HeoSafe Deadlocks and Proplates

[Deneb]

OK, mines a Mercedes Hymer B680, will these locks fit to my hab door, there is already a moulded place for additional locks ?

What model is your Merc? Proplates are available for the Mk3 Sprinter, but don't seem to be available for the Mk1 and 2.

If I had a Sprinter, I would be more concerned with fitting an ECU shield, bonnet lock and ignition lock shield before looking at proplates.

Edit: Just re-read your post and noticed you are asking about the hab door. If it is a coachbuilt and not a panel van there isn't a lot you can do in honesty to beef up a hab door that can't be bypassed in seconds with a screwdriver or jemmy.

 

[Wombles]

I had a contact at TVL before I retired, who offered a discount on Proplates. I mentioned it on here at the time, but there was no interest at all. Now everyone wants them!

Thank you for all the useful fitting info. - these are something we have been considering for a while.
We sometimes posts discounts & deals on here too & the problem is that they often get lost amongst all the other posts so once they go out of Recent no-one spots them anymore. If you do know of a good price for these or can still negotiate a discount for members then sure that would be appreciated.

 

[Deneb]

Of course as we get older these fiddly jobs get harder and we have to cope with varifocals

I know that feeling. Have never been able to get on with varifocals as I find the visibility angles far to narrow. I have two pairs of occupational bifocals, as I don't need distance correction. The second pair has upside down lenses as I spent a lot of my working time underneath vehicles looking up, or peering upwards through narrow openings, under dashboards etc!

 

[Riverbankannie]

I know that feeling. Have never been able to get on with varifocals as I find the visibility angles far to narrow. I have two pairs of occupational bifocals, as I don't need distance correction. The second pair has upside down lenses as I spent a lot of my working time underneath vehicles looking up, or peering upwards through narrow openings, under dashboards etc!

That’s a great idea!

 

[skylinersi]

To a 2015 Ducato. We bought the more expensive proplates supplied by Garrison and the barn door one fitted quite well but fitting to the driver’s door required making enlarged holes for the studs as they are welded to the front plate and the welds prevented the plate seating properly. The box section that is fitted on the inside had to be filed to fit and bent to shape also. Once the box section fitted to the rear the threads on the bolts not long enough to easily get the first few turns on the nuts. Lost count how many times the nut dropped off into the bottom of the door. The barn door handle has 4 bolts sort of one in each corner and so the handle and plate can be tightened up nicely but the drivers door handle only has 3 bolts, one central at top so harder to get a nice tight join.
Had to go out and buy more sealant adhesive in order to ensure a good watertight fit.
It is worth making up a template before drilling the holes in the bodywork.

We were a bit disappointed having to make the adjustments before it fitted properly considering the cost of the item. Once started on the job though you have to continue with what you’ve got or leave the van unlocked which we didn’t want to do,

what sealant type / brand is needed if i run short?, ta

 

[gerry mcg]

I didn't use the sealant / adhesive that cam with the plates as it is white and my van is silver.
I had an open tube of silversikaflex type PU Adhesive / sealant that I had from fixing a roof spoiler onto my van, so I used this.

I don't think it is really necessary anyway as there is no sealant or gasket around the door handles where they attach to the door skin as far as I could see, but I put a small bead around the sides and top of the plate where it touches the door as per illustrated drawing on instructions. I didn't seal around the bottom of the plate

I guess it is just to stop water running down the door skin and entering the inside of the door, but it like like water could enter the door with the standard handle fitting as there doesn't appear to be a waterproof gasket there anyway.

I suspect any silicone sealant or sikaflex type adhesive / sealant will do as it is not structural and all you are doing is fixing the plate to the door skin. The handle can still be removed by unbolting if there was ever a problem and the handle needed to be removed in the future

 

[skylinersi]

I didn't use the sealant / adhesive that cam with the plates as it is white and my van is silver.
I had an open tube of silversikaflex type PU Adhesive / sealant that I had from fixing a roof spoiler onto my van, so I used this.

I don't think it is really necessary anyway as there is no sealant or gasket around the door handles where they attach to the door skin as far as I could see, but I put a small bead around the sides and top of the plate where it touches the door as per illustrated drawing on instructions. I didn't seal around the bottom of the plate

I guess it is just to stop water running down the door skin and entering the inside of the door, but it like like water could enter the door with the standard handle fitting as there doesn't appear to be a waterproof gasket there anyway.

I suspect any silicone sealant or sikaflex type adhesive / sealant will do as it is not structural and all you are doing is fixing the plate to the door skin. The handle can still be removed by unbolting if there was ever a problem and the handle needed to be removed in the future[/QUOTE

thankyou kind sir

 

[gerry mcg]

This is how the Garrison locks standard ones look fitted

 

[skylinersi]

excellent

 

[bigalw35]

Different to my Hymer, sadly

 

[skylinersi]

Different to my Hymer, sadly

how so? different doors?

 

[Riverbankannie]

what sealant type / brand is needed if i run short?, ta

We used Sikaflex too, from Screwfix. Decided upon black as we also put some between the rubber gasket of the door handle and the plate. Our paintwork blue. Definitely wanted to stop any moisture getting in to the inside of the door even though it has open holes at the bottom for drainage. Remember our door also damaged from the earlier breakin. Although very little to see while the handle still on, quite a lot of damage to the door underneath the handle where they must have been fiddling around trying to release the lock. We did put car paint on the exposed metal round this damage and round the holes we drilled for the studs.

 

[TCG]

I have fitted the Dead locks, and would like to fit these proplates, looked at the you tube video's but i understand you need to remove the remis blinds, how difficult is it to do that

 

[gerry mcg]

I only had to loosen the single retaining screw under the remis badge in order to gain enough movement in the remis blind to remove the plastic cover to the armrest corner to access the armrest door card retaining screw.
That is it
I didn't have to remove the blind at all

 

[bigalw35]

how so? different doors?

Hi, sorry we’re away at the moment so although I can take piccies I can’t download them, we’re back in a couple of weeks I’ll download the piccies and send them through, but unfortunately different to ours

 

[skylinersi]

We used Sikaflex too, from Screwfix. Decided upon black as we also put some between the rubber gasket of the door handle and the plate. Our paintwork blue. Definitely wanted to stop any moisture getting in to the inside of the door even though it has open holes at the bottom for drainage. Remember our door also damaged from the earlier breakin. Although very little to see while the handle still on, quite a lot of damage to the door underneath the handle where they must have been fiddling around trying to release the lock. We did put car paint on the exposed metal round this damage and round the holes we drilled for the studs.

got some black sikaflex from screwfix on way home.............great minds and all that lol!!

our kit arrived today, with, you guessed it.....white sealant.........

work starts in earnest on sat afternoon.......

 

[Riverbankannie]

got some black sikaflex from screwfix on way home.............great minds and all that lol!!

our kit arrived today, with, you guessed it.....white sealant.........

work starts in earnest on sat afternoon.......

Will try and get hubby to finish his notes tomorrow!

 

[gerry mcg]

Chaps, I am 100% sure in what I say, as part of my job used to involve identifying ways in which vehicles were being entered or stolen. Manipulating the linkages on the handles without lock cylinders is not quite as simple as on the other two handles, but it can be done. It is mechanically the same as opening the door with the interior handle, which is possible on a normally locked vehicle, but not on a deadlocked vehicle.

Another benefit of the better quality proplates with the internal shielding is that they substantially strengthen the door skin around the external handle and its fixing studs, effectively preventing another entry method of simply pulling the entire handle out of the door - albeit this is unlikely on a motorhome since it would be easier to gain entry through the plastic windows.

The main benefit of proplates on a motorhome as I see it is to prevent the quick and easy entry for theft of contents whilst the van is occupied or not, and to advertise the fact that it would be easier to try another van that hasn't got them.

You could argue that two proplates are sufficient on a van fitted with factory deadlocks, and I wouldn't disagree, but my van has deadlocks and I also have proplates on all four doors

Follow the very helpful contributions by @Deneb , I've ordered a second pair of proplates for the passenger door and offside sliding door. I'd feel a bit of a plum if the van was breached by either of these unprotected doors.

 

[gerry mcg]

A link to @Riverbankannie 's fitting guide and further discussion
https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/fitting-pro-plates-to-fiat-ducato-2015-model.174576/

 

[TinaLes]

Hi Everyone just ordered the Pro Plate for Drivers door on our Ducato cab, I am hoping that I dont need to order a second one as the delivery on one was £8 on E Bay. There was no mention of needing to protect the passenger door, so I assumed (probably wrongly) that the passenger door has a different lock assembly that cannot be so easily opened with a piercing screwdriver.
Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks
Les

 

[Abacist]

As far as I know you need to do both doors! I did on mine and I also fitted heosafe deadlocks

 

[Guigsy]

Many vans have deadlocks. All UK originated ones should, but some European origin conversions might not. Triple click the lock button on the fob, the lights blink 3 times and they can't be released by the handle**. So the punch-hole attack doesn't work, but it does make a mess while they are trying. The pro plates are a visual deterrent. I did all mine.

**Don't use this when you sleep in it overnight!

 

[Deneb]

Many vans have deadlocks. All UK originated ones should, but some European origin conversions might not. Triple click the lock button on the fob, the lights blink 3 times and they can't be released by the handle**. So the punch-hole attack doesn't work, but it does make a mess while they are trying. The pro plates are a visual deterrent. I did all mine.

**Don't use this when you sleep in it overnight!

A double click on the Ducato fob operates the factory deadlocks. But as the screwdriver trick operates on the same linkage that the key turns, the deadlocks don't prevent it (you can deadlock the doors with the fob, but using the key in the lock will unlock them). If the deadlocks prevented the attack, there would be no market for ProPlates, because all the UK commercial vans have deadlocks as standard.

 

[Guigsy]

A double click on the Ducato fob operates the factory deadlocks. But as the screwdriver trick operates on the same linkage that the key turns, the deadlocks don't prevent it (you can deadlock the doors with the fob, but using the key in the lock will unlock them). If the deadlocks prevented the attack, there would be no market for ProPlates, because all the UK commercial vans have deadlocks as standard.

I thought they went for the internal handle release cable? And a lot of PVCs don't have deadlocks. Regardless, it's still a good investment.

I don't think it's worth going over the top though. Path of least resistance. Many campervan windows are pretty easy to force open if you don't care about damage.

 

[Deneb]

I thought they went for the internal handle release cable? And a lot of PVCs don't have deadlocks. Regardless, it's still a good investment.

I don't think it's worth going over the top though. Path of least resistance. Many campervan windows are pretty easy to force open if you don't care about damage.

No disagreement. They are very worthwhile, whether a van has factory deadlocks or not. PVCs built by non-UK converters don't usually have deadlocks, but any vans ordered through and supplied by a UK Fiat Pro dealer will be supplied to UK spec and will have them as standard unless the converter specifically deleted the option. To be honest, I'm not sure they can be deleted on a UK ordered van as they are fitted to meet the Thatcham group security rating.

 

[HowardB]

As far as I know you need to do both doors! I did on mine and I also fitted heosafe deadlocks

I was informed it was only needed on the driver door & rear door on a Fiat PVC. These locks have a mechanical/ electronic linkage, whereas the passenger door & hab doors are just electronic locks.

 

[Guigsy]

I was informed it was only needed on the driver door & rear door on a Fiat PVC. These locks have a mechanical/ electronic linkage, whereas the passenger door & hab doors are just electronic locks.

They don't have keyholes, but the mechanism is similar on all doors. They all operate using solenoids and bowden cables (i.e. like bike brake cables).

 

[HowardB]

The plates protect against the screwdriver pushing a lever arm and a mechanical linkage. Ididnt think the passenger door had this setup . You can see what I mean on this link. Womo dont sell a passeger door plate

 

[Abacist]

The plates protect against the screwdriver pushing a lever arm and a mechanical linkage. Ididnt think the passenger door had this setup . You can see what I mean on this link. Womo dont sell a passeger door plate

You carry on, its your van. I have long sold mine and now have a van with a completely different locking system. I was supplied with parts for both doors in a kit for a 2010 Autotrail. Perhaps there is a difference between the different years.

 

[Belgianbun]

Complete Newbie here from Edinburgh.... so new in fact that we won't be picking up our first van for a couple of weeks yet (Ducato based). It was useful to read about the proplates but I'm not DIY minded in anyway and certainly not brave enough to mess with a new van. Is anyone familiar with any installers of thee proplates in the Central Belt area that would fit these? Thank you.