Motorhome Stolen

[KelandDale]

Sorry to hear this ...Cheltenham you say ? Wonder what's the attraction just now

Yip, I wonder? ??

 

[Lazyboy]

How many vans now have been reported on here stolen from "secure" storage? Begs a question to be asked as to how secure these places are surely. Fit a tracker, fit a "growler" at least. I would certainly be asking the storage depot about their alleged security.

 

[KelandDale]

In the past I too had my Burstner stolen with little hope of recovery because adding a bit of black tape can change the number plate. We were told that it would go to Ireland or Cyprus where right hand drive is standard. In the UK if it has been logged as stolen, it cannot be M.O.T tested.
My heart goes out to you. The trauma of losing all your special things and trying to list and record everything in the van can take hours. Household insurance may cover most things from clothing to knives and forks. The actual van insurance should cover any previously itemised additions like Gaslow etc. Our insurance paid up in full after exactly 4 weeks. I do know how special your van is and what it represents to you but after a few weeks it can be replaced. You can scour the country with a cheque in your hand and find a replacement that may just upgrade any shortcomings that you had. Good luck in your search and try to find something positive to come out of this horrid time. Alan

Thanks for that encouragement. I know it is only materialistic things. There is something better out there. Will keep on going. Nothing stops us

 

[KelandDale]

How many vans now have been reported on here stolen from "secure" storage? Begs a question to be asked as to how secure these places are surely. Fit a tracker, fit a "growler" at least. I would certainly be asking the storage depot about their alleged security.

We visited the site today. There is a massive ditch that surrounds the property. A bridal path that leads to another road. That was the weak link. They had to break thru 2 locked gates. Ours was behind a corrugated iron gate. They took time breaking the large padlock. After that, it took 3 minutes to get the van going. Inside job?

 

[KelandDale]

Sorry to hear that.

So they nicked it with the tracker on and then discarded the tracker at a petrol station?

Yip, that was according to the police

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[KelandDale]

Really sorry to hear that.
How did they overcome any security that you’d expect the storage provider to have e.g. fences, locked gates etc. Any CCTV available?

They broke the locks. Knew where the cameras were and wore hoodie. Never once did they look at the cameras

 

[Snoopy]

Sorry to hear that, makes me sick to my stomach.

 

[MisterB]

what frustrates me is that cctv doesnt appear to be used to good effect to follow the path of stolen vehicles. it will have shown up somewhere, even with number plates changed it would have been spotted unless it was hidden inside a container. the fact that the tracker off the other MH was found would give an indication of the route, if only up to that point.

i think its one of those crimes that is deemed to be unimportant, with an insurance companies will pay out, so no-one loses out attitude, yet it wouldnt surprise me if someone put it all together, it works out be a multi million pound crime. steal that from a bank then its worth investigating. insurance companies make their money from things being stolen, premiums go up and everyone pays except them, so do they really care? if there were no stolen vehicles there would be no need for that specific cover, so they wouldn't make as much ......

 

[TheBig1]

They took time breaking the large padlock. After that, it took 3 minutes to get the van going. Inside job?

not likely an inside job, these thieves are professional and will of checked the yard out and chosen which vans to take before the raid. Sadly the gear to steal these vans is available on ebay amongst other places. Unlocking the central locking turns off most alarms and all that takes is a key reader. use that to open the door and the same key in the ignition. Plug a lead into the obd port by the drivers knee, to a box or a laptop with code and set it to decode the immobiliser. Engine running within a minute normally. a small handheld scanner detects the signal from the tracker so they can rip it out

 

[CazPaul]

not likely an inside job, these thieves are professional and will of checked the yard out and chosen which vans to take before the raid. Sadly the gear to steal these vans is available on ebay amongst other places. Unlocking the central locking turns off most alarms and all that takes is a key reader. use that to open the door and the same key in the ignition. Plug a lead into the obd port by the drivers knee, to a box or a laptop with code and set it to decode the immobiliser. Engine running within a minute normally. a small handheld scanner detects the signal from the tracker so they can rip it out

Wow, so a good thief can easily get around all security including alarms and trackers then.

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[poppycamper]

My view is regardless of whether it is auto security or internet/phone banking or what ever if one person can design or invent a secure system there will always be someone else who can design or invent a method to override said systems......If they want it they WILL get it..

 

[Nanniemate]

Sadly I have to agree with poppycamper, there is always some crook who does not want to work for what we treasure. But if there was not a market for stolen property its a continuous circle, we work, they steal, someone else buys

 

[eddie]

Wow, so a good thief can easily get around all security including alarms and trackers then.

No, not all security “easily”

Our ‘Non Starter” came about because of keyless theft. Any tracking system can be jammed, and wireless sensors can be turned off from the outside of a vehicle with a flick of a switch!

Sadly, lazy and incompetent alarm installers plug alarms into the On Board Diagnostic Ports (OBDP) the very Port that thieves use to by pass the factory fitted immobiliser

 

[Paulypaul]

So all of the techno stuff can be easily over ridden? We supplement our alarm and tracker with clutch claw, steering wheel lock and seat base lock, which we know won't stop a thief but will slow them down.

The worse thing about this to me, is that the OP had their van in "secure storage" and more than likely felt reassured that it would be safe. Surely the storage facility has to be held to account to some degree as it clearly failed to uphold their contract to store the van "securely".

I feel for you and anyone else who has their possessions thieves by some low life. What gives them the right to think they can just take....scum!

I hope you get paid out for everything.

 

[sonny]

Yip, I wonder? ??

Rustling?

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[Charente16]

Very strange in my opinion, why would some one go out of their way to steal a Nexxo t665? I have one and think it's great, so not knocking them. The internal lay-out with the wash basin by the bed was not very popular and the t665 was quickly replaced by a more conventional design. Ours was one of the 'last batch' built and for which the factory had no dealer orders for.

Certainly not going to be the easiest or most profitable motorhome to dispose of.

Would be interesting to know what the other van was and if there were any other vans in storage at the time.

I hope you get your 'Bertie' back KelandDale.

Robert

 

[Viennese]

So all of the techno stuff can be easily over ridden? We supplement our alarm and tracker with clutch claw, steering wheel lock and seat base lock, which we know won't stop a thief but will slow them down.

The worse thing about this to me, is that the OP had their van in "secure storage" and more than likely felt reassured that it would be safe. Surely the storage facility has to be held to account to some degree as it clearly failed to uphold their contract to store the van "securely".

I feel for you and anyone else who has their possessions thieves by some low life. What gives them the right to think they can just take....scum!

I hope you get paid out for everything.

I don't think 'secure' storage sites have to take any responsibility for anything. I had no contract with mine, which cancelled its Cassoa membership as it was 'too expensive', hired a skip which was placed opposite my van and allowed it to become overloaded. Result was that the contents were scattered over my van on 9 February during Storm Ciara, smashing the windscreen and denting the bodywork. £6000 damage. Insurance company not bothered in allocating blame. The site no longer wants motorhomes as it now concentrates on storage containers - more lucrative and less bother. Van still not back from repairers. We had booked a ferry to France on 8 April, but won't now be going.

 

[Paulypaul]

I don't think 'secure' storage sites have to take any responsibility for anything. I had no contract with mine, which cancelled its Cassoa membership as it was 'too expensive', hired a skip which was placed opposite my van and allowed it to become overloaded. Result was that the contents were scattered over my van on 9 February during Storm Ciara, smashing the windscreen and denting the bodywork. £6000 damage. Insurance company not bothered in allocating blame. The site no longer wants motorhomes as it now concentrates on storage containers - more lucrative and less bother. Van still not back from repairers. We had booked a ferry to France on 8 April, but won't now be going.

I remember your post and felt for you then. I hope it turns out ok for you eventually. May be a blessing in disguise not shipping out of the uk at the moment!

 

[DuxDeluxe]

No, not all security “easily”

Our ‘Non Starter” came about because of keyless theft. Any tracking system can be jammed, and wireless sensors can be turned off from the outside of a vehicle with a flick of a switch!

Sadly, lazy and incompetent alarm installers plug alarms into the On Board Diagnostic Ports (OBDP) the very Port that thieves use to by pass the factory fitted immobiliser

The question, Eddie, is would the non starter have prevented this theft?

 

[poppycamper]

Without digging out Eddievanbitz web site what is a "non starter" Thnx

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[Clarky]

Without digging out Eddievanbitz web site what is a "non starter" Thnx

It’s an electronic gizmo that stops the engine from starting even if they have stolen the keys.

Richard.

 

[63720]

There will be less chance of a vehicle bring stolen from your driveway if you drive it in rather than back it up to your garage - apparently thieves don't do reverse.

 

[poppycamper]

Richard.. sounds intriguing.. need to investigate further.. thnx

 

[eddie]

The question, Eddie, is would the non starter have prevented this theft?

Impossible to say, but: the factory fitted immobiliser is turned off when the correct key is present, or, if the vehicle electronics are attacked via the OBDP.

Non Starter is a App based additional hidden immobiliser so the engine is turned on and off by the owners phone and or iPad

So, in your instance, screwdriver in the lock, break the lock unlock the doors (this turns off a lot of alarms that are central locking linked) they thief opens the door and the Growler kicks in, all five sirens dotted about the van, inside as well as outside.

The thief has to deal with that. By now you have received a message, that the alarm is sounding and can contact the storage yard to find out what the hell is happening.

if the thieves decide to just use their laptop to put the vehicle,electronics into security mode, and in essence, create another ignition key, the vehicle still won’t start as the Non Starter (which is two components one of which is never installed under the dash, or even in the cab) is waiting to review an OK message from your phone.

if a Jammer is used prior to the attack, the Non Starter will send you a message telling you that there is a jamming attempt (it can also be programmed to sound the alarm for 20 seconds)

So, ironically, jamming the Non Starter when armed makes it even more secure as the vehicle won’t start till it gets a message from your phone, which of course is “jammed”

And of course, the Growlers five sirens are still going mad

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Very strange in my opinion, why would some one go out of their way to steal a Nexxo t665? I have one and think it's great, so not knocking them. The internal lay-out with the wash basin by the bed was not very popular and the t665 was quickly replaced by a more conventional design. Ours was one of the 'last batch' built and for which the factory had no dealer orders for.

Certainly not going to be the easiest or most profitable motorhome to dispose of.

Would be interesting to know what the other van was and if there were any other vans in storage at the time.

I hope you get your 'Bertie' back KelandDale.

Robert

Maybe they already have one that's knackered and they will just change over all the identifying bits, or just swap plates.

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[DuxDeluxe]

Impossible to say, but: the factory fitted immobiliser is turned off when the correct key is present, or, if the vehicle electronics are attacked via the OBDP.

Non Starter is a App based additional hidden immobiliser so the engine is turned on and off by the owners phone and or iPad

So, in your instance, screwdriver in the lock, break the lock unlock the doors (this turns off a lot of alarms that are central locking linked) they thief opens the door and the Growler kicks in, all five sirens dotted about the van, inside as well as outside.

The thief has to deal with that. By now you have received a message, that the alarm is sounding and can contact the storage yard to find out what the hell is happening.

if the thieves decide to just use their laptop to put the vehicle,electronics into security mode, and in essence, create another ignition key, the vehicle still won’t start as the Non Starter (which is two components one of which is never installed under the dash, or even in the cab) is waiting to review an OK message from your phone.

if a Jammer is used prior to the attack, the Non Starter will send you a message telling you that there is a jamming attempt (it can also be programmed to sound the alarm for 20 seconds)

So, ironically, jamming the Non Starter when armed makes it even more secure as the vehicle won’t start till it gets a message from your phone, which of course is “jammed”

And of course, the Growlers five sirens are still going mad

Thanks Eddie - just what a lot of us wanted to hear

 

[poppycamper]

Many years ago in 70s/80s before the days of vehicle security or immobalisers I use to wire a hidden switch somewhere in car that isolated the distributer low tension and therefore made car impossible to start even with keys or by hot wiring... you just had to rmbr to switch off when parking. Eddie's gizmo sounds like a very very sophisticated version for today's much more electronic based vehicles.
Ps managed to stop 2 vehicles over the years from being stolen with above mod. One was even repeated pushed up and down road to try to bump start!!!!??

 

[peterc10]

isolated the distributer low tension

More difficult to find in a diesel

 

[maxsdad]

Interesting murder case here on Anglesey recently when the unfortunate victim was shot with a crossbow.
Now the relevant bit the accursed Land Rover was found burnt out to a shell but Land Rover were able to supply details of every movement the vehicle had ever made from their central computer base even when the doors and boot were opened and closed evidence that led to his conviction hopefully this technology will eventually be fitted to all vehicles.
See Daily Post North wales

 

[poppycamper]

More difficult to find in a diesel

More difficult to find in a diesel

Yep......There is always one smart Alec. Yes I DO know difference between petrol and diesel engine..... However point I was making is that Eddie's gizmo obviously works in similar manner whereby it is isolating whatever part of today's electronic (whether it be diesel or petrol or even electric) vehicles that make them go.

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