Motorhome theft and Vin Chip (1 Viewer)

[Mick and Ruth]

I have just seen this on my local constabulary website and if it proves successful I suppose they could connect it into PNC and ANPR systems so it could be used nationally? Never heard of Vin Chip before . It looks at first glance motor homes might have to register at £35.
Broken Link Removed

VIN CHIP™ Security is now available for Motorhomes

Motorhome VIN CHIP™ pack includes hidden RFID chips so that the body and chassis can be identified by police

www.vinchip.co.uk

 

[34127]

There was a suggestion a while back about all vehicles having a VIN chip fitted so they would be easier to identify and make it easier for the police to enforce speed limits, particularly for motorbikes. There was a lot of criticism of such as scheme and it didn't go ahead.

 

[Mick and Ruth]

There was a suggestion a while back about all vehicles having a VIN chip fitted so they would be easier to identify and make it easier for the police to enforce speed limits, particularly for motorbikes. There was a lot of criticism of such as scheme and it didn't go ahead.

I would think (could be massively wrong) this is a separate piece of kit and software as this just identifies the chips hidden in the vehicle not speed or VRN displayed on plates as they have calibrated kit for that.

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[Silver-Fox]

Would be handy if we had more traffic police then they could do more stops.

Otherwise it’s a bit pointless imho.

 

[Wombles]

They were trying to get it going last year https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/foru...ful-or-interesting-stuff.205789/#post-3530186 . It's run by CRIS who have done similar for caravans for many years.

 

[busbuddy]

Fitted it in mine last year, thought it was worth it at the price

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[pappajohn]

Didn't the old MICRODOT system aid identification

 

[Deneb]

It is a separate transponder chip hidden inside the vehicle (often installed within the laminated wall panels on caravans during manufacture) and readable via a dedicated reader that each constabulary have a handful of.

Mostly useful when checking a vehicle that has been cloned or had its original identity concealed.

What tends to happen with caravans is that thieves rip them apart from the inside out to find and dispose of the chip

 

[Riverbankannie]

Not much use for a PVC as it says the chips have to be hidden behind non-metallic surfaces.

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[Wombles]

Not much use for a PVC as it says the chips have to be hidden behind non-metallic surfaces.

Have contacted the manufacturer to see if they are effective anywhere on a PVC or if developing one just for this - well we can hope!

 

[pappajohn]

It is a separate transponder chip hidden inside the vehicle (often installed within the laminated wall panels on caravans during manufacture) and readable via a dedicated reader that each constabulary have a handful of.

Mostly useful when checking a vehicle that has been cloned or had its original identity concealed.

What tends to happen with caravans is that thieves rip them apart from the inside out to find and dispose of the chip ☹

Which is the same as the MICRODOT system of 30 years ago.

 

[busbuddy]

Not much use for a PVC as it says the chips have to be hidden behind non-metallic surfaces.

In the toilet door? In the side skirts (are they plastic on a pvc?) Inside the bottom fridge vent?
Just thinking out loud, never worked on a pvc before

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[Deneb]

Which is the same as the MICRODOT system of 30 years ago.

Microdots were small discs (dots) indelibly marked with a unique serial number and suspended in a UV reactive fluid that could be painted onto surfaces of vehicles or other assets.

You had to search the asset with a UV light to find them, use a micro-magnifier to read the disc and make an enquiry with the company to establish the item that the code related to, and it's owner.

CRIS and VIN chips contain an electronic code the same as a vehicle key in an inert transponder chip, which broadcasts the code in response to a transmission from the scanning equipment.

Both are just ways of storing a unique code that is registered on a proprietary database and can be checked by authorised users to establish the related information held therein.

I only had to resort to using microdots twice in 17 years of identifying vehicles. On one of those, the thieves had done an extensive job of finding and removing all the microdots - except one that I finally found. The bloody thing turned out to be two dots, one on top of the other and reversed. Took ages to remove them and separate them to retrieve the code.

 

[fiferjim]

Have contacted the manufacturer to see if they are effective anywhere on a PVC or if developing one just for this - well we can hope!

Do you get a response Wombles?

 

[Wombles]

Do you get a response Wombles?

Hi - yes - confirmed by VIN Chip Operations Director & then we double checked again with another of their senior staff that they can be used on metal van conversions Have been sent the fitting instructions (see below) which say that where the RFID chips are fitted on or behind metal the silver side of the chip must be facing the external wall of the van which makes sense. Have asked if they can do a deal or discount for Funsters as seems like a sensible product to fit & to be CRIS registered so we plan on doing this ourselves too - waiting to hear back at the moment but will post outcome once known.

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[nicholsong]

Not much use for a PVC as it says the chips have to be hidden behind non-metallic surfaces.

So no good on aluminium sandwich also?

[posted before I saw post # 15 above]

 

[Wombles]

nicholsong & Riverbankannie - please see the post above & attached PDF for the latest info. from the manufacturer

 

[Lenny HB]

So the police have scanners to read them.
Most vans stolen end up on Travelers site.
Ploice won't enter Travelers sites.

Have I missed something?

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[Wombles]

So the police have scanners to read them.
Most vans stolen end up on Travelers site.
Ploice won't enter Travelers sites.

Have I missed something?

Hi Lenny - good to see you posting - found this info. which is also in the first post:
The VIN CHIP anti-theft identification system enables officers to scan a touring caravan or motorhome from up to 15 metres away to see if it has been reported as stolen and find out who the registered owner is.

They can be scanned at speeds of up to 60mph.

Cheshire’s Roads and Crime Unit officers are now using the system, and owners of touring caravans and motorhomes across the county are being advised to ensure that they have a VIN CHIP fitted and are registered with the Caravan Registration and Identification Scheme (CRiS).

Inspector Anton Sullivan, of the Roads and Crime Unit, said: “Due to supply and demand, the number of caravan and motorhome theft incidents tend to rise in the summer months.

“This year the demand for them is even greater than normal, with travel restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic making staycations, mobile homes and caravan holidays more popular than ever.

“So we could not have asked for a better time to add the VIN CHIP scanning system to our armoury for when we are out on patrol and monitoring our roads.

“Used by many other police forces in the UK, ports officers and also in mainland Europe and Scandinavia, it has substantially increased the number of stolen caravans and motorhomes that have been recovered and returned to their rightful owner.”

 

[Speve]

Better off sticking last six vin numbers on the roof as in an earlier thread on MHF, if thieves know about chips and where to find them they probably have scanners themselves?

 

[Wack]

Some years ago the garage i used at the time regularly had a motorhome in, on an old Mercedes chassis , the guy had been on many holidays in it over the 5 years he'd owned it

Only this one time it was just the chassis, no body on it

I assumed he'd scrapped it , but no

He'd been driving down to Cornwall, got stopped and pulled into the services where they checked it , the chassis was fine but the body had been stolen at some point in its life so , they took it off , separated it from the chassis and put it on a low loader
He was never prosecuted so they knew he didn't steal it , why on earth they couldn't have worked something out with the insurer , im bloody sure they didn't want a 15 year old body back

Thanks for posting this , for £35 it's a no brainer

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[Diggerdi]

We've got VinChip on ours, it was on special offer at last year's NEC show. Still not really sure how it works, but it's another level of security on the motorhome.