Attempted theft of M/H (1 Viewer)

[johnnyknife]

Woken by a neighbour at 5.30 this morning to tell me that the m/h was blocking the road and not on the drive. Some kind soul had tried to nick it. No damage to doors or windows but an attempt to start it by wedging something in the ignition barrel. The screwdriver or whatever it is has broken off flush with the barrel so I'll try to get it out when I'm a bit calmer.

So the question is should cab doors on a Transit based m/h dead lock or are they disabled for safety reasons? Not alarmed but it will be and if they have managed to open the doors what do I do in the meantime, only legal and non lethal answers please, I've already thought of all those.

 

[Badknee]

Rottweiler bedded down for the night in Moho?

Quick fix is a good quality motorcycle security chain and lock between steering wheel and clutch pedal fastened in such a way as neither can be moved and put full lock on the steering first.

 

[irnbru]

Sorry to hear this. Maybe you could tie a rachet strap to both doors to save them opening. Ive also read of someone on here that turns the drivers seat around then puts a padlock on to stop it swivelling back around . Quite a clever idea I thought.
Everything to add time for a thief is a bonus surely.

Hope you can get it fixed without expense.

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[PP Bear]

If it hasn't got an alarm, then of course that's the first step (which should bring down the insurance too). I also use a basic crook lock as a visual deterrent. While they're not fail safe, they still require making noise to remove.

I've also fitted an internal motion alarm I picked up in lidl, for £5. Again very basic but it works and it's loud. They sell them on fleabay here:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wireless-...9255-0%26rvr_id%3D1035195133938&ul_noapp=true

Like the idea of the seat being swivelled and locked, the same as the bike chain and lock on the pedals.

Sorry to hear it happened and hope you get the ignition sorted again.

 

[Paul an Jane MK]

I thought I was the only one with the lock between steering wheel and clutch pedal!

Other thing I do is I have a faulty relay I swop with fuel pump relay or alternatively fit a small switch hidden under dashboard to cut fuel pump so it just turns over without starting.

Really horrible experience but at least they did not get away with your motorhome.

 

[Huskydog]

Fit a wheel clamp , a good quality one , I use a nemesis one , plus two steering wheel locks and two of the old pedal to steering wheel locks ,and if any one looks in ,I leave a piece of A4 paper on the drivers seat saying " this Vechicle is fitted with a tracker"
All you can do is slow the bar stewards down

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[MC 55 FUN]

Depending on the year of the Transit it should have a deadlock feature as all modern Fords do, if you have remote central locking it's two presses of the lock button to deadlock.

 

[DanielFord]

On the plus side, you still have the van, and it sounds like they were incompetent thieves, wedging something in the ignition barrel is never going to work on a modern van! The key has a transponder to deactivate the immobiliser.
The downside, you probably now need a new barrel, since the old one is now knackered.
For security, you could do a lot worse than the ones offered by VanBitz. I've been looking into this quite seriously now, since I keep seeing this kind of thread popping up.

 

[Spanishsteve]

Disklock to fit over steering wheel

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[Ralph-n-Bev]

We keep Pug at home now. But reversing him down the long drive isn't easy. At all.
Ralphs got it off to a tee now. 5 min job.
There's an inch either side of Pug, with the wing mirrors pushed in , so you can't use them. The full length of the house, both sides of the van. You can't get in the cab doors because of the walls either side , once parked up.
Hopefully he's snug down there !
At the moment pug is at the front of the house. On the hard standing. Waiting for a hab check , we are renewing insurance , this month. Got a really good deal.
I don't like him being on the front , as someone could get in a lot easier. But it's just for today.
Glad your van wasn't stolen. Everyone's worse nightmare. With the hours Ralph spent building pug , we couldn't just go out and buy another, with the insurance either.

 

[Lenny HB]

A lucky escape, a least they didn't do too much damage. Deadlocks will depend if the converter specified them, German vans often do not have them as deadlocks never used to be part of the basic vans spec but it is in the UK so a UK conversion may have them.

 

[WillH]

It always concerns me when I read a post like this. Where we live vehicle theft is almost unheard of. I don't know anyone who has ever had a car stolen, in fact I can't remember a car ever being stolen. I become a little paranoid when we are away travelling as we only have an alarm, we have never had any security devices on any of our vehicles. Should we be doing something?

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[jonandshell]

Our Transit has the deadlocking disabled. It must be for safety. How else will you get out if the exit via the caravan door is blocked.
Most Transits are stolen via the On board Diagnostic port.
The thieves use a Tibbe pick to gauge your key via the door lock. They return later with a new key, unlock the door, then plug into the OBD port with a laptop. They then, within a minute, teach the ECU to recognise the new key and off they go.
Your thieves sound like complete morons. I think they were trying to break the steering lock so they could tow it away.
Fitting an OBD lock is very easy. We have one from Protectavan, bought from Ebay.

 

[jonandshell]

Of course, a sticker over your door lock will provide a tell-tale that someone has inserted something to gauge your lock.

 

[Lenny HB]

Our Transit has the deadlocking disabled. It must be for safety. How else will you get out if the exit via the caravan door is blocked.#

Don't think so as most A class vans in basic form only have a habitation door the drivers door is an extra, not many get sold without the drivers door but you do see a few about.

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[jonandshell]

Don't think so as most A class vans in basic form only have a habitation door the drivers door is an extra, not many get sold without the drivers door but you do see a few about.

All standard Transits I have driven have deadlocks.
Our Chausson hasn't. I asked about it on the first service. It has been disabled but could be switched back on.
Safety is the only explanation IMO.
If you need to get out of the cab end, how will you get out?
I am happier not to have deadlocking despite the increased risk of illegal entry.

 

[tonka]

As a side note...
Lots of posts of stolen motorhomes on Facebook, the majority seem to be Transits and if you do a web search you will find a few references to transit thefts going back past few years,,,,
So Transit owners may need take even more care..

 

[Gizmouk]

Transit with deadlock - no problem:

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[DL42846]

This is our security, no one ever seems to come anywhere near our van. When at home he likes to sleep underneath the van.

 

[pappajohn]

How else will you get out if the exit via the caravan door is blocked.

Do you not have hab windows then ?

Easily opened....from inside or outside.

 

[MikeD]

Dave Newell is a trader funster and has a workshop near Telford
He advertises on the forum
Pm or phone him and ask for some advice on your Transit.

I am sure he could help. He did a great job fitting an alarm to our fiat. There is a peaceful site with in a couple hundred. Yards of his workshop

They also subscribe to the local attractions so can give you a free ticket to all the local museums

Don't forget to ask for your funster discount.

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[aldhp21]

As a side note...
Lots of posts of stolen motorhomes on Facebook, the majority seem to be Transits and if you do a web search you will find a few references to transit thefts going back past few years,,,,
So Transit owners may need take even more care..

I was talking to someone at Newbury about this at the weekend. They'd had their transit based MH stolen. They'd been informed that older style transits are the most stolen because they are easy and due to the demand for transit parts.

 

[jonandshell]

Do you not have hab windows then ?

Easily opened....from inside or outside.

Doors are easier.

 

[jonandshell]

As a side note...
Lots of posts of stolen motorhomes on Facebook, the majority seem to be Transits and if you do a web search you will find a few references to transit thefts going back past few years,,,,
So Transit owners may need take even more care..

Travelling folk love a quality product!

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[Lenny HB]

Our Chausson hasn't. I asked about it on the first service. It has been disabled but could be switched back on.
Safety is the only explanation IMO.
If you need to get out of the cab end, how will you get out?

As I said as standard A Class van don't have any doors at the front only hab doors, I have a drivers door but it was an extra not standard, so can't be a safety issue.

 

[Poohbear]

Despite the fact that all standard 2015 Ducato vans have deadlocks in the cab doors, the motorhome base vehicle doesn't have this facility and it is both a hardware and software change, which cannot be retrofitted. When I challenged FIAT on this they said that it is for safety reasons so that the cab doors can always be opened from the inside.

 

[Lenny HB]

Despite the fact that all standard 2015 Ducato vans have deadlocks in the cab doors, the motorhome base vehicle doesn't have this facility and it is both a hardware and software change, which cannot be retrofitted. When I challenged FIAT on this they said that it is for safety reasons so that the cab doors can always be opened from the inside.

See my post above, don't agree as you can buy an A Class without any cab doors.

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[MC 55 FUN]

Our Transit has the deadlocking disabled. It must be for safety. How else will you get out if the exit via the caravan door is blocked.
Most Transits are stolen via the On board Diagnostic port.
The thieves use a Tibbe pick to gauge your key via the door lock. They return later with a new key, unlock the door, then plug into the OBD port with a laptop. They then, within a minute, teach the ECU to recognise the new key and off they go.
Your thieves sound like complete morons. I think they were trying to break the steering lock so they could tow it away.
Fitting an OBD lock is very easy. We have one from Protectavan, bought from Ebay.

This is the reason I pulled the OBD port fuses from our cars & M.H. rendering the thieves ECU bypass device useless & physically moved the OBD ports too for good measure

 

[Poohbear]

See my post above, don't agree as you can buy an A Class without any cab doors.

I saw your above post, and it doesn't matter whether you agree or not, those are the facts with Fiat.

 

[gus-lopez]

Transit with deadlock - no problem:

That's why you need to fit deadlocks on the doors.

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