What anti theft precautions do you take?

[RedLdr1]

Before purchasing LoJack I suggest you check their coverage. See Here. I can drive about 20 miles north, easily done in less than a half hour, and be outside of their coverage.

[riverrat958]

while working at a rv dealership last summer as a rv tech,seen alot of led lights,and other loose items(hot water heater doors,etc) disappear in the night.
before rv tech was at a kia dealership- they lost about 25 converters one night.

[PenJoe]

The theft of an RV is not common. They are not subject to chop shops. They could possibly be re-titled and sold or taken to a private area or camp site where law enforcement may not check. They are now being used for mobile meth labs. TTs may be a little more vulnerable because it's hitch and go.

I have seen an older Class C coach gutted on the inside, the back section hinged, and car ramps built into the living area. This was used to transport stolen Corvettes. Outwardly, it was an RV.

What is more common are crimes of opportunity. When stored, they normally have electronics. On the road, campers carry a lot of valuables that are easily fenced-computers, cell phones, cash, credit cards. RV owners know their units pretty well. Keep loose possessions hidden. When we store our RV, we virtually gut it of valuables. The only thing of value is the head unit.

There is a lot of information on the net about RV security, and personal security when you are travelling. Google "RV thefts" or "RV security". This research will put you thinking in the right direction.

[RamblerGuy]

Verizon markets a product similar to Onstar that connects to your vehicle's OBDII terminal. They call it Hum.

https://www.hum.com/

I don't know anything about it beyond what they advertise. They say you can use it to find your parked car.

Sort of off subject: Locally, Onstar alerted the police that the subject vehicle had an impact. The police found the vehicle, solving a hit and run incident involving serious injuries. Justice was served, aided by electronics.

[MNtraveler]

Originally Posted by PenJoe

I will speak with 27+ years experience on this one. This will not deter a thief. The reasoning: This is a multi-thousand dollar RV. Wires hanging out from under a towel would not prevent a thief from making entry. In-dash head units are installed using wiring harnesses and not loose 24 ga. wire ends. The cable connector device is household and is hanging out of a dash vent. The head unit is covered, so is one really hiding the fact that something worth taking is still there? Had it truly been removed, why cover the fact? The note on the side window would only make a thief curious enough to look inside. Personally, were I a thief, I would accept it as a challenge. Am I correct?



As for the flashing dash light and window warning decals, thieves are pretty knowledgeable as to fake vs real. It's their business to know-the difference between livelihood and jail time.



My very strong suggestion, is to look into a usable/functional deterrent system. I say usable because it has to be dependable and easy to activate/deactivate. If it is funky, you won't use it. If it is not engaged each time you leave the unit, you are taking a gamble that this was not the time. I believe there are also tracking chips that can be installed on computers and other electronics. If stolen, it can be traced to its present location. There may be an insurance discount so you may want to contact your provider and see what they suggest.



PS: The experience comes from years of successful investigations of organized auto theft operations (including RVs), cut shops, fencing operations and running store front stings.

Like I said, not worth much. Possibly a deterrent to a neighborhood punk. Maybe he'll go to some other next unit. Nothing in this real is going to deter a serious criminal. Someone could even cart off an RV with a towing truck and have it inside a shop before you know it. Anyway my unit is behind locked gates with security cameras, so I only need to deter petty fence climbers. If they take something big, or damage doors or windows, that's what insurance is for.


Land of 10,000 Lakes
2016 Forester MBS 2401R

[PenJoe]

Great find, RamblerGuy. This has a lot of the OnStar features including: the GPS location for emergencies; vehicle locator; collision detection; blue tooth; plus a smart phone app. It will work with either the Ford or Chevy cut-away chassis.

HUM vs OnStar:
HUM has some roadside assistance limitations (boon docking, private property, difficult locations, 10 mile tow one way distance limitations, 4 service calls/yr , etc). The roadside assistance appears to be limited to a specific provider.If the provider is not available, HUM will reimburse $80/call (the user in on the hook up front). OnStar has fewer restrictions and limitations. AAA along with HUM would give better towing and roadside assistance.

Other HUM down sides: the "speaker" portion clips to the sun visor; monthly monitoring fee is $15 on a 2 year contract. I would like to see the "speaker" in a more secure/permanent location. If the system does not live up to expectations, you are stuck paying for it for 2 years. It does not appear to have an intrusion alarm if it is not part of the chassis build.

OnStar takes the place of the rear view mirror. If you have a rear view camera system on the windshield, HUM may be the better option. With OnStar, there is no contract with either a monthly fee or discounted annual fee, cancel at any time. Both have similar monthly monitoring fees. Neither of them will work if the batteries are disconnected in storage. Both of them can be defeated by a professional thief.

We have OnStar on our Silverado and it has served us well for roadside assistance, including in our driveway. We also have AAA because anything behind the hitch is not covered under roadside assistance. It would be the same with HUM. AAA covers that and the TV. Either OnStar or HUM would give you a feeling of security. Neither is a catch all.

[Puzzlme]

Originally Posted by Total Loss

Do you have any recent data on this?
Total theft of RV's seems pretty rare to me.
Unless the fence industry for parts is lucrative.
I would believe that smash and grabs are common.

Taking RV's from established sites or many residences would be difficult.
Parking lots (stores, shopping centers) would be the most common I would assume.

While I don't trust anyone and lock everything I own within reason, stealing RV's can't be that easy, or that easy to sell.

My RV was stolen from a fenced RV service compound with no difficulty. It probably took less than 5 min. Bolt cutters on the gate lock. Screwdriver in the door lock, same screwdriver turned the ignition just like it was a key. They stole and hooked up a car hauler to the back, then used it to transport goods obtained further down the road at a B&E. They weren't in it for parts or the RV, it was just another tool they took advantage of.

[RamblerGuy]

Another comment on Verizon's Hum. I haven't seen it for sure but my guess is that it only provides communications through cell towers, so it would be of little or no use for finding your vehicle in some areas.

[PenJoe]

Originally Posted by RamblerGuy

Another comment on Verizon's Hum. I haven't seen it for sure but my guess is that it only provides communications through cell towers, so it would be of little or no use for finding your vehicle in some areas.

Great observation, Verizon is one of the best cell services, but it is not perfect. Verizon HUM cell tower vs OnStar satellite. Satellite would prevail. OnStar also has proven reliability. Looks like Verizon is looking to sell their towers network, following the lead of T-Mobile. No word of going into satellites.

[Total Loss]

Originally Posted by Puzzlme

My RV was stolen from a fenced RV service compound with no difficulty. It probably took less than 5 min. Bolt cutters on the gate lock. Screwdriver in the door lock, same screwdriver turned the ignition just like it was a key. They stole and hooked up a car hauler to the back, then used it to transport goods obtained further down the road at a B&E. They weren't in it for parts or the RV, it was just another tool they took advantage of.

Interesting they use them for smuggling.
Never really thought of that. Pretty smart actually. (at your expense)
And I am usually pretty good at thinking like a criminal.

[PenJoe]

Criminals have used campers for years to commit crimes. In a previous post, I mentioned the Class C modified to haul stolen Corvettes. When we flew over the farm, we saw the camper behind the barn and thought they must do some travelling-until it registered that we had info that a Class A had been modified to conceal cars. Now they had two.

There is information on RV crime that drug dealers are using campers as mobile meth labs. What better use for a stolen RV? Well, actually there area lot of reasons. Camping people are all honest, right. And they don't like to be harassed. But the fact is, a camper can haul any number of illicit items and rarely get stopped and rarely get boarded. It's a pretty safe bet.

[18CrewDually]

Originally Posted by Total Loss

Interesting they use them for smuggling.
Never really thought of that. Pretty smart actually. (at your expense)
And I am usually pretty good at thinking like a criminal.

I guess you've never see the movie "Meet the Millers". Not PG, but pretty funny.

[MNtraveler]

Originally Posted by 05CrewDually

I guess you've never see the movie "Meet the Millers". Not PG, but pretty funny.

LOL At 2:15 check out the in-dash stereo system!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vsy5KzsieQ

Land of 10,000 Lakes
2016 Forester MBS 2401R

[RedLdr1]

Originally Posted by PenJoe

Great observation, Verizon is one of the best cell services, but it is not perfect. Verizon HUM cell tower vs OnStar satellite. Satellite would prevail. OnStar also has proven reliability. Looks like Verizon is looking to sell their towers network, following the lead of T-Mobile. No word of going into satellites.

OnStar is cellular based, it is not a satellite based product. You will have basically the same coverage area with either Hum or OnStar products. Especially since OnStar now uses leased cellular access through AT+T primarily (See Here) and the other cellular carriers.

I think Verizon missed the market with Hum by not making it Bluetooth. I have nice Bluetooth compatible systems in all my vehicles that would work much better than a cheap visor speaker assembly...

[PenJoe]

RedLdr1, thanks for correcting me on the satellite thing. Eight years with OnStar and still learning. HUM does have blue tooth capability. It is shown under the "Speaker" icon. https://www.hum.com/how-it-works.aspx

[RedLdr1]

Originally Posted by PenJoe

RedLdr1, thanks for correcting me on the satellite thing. Eight years with OnStar and still learning. HUM does have blue tooth capability. It is shown under the "Speaker" icon. https://www.hum.com/how-it-works.aspx

You are correct, I didn't go in to enough detail on the issue I've come up against.

The problem is I can pair my smart phone directly with Hum but I can't pair Hum with the existing Sync systems in our Ford's, or with the Jensen system in our coach, to access my smart phone indirectly through Sync. I want Hum to use my existing sound systems, where our phones are already paired, for any calls. Pairing the Hum to my smart phone and leaving it also paired to my Sync will confuse the system...or maybe result in some interesting calls in stereo!

I called Verizon and was transferred all around tech support trying to figure this one out as I'd like to put it in my wife's car. Their "easy" solution was to just unpair my existing systems and pair our phones directly to Hum. But I'm not willing to lose the functionality I already have to add Hum. The last tech I spoke with admitted this was a known issue and was being "reviewed"... I plan on checking back with them when I see the next software Release.