Thief Broke Into Our Jay Flight

[Mustang65]

How far is your home located from the stored RV?As the crow flies....
Don
My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[Bassdogs]

Originally Posted by ChaosTheory

18 years in law enforcement taught me a few things...

1) Stored RVs are generally low risk if you store them empty. Meaning: take everything of value out of them, including the TV, when you're storing them long-term.

Then, leave the window blinds open so the opportunist can see this trailer is empty. Bad guys (or often, juveniles) rarely just run up and smash windows, unless it's an all-out looting situation. They will usually case the area first. They'll look in the window, see the bed sheets gone, drawers/cabinets open and empty, fridge open, nothing of value sitting out within view... Chances are they'll move on. Time is of the essence and they won't want to waste time entering an RV that won't provide good stuff. Thieves like good stuff, and if they can't see in the windows, they'll assume you're hiding good stuff.

2) Location, location, location... Storage shed complexes are frequent targets of thieves. And they always bring bolt cutters. Chains, cables, locks are great for deterring theft while traveling, but they are a 5 second job when no one's around. Find a storage area with lighting, perhaps a fence and cameras. The 'cheap' places will save you a few bucks, but a dark lot in the middle of nowhere is a much higher risk.

3) If someone wants to get into an RV, they're going to get in. These fancy locks, again, are great for peace-of-mind, but the frame around your door is likely cheap aluminum and can be bent/pried very easily.

The audible door alarm may work if there's someone around to hear it, but if not, thieves often won't care. I know it's not always possible, but the best place to store an RV is to find a friend out of town with some land, who will let you park it behind their shed or barn for a nominal fee.

Bottom line is that nothing is 100% safe, which is why you have insurance, but you should be more concerned about mice in a stored RV than a bad guy.

This response pretty much hits the issue head on and to the point. Most of the extra security efforts are a feel good thing for the owner and of very little use for a motivated robber. When stored in a storage lot, make the neighbor's units look a whole lot more attractive than yours.

[RogerR]

If you do want protection, including while camping while traveling I would suggest SimpliSafe. It is a cell phone operated alarm system that is not tied to WIFI.

In our case one motion sensor will cover the whole interior. If I wanted I could also put door sensors on my hatch to cover my tools, etc.

Cost is purchase of the alarm base unit plus what sensors you need. Mine is close enough to the house that my house base will also connect to the RV by bluetooth.

The main unit is charged by 120AC but has a battery backup. It draws little so I could add a tiny converter for traveling charging.

Monthly monitoring at $15 a month which you can cancel and resume at any time.

You get first month free if you are referred by a friend or relative. If you need a referral send me a PM. (ps, I don't work for SimpliSafe)

[Desert RVers]

[QUOTE=Mustang65;742193]How far is your home located from the stored RV?As the crow flies....
Don


Don, it's probably an 1/8th to 1/4 of a mile as a crow flies. You've got me wondering what you have in mind. (I've been a fan of your posts for some time, especially your excellent solar work, etc.).
Thanks,
Carl

[Desert RVers]

ChaosTheory and Bassdogs; yes I agree. If they want in, they will get in. That's why anything of value gets removed before we park it in storage. Our neighbor's unit is just a small utility trailer, so it's kind of hard to dress ours down enough. LOL.
RogerR; SimplySafe sounds interesting. Definitely gives us something to think about. I'll PM you if we end up going this route. Thanks!

[Mustang65]

[QUOTE=Desert RVers;742448]

Originally Posted by Mustang65

How far is your home located from the stored RV?As the crow flies....
Don

... it's probably an 1/8th to 1/4 of a mile as a crow flies. You've got me wondering what you have in mind. Thanks,
Carl

There is an electronic fix for almost everything.

I use a XBee RF modules for my home wireless projects. I prefer them over the ESP8266 Wi-Fi modules that can lack security and they operate in the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi frequency. The XBee operates in the area of 902+MHz range and are very secure.

Granted, the XBee modules cost more, but there are lot of benefits to using it. There are modules that meet my short distance needs and those that would meet your long distance needs.

Outdoor/Line-of-Sight Range: Up to 9 miles (14km) w/ dipole antenna, up to 28 miles (45km) w/ high-gain antenna.

My setup has 2 XBees one is the Coordinator (connected to a Raspberry Pi) the second is the Repeater. The repeater opens and closes the main city water supply ball valve, at the city water meter. We always turn off the water at the city water meter when we leave for extended periods of time. This was due to issues caused by the city working on the meter 2x causing leaks on our side of the water meter.

Your setup would have a module (in your house) hooked to a Raspberry Pi and would be programmed to send you a text message if the Remote module was activated by the motion sensor. You could also, send a signal back to the remote module to activate a high-pitched alarm in the TT.

XBee-PRO® 900HP Programmable RF Modules information

Trailer:
(1) Xbee Pro 900 series RF Modules ($40 each)
(1) Xbee Pro 900 series antenna ($10)
(1) Parallax 555-28027 PIR Sensor (Motion Sensor) ($15)
(1) 3.7v 2000mAh - Lithium Ion Battery ($13.00) Emergency backup
(1) 3.7 Volt Lithium Ion Battery charger ($7.00)
Total about $85

Home:
(1) Xbee Pro 900 series RF Modules ($40 each)
(1) Xbee Pro 900 series antenna ($10)
(1) Raspberry Pi (needs Internet connection) ($25)
Total about $75

No monthly charges for the above design, just the initial parts purchase.

There is also a cellular module (set up in your TT) that would not require any equipment in your home as it would be programmed to send you a text message to your Smart phone if the motion sensor was activated. This option would cost you about $80 for the board (plus support parts listed above for the Trailer) and $7 a month for cell service.

Adafruit FONA 3G Cellular Breakout - American version -

Either of the above TT options will require your TT battery and a SOLAR panel mounted on the roof to keep your battery(s) fully charged.

Below is the PCB circuit board I designed and had made for my city water valve project. This is the latest version that has analog voltage monitoring as I will be adding water temperature, water flow sensor, battery/SOLAR voltage monitoring.

[Shackrat]

Originally Posted by Riverman

I'm dreaming of a wifi burglar alarm that will send a signal to my cell phone if someone gets into my camper. Still dreaming....

I am building this as we speak using a Hubitat home automation hub. The hub is connected to my OneControl anywhere hotspot. I have a Samsung tablet mounted on the wall for interacting with it. The hub transmits its telemetry to an identical hub at my house so I see all of the events in real-time on both systems.

Only drawback is that you need power, which means AC or solar+battery if AC is not available. The hub only draws a couple watts, but the hotspot is a little more power hungry.

[Riverman]

I think I will buy a used Simplisafe alarm system from ebay for my TT.

[Desert RVers]

Thank you Don for all the detailed information. I really appreciate you taking the time to write that up. Kudos to you!
Shackrat, thank you too for the information you provided.
We're going to wait on adding any security system for now. We leave in a few weeks to spend the summer in the Pacific Northwest (plus, we might be selling our TT??? ). Fingers crossed that our HOA installs an alarm system for the storage lot while we are away.

[K2tiger]

Perhaps not the most neighborly method, but I run on the old theory that I don't need to outrun the bear, only the guy next to me. I have WiFi security camera decals (no actual camera's) posted near any potential access points and I park in a secured lot with 15+ other RV's. Certainly anyone can access our trailer if they really want to, but why take the risk of being seen when they can simply walk two trailers over and feel "better" about their activities. I also don't keep anything of any real value in there.

[RogerR]

You can buy a fake security camera for under $10. Some even have a blinking led!

[Riverman]

A fake camera would give me fake security.

[Woodworker]

What does a camera do? It doesn't stop anyone and it doesn't guarantee a conviction. To me all they do is compound the pain because you are watching them steal and or destroy your stuff. One event comes to mind. A guy stole a Ring Door Bell as it filmed him up to the point he pulled the wires out of the wall.

[RogerR]

The only thing you can do is scare away some of them. Unless you are sitting there watching it a vid cam is not of great use. In a higher crime area a fake vid cam may send someone down to the next place to rob. Especially teens.

[75H]

I feel your pain Desert RVers, learned my lesson 20 years ago when our Class A was broken into. Here are the fixes:

1. Python Smartstart Alarm powered from solar for storage. So many reasons that I'd sound like a salesman if I listed them, pm me if interested or need an install reference.

2. Consider we live in a state where there are no consequences for burglary, so you need to make your TT less desirable to break into than the one next to it, both while in storage and while on the road. Refer to #1.

Best of luck.

[qs271a]

I know for a fact that if someone wants to get into your RV, they will. The only real thing you can do is help catch the culprits, and try to make it as difficult as possible. All of the advice here has been awesome. I had my TT broken into a few years ago. Like everyone has said, try to keep them empty when in storage. I keep my new fifth wheel in front of my house, and so far we've been lucky. I actually bought a Larry Alert and put it on the highest point on my RV, pointing to the front door, to help catch anyone who might think about doing this. I also have a battery operated motion sensor light installed over the front door. The camera runs on an app. on your phone, and snaps a pic when it detects motion. It doesn't require WIFI, and is totally wireless, and it connects to your phone within about 100 Ft. or so, I can get a signal at about 150 Ft. away from it, but you can access all pic's that have been taken while your gone, onto an SD card. It will also do 30 sec. videos as well. It holds a charge for about four days or so, depending on the activity, which you can check on the app. It came with a tiny little cable that you hook to it, to prevent someone from stealing it. I mounted mine at about 12Ft. high, so I don't use the cable , they'll need a ladder to steal it. This has been very handy while we are out camping. It also has a speaker that you can set to produce an alarm every time motion is detected. It also has the ability for you to speak to someone through your phone while inside your rig. The drawback is that you can only access it when your within that 100 or 150 Ft. distance. I just purchased it from the Larry Alert website for about $100, but I think Amazon has them as well. Anyone who RV's, has probably heard about these. Like I said it won't stop someone from getting in, but at least you will be able to help identify them to the police, and possibly get your stuff back. I also installed an electric "RV LOCK" on my door as well. It came with a key fob remote and two keys, but it only runs the dead bolt, so to double lock it you need to use the key as well. I've been pretty happy with it so far, but again, I don't know how much of a deterrent it is. I guess we can just try to do what we can to stop this senseless S#*^ from happening. If you live in an area where transients are prevalent, then there isn't much you can do, other than live in your rig. And even that has become more dangerous in the past few years. I'm sorry to hear about what happened to your rig. Hopefully they catch them. P.S. The other thing that was stolen from mine was the license plate. They just snapped it right off the light bracket. I do wish that RV manufacturers would use a better system for mounting the plate, other than two plastic tabs. I never got it back, so I had to apply for a new one. I take mine off after the season, and keep it inside the storage compartment. UNLESS OF COURSE, THEY BREAK INTO THAT, fingers crossed. Happy RV'ing All!

[Jacotim]

Originally Posted by Desert RVers

I went over yesterday to our community's private RV storage lot. Once there, I found our TT door locks damaged from a break-in (insert expletives here).
Once inside, I found the screen for the dinette window laying on the seat cushions and the window blind open. The window was closed, but the latch no longer holds it closed. Maybe the door locks held and they had to climb through the window? The thief went through everything. All cabinet doors and drawers were open. It looks like they also pulled the Murphy bed down to look behind it as it was no longer secured. It does not appear anything was stolen? Weird. The only thing of value is the TV and DVD player, but those seem to be fine. The dinette cushions were all moved and the plywood below them was not set in place. So they obviously looked in those storage areas. We are lucky in that they didn't know to lift the bunk bed plywood base for easy access to the big storage area that is full of gear. The lower bunk was slept in (very creepy), as I found the sheets and blanket pulled back (more expletives here). Needless to say, we are very upset and angry with the jerk(s) that broke in and caused this damage. Plus they had the nerve to sleep in our bunk bed! Geeez. We'll have to wash the bedding with bleach and fumigate the mattress. We'll also look for a replacement door lock set. I called the sheriff to file a phone report. They had an officer come by. I was pleasantly surprised that they would take the time for such a minor problem. The officer was very thorough, he even took fingerprints! The prints had already deteriorated quite a bit from the wind and he wasn't sure if they would be of any help. He also mentioned there have been a rash of break-ins to homes in our general area. Some in gated communities and some not. I hope they catch whomever it is. Our HOA is looking into having motion detector lights and security cameras installed. The storage lot is secured with a locked gate and block walls all around. But one side borders the open desert making for an easy access with a hop over the wall.

Do any members here have recommendations for a particular brand of locks that might be more secure? If there is such a thing. Obviously, if a thief wants in, they will get in. Sad but true.

Thanks for letting me vent, I feel better.

That sucks. The manufacturers don't install the best locks on the RV's. I have good insurance and don't leave valuables in the unit when stored. Sorry to hear of your bad experience. There are some desperate people today.

[cool-daddio1]

This is why I dont lock my camper. If they want in they will get in, even if they have to tear up your doors, which I've read on these posts before. You were lucky they didn't get in the storage unit. They didn't have a clue what was in it.