Stolen 1/9/16 (2 Viewers)

[Robert Clark]

Very sad and from what I've heard it is unlikely to be seen again. Although mine isn't Transit based it was stories like this which persuaded me to get an alarm fitted recently. You can get good alarms for about £500 upwards though I spent a bit more on mine. Of course theft of the vehicle is still rare but theft from MHs is a real threat and a good alarm will give some peace of mind when you leave the vehicle unattended.

I agree
A 'Growler' alarm with its flashing LED's acts as a good deterrent against attempted theft.
A loud internal and external siren helps too if a thief enters your van
Finally a 'non' starter should help prevent them starting it
Add to this the fact that a Growler also calls and texts you if it is activated and you're about as secure as you can be.

I'm sorry for the OP's loss, but sensible precautions are available which are effective in preventing loss.

 

[Upset]

Robert- I thought I had put enough security on it.

It was behind a locked gate.
Habitation door had extra lock on it
Cab internal locks fitted and locked

Even if they had picked the cab door lock the door won't open.

I think they took the window out or forced the door

Alarm wouldn't of done any good as I was on a train to London.

I think the only thing would be a tracker with a geo fence, but as someone said before it's never the same again so don't want it back.

I had a car broken into years ago and I had to sell it.

 

[Robert Clark]

Robert- I thought I had put enough security on it.

It was behind a locked gate.
Habitation door had extra lock on it
Cab internal locks fitted and locked

Even if they had picked the cab door lock the door won't open.

I think they took the window out or forced the door

Alarm wouldn't of done any good as I was on a train to London.

I think the only thing would be a tracker with a geo fence, but as someone said before it's never the same again so don't want it back.

I had a car broken into years ago and I had to sell it.

Robert- I thought I had put enough security on it.

It was behind a locked gate.
Habitation door had extra lock on it
Cab internal locks fitted and locked

Even if they had picked the cab door lock the door won't open.

I think they took the window out or forced the door

Alarm wouldn't of done any good as I was on a train to London.

I think the only thing would be a tracker with a geo fence, but as someone said before it's never the same again so don't want it back.

I had a car broken into years ago and I had to sell it.

I believe the 'Growler non starter' would have prevented the vehicle being started.

I believe the flashing LED's of the alarm , one on each side of the van would have deterred them too.

Theives always go for the easy target, and anything you can to make your vehicle appear to be a 'harder' target helps.

Don't get me wrong I'm not suggesting you didn't take precautions - it's just that there is much more that people can do to protect their MH and themselves and it seems to take an incident like this to remind them.

Edit :
Like you my MH is behind a locked gate, but I always set the alarm, I always set the immobiliser and I always keep the keys locked away out of sight.

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[Boringfrog]

If motorhome fun had a Facebook page just for this sort of thing we could all share it. Is it worth considering #jim or is it already there and I haven't found it?

I've shared the theft on a couple of Facebook motorhome sites and people on them site have shared locally.

 

[Upset]

Thanks boring frog

 

[TheBig1]

sadly it takes less than 30 seconds from a thief approaching a transit to driving it up the road. Stupidly it is not illegal to own a skeleton key and a laptop with an obd port reading dongle. The keys, which can be bought online for about £20 open all the doors and central locking (plus standard alarm) and with practice take about 10 seconds to adjust and open. This key when set is the same as the ignition so thats simple. The laptop with a piece of software on tells the immobiliser that it has the correct key, and drive off as normal

The only ways to counter this are replacement non ford door locks, a decent alarm and separate immobiliser. Ford transits are regularly taken by the Itinerant gangs to live in and the irish gangs to sell on with a new identity

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[Robert Clark]

@Jim our illustrious leader wrote an interesting article on how to effectively secure a Motorhome, its contents and inhabitants.

Worth a read
Broken Link Removed

 

[DBK]

I fitted the Milenco locks on my cab doors and thought they were pretty good. Then I heard how they can be defeated if you don't use the key to lock the arm in place. I won't describe the method but the lesson is to lock them, don't just swing them round.

 

[Hollyberry]

Robert- I thought I had put enough security on it.

It was behind a locked gate.
Habitation door had extra lock on it
Cab internal locks fitted and locked

Even if they had picked the cab door lock the door won't open.

I think they took the window out or forced the door

Alarm wouldn't of done any good as I was on a train to London.

I think the only thing would be a tracker with a geo fence, but as someone said before it's never the same again so don't want it back.

I had a car broken into years ago and I had to sell it.

You did everything you could at the time with the information you had.
Others have had vans fitted with trackers stolen. Sadly there's a scum element in this country that thinks they can just have what they want, regardless of who it belongs to.

Hope your insurance sorts it out quickly, and that your daughter is ok.

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[Sidney]

Another Transit what a shame

 

[Deneb]

OMG another Transit. I read that they are nicked using a key reader device and a lap top. The key reader allows the thief to make a copy of the key, then return at their their liesure sometime later open the door and then reprogramme the system to accept their key using a laptop plugged in to the vans system, then simply drive away. I guess the solution is to fit different locks, secure the computer port, or an aftermarket alarm / immobiliser.

No, they usually use a small electronic box slightly larger than a cigarette packet, which plugs directly into the diagnostic socket. It mimics the manufacturer's facility for programming a new key to the vehicle and convinces the ECU that a genuine/correct key is present, all within the space of about 10-15 seconds. No need for a computer or 2 visits, all done in seconds.

 

[pyro]

I think the cheapest deterrent that a Transit owner can employ is to remove the Ford badge from the front

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