What do people like for security against thieves breaking into your racing van and stealing shit? Someone's been opening the rear door of my 2022 promaster somehow. I've implemented a homebrew solution of ratchet tie-downs to hold the door shut from the inside. Spent a while searching around the van-centric web and was disappointed by how everything seemed quite expensive, not all that secure, and/or uncertain difficulty of installation. Nothing stands out as an obviously great buy. Curious what others' experiences/solutions/recommendations are.
I had a commercial fleet at one point in time and we used a combination of a external hasp and an internal slide lock. The sprinter vans I see are pretty similar around here. lock: https://www.amazon.com/Master-Lock-...ocphy=9016165&hvtargid=pla-350591128704&psc=1
Do the external hinges have some way to keep the pins from being knocked out? I never really looked close but I have seen the hinges on the outside, seems pretty vulnerable.
It's not clear exactly what the break in mechanism is, but I know they're coming through the back door because I've found it slightly ajar and I'm able to pull it open while the side door remains locked. There aren't obviously signs of tampering and the door still successfully locks if I close it again and lock it. It's like they're just straight up picking the lock.
I park on the street outside my house (urban neighborhood). Van wouldn't fit through my garage door if I tried.
I see the above locks in a lot of urban areas. The vans are all beat to hell from whatever contract work they do, general stupidity and lack of concern from other drivers and, likely, previous and current attempts to burglarize said vehicle. I'm thinking the perps are not getting passed those locks. A lot of these vans also have caged/barred windows or no windows at all, other than driver/passenger/windshield. Race stickers, et al, are a calling sign for perps. None of my vehicles/trailers show any indication of my hobbies/interests. I don't lock my car doors at home and I don't lock the Jeep doors out on the town. Further, as a general rule, I keep nothing of value within my vehicles. It helps that I live in a gun-friendly, semi-rural environment.
Seems like they have a key, or a fob; opening the door “should” trip the vehicle alarm. Worth a phone call to your local PD A 12 volt motion (or unpowered door) sensor, wired to flip a latching relay that ties to a (audible) alarm will reveal when. (Don’t forget to add a interior reset for the audible ...) A trail cam could reveal who.
Just for visual deterrent, We covered the side and back windows with that one way sticker shit, https://www.amazon.com/Window-Film-...ay+perforated+window+film,aps,90&sr=8-15&th=1
Step one: Don't advertise that cool race stuff is inside. ( I had a trailer stolen years ago that had all the typical race stickers on the outside) Put something like " Septic inspection Servcies"
Yeah, I *really* want to put cool race stickers on the van, but I've so far held back for this reason. Now definitely won't be putting any on there.
My sprinter alerts my phone if a door is opened. Other than that, like mentioned, you can secure the door from the inside with a simple ratchet strap to a D-ring in the floor or equivalent.
Frankly....why live like you "don't want to". Afraid to put stickers etc.. This is what Insurance is for....1st I'd go old school and audible alarm triggered by doors/ windows...that's a no brainer. Go ahead and do lick ..but a lick is the biggest ( I got $$ stuff inside" marker. You'll probably have to find an insurance company that covers a vehicle inside a van.. but that's what it's for. If you Google how to get into your specific brand of van.. there's a good bet you're going to see something online on how to do it. Jus sayin. Vans are a hot Target marked unmarked cargo or passenger everybody keeps stuff in vans.