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yolo6886's avatar
yolo6886
Explorer
Feb 13, 2015

mounting a safe

I've decided recently that I want to try to mount a safe in my rig. I've been scouting a location for quite some time now and still haven't been able to come up with anything solid. I would like to bolt it or secure it somewhere, I'm not really crazy about going to the floor but I'm having trouble finding the location. Just curious if anyone else has done this and what their suggestions were. Thanks a lot and any input is appreciated
  • Big Katuna wrote:
    You can pry that Sentry open with two standard crowbars in under five minutes.

    A good strategy is add a cheap safe, leave it unlocked with a Walmart wallet with expired cards and some cash, some cheap fake jewelry and hide the good stuff in a cereal box or soap container.

    Theif thinks he's hit the jackpot and leaves.



    and you would know this how???? :h

    Actually I think it would take more than 5 minutes and folks walking around campgrounds carrying two crowbars tend to be noticed. We don't travel with jewelry and cash, credit cards and smart phones are always on our person. Lots of things that you don't want laying around in plain sight but that you might need in a hurry (5 keystrokes - about 2 seconds), fit nicely in the safe. Cheap safes have their limits but as noted they tend to keep honest folks honest.

    My post was merely meant to address the actual subject of this thread. For several hundred dollars you can purchase a much more secure safe but the mounting will essentially be the same.

    As always.... Opinions and YMMV

    :B
  • My wife and I do craft shows, and we frequently have 5k and more in cash. We only have a tin box mounted to the floor. I'm not sure what normal people would keep in a safe.
  • Desert Captain wrote:
    Big Katuna wrote:
    You can pry that Sentry open with two standard crowbars in under five minutes.

    A good strategy is add a cheap safe, leave it unlocked with a Walmart wallet with expired cards and some cash, some cheap fake jewelry and hide the good stuff in a cereal box or soap container.

    Theif thinks he's hit the jackpot and leaves.



    and you would know this how???? :h

    Actually I think it would take more than 5 minutes and folks walking around campgrounds carrying two crowbars tend to be noticed. We don't travel with jewelry and cash, credit cards and smart phones are always on our person. Lots of things that you don't want laying around in plain sight but that you might need in a hurry (5 keystrokes - about 2 seconds), fit nicely in the safe. Cheap safes have their limits but as noted they tend to keep honest folks honest.

    My post was merely meant to address the actual subject of this thread. For several hundred dollars you can purchase a much more secure safe but the mounting will essentially be the same.

    As always.... Opinions and YMMV

    :B


    I know this as I work at a locksmith shop and have watched the techs pry open dozens of safes. Most of the $1000 gun safes sold at Gander can be pryed open in a few minutes. Lots of vids on YouTube.
  • "I know this as I work at a locksmith shop and have watched the techs pry open dozens of safes. Most of the $1000 gun safes sold at Gander can be pryed open in a few minutes. Lots of vids on YouTube. "

    Good answer, eyes on your own paper. :B
  • How many thieves frequent CG's with a pair of crowbars? That would certainly get my attention seeing those guys walk by. At some point you have to decide when it's as secure as you can reasonably make it and call it good.
  • (IMO) A safe is not a good place for your "treasures".

    Unless it's attached to the *frame* (pretty impractical), any thief will have it.

    In an RV fire you have a "toaster" for whatever is inside..:(

    Similar thread in Escapees

    But whatever makes you feel......ahhhh - safe!..:C

    .
  • Dtank wrote:


    But whatever makes you feel......ahhhh - safe!..:C

    .


    I feel "safer" with my cameras in my bolted to the floor safe than lying in a drawer. yes, all those thugs walking thru the campground with crowbars, plasma cutters, etc. can get them. actually if they take a chain saw and cut the floor out they can get the safe.
    bumpy
  • I use the same Sentry safe. Hell, it's better than nothing. As someone said, most thieves are hit and run. Btw, I carry also and can hit what runs...*s
  • As a retired LEO, who spent time in a drug unit, I saw some really good places to hid money/drugs/jewelry. So ask yourself this, if the bad guys (drug dealers) use certain places to stash their valuables wouldn't they easily find yours in these same places?

    Probably the worse place, especially in a RV, is a mounted safe IMHO. A safe is hard to hide once someone actually gets inside and it just screams "I have really valuable stuff to steal here!".

    Most Keystone Montana fivers come with a secret hiding place. All Montana years/models are different. My 2008 had a really good one, my new unit is okay but not as good as my old unit.

    For cash, or large amounts of jewelry, pick up one of these and mix them in with other stuff in your pantry http://www.misdefenseproducts.com/Hiding-Places-for-Valuables-p-1-c-272.html

    You don't have to purchase from these folks, it is just a site that is out there. These come in handy also if you are leaving your RV to be worked on and you want to remove some cash or jewelry from the unit. Instead of taking the chance of someone seeing you remove the valuables, you could just remove some pantry food items in an old Walmart bag, with one of the cans being the "hidden safe" can. I have even used such a "hidden safe can" and just let it roll around on my rear floor board with some other junk. Now who would think that warm, possibly dented, old can of coke had $5,000.00 cash stuffed in it?

    On larger items, such as firearms, there is no really good solution for keeping them 100% safe in an RV. Trigger locking and hiding them is about all you can do.

    You have to be smarter than most of the scumbags, not just smarter than a few of them.
  • my motorhome came with a tip out laundry compartment. I cut a piece of plywood to fit in the bottom, stained it to match, and put my stuff under it and threw some dirty laundry on the "new floor".
    bumpy