Luckily, we’ve never experienced a break-in ourselves. But you don’t have to look far on forums or in campervan groups to find the most horrible stories. Reason enough not to leave it to chance.
You can’t prevent break-ins entirely, a hundred percent doesn’t exist. What you can do is make sure your camper isn’t the easiest target. A thief always takes the path of least resistance, so make sure that resistance is there.
Below you’ll find a number of things that help prevent break-ins!
1. Door lock with steering lock
You’ll often see people put a strap around the doors to keep people out, but a strap is cut through in seconds. That’s why we use a steel bar that fully locks off the cabin. This stops someone from smashing a window to open the door from the inside, and the bar also runs through the steering wheel, so that’s locked at the same time.
We use this bar from JANSTAHL
2. Rear door lock
We’ve mounted a lock on our rear doors. You install it on the inside of your rear doors, using the existing screw holes, so no extra drilling needed. A pin lets you secure the doors from the inside, separately from the regular lock.
Here’s the link to the lock we installed!
3. Prickstop against the poke-hole method
The best-known break-in method for campervans is the so-called poke-hole method: thieves poke a small hole right below the keyhole in the door. This lets them reach the rod mechanism of the lock cylinder, after which the central locking opens all the doors at once. Silent, barely any traces, and done within seconds. Exactly the kind of thing you’d rather not find out about the hard way.
A Prickstop is an extra sturdy plate on the inside of the door that shields this mechanism. Simple, effective, and invisible from the outside. Stickers are included that you can put on the outside of the door.
Installing it takes about an hour, since you have to remove the door panel on the inside of the van.
Click here to see the product!
4. Guard dog
Honestly, Bodhi isn’t much of a guard dog. But a burglar who hears a dog bark generally prefers to move on to the next camper. We also always hang his leash somewhere clearly visible, so it’s obvious there’s a dog on board. A sticker on the van could help too!
5. Window locks
Small plastic caps that go over the handles of the camper windows. Without those caps, you can flip the handle from outside with a piece of wire; with them, you can’t. We made ours ourselves with the 3D printer (check out all the 3D prints here), but they’re also available online. Just make sure to check which type of handle your camper has!
6. Common sense and reading reviews
The most important one on the list, and it costs nothing. Don’t park somewhere that doesn’t feel right, even if it’s late and you’re tired. Before you settle somewhere, always check the reviews on park4night or a similar app. A bad review about break-ins in the area weighs heavier than a nice view.
7. A secret spot for your valuables
No camper can be made 100% burglar-proof, so assume someone will eventually get in. The question is what they find. A false bottom, a hidden compartment, or a built-in safe means your passport and laptop aren’t just lying out in the open. If you go for a safe, a floor safe is a handy solution, since most campervans have room in the floor near the front seats to fit one.
None of the points above are complicated, but together they make it just that bit harder for someone to decide on the spot that your camper is the easiest one in the row.
Another advantage you might not think of right away: if a thief does fight through all the resistance and leaves damage behind, that’s exactly the proof your insurance needs. A broken lock is annoying, but convincing. Without traces, all you have is your own story, and insurers don’t do much with that.
What do you do to keep your things safe? Let us know in the comments!
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