The surging demand for caravans and motorhomes has had one very unwanted side effect … a sharp rise in the theft of RVs.
While it is difficult to get accurate information on just how many vans are stolen each year in Australia, various reports suggest that the figure could be around 500.
And it seems that the vast majority are never recovered.
But some are.
Last week, for example, a caravan which had been stolen from Coffin Bay in South Australia on December 6 was located in nearby Port Lincoln and retrieved.
This caravan stolen form Coffin Bay was recovered by police a few days later. PIC: SA Police
Police say that, following a public appeal, they received information that led them to attend a Port Lincoln address and to recover the stolen caravan.
The white-and-black dual axle 2011 Crusader Manhattan caravan was been seized by police for forensic examination as the investigation into the theft continues.
While this van theft story may well have a happy ending for the owner, as mentioned earlier, most do not.
And beyond the those bald statistics about the number of RV thefts, or police crime reports, each and every one of these incidents can have a devastating effect on the lives of real people seeking to live their dreams.
A few years ago, solo grey nomad Rhonda Scholz had her Big Lap derailed when her 22’ Aussie Wide Waratah caravan was stolen near Ipswich in Queensland.
She was housesitting at the time and the van was parked in the front yard of the property and had a tow ball lock. Rhonda believes she was targeted by thieves who knew exactly what they were doing.
Speaking a year after the theft of her van and all of her possessions inside it, Rhonda said the incident had been a ‘kick in the guts’.
“I lost everything when the van was stolen except for a very few clothes, my handbag and laptop,” she said. “I was covered by insurance for the van but the contents were way, way underinsured … I lost all my jewellery, which was substantial, plus jewellery from my mother and other items which belonged to my father, plus many other personal items.
Rhonda had to spend a lot of money buying new clothes and was also given household items by friends.
“The theft shook me for many months and it still hurts but I have had to make myself move on,” she said.
After eventually buying a new van, Rhonda said security was much higher on her priority list.
“My new van now has an improved tow ball lock with an alarm, two wheel clamps, and a GPS, so hopefully it doesn’t happen again,” she said.
With the money involved in purchasing a caravan or motorhome, grey nomads are increasingly aware of the need to protect their investment. Travellers like Ralph Westley say it’s only commonsense to use technology when, like him, you buy a brand new caravan.
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I use:-
Wheel clamps
Chain through clamp onto axel & springs
Towbar lock
GPS
Camera from house security aimed at caravan (obviously the latter is only when stored at home)
And always after fitting them photograph the locks in place for insurance purposes
Wheel lock, tow ball lock.
When I had the pad put in for the caravan shelter I had the guy’s cement a high tensile chain in that wrap’s around the chassis. I also use a hitch lock and I put the draw bar on an axle stand & remove the jockey wheel so van can’t be lifted unless they bring a jockey wheel with them.
Wheel clamp & tow ball lock whether it’s in my front yard, free camping or, in the case of a caravan park stay, a ball lock at the very least.
As a tip, lock your wheel clamp onto your spare while travelling.
A caravan, constantly in your front yard, is an advertisement for house burglars, when the van isn’t there.
I do recommend a small hidden battery operated GPS tracker. Its worth its weight in gold I suspect. A high tensile chain is a good idea, as the only way to cut it is with an oxy or more likely, a battery angle grinder making lots of noise. I thick steel cable can be good too, as bolt cutters often cannot cut it, they usually just cut part way and splay out the rest of the strands (unless the thief has adjusted the cutting blades to zero tolerance). But you would need a very heavy duty lock of a style that cannot be cut with bolt cutters. I’m thinking that its important to make it time consuming and noisy, so that it draws attention. I’m also thinking that, if you have phone coverage, get one of these new self contained cameras that you can see via your mobile phone for when you have to leave the caravan for a while and want to check up on it every so often or it calls you when it detects someone in the field of view.
While stored at home, our caravan is fitted with a substantial wheel clamp and has a video camera trained on it. It is also behind a wire fence. When travelling, the wheel clamp is deployed at CPs or free camps. I plan to fit a GPS monitor before our next trip.
Not all caravans are road worthy. Thieves need to know in advance what the roadworthiness of the van is. Garages that you call on for basic services can assess your van and pass information to Thieves as they see fit. Act accordingly. Has a tracker been added to your van so where they know where to “click collect”?
What’s the need for thieves needing to know that your van is roadworthy before stealing it?
I use wheel clamps and towbar locks plus Camera security front abd back.
Definitely GPS tracker is very good Idea, and good cameras for security, look at the “Ring” video cameras and sensor lights. Records 24/7, all footage stored, connects to your cellphone with the app. 2way voice communication etc.
See it on your phone from anywhere at all.
Good prices, easy to install. Wi Fi. Check them out
I have a tow hitch lock. But more importantly the van can be GPS tracked. I can see it moving along the highway. I mainly have the GPS tracker for my family as they can log on and see where we are if we’re on big trips.
The police in WA told us to paint the rego on the roof so their helicopter could see it from the air.
Quite some years ago while living in Grafton for a few months, our 14ft pop top van was stolen from in front of our house. Back then, it was considered secure if there was a chain padlocked through one wheel. I took photos of the tow vehicle tyre tracks to the local police when I reported the theft but as it was a Sunday on race week the police told me they had little chance of catching the thief as in twelve hours they could be hundreds of miles away.
Modern security methods have vastly improved since then but unfortunately determined thieves will still target unwary van owners.