Whether your campervan or motorhome is worth £1000 or £100,000 you’ll want to protect your tiny home in the best way possible. There are a variety of security solutions on the market for vans, campervans and motorhomes and they are split into a range of categories such as preventative, deterrents and recovery products. This article is going to cover some of the different options available for securing your van over a range of price points and installation levels.
Roadside, at the beach or in the mountains, unfortunately, theft or break-ins can occur in any environment. You can help mitigate the chances by parking in places with other campers or vans around, using secure park ups or areas specific to motorhomes and vans that might be gated – often with wild camping however this won’t be possible. So, what can you do to protect yourself, and your van?
Visual deterrents:
These are security products and solutions designed to deter break-ins and theft by being physically visible or advertised on your van.
1. Steering wheel locks:
These are physical bars or discs that are fitted internally to lock your steering wheel in place.
Steering wheel lock benefits:
Highly visible deterrent.
Simple to install and remove.
Affordable
Steering wheel lock negatives:
It can be removed with specialised tools.
Only protects the steering wheel, leaving other areas vulnerable.
Requires space in the van for storing when not in use.
2. Wheel clamps:
These are externally fitted clamps that wrap around your vans wheel(s) to prevent the van from being moved.
Wheel clamp benefits:
The van or motorhome cannot be moved with with wheel clamp in place.
Strong visual deterrent against vehicle theft.
Wheel clamp negatives:
Bulky in terms of storage when not in use.
Can be time-consuming to fit and remove.
Risk of damaging your vehicle if you try to pull away and forget to remove it.
Can be messy/dirty in bad weather.
It can be removed with specialised tools.
3. Deadlocks or other high security locks
Make your van harder to break into than your neighbours. A lot of break-ins are opportunists so deadlocks can be a great way to deter and physically make thefts harder. Thieves will have to smash the glass and climb in and out of the van through windows as they will be unable to open the doors, even from the inside.
Deadlock benefits:
An extra layer of protection which can be fitted to all of your campervan doors.
Locks are harder to be picked than standard locks.
An additional layer of security on top of the chances of key cloning.
Can’t be opened from the inside of the van.
Will slow thieves down on entering the vehicle.
Deadlock negatives:
Hardware and costs can be pricey. L4V deadlocks and installation are likely in the region of £500 for all doors.
Can still be vulnerable to forceful entries depending on the tools used.
4. CCTV and dashcams
There are a range of CCTV and dashcam solutions on the market which can be used to record and deter the chances of someone making an attempt on your van. From totally wireless systems with their own batteries to simple cab-mounted cameras. Depending on your build you might want to consider both an internal, and external CCTV system on your van.
CCTV benefits:
Get alerts in real time from WiFi connected camera systems.
Backup recordings to the cloud if your vehicle is stolen.
Capture information about thieves to pass to the police.
Reduces the chance someone will break into your van if they can see they are on camera.
CCTV negatives:
Running wireless CCTV requires permanent internet connections in your van which can be costly and requires additional hardware.
Investing in the initial cameras and mounting systems can be expensive.
If using cloud services you may have additional monthly costs for storage.
5. Decals and stickers
Shouting about your security system might just be enough to deter some thieves, regardless if you actually have a system installed or not.
Decals and stickers benefits:
Extremely cheap and fast solution to install.
Doesn’t necessarily have to be backed up by a more expensive system.
Can be used alongside other security measures.
Decals and stickers negatives:
Provides no actual protection.
Will instantly lose effectiveness if thieves realise they are a bluff.
Hidden deterrents:
These are security products and solutions designed to stop your van from being driven away, or for recovering your van successfully in the event it is stolen.
1. GPS tracking system
A GPS tracking system enables you to access information on your vans location away from the vehicle. Depending on the solution this might be tied in with other features such as geofencing, motion detection and recovery services.
GPS tracking system benefits:
Allows you to pinpoint the position of your van.
Gives you knowledge and information to aid in the recovery of your van.
Can alert you remotely via cloud services if your vehicle is moved or started.
GPS tracking system negatives:
Does not prevent theft, but aids in recovery.
Requires a monthly subscription for internet connection or additional services depending on the solution.
Hardware, functionality and reliability can massively vary between systems.
Cheaper solutions can be easy to find and remove or block.
2. Alarm system
Alarms are a great way for your can to draw attention to any foul play. Often activated automatically based on motion, smashed glass or ignition they can quickly scare off thieves caught in the act.
Alarm system benefits:
Alerts you, or others within the vicinity of your van to break-ins.
Can be combined with motion sensors and window protection to add additional layers of security.,
Once triggered, cannot be disabled without the key of the vehicle.
Alarm system negatives:
False alarms can sometimes be triggered by adverse weather or van movement.
Not effective in very remote or secluded areas without other people around.
3. Immobiliser:
Immobilisers come in many different forms and levels of security. They are often hiding or hardwired or linked into your vans ECU or BCM.
Immobiliser benefits:
Prevents the engine of your van from being started without using the correct key, or code input.
Invisible system within the van.
Prevents unauthorised ignition attempts or hotstarting.
Some models prevent key cloning or even driving the vehicle with the original key without a code being entered (Autowatch Ghost II)
Immobiliser negatives:
Can be costly to install or require professional installs, but no recurring monthly costs.
Some models can be bypassed by highly skilled thieves.
Do not prevent break-ins.
4. Security window film
Security window film is an additional film which is fitted to your vans windows in order to strengthen the glass and help prevent break-ins.
Security window film benefits:
Makes your glass windows harder to break, adding additional time and noise for thieves trying to gain entry.
Inexpensive compared to some other solutions.
Can be self installed or installed professionally.
Stops glass shards from entering the van if the glass is smashed.
Security window film negatives:
Doesn’t fully prevent entry via a window, but delays it.
Less visible as a deterrent than some other solutions.
5. Hidden killswitch:
A hidden killswitch fitted within your van will stop the van from starting by interrupting the electrical circuit required by the ignition.
Hidden killswitch benefits:
Will prevent your van from starting unless the switch is engaged.
Can be hidden at any location within your van.
Cheaper and discrete solution to prevent theft.
Hidden killswitch negatives:
Prevents installation which may or may not be possible to do yourself depending on experience.
Can be bypassed easily if found.
Can be inconvenient to start the van every time unless it is placed in an easy-to-access location.
6. Safe:
A physical safe inside your van is a great way to secure those extra valuable, smaller items such as cash, passports and even laptops. There are a variety of safe options to choose from including small lockboxes, portable safes or under seat/floor safes which are bolted into the structure of the van.
Safe benefits:
Physical protection for your most valuable belongings, with a range of security functions (key/pin/biometric etc)
A safe which is integrated or hidden within your van offers a good discreet storage option.
As well as security from theft, many safes also protect the contents from fire and water damage.
An additional layer of security when used in combination with external deterrents like deadlocks and alarms.
Safe negatives:
Due to the materials used, a safe could add additional weight to your conversion. The external dimensions also tend to be bulky compared to the internal storage.
There could be a level of inconvenience if you use commonly used items in the safe which you’d want to use day to day.
Depending on the location it could be difficult to retrofit a safe into a prime location for security and access.
Smaller safes or lockboxes which aren’t secured to the van could be lifted to taken entirely by thieves.
7. Apple AirTags:
Apple AirTags are a small battery-powered tracker which work by using Bluetooth to connect to nearby devices in Apple’s Find My network, which then sends the AirTag’s location to iCloud. To use Apple AirTags you will want to already be in the Apple ecosystem (using iPhone, iPad, Mac etc) In our opinion AirTags are not a replacement for a ‘proper’ integrated tracker but do provide an easy ‘better than nothing’ type of solution.
Apple AirTag benefits:
A pack of 4 Apple AirTags is around £80. You can use these inside your van, but also attached to items such as keys and bags.
Small and discrete so they are easy to hide within your van build.
Battery powered (lasts around one year) so you don’t need to hardwire any connections but will still need access to them to maintain.
Apple AirTag negatives:
Tracking features do not work 100% of the time as they are reliant on other Apple devices to detect them.
Can be potentially be detected by thieves.
Might require modification to disable audio alerts.
