Enhancing RV security

[et_cetera]

First of all, I am not retired and not even close to retirement age, I both work and full-time and thus leave my RV unattended for 8-10 hours at a time. This makes it a considerably easier target than a RV that is occupied by someone and the schedule is not predictable.

Thus security is the most serious concern. Not that I have anything really valuable, nothing beyond a computer and similar hardware but I would hate to lose the few things I have.

I am in the process of buying something and when the deal is finalized, when I finally take possession, I am going to take a number of steps to harden the security profile. First thing that comes to mind, beyond an alarm, is a motion camera, IP-based. Then a kill switch so the whole thing does not get stolen. There has to be a lot more one can do to harden the target, multiple layers of security. Investing several thousand in it seems like a smart idea.

One of these GPS trackers is not out of the question, in case it does get stolen.

It's the age we live in, crime seems to go up everywhere, economic times are uncertain.

[Rick_Jay]

et cetera wrote:
...I am going to take a number of steps to harden the security profile....

I really chuckled when I heard this. You sound like Robert De Niro's character Jack Byrnes in the movie "Meet the Fockers". Describing his new Class A RV called "The highlight of their twilight" to his prospective son-in-law Greg:

Well, in these uncertain times, Greg, I opted for a Kevlar-reinforced hull with two-inch thick Plexiglas windows, just like the ones they designed on the Russian Widowmaker submarines.

Jack used to be in the CIA! LOL

I hope all of your efforts pay off, but if I was THAT worried about what I had in my RV, I don't think I'd leave the house. Computers & things can be easily replaced. Your data, however, not so much. So keep multiple backups of everything, updated daily, and if you're on the road, then that will include Cloud storage. But if they cause major damage to your motorhome trying to gain entry, you're going to be in for a lot of heartache trying to make things right. Even if you discourage them from entry, they can key the sides in seconds and cause thousands of dollars of damage on a rig with or without full body paint. If they do get in and get PO'd 'cause they don't see any "loot" to grab, they can plug your sinks and turn on the water pump to flood the RV. Or throw all sorts of things down your toilet. The bottom line is there are probably hundreds of ways to mess up one's motorhome. You're probably not going to think of all of them. Most of us don't do well trying to outsmart the criminal element. They'll do nasty things we wouldn't even think of.

I think your catalytic converters will be the primary target of choice in these "uncertain times". I saw a pic the other day of a Hertz (I think) Rental truck in which they had welded a rebar cage all around the cat to prevent theft. Apparently they had numerous thefts of their cats from their fleet of vehicles. With a sawzall thieves could still get it out eventually, but it would take A LOT more cutting. It's probably enough so they move on to the next vehicle.

I also remember back in the 70's when gasoline was being rationed and very difficult to get. Thieves siphoning gas became a common occurrence. So some people smartened up. Or so they thought. They purchased a LOCKING gas cap. THAT would show the prospective thieves! NOPE. The thieves just used a drill or a hammer & punch to put a hole in the tank. Now the vehicle owner not only came back to a vehicle with an empty tank, they also had to have their tank repaired/replaced.

Good Luck, I hope you're successful in your attempts to keep things safe. I'd probably opt for minimal security (sure, have cameras if you wish), but just keep some cash or something else that looks valuable so that IF they break into the rig, in an easy to find place, so they can grab it and run. It's sad we have to think about these things, but if we spend all of our life worrying about them, we're going to miss a lot of life! 🙂

~Rick

[wopachop]

I think that partially depends on your lifestyle. We never have visitors. 1 dog bit the UPS guys a couple years back. Different dog jumped at the amazon girl when she tried to step out the van.

If you are the type that entertains friends and has strangers over all the time i could see a dog not being as aggressive. Ours bark the second someone is at the front gate. We encourage it and say good boy after we walk up to grab the package.

Every now and then a kid will have a friend over and its kind of a pain. Telling the dog over and over its ok. The barking gets annoying.

Also i dont think a lot of folks who leave for work realize how loud their dogs are during the day. I work construction and it happens all the time where a neighbor dog just wont shut the heck up. Sometimes the neighbor is home!!! People like that are kind of rude in my book. Would not be fun living next to a yapping dog. You at least hope to hear the owner saying to be quiet from time to time. Bad dogs are usually the result of not getting love and attention at home.

[Gdetrailer]

wopachop wrote:
Cameras all the way man. I could tell you if a mouse visited my trailer. Luckily its just been bunnies. Lots of ways to make it work but with 12v batteries, solar, wifi ($20 a month jetpack works), and cameras you can get as creative as you want. Im very happy to know if any creepo is creeping around my trailer. Make some visible. Make some hidden. Hide an auxiliary battery and let the creeps cut the battery and think everything is shut down. While you have audio and video of them at their safehouse. Might find a bunch of stolen items there. You could watch live video of them driving your stolen trailer and know exactly where they are at. This is pretending you have multiple cameras and depending how deep you want to go you make it so they stay running after they smash the cameras they find and cut power to the trailer and dont find your wifi. Not all that hard to do these days. 12v trailer batteries play nice with all the 5v USB stuff. All low voltage and low heat.

Hiding an auxiliary battery is a little extreme but it would be pretty sweet. Even if you had 1 camera hidden somewhere that stayed powered with wifi you could gain enough info to give the cops or post to social media. Im a big fan of the police but lately i see people post a pic of their stolen trailer or truck on a facebook group and instantly have a lot of lookouts on the streets. Really nice Rv got stolen just the other day. Guy noticed it on the local freeway here. The thieves realize they were spotted and pulled over right on the freeway. Guess they jumped out and ran!!! Might have made the news. I dont watch the news. Good story though.

Cameras are worthless, period, they only give you false hope.

Very few people that get captured on camera will ever get found, arrested and convicted. Most cameras have extremely poor resolution at night, your camera pix is a very good example of how bad the resolution is at night. You can tell it is a rabbit by the size and the outline. Well, people at night, lose a lot of facial detail that helps to identify their features.

And, I must say, a camera UNDER your trailer??, that is a pretty extreme example of being on the paranoid side of life.. Don't think many thieves are going to crawl under a RV to steal it.. Might find a few crawling under motorhomes or vehicles to borrow the cat converter but under a travel trailer, not so much..

[LittleBill]

people are hilarious about the dogs. there use to be a show on discovery where they broke into your house in exchange for a free security system, first dogs are different when the owners aren't home, and 9 out of 10 times, the guy threw a steak at the dog, and the dog became his best friend, not once did the dog even slow the guy down, let alone stop him, might want to watch the show, might be a bit surprised.

[valhalla360]

PartyOf Five wrote:
There are also products to change the locks on external compartments because the keys are so common.

I would rather they use their key.

It's a lot cheaper than when they use a screw driver.

[jdc1]

GMH wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
All of my friends think my German Shepherd Dog is pretty effective.

When they knock on the door, they stand to the side. Just in case.

You can’t leave a dog unattended in an RV for 10 hours!

But, you can have a motion sensor hooked to a sound system of that dog going nuts....

[wopachop]

Cameras all the way man. I could tell you if a mouse visited my trailer. Luckily its just been bunnies. Lots of ways to make it work but with 12v batteries, solar, wifi ($20 a month jetpack works), and cameras you can get as creative as you want. Im very happy to know if any creepo is creeping around my trailer. Make some visible. Make some hidden. Hide an auxiliary battery and let the creeps cut the battery and think everything is shut down. While you have audio and video of them at their safehouse. Might find a bunch of stolen items there. You could watch live video of them driving your stolen trailer and know exactly where they are at. This is pretending you have multiple cameras and depending how deep you want to go you make it so they stay running after they smash the cameras they find and cut power to the trailer and dont find your wifi. Not all that hard to do these days. 12v trailer batteries play nice with all the 5v USB stuff. All low voltage and low heat.

Hiding an auxiliary battery is a little extreme but it would be pretty sweet. Even if you had 1 camera hidden somewhere that stayed powered with wifi you could gain enough info to give the cops or post to social media. Im a big fan of the police but lately i see people post a pic of their stolen trailer or truck on a facebook group and instantly have a lot of lookouts on the streets. Really nice Rv got stolen just the other day. Guy noticed it on the local freeway here. The thieves realize they were spotted and pulled over right on the freeway. Guess they jumped out and ran!!! Might have made the news. I dont watch the news. Good story though.

[aftermath]

I am not paranoid, but that doesn't mean that everyone is not out to get me.

I think you need to make sure you have insurance, just in case. Don't leave anything of real value outside unlocked, don't leave anything of real value in plain sight and put a GPS tracker on your RV. After that, just use common sense. Once you get caught up in the "But, what if..." spiral you will not want to go anywhere. Sell your RV, get a place that is in a safe spot and you will live a more peaceful life.

I am not a full timer but I have been pulling trailers all over the western side of our country for more than 24 years. Haven't done anything stupid (yet) and haven't had any problems either. I choose to believe that life is much better than what an overactive imagination might come up with. Just my 2 cents....

[theoldwizard1]

et cetera wrote:
Not that I have anything really valuable, nothing beyond a computer and similar hardware but I would hate to lose the few things I have.

Simple. Dont leave anything of valuable in your RV.

[JimK-NY]

You can hide a kill switch and protect your rig from theft for virtually no money. Protecting the contents is virtually impossible. Most compartment and RV doors can be forced open with a screwdriver.

[Gooma]

All security cameras do is make a nice video of someone taking your stuff.

[Tvov]

Where are you camping / parking that you have to worry about high security levels? Can you stay somewhere else?

I would think that a relatively busy campground would be pretty safe, especially if you get to know the other full timers / seasonals and they can keep an eye on your rig.

We are weekenders, but we've never had an issue at any campground in almost 20 years.

On the other hand, if you are staying at a construction site or commercial parking lot that is empty at night, I can see the security concerns.

[fj12ryder]

Gdetrailer wrote:
Its a "RV" with paper thin walls doors and windows, there is no such thing as "security".

You can spend many thousands on cameras, GPS tracking, alarms but all that does is deter causal petty thieves.. Professional thieves if they want it, it will be gone without a trace in a matter of a few minutes They might even be kind enough to leave your security devices behind.

Keep your insurance policy paid up to date and your things can be replaced.

Better to seek less seedy areas to stay at.

Most campers work on the Honor and good neighbor system in campgrounds.

All true. A $100 lock on a $2 door isn't going to do much good. How do you "harden" a tin can?

[PartyOf_Five]

Catalytic converters seem to be a hot commodity these days, you may want to secure it first. There are also products to change the locks on external compartments because the keys are so common, and some people secure their generator if that compartment is not locked. As for the interior, the best security is to park it around other people and leave the shades up so everyone can see inside when you're not there. From there you could add the various security items you mentioned, and I think your approach is correct if your unit is worth it. Half a dozen small cameras should easily cover the interior and exterior, and an app will give you live notifications as well as full-time recording. This will be easy if you're plugged into shore power and have constant Wi-Fi, but could likely be possible otherwise as well. Let us know what options you go with so that we can also benefit from your research. Thanks for the topic.