I am trying not to get too paranoid about this but when we're driving around with 50 grand worth of gear, I am going to find it difficult not to worry about someone trying to steal i! I accept that our touring behaviour will have to perhaps change from what we do currenly in a T5, like not leaving rig unattended in in service areas and we will no longer be able to park up anywhere for the day for sightseeing in places on the way through etc. But have any of you got tips? I know thefts of campers and caravans are relatively rare but there are specialist gangs across europe going for the desirable rigs, which Eribas are, as are T5s. They come with specialist cutters and all sort,. so how does one keep ahead of them?

I will get a hefty wheel lock and probably an alarm for the eriba. I have thought about a tracker for it but dont determined thieves know how to find these? and just disable or destroy them. We'll have a hitchlock of course but some say these can be got round in minutes by people who know what they are doing. We live in a quiet sleepylittle rural town but I am going to sink a concreted steel post on the drive to attach the eriba to, it's more when touring I am worried about.

Also, has anyone any experience of secure storing their rig temporarily in europe? If we were gone for like 5/6 months, it would be nice to be able to fly home for a week a couple of times to see family. We would obviously have to leave the campervan and the eriba, but such facilities must exist?

Not on the security side of things, but a tip which you already have hinted at is don't stop off en route unless you are certain of an easy exit.

Early on in our Eriba ownership I decided to stop for lunch at the http://www.rockecottagetearooms.co.uk/ at Clungunford nr Ludlow. It's a lovely spot and the car park is just up the road through a five bar gate. Thing is though the car park area is tiny and the rest of the field is v long grass and v bumpy. After our lunch we realised there wasn't enough room to swing the rig round whilst towing. We had no mover on that van and had to unhitch and twirl the van round. We hitched up again and I started towards the gate, only to realise that the side of the van was heading for the gate post. No amount of reversing would get the van out of the line of the post. So we had to unhitch again and manhandle the van back and forth 'til it had clearance and then hitch up and off we went. Hot sweaty and short of temper. Not a good way to start a holiday.

However it seems I'll never learn as this last summer we were travelling from Portsmouth to Glastonbury when the munchies hit. We were on the A303 and couldn't see a sign of a cafe/pub to stop at. Eventually we spotted a McDonalds at a roundabout and I drove in expecting the car park to be a circuit. I was wrong, it was a dead end and we had to reverse back up the car park and round into the drive thru entry in order to exit in a forward direction. We held up masses of hungry travellers and my face was bright red with embarrassment but we got out of there with no lunch and no dignity.

On the security side of things you can go overboard and generally things aren't too bad, although I'm not sure I'd go as far as somebody who posted on Caravan Talk that his van was insured so he wasn't going to spend anything on security that his insurer didn't insist on.

Always a difficult question to reply to as essentially there is no right and wrong, nothing that's bullet proof and absolutely nothing that is going to deter the determined thief with a well thought out plan. So, with that in mind - there's nothing to be gained by being paranoid. That said, most of the thieving reprobates like a nice easy in and out type Modus Operandi or are opportunists. Taking sensible precautions such as ensuring all doors and steering wheel are locked does help in slowing them down. Not parking in an area where any potential thieves are well screened from witnesses helps as well. The hitch lock, whilst not 100% proof presents yet another obstacle as does a wheel clamp. I've never been one for alarms myself because there are so many false alarms these days that most people tend to simply ignore them anyway and those that do pay an interest are usually met by a shrug of the shoulders from the thieving git giving the impression of 'oh dear, I'm really embarrassed and didn't mean to disturb anyone look.

a few years ago, the police gave advice of locking everything up, and paint anything valuable pink, I think they meant tools like spades and the like.

on our last trip it was noted by the wardens we didn't have a telly
infact they wonder what on earth we were doing to pass the time, as there seemed to be no entertainment at all

we were reading and listening to radio obviously not loud enough
but it did make me wonder if they had glanced in while passing when we were out
so keep anything valuable out of sight what they cant see they can have

you could invest in wheel locks, leg locks, hitch locks, and a flash alarm, but then you've got to think like a possible burgular and think what have they got in there that needs securing
in our case it was the cat loo

Well, I'm a member of the 'I'm not going to do too much' brigade - certainly no more than my insurance company demands. Jemimah lives outside under the carport that's attached to the house and behind her is parked my quite big BMW. The former has a hitchlock, is security marked, registered with Cris and tethered to one of the steel uprights of the car-port which, in turn, is welded to the core of the earth (no, really. I had the car-port made for me by a local farmer and the holes for these uprights go so far down, I could barely see the bottom of them; they are then surrounded by the brickwork of the driveway, so they ain't goin' anywhere). The BM, which is alarmed of course, is hardly used nowadays, so it's there most of the time providing security for 'er outside. When we go away, we go in Liz's little Fiesta (almost as many bells and whistles as the fully specced BM but a lot cheaper to run and a whole lot easier to weave down Somerset lanes!)

Come the Spring, however, I'm going for the ultimate thief-deterrent. We are selling Jemimah! I know, sad or what. But I'm getting too creaky for all this malarkey unfortunately, so she has to go. We have had our last holiday in her and we have loved her pretty well unconditionally; she will leave us when the weather gets a bit warmer and people will be in a buying mood for the new season, so we reason - unless, of course, someone is reading this and wants a nice 2004 Troll 540 with all the bells and whistles - it even has a Fiamma ELECTRIC awning (well, we are in Cheshire after all; if the whole world is going to take the whatsit out of us, we might as well live up to the soubriquet).

To answer the question another way though. I agree with whoever made the statement - 'if they want it, they will have it'. I just hope I'm never around when they are; I am not a man of violence, but when provoked..............well.

Quote: Randa france wrote in post #5

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There is an argument that it's wrong to tow with the hitch lock in place

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AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

While we were travelling uo to Scotland on time we stopped at a motorway services, it was early hours of the morning and so only a handful of cars in the carpark. We parked up with lot's of empty spaces around us, a car pulled up right at the side if us and a couple just sat there. It really did look suspicious and I was glad that we had 2 dogs in the back of the car. We always take turns to go to the loo when we have our Eriba with us but boy was i glad when Mark got back to the car. Ellen

And Top o' the Morning to you too, Roger. OK, I read several posts from the link you provided and then gave up as it was all much of a muchness and when it came to a discussion of what the Fire Brigade could do, or could not do, it was time to go get a cup of Tea. Here's just one such post:-

In the case then of a trapped passenger the car would need to be upright to attemp the roof being cut off and the passenger being released .

Is this simply an educated guess or is this poster a Fireman stationed on Sark where it's all push-bike traffic. In my second life I served 23 years in the FB, three of which in a training school position where amongst other things, I was a certified RTA (road traffic accident) instructor. Believe you me, with a good crew and commander in charge, they'd cut your car up into 1cm pieces in the time you could open a tin of baked beans. Oh alright then, maybe a bit stretched, make that two tins of baked beans.
Must go now, my car boot lock is jammed shut and I've spent the best part of the morning trying to get into my car.

I have to say I go for minimum security. I have a wheel lock and hitch lock as required for insurance. I do tend to keep anything of value out of sight but rarely travel with anything of value, bar the wife and dog (dog cost more). Famous last words but although expensive and of great value to us owners an Eriba is not high on the priorities of an average thief who will be thick as a post and have no idea of this. Their thought process goes by size and luxury.

I do not venture abroad so cannot make comment on that aspect.

Stewart

Thankyou everyone for your thoughts on this, some useful food for thought here. I think about it not just for the potential asset loss, as assets are usually covered by insurance, but the impact it could have on a wonderful tour. I am going to go with good insurance, the wheel lock, the hitch lock and some sensible precautions as to where we leave the rig, what we travel with etc.

I am beginning to think though, that ordering the silver might draw more attention than I would like.... but then again, there will soon be loads of em!

You could look at it another way, being silver it would be spotted quickly if stolen as there will not be many around for a while. Our Eriba has his name on the front and Nana and Grandad on tour on the back so thieves would have to be quick before Doo-Dah was spotted.