VANLIFE SECURITY // the Do's and Don'ts of van life security + our approach
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- This weeks video is all about the additional security of your van. We discuss all things if you need additional vanlife security, what is worth it, what isn't and so much more. We also show you our approach to van life security and how we installed everything. From prick stops over tension belts to disc locks.
We hope this helps you out to decide how to additionally secure your van. Let us know what you decided to go with in the comments below! We would love to hear from you.
See you next week!
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// Products we used: (OneDrive link)
1drv.ms/x/s!An...
Front door prick stop: www.amazon.de/...
Side door Prick stop: www.amazon.de/...
Back door prick stop: www.amazon.de/...
Abus disc lock: www.amazon.de/...
Information to abus disc lock: www.abus.com/e...
The list to our used products since some people have had issues with the one in the description
onedrive.live.com/edit.aspx?resid=83BCBA7902538D75!9189&cid=83bcba7902538d75&CT=1711195013352&OR=ItemsView
Oh you had me there... Was shouting at the screen the tint goes on the inside of van. Then you showed me how it's done
Haha I wouldn't have been surprised if we did it wrong 😅
18:40 Pure by coincidence I found this light fixture which I mounted front and center above the windshield. The fixture can be rotated and tilted 190 degrees horizontally and about 90 degrees vertically. I can light up anything in front or besides the vehicle as long as it is before the line of the upper windshield... Very handy.
These fixtures are very common on american police vehicles and are usually mounted above the side view mirror in the A pillar of the vehicle...
6:38 Better option is to install two eye bolts (M8 or M10) screwed into a blind rivet nut installed in the metal of the door just behind your biceps. This eyebolts can be used with two carabiners and the 5 euro ratchet strap to secure the door...
It is always a good idea to show off your security measure so the thief will know he has some extra work if he wants to try to enter... work is what these guys don't like so they probably move on... For extra security you can have a small bell hanging from the ratchet which will make noise (for you to wake up and get your skull separator 2500 out) if somebody is trying to get in anyway...
Haha. I did something similar.
Instead of eye bolts I used chain connected to a riv nut on both doors with a 1/4/20 knob (2 chains secured by a lock). I put bells on both chains so I’d be awoken if they tried to open the door.
Even if they unlocked the door with a reach tool, they wouldn’t be able to open the door.
I also have security on the back and side doors.
Have you looked into thunder bolt locks? They specialize in van locks.
Yes we have but they were a bit too expensive for us and we live in Germany so shipping would have been expensive as well, but if we weren't on such a budget we would definitely get them!! They are really good
Totally understandable.
How do you secure that giant hole from the ceiling fan vent? That cover seems flimsy and allows much access…
They are glued on all around but I don't think there is much else we can do there
🅿🆁🅾🅼🅾🆂🅼
Drilling anything on an angle is always problematic, You will struggle to drill at 90 degrees to the metal. BTW
You both speak incredibly good English. I'm almost embarrassed to be British !
thank you so much :D
All of this was great info. But please realize that you should go in with primer with all those drill points with primer paint to minimize rusting - the bare metal creates a weak point. Thanks for your content.
Yes we usually put primer on everything after drilling, might have forgotten it somewhere on accident or forgot to show it maybe 😅 but thanks for the hint!
you can use the seatbelts also for this just wrap under the handle around and plug belt into buckle for added security
Good tip! Thank you
Where did you purchase the bracket for the back door??
We just purchased it on Amazon :)
amzn.eu/d/0Rjmyb4
That's the link to the exact one we have in the German Amazon store but you should be able to get a similar one wherever you are :)
Wasn’t the drill in reverse when you were trying to drill for the lock?
I think it just looks that way in the video, but could also have been in reverse by mistake 😅
1:52 5:10
Which brand light bars did you get? I can't access the link with all the products, thanks
hey :) the ones we bought seems to not exist anymore but these are probably about the same.
We just ordered two different sizes on aliexpress
de.aliexpress.com/item/1005005975011978.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.45.740fOTtzOTtzel&algo_pvid=95fa2bea-d97b-458a-ad52-81931180eb8c&algo_exp_id=95fa2bea-d97b-458a-ad52-81931180eb8c-22&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21EUR%2137.81%2110.78%21%21%21290.16%2182.75%21%402103010f17111952054934197e9d4e%2112000035135418554%21sea%21GR%210%21AB&curPageLogUid=gAUpULYs0Wm4&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A
@@robinandmiriam thank you so much 😊
I love your Failures. They save a lot of time for those of us who need your tutorial. Your real life search for the right method and tools is spot on. Thank you.
I'm glad they're helpful 😄
Thank you so much!
@@robinandmiriam
Thank you so much for the information I will put it to good use
@@howardscott4901 you're welcome! Let us know how it goes :)
Enjoyed the clips at the end... thought your relationship was amazing as no sign of frustration or intolerance in putting in the safety features. I will be watching your videos to see where you go. Thank You!!!
Thank you so much that's so nice to hear! And thanks for subscribing 😊
what a shitty world we live in when we have to do all this to keep our stuff from being stolen
I was literally thinking about this last night. It's so sad that the only thing that scares me about living in a van is bad intentions of other people?! You and your things are more vulnerable in a Van compared to a home solely because there are people with bad intentions... it truly sucks
i remember hearing about someone that died in their van cos someone set fire to it from underneath..i think it was in Australia@@robinandmiriam
I am getting a couple of heavy duty door slides for the front doors, a similar one for the sliding door and the rear doors don't need it because it has already 2 door latches (I installed a second one because the doors are very long and tend to stay open at the top and allow water in...)
The front windows will get a clear window foil to resist glass smash ins.
The windows in the living space are small and don't allow somebody crawling in (not even a small romanian child). The single window which is large enough to allow somebody crawling in can be blocked by the table leaf which is situated directly below it.
I am planning the use of a device known to automotive enthusiasts as a buzz box in conjunction with a remote for a central locking system, switches mounted in the door latching mechanism and copper bars in the door handles ... I encourage to research the buzz box and imagine what the interesting collection of aforementioned components can do if switched on...
12:17 the back doors, below the top door catches are two M10 threads. Fit some bolts and make a plate with two holes, screw the nuts down to the plate!
Thank you for sharing❤
You're welcome!
I have cameras and motion sensors around my vehicle and I would not hesitate to blow someone away to protect my family
18:45 I am experimenting using a cheap *ss motion detecting light fixture above the sliding door found at Action (not even 4 euros) I had to replace the three AA batteries with a little pcb which allows it to be powered by the 12V battery in the van (voltage regulating pcb) It works for now (fingers crossed) I can always switch to a more heavy duty PIR option...
yeah the nice thing is that you can always change things around if they turn out not working the way you want them to
Let's see how ours hold up 😄
Better hope you never Lock yourself out, because you will have a hell of a time getting in.
That's true 😅 lets hope we never lose our keys 🤞
Do you drill the metal screws straight into your van's sheet metal walls/roof/doors? What's the risk of stripping or enlarging the holes from normal use?
We have used multiple methods. Using existing holes, drilling holes into the metal and using self tapping screws. When drilling holes into the van we usually used a primer before putting in the screws to prevent the metal from rusting which is the biggest problem you should be cautious of. With self tapping screws this is obviously not possible which is why we only used them when it is really necessary. 🙂
As to the risk of stripping or enlarging the holes. We have not heard that this is a problem and have seen multiple people use this method in the past so it doesn't seem to be that big of an issue. We aren't on the road ourselves yet so we just hope that everything holds 😄
M2 Van Lock Kit - with Built-in Remote Control Module!
We'll have to take a look at that!
8:42 The lock can be best mounted underneath the floor, out of sight. The lock will block the sliding door from sliding open because the lower rail is blocked. In my case the sliding door can not be opened even if the lock has been tampered with... It needs a relatively hard to reach heavy duty lock removed before a pin can be slid out for the door to be slid open freely... Even an angle grinder or bolt cutter is virtually impossible to get near the lock in the location it is hanging... If you are not familiar with the locking design it is very hard to know how it works and as a result very difficult to tamper with it...
It is a bit of a pain to use for us and we have to leave the van always via the sliding door but you can get used to it quite quickly...and it is very safe.
I also installed stainless steel plates around the door handles, which pose some resistance to a prick operation but mainly to show a potential burglar he/she/it is up for a challenge to open the van. Most of them will find another van to break in to as a result...
Good evening. I have a 2014 pro master and I’m very interested in what you were saying about the lock for the sliding door but you have designed. There anyway you can give me some more information on what you did. I would like to replicate it planning on traveling I’m leaving my van alone for days.
@@howardscott8596
I own a mercedes Sprinter and I fitted a lock from underneath the floor. With sprinters the sliding door slides along 3 tracks, one up top, one on the side of the van and the lower one sits in the hard plastic step floor.
The lower track houses the lower roller and a metal arm attached to the door.
If you are able to prevent the lower roller from sliding back more then 5 mm nobody is able to slide open the door very easily (they could attempt to bend the whole door though)
I drilled a hole through the metal bottom of the instep carefully so the hole ends up just behind the roller if the door is closed.
Then I welded in a short piece of steel tubing to the metal step bottom in which a perpendicular hole is drilled.
In the tube I can insert a solid steel pin with a same size perpendicular hole drilled into it. If the pin is inserted far enough a good quality padlock can be inserted to fix the pin in place. The pin should obviously be long enough to block the roller in it' lower track. The closer you can get it to the roller without interfering with it as the door is closed the better. This will prevent the sliding door from opening even a couple of mm...
To enhance the locking system I plan to install a sheet metal shroud around the padlock so it very hard to reach with bolt cutters. Only the lock should be able to get installed and openen with a key but a set of bolt cutters has a hard time reaching the lock...
pn the back door, how about just a gate latch?
That should work!