Sadly, caravans continue to be an all too regular target of thieves, and grey nomads and others are being urged to take sensible precautions.
In an incident last week, a caravan was taken in brazen fashion from the street in Mermaid Waters on the Queensland’s cold Coast.
A silver 200-series Toyota LandCruiser (pictured) drove to Southerly Street in the early hours, where a 2025 ‘Snowy River’ caravan (pictured) was parked on the road.
The LandCruiser was observed leaving the scene, towing the stolen caravan.
The caravan is described as white with multiple shades of green, it has a 40cm-wide satellite dish on the top and no registration-plates attached.
A silver 200-series Toyota LandCruiser towed away a 2025 ‘Snowy River’ caravan. PIC: QPS
Detectives are appealing to anyone with information, or who knows the whereabouts of the stolen caravan, to come forward.
Investigations continue.
Behind each crime statistic, of course, lies a human story, often of disappointment and of shattered 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 have a “Solid” brand GPS Tracker hidden in my van it has a 6 months battery and is trackable on my phone “Find my phone” app. It is Australian made and monitored.
I had my Land Cruiser broken into last year and several thousand dollars of tools stolen. They also stole the Solid GPS tracker. We were able to track their whole journey, and police drove straight to the address.
great to read
way to go,worth the money
Yep parked on the street, easy target
tow ball lock nah, the safety chains get linked and they use pintal hook, used to do that in the tow industry and repossession
I bought a WITI alarm which is for vans with electric brakes. Try & move the van & it locks the brakes. It comes with a loud alarm & a motion sensor inside. I also have a carder finder GPS tracker which works on the “apple find my” app. I have one in the car & one in the van.
I have a wheel cover lock, and have the draw bar facing the house.