It was parked
close enough for the alarm to have been heard.

Police have been good for once, and checked it for fingerprints and did
DNA swabs - seems the thieves were likely wearing gloves.

AA were also very good and got it started and followed them home with it.

Just waiting on the insurance company to see what will be done.
Continental holiday starting next week likely cancelled.


The £60,000 one was round the back being washed. I'll remind him
of the thatcham diskloc.

He sold his 1986 Fiat? camper van quite quickly. A similar one
reg in 1988 with a petrol engine and no MOT (needed welding) opposite
went for £850 on ebay. People pay silly prices for them. The buyer
just broke it up for parts (after driving it from W Sussex to
Leicester, on trade plates).

On 23/08/2019 15:06, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Fri, 23 Aug 2019 12:45:21 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
[quoted text muted]

[quoted text muted]

Then why do all the damage to the electrics?

Because that's what ****y scrotes do. It's why slow castration with a
serrated spoon dipped in phenolic acid is still too good for them.

When I was a kid, the dairy farm at the rear kept a few pigs too.
The male piglets were castrated by holding them up by the back legs
and using a stiff-backed razor blade to cut out the balls, without
anaesthetic. Quick splash of iodine and that's it. Wow did they
squeal.

Many years ago, a customer had his big ****-off diesel battery stolen
from his van. The ****s had *cut* the big power cable (which must have
taken longer than it would to have loosened the screw and slipped it
off), but they still had to bring the right set of tools to loosen the
13mm *clamps* that held it in.

Do you know how much a Diesel starter rated power cable costs ?


Another neighbours grandfather is the local grave digger. he left
his old tranny van at the church overnight and pikeys peeled back
the bonnet by brute force and took the battery without cutting
any wires or obviously loosening the terminals.

On 23/08/2019 13:39, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Oddly, it seems this £50 grand vehicle didn't come with an alarm system
fitted. Unlike every car I've owned in the last 30 years. It was parked
close enough for the alarm to have been heard.


Depending on the insurance company, vehicle (make and value), the
insurers have different requirements.

I'm a bit surprised their insurers didn't expect a Thatcham 1 alarm for
the vehicle you describe, even though as motorhomes go it isn't one of
the more expensive ones.

Ford based ones seem to have been especially targeted recently- at least
one of the insurers sent a circular out regarding changes in conditions.
It didn't impact us so I don't recall the details.

On Friday, 23 August 2019 11:51:46 UTC+1, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Mate has just had his brand new camper van stolen from outside his house.
Luckily, it has a tracker, and they located it about 3 miles away. Lots of
damage done to the electrics and so on. But they obviously managed to
drive it away, without the keys. So much for immobilisers.

Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?


My mate takes the wheels off of his. Plus removes battery and a couple of engine parts.

On 23/08/2019 15:29, harry wrote:
On Friday, 23 August 2019 11:51:46 UTC+1, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Mate has just had his brand new camper van stolen from outside his house.
Luckily, it has a tracker, and they located it about 3 miles away. Lots of
damage done to the electrics and so on. But they obviously managed to
drive it away, without the keys. So much for immobilisers.

Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?


My mate takes the wheels off of his. Plus removes battery and a couple of engine parts.


Is he a pikey ?.

"Andrew" wrote in message
...
On 23/08/2019 11:51, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Mate has just had his brand new camper van stolen from outside his house.
Luckily, it has a tracker, and they located it about 3 miles away. Lots
of
damage done to the electrics and so on. But they obviously managed to
drive it away, without the keys. So much for immobilisers.

Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?


Interesting, the brand new £60,000 camper parked at the end of the
cul-de-sac has gone today.

are the owners on holiday?

On 23/08/2019 12:50, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

They took it to a spot some three miles away. Police said they left there
to see if it was being tracked. If it was still there a couple of days
later, they'd move it on.

I believe that is common practice.

The was a car in a pub car park that I work at the other morning. CCTV
showed it been parked up and the driver not going into the pub. Leaving
cars in a pub car park overnight is quite common around here
(I have no idea how common it is elsewhere) but the landlord usually
knows the car's owner.

It was stolen (keys taken from a house burglary)

--
Adam

On Fri, 23 Aug 2019 11:45:24 -0000 (UTC), Jethro_uk
wrote:

On Fri, 23 Aug 2019 12:25:15 +0100, MrCheerful wrote:

On 23/08/2019 11:51, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
[quoted text muted]

The Thatcham approved steering wheel 'Disc-lock' certainly will slow
them down a lot, and is pretty well protected against an angle grinder.
Coupled with an alarm with pager it will keep away most thieves.

Except the ones with a low loader and a crane.

That's where ground anchors can help. ;-)

One of my trailers is 'attached' to a tow ball welded to some heavy
steel box, concreted in the ground (with a crossbar at the bottom,
heads of the hitch nuts welded over). If that was right underneath the
caravan / motor home and over the axle it might also help a bit?

Cheers, T i m

On 23/08/2019 14:19, MrCheerful wrote:
On 23/08/2019 13:02, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 23/08/2019 12:54, MrCheerful wrote:
On 23/08/2019 12:45, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Fri, 23 Aug 2019 12:25:15 +0100, MrCheerful wrote:

On 23/08/2019 11:51, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
[quoted text muted]

The Thatcham approved steering wheel 'Disc-lock' certainly will slow
them down a lot, and is pretty well protected against an angle
grinder.
Coupled with an alarm with pager it will keep away most thieves.

Except the ones with a low loader and a crane.


Exactly, anything can be stolen, thieves in Russia stole a bridge a
few weeks ago.Â* But in general thieves are deterred by anything that
slows them down, makes a noise or attracts attention in any other way.


If you have ever had the misfortune to watch 'overhaulin' you will
have been struck by how easy it is and how little attention is paid to
people in hi vis loading a stolen vehicle onto a tow truck.


Everyone assumes its official or the owner ordered it



Certainly, but that is not a common method of theft, in the OP case a
decent steering lock and an alarm would have been very likely to have
deterred the theft.

Oh. Did you steal it then?

I didnt see any mention of HOW it was stolen


--
How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don't think.

Adolf Hitler

On 23/08/2019 11:55, Andrew wrote:
On 23/08/2019 11:51, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Mate has just had his brand new camper van stolen from outside his house.
Luckily, it has a tracker, and they located it about 3 miles away.
Lots of
damage done to the electrics and so on. But they obviously managed to
drive it away, without the keys. So much for immobilisers.

Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?


Interesting, the brand new £60,000 camper parked at the end of the
cul-de-sac has gone today.
was it down a dirt track with overhead services and dodgy drainage in
kent... ?

On 23/08/2019 15:06, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Fri, 23 Aug 2019 12:45:21 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
[quoted text muted]

[quoted text muted]

Then why do all the damage to the electrics?

Because that's what ****y scrotes do. It's why slow castration with a
serrated spoon dipped in phenolic acid is still too good for them.

Many years ago, a customer had his big ****-off diesel battery stolen
from his van. The ****s had *cut* the big power cable (which must have
taken longer than it would to have loosened the screw and slipped it
off), but they still had to bring the right set of tools to loosen the
13mm *clamps* that held it in.

Do you know how much a Diesel starter rated power cable costs ?

no

Ford based ones seem to have been especially targeted recently- at least
one of the insurers sent a circular out regarding changes in conditions.
It didn't impact us so I don't recall the details.


because you have an old junky Fiat junk.....

On 23/08/2019 15:06, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Fri, 23 Aug 2019 12:45:21 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
[quoted text muted]

[quoted text muted]

Then why do all the damage to the electrics?

Because that's what ****y scrotes do. It's why slow castration with a
serrated spoon dipped in phenolic acid is still too good for them.

Many years ago, a customer had his big ****-off diesel battery stolen
from his van. The ****s had *cut* the big power cable (which must have
taken longer than it would to have loosened the screw and slipped it
off), but they still had to bring the right set of tools to loosen the
13mm *clamps* that held it in.

Do you know how much a Diesel starter rated power cable costs ?


No but on similar theme.

About 10 years ago a 25 year old classic 2.8i Toyota Celica Supra in
mint condition had its passenger window smashed, the centre console trim
gouged with a screwdriver and the radio cassette nicked. The radio was
push button and 2 concentric knob sort. It would be worthless as no one
wanted to buy a 25 year old radio cassette, junk shops had stacks of
them at £5 each, every one wanted slot load (MP3) CD players. The
console trim would have just unclipped with a tug no need to gouge it.
Bet the junkie's dealer laughed in his face. Parts were utterly
unobtainable.

Around the same time I heard of a Nissan 200SX S13 fastback that had the
rear quarter window smashed in what seemed to be an attempted theft.
Would have to have arms as long as a giraffe's legs to reach the inside
door catch from the rear window, there's about 1ft of B post and the
catch is near the front end of a long coupe door. The only bit of glass
on the car that costs more is the heated rear screen but that's cheaper
overall as it's easier to fit, don't have gut half the interior trim to
get to the nut that holds the glass in. Current price of that bit of
glass is 699.78 euro from Latvia and that's "new" old stock as it's been
discontinued.
http://en.autospares.lv/search.html?...ode=on&smode=A

One can buy on eBay, sound bombs, hide one behind the dash or somewhere else where it would deafen a feef sitting driver seat(maybe above head liner?) fit a vibration switch or a reed Switch or mercury switch to trigger said bomb on depressing of a pedal.
Hide a deactivate switch somewhere only you know where. (You will soon learn not to touch pedals before turning off said switch...)
Steve

On Fri, 23 Aug 2019 20:13:58 -0000 (UTC), Jethro_uk
wrote:

snip

One of my trailers is 'attached' to a tow ball welded to some heavy
steel box, concreted in the ground (with a crossbar at the bottom, heads
of the hitch nuts welded over). If that was right underneath the caravan
/ motor home and over the axle it might also help a bit?


If they really really want it, and can't disable the security without
you, they will take you (or family member) and make you disable it.

Of course.

Admittedly it's a rarity. but it happens.

I guess that may be more about the value of things, rather then them
just taking it to use or because they can. Like nicking a motorbike or
scooter to use for a crime, joyriding or just to rag around the
street, rather than to break / sell etc.

eg, The things that people might put more effort into nicking are
generally things that will be sold for good money, where the item
itself has a fiscal value.

Like I said, at some point you have to think about insurance.

True, but some things aren't easily insurable, if at all or if they
are, it's often not economically viable. Like getting stuff insured in
a remote building.

Cheers, T i m

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
Mate has just had his brand new camper van stolen from outside his house.
Luckily, it has a tracker, and they located it about 3 miles away. Lots of
damage done to the electrics and so on. But they obviously managed to
drive it away, without the keys. So much for immobilisers.

Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?

Does make it a bit more obvious that the thief is up to no good and
that its not just the owner with a problem getting the van started

And its not hard to design the van with a crook lock thingie
that can't be easily cut with a battery angle grinder. Harder
to add one to a van which doesn’t have the designed in tho.

What happened with the alarm ? Did it go off and was ignored or did it
never go off ?

"T i m" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 23 Aug 2019 12:25:15 +0100, MrCheerful
wrote:

On 23/08/2019 11:51, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Mate has just had his brand new camper van stolen from outside his
house.
Luckily, it has a tracker, and they located it about 3 miles away. Lots
of
damage done to the electrics and so on. But they obviously managed to
drive it away, without the keys. So much for immobilisers.

Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?


The Thatcham approved steering wheel 'Disc-lock' certainly will slow
them down a lot, and is pretty well protected against an angle grinder.

+1

Coupled with an alarm with pager it will keep away most thieves.

Yup. The object of the exercise is to make it as difficult for them as
possible (you won't stop them) so they expose themselves as long as
possible, increasing the chance of getting seen / caught etc.

I would not bother with the old krooklok style locks as they are very
easy to remove and make an ideal tool to break the ign. steering lock.

Yup.

Even locking a folding seat forward onto the wheel (with a decent lock
/ chain etc) will deter most hoping to just drive it away.

Anything 'different' has a greater deterrent effect than stuff they
know and have practice on / with.

Even parking your car on your drive facing inwards is 'advised'
apparently to slow their exit and might also give a better picture of
their faces on your CCTV?

Ex bosses wife saw a caravan go past them (in the opposite direction)
that looked very much like theirs, only to find it was theirs when
they got home soon after. I think it actually got recovered (because
they got onto the Police quickly).

I wonder why more people don't put big security code letters (partial
CRiS) on the tops of their caravans / motor homes? Make them much
easier to spot from the Police helicopter and a bit more difficult to
sell on / hide.

Makes a lot more sense to have a concealed tracker that works
like the iphone find my phone system. That even takes video of
the perps so the cops can compare the footage with their mug
shots of known crims if they show up at the van with the perps
gone, waiting to see if the van has tracking and coming back
to pick it up again later if its still there later.

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
On 23/08/2019 12:54, MrCheerful wrote:
On 23/08/2019 12:45, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Fri, 23 Aug 2019 12:25:15 +0100, MrCheerful wrote:

On 23/08/2019 11:51, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
[quoted text muted]

The Thatcham approved steering wheel 'Disc-lock' certainly will slow
them down a lot, and is pretty well protected against an angle grinder.
Coupled with an alarm with pager it will keep away most thieves.

Except the ones with a low loader and a crane.


Exactly, anything can be stolen, thieves in Russia stole a bridge a few
weeks ago. But in general thieves are deterred by anything that slows
them down, makes a noise or attracts attention in any other way.


If you have ever had the misfortune to watch 'overhaulin' you will have
been struck by how easy it is and how little attention is paid to people
in hi vis loading a stolen vehicle onto a tow truck.

But a lot more attention is paid if the alarm is howling its
head off at the time. And the perps obviously need a lot
more hardware than just a battery angle grinder too.

Add a decent tracker that uses the same approach as
the iphone find my phone system and there is **** all
chance of the crims being able to pull it off successfully.

Everyone assumes its official or the owner ordered it

Doesnt matter what they assume with the tracking.

"ss" wrote in message
...
On 23/08/2019 12:48, Jethro_uk wrote:
Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?

I would go for noise.
Buy a cheap (£10) pin alarm, attach to underside of van and the piece of
cord extend it and attach to something on the ground, if they move it you
will have plenty of decibels + as it is attached to the van will continue
to sound as they drive down the street.

I wouldnt use a pin alarm, too each to check for that before taking the
van.

Better to have one based on an iphone and use the movement sensors
to trigger the alarm and have full tracking of the van, and video footage
of the crims in the drivers seat etc. While in theory they could wear a
balaclava, its less likely that they would get away with driving off with
the alarm blaring while doing that.

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 23 Aug 2019 18:10:22 +0100, T i m wrote:

On Fri, 23 Aug 2019 11:45:24 -0000 (UTC), Jethro_uk
wrote:

On Fri, 23 Aug 2019 12:25:15 +0100, MrCheerful wrote:

On 23/08/2019 11:51, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
[quoted text muted]

The Thatcham approved steering wheel 'Disc-lock' certainly will slow
them down a lot, and is pretty well protected against an angle
grinder.
Coupled with an alarm with pager it will keep away most thieves.

Except the ones with a low loader and a crane.

That's where ground anchors can help. ;-)

One of my trailers is 'attached' to a tow ball welded to some heavy
steel box, concreted in the ground (with a crossbar at the bottom, heads
of the hitch nuts welded over). If that was right underneath the caravan
/ motor home and over the axle it might also help a bit?

Cheers, T i m

If they really really want it, and can't disable the security without
you, they will take you (or family member) and make you disable it.

Trivial to ensure that they can't do that.

Admittedly it's a rarity. but it happens.

Not with those who have enough of a clue to ensure that that can't happen.

Like I said, at some point you have to think about insurance.

I dont,

On 23/08/2019 19:01, Jim GM4DHJ ... wrote:


Ford based ones seem to have been especially targeted recently- at
least one of the insurers sent a circular out regarding changes in
conditions. It didn't impact us so I don't recall the details.


because you have an old junky Fiat junk.....
fords are quality ...

Rod Speed wrote:


"T i m" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 23 Aug 2019 12:25:15 +0100, MrCheerful
wrote:

On 23/08/2019 11:51, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
Mate has just had his brand new camper van stolen from outside his
house.
Luckily, it has a tracker, and they located it about 3 miles away. Lots
of
damage done to the electrics and so on. But they obviously managed to
drive it away, without the keys. So much for immobilisers.

Would a crook lock thingie or wheel clamp have made any difference in
these days of battery angle grinders?


The Thatcham approved steering wheel 'Disc-lock' certainly will slow
them down a lot, and is pretty well protected against an angle grinder.

+1

Coupled with an alarm with pager it will keep away most thieves.

Yup. The object of the exercise is to make it as difficult for them as
possible (you won't stop them) so they expose themselves as long as
possible, increasing the chance of getting seen / caught etc.

I would not bother with the old krooklok style locks as they are very
easy to remove and make an ideal tool to break the ign. steering lock.

Yup.

Even locking a folding seat forward onto the wheel (with a decent lock
/ chain etc) will deter most hoping to just drive it away.

Anything 'different' has a greater deterrent effect than stuff they
know and have practice on / with.

Even parking your car on your drive facing inwards is 'advised'
apparently to slow their exit and might also give a better picture of
their faces on your CCTV?

Ex bosses wife saw a caravan go past them (in the opposite direction)
that looked very much like theirs, only to find it was theirs when
they got home soon after. I think it actually got recovered (because
they got onto the Police quickly).

I wonder why more people don't put big security code letters (partial
CRiS) on the tops of their caravans / motor homes? Make them much
easier to spot from the Police helicopter and a bit more difficult to
sell on / hide.

Makes a lot more sense to have a concealed tracker that works
like the iphone find my phone system. That even takes video of
the perps so the cops can compare the footage with their mug
shots of known crims if they show up at the van with the perps
gone, waiting to see if the van has tracking and coming back
to pick it up again later if its still there later.



People should take your advice above all others, as an Aussie there will be
criminal genes within you and
so will naturally know the methods and how to combat them.


GH

On Sat, 24 Aug 2019 14:01:43 +1000, jeikppkywk, better known as cantankerous
trolling senile geezer Rodent Speed, wrote:


If you have ever had the misfortune to watch 'overhaulin' you will have
been struck by how easy it is and how little attention is paid to people
in hi vis loading a stolen vehicle onto a tow truck.

But a lot more attention is paid if

In auto-contradicting mode again, abnormal 85-year-old pest?

--
Sqwertz to Rot Speed:
"This is just a hunch, but I'm betting you're kinda an argumentative
asshole.
MID: