Adding a better lock to the door.

[JoshuaH]

My wife and I are planning a trip in about a month to NE New Mexico to do some camping. Along the way and on the way back we will probably stay in a motel one night. The lock on the door is worthless, and we will have some valuable stuff in the camper. Any suggestions on adding a better lock to the door just to keep the stuff in the camper safe while were in transit? Obviously there is no way to secure the camper when it is setup but I'm not worried about that.

[JoshuaH]

OK got 2 pictures, the camper is a Flagstaff 176LTD

[RoyB]

Your POPUP is much like my STARCRAFT 14RT series... When my roof top is down I have four latches around the four corners that have lock clasps when I can add a padlock.


The lip of my roof top goes over the entrance door top making it very hard to pry open the door if it was unlocked.

We never store any valuables in our off-road popup. All that goes into the truck back seat area and goes where we go... Larger items are usually kept in the locked trucked bed out-of-sight. My truck has the locked FOLD-A-COVER Brand hard plastic folding panels.


Roy Ken

[beemerphile1]

JoshuaH wrote:
My wife and I are planning a trip in about a month to NE New Mexico to do some camping. Along the way and on the way back we will probably stay in a motel one night. The lock on the door is worthless, and we will have some valuable stuff in the camper. Any suggestions on adding a better lock to the door just to keep the stuff in the camper safe while were in transit? Obviously there is no way to secure the camper when it is setup but I'm not worried about that.

Keep in mind that we have no idea what lock or what RV you have now, that makes it challenging to give advice.

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[JoshuaH]

opnspaces wrote:
From your post it sounds like you want to store the valuables while the popup is closed up. If that is the case, can you store the valuables in one of the bench seats or somewhere where you have to lift the top to get to them? Put the toilet paper and sewer stuff in the aisle and the valuables where they are inaccessible.

I can imagine someone popping a lock and dragging things out of the little hallway in the middle. But, I find it hard to believe someone will go so far as to lift the top to get into the inside storage.

That is a good idea, putting those things in areas that can't be accessed with the top down. Anything really valuable like a laptop etc will not be in there. I just would hate to have clothes, or food stolen etc. I plan on keeping the crank in the tow car so someone would have to have something with them to raise the top which is pretty unlikely. I'll try and get a pic of the door tomorrow.

[opnspaces]

From your post it sounds like you want to store the valuables while the popup is closed up. If that is the case, can you store the valuables in one of the bench seats or somewhere where you have to lift the top to get to them? Put the toilet paper and sewer stuff in the aisle and the valuables where they are inaccessible.

I can imagine someone popping a lock and dragging things out of the little hallway in the middle. But, I find it hard to believe someone will go so far as to lift the top to get into the inside storage.

[bondebond]

I am one for security wherever you can make it happen. What do you currently have for a lock and/or door latch. A picture would be most helpful since there are a number of variations.

With that said, I do lean towards the idea of not drawing attention by placing a heavy lock on it unless it really looks fairly benign. I would put the valuables in a container in the PUP but bring the container with you if you're leaving it unattended overnight at a hotel or something. A PUP is not a traveling vault.

People have installed permanently attached strong boxes inside their units and that works if the valuables are small. But if you're talking things like a generator then you'll have to look at a security cable anchored inside the PUP.

Throw up a picture so we can see what the door has and offers for reinforcement. You can always just add a locking hasp installed with with rivets then use your own padlock.

[skipnchar]

Better locks on most RVs simply invites much more damage if someone wants in. If they can "bump" the door and get inside AND you've removed your valuables, all you need is a new door or door lock. Lock the door more securely and they go through a wall or hatch which costs more. I've always gone by the theory of not taking valuable stuff or not leaving it in the RV and leave it unlocked. If they want my underwear or tennis shoes, I'll withstand the loss 🙂

[JoshuaH]

Bumpyroad wrote:
put valuables in duffel bag. take duffel bag into motel. that is what I do with my cameras and computer.
bumpy

We are doing a two week trip, and we won't have much room in the tow vehicle for stuff, so I need to pack as much as possible in the camper. I don't think one bag will do it.

Road Runners wrote:
I wonder if the door lock isn't pretty good actually. I used to store my fiver and it was broken into twice. Both times the lock held so they broke out the big picture window beside the door. One time the broke out the entrance door window but they couldn't unlock the door because I had both locks set.

The lock is worthless, you can put a screwdriver into it and unlock it.

[Road_Runners]

I wonder if the door lock isn't pretty good actually. I used to store my fiver and it was broken into twice. Both times the lock held so they broke out the big picture window beside the door. One time the broke out the entrance door window but they couldn't unlock the door because I had both locks set.

[Bumpyroad]

put valuables in duffel bag. take duffel bag into motel. that is what I do with my cameras and computer.
bumpy