Fitting a safe

by chalkywhite Fri Mar 10, 2017 9:58 pm

Due to get a Warwick XL in a few weeks. Has any one fitted a safe to one of these vans. I'm thinking it would need to be bolted to the floor under the rear seats. Bit concerned you could hit wirring running under the floor when drilling holes.

by chalkywhite Fri Mar 10, 2017 10:28 pm

I'll check that out.

by Jaytee Fri Mar 10, 2017 10:38 pm

We have one but never used it. Under a bunk and not that easy to get at and we never leave passports etc in the MH when out.

by Machloop Sun Mar 12, 2017 2:49 pm

Jaytee wrote:We have one but never used it. Under a bunk and not that easy to get at and we never leave passports etc in the MH when out.

We have one like this....

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Under the bench seat in the Kingham has all docs/passports/cash/spare keys, used all the time [even when parked here], who needs to carry that lot to the beach. The first upgrade for a motorhome. Easy to fit, difficult to get out [without ripping the floor out] very heavy duty. Don't hesitate - get one.

by Jaytee Sun Mar 12, 2017 4:13 pm

Great idea until the van gets nicked shrugg

by Machloop Sun Mar 12, 2017 4:31 pm

Jaytee wrote:Great idea until the van gets nicked

Better than being robbed in the street/shop/bar/beach carrying an easy to shift wallet/bag/pocket, at least its all insured in the van,[ours is].[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by StewPotch Sun Mar 12, 2017 10:40 pm

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]Fitted one under the rear bench seat in mine.

by bikeralw Sun Mar 12, 2017 11:21 pm

Not really a fan of a safe in the van having seen the devastation caused by a thief with an industrial grade crowbar. Not only had the seemingly tough safe door been prised open and the contents removed, all the van floor and fixtures around it were trashed.
I go the way of secreting things in places in the van that are not obvious.
Thieves are after quick in and out, a safe gives them a focal point.
Also I'm not convinced insurers would pay out if spare keys were kept in the van and it was stolen using them, even if they were in a safe.
Al.

by Gromit Mon Mar 13, 2017 8:55 am

bikeralw wrote:Not really a fan of a safe in the van having seen the devastation caused by a thief with an industrial grade crowbar. Not only had the seemingly tough safe door been prised open and the contents removed, all the van floor and fixtures around it were trashed.
I go the way of secreting things in places in the van that are not obvious.
Thieves are after quick in and out, a safe gives them a focal point.
Also I'm not convinced insurers would pay out if spare keys were kept in the van and it was stolen using them, even if they were in a safe.
Al.

My opinion is in complete agreement with Al's.

Plus the safe in our van was very inconvenient to get at.

Two important points to ponder from Al's comments.
1). The thief doesn't care a monkey's how much damage he does to your van.
2). He wants to be in and out as quickly as possible, so if you do decide to install a safe it must be well hidden, or it will immediately show him where to look. BUT if it's too inconvenient for you to get at, the chances are you won't use it!! shrugg

by peugeotboxer Mon Mar 13, 2017 12:29 pm

Had a security check done at work some years ago by the police.
Was advised to leave all the filing cabinets unlocked with the keys in the locks.

PB

by pstallwood Mon Mar 13, 2017 5:14 pm

We have just bought a fireproof box for home use to store our wills etc - the bank has stopped doing safe custody.

We leave the box unlocked and with a notice on it that there are no valuables inside. As there is nothing of financial value to a thief in there the theory is that a thief can have a look and is less likely to do any damage as they can get in easily. Hope that the theory is never tested!

by dbroada Mon Mar 13, 2017 5:36 pm

I was always told that a safe doesn't buy security, it only buys time.

I'm not sure if that has any relevance here but I have taken another thread off topic today and I thought I would just say it.

by inspiredron Mon Mar 13, 2017 6:35 pm

Can a moderator please edit Gromit's post above telling every toe-rag where A/S have fitted the safe on his van. He may not use it but others might!

censored!

by Gromit Mon Mar 13, 2017 6:56 pm

inspiredron wrote:Can a moderator please edit Gromit's post above telling every toe-rag where A/S have fitted the safe on his van. He may not use it but others might!

I have edited it Ron, but I don't see how you could think I was giving anything away as I was deliberately vague about its location.

To my knowledge A/S have fitted safes in at least three different places, probably more, and it doesn't take much thought to work out a few likely locations. One of them was instantly visible to anyone browsing round a van, as you do at a show or the dealer's.

BTW. Read through the thread. Some others have given precise details of where the safes are located in various models. Don't you want those edited as well - not that any self respecting thief would have any trouble finding them, and would probably have discovered their whereabouts before breaking into the van. shrugg

by Paulmold Mon Mar 13, 2017 7:04 pm

You better remove my post above as well.

by Gromit Mon Mar 13, 2017 7:06 pm

Done Paul, not that you were telling the thieves anything they wouldn't know already. uncertain

by inspiredron Mon Mar 13, 2017 8:05 pm

Sorry if I was abrasive - and I forgot that you were a moderator! I agree that I would not want any of the locations to be shown or mentioned, particularly where photos are included.

A well hidden safe is useful IMHO and if it is therefore difficult to use then that is the other side of the coin as it is similarly difficult for a toe-rag to mess with in the limited time that he wants to be inside your van with the alarm periodically sounding off. Different, of course if he hot-wires your van and drives it off to a private location. But you cannot stop a determined thief.

by Gromit Mon Mar 13, 2017 10:38 pm

You weren't abrasive Ron - just understandably concerned. smile!

It's a difficult decision, since as you say there are two distinctly opposing considerations. On balance, and partly because I'm an idle git, I can't be bothered with a safe. Apart from passports which are small enough to be easily hidden somewhere fairly secure, we carry very little of value in the van anyway. . . .

. . . that is, unless we are gassed in the South of France! Then it will be quite another story. lol4

But seriously though, statistically the chances of being robbed are very low indeed, but anything that adds to personal security has to be good. Nothing worse than taking anxiety on holiday with you!.

by Motorwaycafe Sat Mar 18, 2017 5:05 pm

Which is the greater - the fear of theft, so you fit a safe and worry if it is sound enough, or the probability of being robbed?
Does anyone out there know the 'facts' on this: what is the percentage of vans broken into and robbed in say the past 5 years. Might put the whole discussion into context.
Fingers crossed,I have not been broken into in the past 20+yrs.
confused3

by Jaytee Sat Mar 18, 2017 7:20 pm

Motorwaycafe wrote:Which is the greater - the fear of theft, so you fit a safe and worry if it is sound enough, or the probability of being robbed?
Does anyone out there know the 'facts' on this: what is the percentage of vans broken into and robbed in say the past 5 years. Might put the whole discussion into context.
Fingers crossed,I have not been broken into in the past 20+yrs.

Would certainly be interesting to know the answer to that question. We certainly hear of MH's and caravans being stolen (complete with safes hugegrins

) but don't seem to hear of break'ins very often.

by m8form8 Sun Mar 19, 2017 12:40 pm

A decent safe is going to weigh quite a bit, think ill give it a miss up to payload near enough as it is. The Old Amethyst had a hidden cupboard behind the cushion that was a good spot to leave things. Shame they stopped doing hidden compartments like they did 20 odd years ago. I thought it was a brilliant idea, although it also had a few other handy places to hide stuff in our old Auto sleeper.
"Progress seen it in an egg its called going bad" C.S> Lewes.

by Cymro Sun Mar 19, 2017 1:07 pm

I agree with Gromit: the location of the safe in the van which we have is so inconvenient that I've never used it. Moreover, it locks with a big key (no spare) which I'd have to carry when using the safe. I'd be tempted to strip it out and put the space to better use, but I suspect the job might be a chore.
Still a few good hidey-holes available elsewhere.

In some 30 years of motorhoming, we've been broken into once - overnight at a autoroute service station in S of France. Internal screens in place (and nothing left on dashboard anyway). Big thunderstorm and cloudburst, so I was awake; saw cab light come on, briefly. Hollered and grapped torch and peered out - nothing to see apart from torrents. In morning, found that both cab doors' locks had been forced. Used a chain between doors since then.

by Gromit Sun Mar 19, 2017 1:30 pm

Cymro wrote:I'd be tempted to strip it out and put the space to better use, but I suspect the job might be a chore.

It's dead easy Cymro.

Get Mamgu to reach into the safe and hold a spanner on the two bolt heads inside. You crawl underneath and scrape off the sealant so you can undo the nuts. It's that easy, and as you say it does release quite a lot of extra storage space.

by Cymro Sun Mar 19, 2017 1:45 pm

Thanks, Dave! I'd like to try a variant on that technique, but suspect that Mamgu wouldn't be too enthusiastic!

I should have guessed that you'd already achieved that mod!
Cymro

by Machloop Sun Mar 19, 2017 2:07 pm

This topic has shown the divide between safe 'must haves' and safe 'don't wants'. For us, wild camping through Europe, a safe is essential. Having to take all vehicle documents etc. they must be secured as well as possible. Obviously if the van burns out or disappears down the road, the safe is useless but so is anything else. As has been pointed out, to remove the safe, by a thief, would take much time, effort and noise. If, on the other hand, you operate in the UK [no papers required], staying on secure sites, then why bother. Horses for courses again.

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