Hello brianf, i am very sorry this happened to you n your wife. Low life scum. We travel fulltime n have no jewellery on board. Money, ipad, camera phones we always take with us. Anything else in van is not worth much. Breaking your door, well that is a real nuisance as is them using your credit cards.

In the safe. And even before that there are the dogs to contend with.........

It's a sad situation we find ourselves in these days. You can't trust anyone & have to put everything under lock & key. Low life mongrel's!!!

I feel for you....

We have a safe only problem is you can't fit everything that could be taken in it. But is why we have contents insurance with our motor home insurance + portable valuables cover on our house insurance for stuff like mobile phones, cameras, laptops etc...

touch wood we haven't needed to use it..... so far!.

Sorry to hear of your experience Brian. There's little to stop a really determined low-life breaking in but maybe a good alarm is a reasonable deterrent. Sorry to say, but leaving CC's and other valuables lying in wait for thieves is inviting more aggro for yourself. Stick 'em in a small lightweight backpack and carry with you. The scumbags may cause damage to the RV, but at least you won't lose the valuables.

BrianF wrote:

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Just 2 weeks into our Grey Nomad lifestyle and we have had our motorhome broken into. Thursday May 4 we were in Launceston, Tasmania and it was a lovely clear day. We drove up to Cataract Gorge and parked in the Basin Street Car Park. There is a special area of the car park for over sized vehicles and at 7.92 metres long we are in that category. When we parked, ours was the only vehicle in the area, when we returned just over 2 hours later there was a motorhome parked either side of us.

As we approached we were immediately apprehensive as my wife's iPad was visible on the passenger seat. She was just in the process of saying I am sure I had that put away when we noticed the motorhome door was stood open. Closer inspection showed the lock destroyed and the door jemmied open in the two locations where the latches are.

We had been walking in the National Park and so naturally had not taken handbags/shoulder bags with us - so some light-fingered low life had been in the van, ransacked all the cupboards and stolen credit cards and cash we hadn't taken with us. We spent another 3 hours in Launceston police station and later discovered there had been 7 fraudulent transactions on our bank accounts

Have to give a huge thanks to King Caravans in Moonah (Hobart) who fixed the lock so I can at least lock the door - additional parts are required to actually fix the door which may have to wait until we return to the mainland on May 17...

I guess at the end of the day this could happen just about any tourist attraction Nationwide where our vehicles are left unattended. My first lesson is to mount a small safe for our important documents/valuables...

How do you protect what's yours in similar situations??

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 Sorry to hear you were robbed. We recently parked just near there while we checked out the gorge and ate in the restaurant. We don't have a m/home so our situation is a little different. I keep any iPads/laptop cameras etc, hidden inside our vehicle, in a hey hole under the rear seat. It's a new car and has a terrific alarm and the doors are able to be deadlocked. The windows are tinted very dark, nothing is left visible inside so there are no temptations to a potential thief. I figure they'll move on to another vehicle where they can see a hand bag or camera etc sitting on a seat.

I realise nothing is thief proof, but I'd rather leave things in the vehicle than in our caravan, which is easy to break into. 

-- Edited by Matt on Monday 8th of May 2017 08:22:15 PM

Sorry to hear that.

Have you a mate or you. With a welder.

Go to a scrap steel yard. and get some offcut 316 or 18-8
Stainless plate\Angle.
You only pay by the kilo.

Measure a place under the step or wherever suitable. Outside or in.

Buy enough plate to cover a box of size to fit that area.
Which also will fit a proper safe door. (You can buy them separately.)
Weld it to van chassis.
Rim of thicker angle round the front
will both brace box. and give secure mounting for door.

You'll never have a problem selling with that there.

One mate. had a square base welded up for gas bottles to sit on.
On drawbar.
One half was a safe. (I welded for him. With double bottom full of
water. so anybody that tried to drill, grind, whatever. it out.
got tool covered in water.
Hopefully shorting it. And frying him at same time if on mains.

In front of it was a mesh rack and sides for storing timber.
(Lots have that.)
So it didn't look out of place.

The rack had a coupla pins to hold in place.
Lift up, it uncovered safe door.

Do your thing. and replace rack.

Just keep a coupla bits of old timber in there to look legal as.

Another one I did.
Drop down step for van. Mounted on van floor (underneath)

I boxed in the area under step.
It gave the step dimensions. plus around 5in deep.
two locking pins held it up at front and took weight of step.
Dropping it down.till front rested on folded step.
Exposed safe door.
with angle strap inside to stop things falling out when opening.
Hinged to chassis rail at back.
Just right for papers. Licences cash etc.

You ever tried to cut through Stainless with battery grinder or drill.

TIME.. Is your enemy. and noise.
You'll need and get. plenty of both to do that job.

Deterrants..
Too hard. Go elsewhere..
That's what it's ALL about.

A serious thief WILL get anything from anywhere.
Just have gud insurance.

And don't build things in normal places.