Still paranoid a year later!

Emmenay

Emmenay

Free Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2011
Posts
505
Likes collected
481
Funster No
19,163
MH
Swift Kon-tiki 600
Exp
Since 2011
I used to sleep really well in the MH but ever since the wife and I were burgled one night I haven't been able to get a decent nights kip since.
Over the last 6-8 months I have upped my security arrangements, to the point of 'thinking like a burgler' every time I park somewhere, and to be honest and as bad as it sounds, it can be anyone around me that gets 'done', its just not going to be me again. (not that I wish it on anyone but come on, lets be fair, some do ask for it sometimes).
I think i may have identified why I am still not able to sleep but am unsure what to do, bear with me on this.....
Wherever we go we have a trailer with car on tow, when we retire for the night I lay there for some time just listening for any little noises, rustling, twigs snapping or any little noises/thuds coming from the van or the trailer, then I might drift off if all is well.
Now heres the thing, if I imagine I heard a noise (or actually did) coming from behind, like from the trailer/car, there is nothing I can do to investigate other than literally get out of the van to look, because there are no windows in the back, so what tends to happen is I lay there all night waiting, obviously for nothing, but how would I know that!
I have thought about fitting a very small window in the back above the permanent bed but i just don't think it would look right. What do you guys think about a peep hole glass in the back wall similar to a house front door so that I can satisfy myself that nobody is there and hopefully get some sleep? Or are there other ways? :thumb:
 
Emmenay said:
I used to sleep really well in the MH but ever since the wife and I were burgled one night I haven't been able to get a decent nights kip since.
Over the last 6-8 months I have upped my security arrangements, to the point of 'thinking like a burgler' every time I park somewhere, and to be honest and as bad as it sounds, it can be anyone around me that gets 'done', its just not going to be me again. (not that I wish it on anyone but come on, lets be fair, some do ask for it sometimes).
I think i may have identified why I am still not able to sleep but am unsure what to do, bear with me on this.....
Wherever we go we have a trailer with car on tow, when we retire for the night I lay there for some time just listening for any little noises, rustling, twigs snapping or any little noises/thuds coming from the van or the trailer, then I might drift off if all is well.
Now heres the thing, if I imagine I heard a noise (or actually did) coming from behind, like from the trailer/car, there is nothing I can do to investigate other than literally get out of the van to look, because there are no windows in the back, so what tends to happen is I lay there all night waiting, obviously for nothing, but how would I know that!
I have thought about fitting a very small window in the back above the permanent bed but i just don't think it would look right. What do you guys think about a peep hole glass in the back wall similar to a house front door so that I can satisfy myself that nobody is there and hopefully get some sleep? Or are there other ways? :thumb:
Click to expand...


This may sound a bit too simple but couldn't you use the rear view camera?
I would hate to be in the position where I couldn't sleep in the MoHo. I always sleep better than at home. Good luck and here's wishing you a good nights sleep. :thumb::thumb:
 
Baycott said:
This may sound a bit too simple but couldn't you use the rear view camera?
I would hate to be in the position where I couldn't sleep in the MoHo. I always sleep better than at home. Good luck and here's wishing you a good nights sleep. :thumb::thumb:
Click to expand...
I did think of that but the downsides are that it is connected to the ignition, as is the nightime alarm activation so a bit of agro. Also if it were able to be on a seperate supply I would be tempted to just leave it on and watch it all night :Rofl1::thumb:
 
Really feel for you. Firstly, know that you are not paranoid. Once something like a burglary or any form of attack is brought into your life, you are bound to feel as you do now... you are not alone in that. Once you realise that then you can start to come to terms that these things do happen but that the chances of them happening to you again are still limited. ..... A peephole sounds good idea to me, but hopefully the day would come when you would find yourself not using it as much. Sorry not much help to you. Oh, except to say that when I was in a similar situation once, (not burgled but very scared) I had one of those locks that screams like mad if anyone so much as causes a vibration around it. They cost about ten pounds ... could be worth investing in.
 
we have a westie, dont need any alarms, she barks like nothing on earth if anybody comes past the MH. And she is very protective of my wife and I.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
A cheap reversing camera off Ebay sounds like a possible answer and much easier than fitting another window :thumb: some of them come with a lot of cable for trucks etc. You could fit the camera on the trailer ? and just connect everything at night and run the camera & screen off the 12V connector in the van ? you could just trail everything through a vent or make it semi permanent.

I have 4 cameras on my van (for driving & manouvering purposes) and they are often mistaken as security cameras :)

Link Removed
 
Last edited:
Stay on campsites?
 
campacola said:
A cheap reversing camera off Ebay sounds like a possible answer and much easier than fitting another window :thumb: some of them come with a lot of cable for trucks etc. You could fit the camera on the trailer ? and just connect everything at night and run the camera & screen off the 12V connector in the van ? you could just trail everything through a vent or make it semi permanent.

I have 4 cameras on my van (for driving & manouvering purposes) and they are often mistaken as security cameras :)

Link Removed
Click to expand...

and lay awake all night watching the screen :Doh:
 
I totally empathise with your problem, and can only tell you it WILL get better! :thumb:

I think your idea of a peep hole is a very good one so long as you don't use it too much and thus prevent yourself settling down to sleep! It would be good for those who don't have a problem in sleeping who don't have a back window so that a passenger could look out through it to see if there are any obstructions when parking etc without having to get out (assuming there's no reversing camera).

As for your 'sleep problem' - I was always a bit 'sensitive' to any noise in our MH, pretty much from the off but that's just how I was then, then we got 'bricked' in Holland on an aire (yes they do have some!) totally out of the blue, with lots of other MHs there and it was horrible ... all down the side of our Rimor was dinted, the large sliding window over the dinette was smashed to pieces and they had missed the washroom window 'glass' itself but caught the outer frame, there was a dint in the passenger door and they even managed to smash the side/corner of the bumper! I think we had 7 bricks thrown at us in total (these are the smaller Dutch ones about half the size as our UK bricks). It was the local youths up to 'mischief' (this happened at around 3.00 am on a Sunday which is the day/time they 'act up' apparently! Unfortunately as we were at the end of the aire ours was the one that got 'stuffed'! It certainly meant that my being 'sensitive' was now in 'hyper mode'!!! :Eeek:

Now, although we weren't burgled as you were and against which additional security measures can be taken to hopefully deter another intruder, what happened to us would have been extremely difficult to prevent it. However, I still do not sleep as well as my hubby who could sleep standing up, I am certainly a lot better than I was and have a routine that I follow which does help:
  • I have a cup of tea - yes I know caffeine isn't supposedly good at night, but for me I find it settles me down (you could use decaffeinated)
  • I do a puzzle book, again this is totally against what others would advise as it can make your brain too active, but I find that doing a puzzle or two (nothing too involved) actually stops me thinking about other things as I have to put some concentration into solving the puzzle. The trick is to know when to stop ... if you are starting to nod a bit don't be tempted to just do a little bit more of the puzzle, put it away
  • I then settle myself down nice and snug and do a few slow deep breaths, right down into my tummy, hold it for about half a second whilst tensing my muscles a bit, then let the breath out and release the tension in my muscles - as I do I can feel my body relaxing, I do this 3 or 4 times and by the end I am well settled.
It can still take me a bit of time to actually get off to sleep but this 'routine' certainly does help a lot. :thumb:
 
A friend fitted reversing sensors that went off if anyone came within 3 feet of his van. One by the door and one at the rear should do the trick. They will only start beeping if someone comes near the van.
 
:BigGrin:Im with John, At least htat way if your burgled you won't even know about it for days, you will just think that you cant remember where you parked the car
 
I think the idea of a camera at the back triggered if someone gets close is great. We have a big window in the back and if we are parked up not on a site I do find myself peeping out at night sometimes to check on the car/trailer is still there. When we had our alarm fitted we had a socket fitted at the back, we have a cable that we then feed through the bike wheels,car front wheel and trailer hitch. Once the alarm is activated if the wire is unplugged/cut the alarm goes of. Downside is that I may look out one morning and find a hitch 2 bike wheels and car wheel laying on the floor attached to the wire. I do where possible back the trailer up against wall/tree all makes it a little more of a deterrent. I'm sure the more time you spend away in the van the more comfortable you will become again. Shawn.
 
Have you thought of a battery operated wireless CCTV camera, pretty cheap and you should be able to connect to your PC or tablet. :Smile:

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Snowbird said:
A friend fitted reversing sensors that went off if anyone came within 3 feet of his van. One by the door and one at the rear should do the trick. They will only start beeping if someone comes near the van.
Click to expand...

It should also be possible to fit some low power strip LEDS around the top of the van and connect these into the beep circit, so if people come too close the the LEDS come on.

or contect to a 12 volt water canon on the roof, or better still automaticly open your garage were you keep a lion thats not been feed for two weeks or even, no itsgetting silly now:Doh:
 
Being burgled is horrid. We had a break over 20 years ago in whilst OH was bathing the kids upstairs. He thought it was me coming in and shouted which put the intruders off and they ran. I was so traumatised we had to move.

My GP diagnosed a form of depression as a result and the treatment helped a lot.

All the sensible suggestions are brilliant. However a back window in a motorhome is often quite high - would it work? You can get alarms that bark like an angry dog .... I'd go for one of those.

Once you have the trip wires, and machine gunners are in place :Wink:, I hope you manage to sleep.
 
Last edited:
Night

Before you go to bed leave outside you hab door a large dog bowl with water, a heavy chain dog lead and a large basket type muzzle.

If you were a thief what would you think, might you move on to the next van you see as an easier target, of course you would.:Smile:
 
Some sensible replies and some not so but can I ask were you actually in the MHo when you were burgled
 
how about a motion activated security light with a wireless buzzer to alert indoors. set it to only pick up very close by and it wont give false positives. best part is, that a light turning on will fool the thieves into thinking you have disturbed them

very simple and not too expensive. saw one in aldi a while back that was designed to warn if anyone came into your gate etc was under £20 as I recall

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
I spend most of my time away on sites,however there have been occasions I have stayed in a services or Aire ,generally due to fatigue.
Like you I sleep sporadically and hear every sound.I can't remember where but someone suggested cheap air horns.I know it sounds extreme or even stupid but I did buy about 3 off evilbay for about a tenner.
My theory being just maybe it will startle a would be intruder or one already in just enough to take off,would wake my partner before I set it off naturally,well maybe.Seriously hope you find and share your solution with us and sleep better in the future.:BigGrin:
 
TheBig1 said:
how about a motion activated security light with a wireless buzzer to alert indoors. set it to only pick up very close by and it wont give false positives. best part is, that a light turning on will fool the thieves into thinking you have disturbed them

very simple and not too expensive. saw one in aldi a while back that was designed to warn if anyone came into your gate etc was under £20 as I recall
Click to expand...


You can get these with their own small solar panel, I have a spot light type in my shed & it works even in winter
 
TheBig1 said:
how about a motion activated security light with a wireless buzzer to alert indoors. set it to only pick up very close by and it wont give false positives. best part is, that a light turning on will fool the thieves into thinking you have disturbed them

very simple and not too expensive. saw one in aldi a while back that was designed to warn if anyone came into your gate etc was under £20 as I recall
Click to expand...

That reminds me, we have two PIR activated lights, they have three white led''s in and they are quite bright when they cone on, they can be set to stay on for one or ten minutes and take three AAA batteries. The batteries last for a long time. These lights are magnetic so you just put a small self adhesive metal disc, supplied, where you want the light and just attach it at night (I haver forgotten to take them off before driving away and after 250 miles they were still attached!) Anyone approaching close to the van gets bathed in quite bright light. I bought these on Amazon UK for I think about £8 each.

The other measure is the Milenco window alarms, they have a red flashing LED at night.

So with the dog bowl etc. the LED lights and the Milenco alarms as well as the Cat 1 motorhome alarm there's not much more we can do.
 
camocam1 said:
Some sensible replies and some not so but can I ask were you actually in the MHo when you were burgled
Click to expand...

Yes we were, and we didn't hear a thing! I now have no worries at all with regard to the MH security, as i said earlier it has now been secured to the point where i could sleep easy, if I didn't have the trailer on the back to worry about.
I am now a very light sleeper as a result so when I do wake up, instead of laying there wondering/listening, I would like to just be able to peek out somehow, without gadgetry to stimulate me too much , and assure myself that there is no-one there and get straight back to sleep. :thumb:

Forgot to add, the reason I worry about the car/trailer is because there is not always room in the MH for some expensive equipment!
 
Last edited:
very simple answer to your dilemma then....fit an alarm on the car with a triggered output and run a wire to the van alarm. if anyone interferes with the car (could be bike) the alarm on both will go off. using the same simple system fit a closed loop circuit so you can put a wire through a point on the trailer. moving it or breaking the circuit also triggers the alarm

it really is VERY simple to do for any auto electrician. as both car and van both probably have alarms already it wont cost a fortune either

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
I can imagine how you feel, the problem is tho' you will become a slave to fear.

I have not suffered a break in (and of course hope never to experience it) but the theory I work to at the moment is along the lines of……..

Once is just bad luck, twice would be unfortunate, a third time and I would probably give up and do something else :Blush:

Easy to say I know, but as my old dad use to say to me "a life lived in fear is a life half lived"

Just enjoy it while you eh?
 
A alternative view and a change of mentality is is it worth all this worry. Are you putting to much on things that can be replaced, get some good insurance and if it go's it go's.
Good luck
Dave
 
Busman said:
A alternative view and a change of mentality is is it worth all this worry. Are you putting to much on things that can be replaced, get some good insurance and if it go's it go's.
Good luck
Dave
Click to expand...

I do understand the view, but, if you find yourself in strange lands with different languages, no belongings/money or worse, the notion of 'if it goes it goes' couldn't be further from reality. Only when its happened does it bring home the importance of whats yours. :thumb:
 
This system is the answer.
Perfectly legal in South Africa ... not so sure how Caravan Club wardens will take to it :Wink:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDrzMGdYWZc"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDrzMGdYWZc[/ame]
 
As well as alarms on car and van we have we have the mk1 muttley proximity sensor. Very calming and reassuring.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top