Security while camping and roadtripping
When people are planning to hit the road fulltime, after we have answered the whole schooling question, next is normally, is it safe? In this post we shall discuss camping security options that you can use to help.
There are things you can do, to help protect your rig and your family. Our next post we will discuss safety. This post is all about security of your rig, which no doubt you worked really hard to get and want to protect it.
If you want to know more about road tripping & camping Australia click here or roadtripping or wild camping Europe click here.
Within this post there may be affiliate links, basically you get a link to the actual product we are talking about. Yes we may get some kind of benefit, which is at no extra cost to you, but it means you know the product we are talking about. Do your research, buy what you feel comfortable with.
Protecting Your Rig – You worked hard for it, what can you do to protect it?
Once on the road whatever you’re in, it is now your ‘home’. We worked our butts off for our rig and love it to bits, years of changes to suit our family and upgrades. We will do everything we can to protect it.
Spare keys
Do you have a spare key in case your keys are lost or stolen? Where is it kept? Is it secure?
Look at getting a lockbox installed under the vehicle/caravan/motorhome, is a good idea. Easy addition to any rig and low cost. Make sure you get a combination that has a cover, like the link provided.
If not, it will not last the distance of travel fulltime, dust dirt and when you need it, could be useless.
If you are in the middle of nowhere you will be thanking me for this one!!
Don’t leave your keys on tables whether in a bag or not, someone had theirs stolen recently where we were staying. Not one key, but THREE vehicle and rig keys on one keyring! That is three re-keys and 100% staying with the vehicles until you get the new keys. In case, they come back. You do not want to have to deal with that. Good preparation pays off.
Travel safety tips – Secure the rig
Locking the rig. Talk to your kids about the importance of double checking things are locked when going
out. Put away belongings at your campsite, out of sight when leaving the rig. It is not just mum and dad’s job to protect their things. Teach them from a young age and it will be ingrained.
There are multiple ways to help guard against theft of either your personal items or the whole rig. We have trialed quite a few.
Security measures you can take
There are different GPS Tracker units and sytems available in Australia. We bought ours from Jaycar (pictured on the left). It requires a separate sim card and therefore monthly cost. But, in the event your rig is taken you can track it to exact address/spot meaning the likelihood of recovering your ‘ home’ is improved dramatically.
After purchasing the unit we had it hard wired by ARB (make sure you have adequate battery/power set up and app setup on your phone) an Auto Electrician will do this.
We could check our vehicle while overseas and due to our solar set up did not have to worry about the vehicle being started in our absence. If you’re in Europe, there is Outsmart the Thief. It is pricey, but considering how valuable our rigs are and free installation it can be a very worthwhile addition.
Hitch Lock – we use ours on the trailer if it is taken off our Motorhome when it goes for servicing etc
Well worth it for all caravan owners too.
When it is attached to your vehicle it still needs securing – check you are not relying on just a pin (eg. Hayman Reese) that will result in the whole tow bar/ball being taken too.
Lock Alarm Wire that SCREAMS an incredible 120 decibel (ouch) when an attempt to detach or cut the wire is made.
It is loud and will attract attention.
It is good for all items you keep outside when travelling to run through legs of chairs, weber, tables etc and of course ensure it goes through the wheel of your rig too – so you don’t lose the lot.
To be honest we would rather put our stuff away and be confident there is no opportunity for it to be taken.
But wait there’s more….
Security Door You can upgrade your security door to crimesh style material called Roamsafe. We did and it was the best thing for security in hot climates where you want to leave the main door open.
It was not cheap, in February 2016 it cost $1,750.00 was done by Perth Caravan Repair Centre. I sleep better knowing we have it, especially in hot weather.
Security Camera in our Motorhome, we have a Blackvue driving camera which doubles as a motion sensor internal camera when parked up, or out for the day – it is invaluable. There are different options available at different levels of pricing.
Not worth considering cheaper brands when it’s role is so important, they are well known as being the best.
Universal Wheel Clamp pretty obvious what this baby does. Mainly because we have a trailer but, you can also use it on caravan wheels. For a similar version available outside of Australia Wheel Clamp.
Anything you can do, to make your rig harder to steal or just too hard work for thieves, is a good thing.
High Lumen Torch – a great one especially for kids. This one has 1100 lumens and max beam distance of 230 metres!
Great for spotting but also a hidden security item, can get this beauty at 3200 lumens which beams over 324m – if used in an emergency to shine in an intruders eyes your going to have a few more seconds up your sleeve to work out what your going to do. Teach the kids how to use it!
The fact remains, if someone wants what you have, they will find a way to get it. But, the more you can do to make it more difficult for them, the better.
Window & Door Locks
We started looking into these last year when our campervan was broken into while we were sleeping. There are different varieties available but the main ones of quality that we have found are as follows:
Main Door lock for Motorhome by Milenco who ship to Australia too
Cabin Door Locks these look fantastic, for vans or motorhomes. As this is how they gained access to our vehicle we are looking to increase the security of our campervan using these.
There are other options like extendable window bars that go between each cabin window but space is an option on the road and we generally look for options that don’t take up valuable space.
Insurance
We are insured with Ken Tame Insurance in Australia which we highly recommend. Yes, we have had to claim and yes, they were fantastic. You really don’t know how good your insurance is, until you need to make a claim.
The other thing to do and I know it is boring, but read the inclusions. The disclosure statement and the product disclosure statement and understand what exactly is covered in the event of incident or accident. We rang all the big names and this is the company that covered us, at the appropriate cover required. Everyone has different requirements and you may wish to consider if in Australia CIL, Gallagher Insurance, RAC/RACV.RACQ ect
What didn’t work or we feel was a waste of money for camper security
Tile security trackers these are not travel friendly, for a variety of reasons, mainly you pretty much have
to have bluetooth and internet at all times. Not sure about you, but there is plenty of times we haven’t had reception. Normally by choice! We even tried it while we were in a CBD area with unlimited wifi and still very unhappy with the product.
5MP Outdoor Camera from Jaycar (actually a number of products from Jaycar have let us down as have, their customer service online help). This was seriously, not a cheap camera. It is no longer available, I wonder why. Like more than a few things we bought at Jaycar, they just weren’t worth it. Some straight out of the box, no good. Once you get used to returning most items at least once, you just don’t bother.
Other security options that we do not have personal experience with but may be worth considering
Witi – Wireless anti-theft system. Designed and developed in Australia, the only anti-theft system designed specifically for caravans and trailers fitted with electric brakes.
Kovix Alarm Trailer Lock – from Outback Equipment Designed by Kovix Australia the heavy duty KTR-18 alarmed trailer lock is made from 304 grade stainless steel. Resistant to impact, drilling and cutting this ultra-strong trailer lock features an 18mm pin with an anti-cutting sleeve. We actually borrowed one of these when on the Gold Coast recently and were very happy with it. We may look at adding this to our rig in the future.
You can read more tips and tricks in our Life on the road series
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