Trailer got broken into. Thief totally destroyed the door.

[Mainevacationer]

After 12 years at the same campground without any issues, this winter we were not so lucky. 49 different sites in the campground got broken into. Good news is that the thief was caught red-handed and is sitting in a correctional facility awaiting his court date.

What was really interesting is that with some RVs he broke into, he was able to just "POP" the door open on many different manufacturers but others he had to really destroy the door to get in. Our camper door and the frame have to be replaced because we used the dead bolt to lock the door and we had long screws securing the dead bolt. The guy had to try at least 12 times to get our door open.

The police told me that the RVers should treat their doors like the doors on their homes and use better/longer screws to secure the strike plate for the locks. If someone is intent on gaining entry they are still going to get in, but they are going to have to really work at it.

[the_bear_II]

At one of the storage lots we had our RV at, the thieves used pry bars to bend up the lower corner of each door enough to reach in and undo any locks if the door had no window. If the door had a window (like ours) they smashed the window and reached in to undo the deadbolt and door lock. Luckily we were at the end of the line, I guess they ran out of carrying space, so they only took a couple of ski vests and a portable radio.

[Go_Dogs]

They get in thru the skylights, too.

[Mainevacationer]

The police figure that the guy did more than $100,000 worth of damage to the RVs as well as 9 homes around the lake. In the homes he took the copper piping, the furnaces and anything that he could sell. In the RVs he took whatever he could sell and it doesn't appear that he damaged anything but the entry point.

[shum02]

You can get into any RV with a flathead screwdriver or if you're really intent just a few sets of keys will open most of the RV on any given lot.

Why get your rig all busted up trying to keep them out?? Locks are only there to keep honest people honest, the rest are coming in.

[mgirardo]

Been there, but it was at a storage lot, not a campground. Sorry you have to go through with it. While in storage, I just used the door, didn't bother with the deadbolt and the "thief" busted that lock easily. I figured they were looking for items to steal, we had none. So I locked the deadbolt figuring that would keep them out.

It did keep them out, but they sure tried to get in. They broke the window and tore the metal at the window trying to get in. They never did get in, but I had to replace the door and frame as well.

At least they caught the guy that broke into yours. Never did find out who broke into ours and I don't think the police really cared.

-Michael