Locking your doors overnight

Don't know if anyone else has been given the same incorrect information as were.

Just wanted to let you know about our recent experience in our Fairford and a bit of background that led up to this…
 
We recently returned from a holiday in France and, whilst on a campsite, someone entered our motorhome while we were asleep and helped themselves to both of our iphones and charging leads, our laptop and carrying case, my Amazon kindle and my Nikon camera. We woke up to find that all these items had been taken and the driver’s door was left wide open with a couple of our holdalls left on the ground outside.
 
We bought the Fairford from Robsons of Wolsingham back in March 2017 and, one of the things we were told during our walkthrough, was about keeping ourselves safe when sleeping in the van overnight.
 
We were told to press the door locking button situated on the driver’s door armrest and that would lock all the doors.
 
So, for 6 ½ years, we have religiously followed the routine of locking the doors as instructed.
 
We have wild-camped, parked in car parks, stayed on motorway services overnight blissfully believing we were safe in our cocoon!
 
After this incident, when we had moved on to the next campsite, I noticed someone with a Warwick XL so I approached them and told them of our experience and asked if they followed the same routine.
 
In fact, they had been given different instructions and been told that the button on the driver’s armrest only locked the rear and side doors! They then let us know that there was another button on the dashboard that did lock ALL the doors.
 
We were very thankful that nothing worse happened to us during this robbery. It doesn’t bear thinking about what the outcome could have been if we, or our dog who was asleep next to the bed, had woken up at the time.
 
I wonder how many other owners have been given the same incorrect information.

Not a good experience, pleased you both and dog ok. Supprised you or dog were unaware of events. Could it have been some disabling gas used to subdue all occupants. Have heard that scenario before.
As for locking from inside, always used one on dash and never even considered one on drivers door. Was not aware that did not lock all doors so just as well.
Safe travels.

My Sussex doesn't have a lock button on armrest, just the one in centre of dash. Maybe just x290 models have the armrest one, not x250 models (pre 2015)

As I recall the armrest button is designed to prevent theft from delivery vans when stopped at traffic lights or similar. I think it’s all covered in the handbook.

I’m sorry you had this experience, PSF, but the lesson is to never believe what the dealership tells you without checking things for yourself. I hope your insurance covered you.

How distressing, my sympathies. Unfortunately I've heard similar stories to your own, places like stopping overnight at a French motorway service station, and a French campsite where several campers were targeted one night, as if there was a team at work.

We use the button on the dashboard, sometimes though it needs pressing twice, sometimes I've left a door slightly open and it won't lock.

We had one incident, more teenagers larking around. We were camping in a field by Rutland Water sailing club possibly in the early 1990s. We were in bed with the lights off when we heard voices laughing, whilst one attempted to deflate a tyre someone started to open the rear doors and my wife let rip shouting at them, they swiftly left thankfully.

I read your post, PSFairford, with both sympathy and recollection. We, too, suffered a break-in in France whilst we were inside at night. There was an almighty thunderstorm so I was awake. Suddenly the cab light came on, momentarily. So I shouted and grabbed a torch and peered through the window, but saw nothing. But the PAX door was ajar. I closed it and locked the doors. We didn't sleep any more. In the morning I found that both cab door locks had been forced and broken. Luckily, we disturbed the robber before anything was stolen. Apparently they assume that valuables are kept in the glovebox or on the dashboard - hence the attack on the cab. Since then, in potentially vulnerable locations I chain the cab doors together, but am aware of the risk of compromising exit routes.

So I'm very sorry to hear of your upsetting, and expensive, experience.

Cymro

Worth noting that the dashboard switch toggles between lock and unlock. It’s only locked when its red light is lit.

Tim

On x250 models there are two push button switches next to each other on dash, one to lock (with red light for a few minutes after activating) and one to unlock. Locks all doors from outside but can still open from inside.

Kdc wrote:Not a good experience, pleased you both and dog ok. Supprised you or dog were unaware of events. Could it have been some disabling gas used to subdue all occupants. Have heard that scenario before.
As for locking from inside, always used one on dash and never even considered one on drivers door. Was not aware that did not lock all doors so just as well.
Safe travels.

It most certainly was not gas. This has been proved to be a complete myth by the Royal College of Anesthetists. There is plenty of research apart from that.

Good morning all, we agree on all the above points. Red light on = all doors locked from the inside.
We also tie the front doors with a chain and a padlock as we know someone who was burgled whilst sleeping when someone picked the front door locks and stole everything on the front seats.
We also have put a device on the back doors which locked them from the inside ( item bought online from Germany our vehicle is a Peugeot Boxer)
We feel very secure inside and when out confident that we have done everything to protect the van).