Setting off on your long-awaited RV adventure? Before you take off and chase the freedom, are you ready? Have you bought everything you’ll need, planned out the route, collected information about places you want to visit, making sure your motorhome is in perfect condition and ready to hit the road? We’re sure you’ve done all that, but have you also done a security check to make sure that your motorhome is secure and not vulnerable to thieves?
Theft is always a huge problem, wherever you live, and all the more so when you’re living in a motorhome because it is so easy to break-in. Here are some of our ideas about how to keep your motorhome more secure. Give it a read and see if you need to make any changes to your RV before you set off.
Keep Your Valuables Safe
There’s nothing worse than having your valuables stolen, especially while you’re travelling. We suggest having a safe installed in your motorhome (make sure it is very securely attached to the RV and situated in a concealed place). Make copies of all important papers and keep them safely on you and take pictures of serial numbers of equipment or devices which might be stolen, this gives you a chance to get them back if they are ever recovered.
Don’t leave your valuables (wallet, credit cards, etc.) out where they can be seen. Also, make sure that your laptop and other devices are kept out of sight and remember not to leave your gear outside during the night. The easiest way to make sure people can’t see what you have in your motorhome is to keep the blinds down.
Many RV owners attach their bikes to the back of their RVs. We suggest making sure that you have a good lock so they aren’t stolen. The lock we suggest to get is a bike alarm lock which will make a loud noise if someone tampers with it and makes a good deterrent.
Get A Security Upgrade
Older RVs aren’t really secure at all. In fact, the baggage locks for many of them are one size fits all, which means that your neighbour has the same key as yours! Today there are many different products that you can install in your motorhome to upgrade your security.
Install security lights on the outside of your motorhome, these lights have motion sensors that activate them whenever someone is outside your RV and are great if you want to deter burglars. You can also install a camera to monitor your motorhome, on the outside and even the inside (a good idea if you have pets which you leave in the motorhome and you want to see how they are doing).
Have an alarm installed in your motorhome! You can get a small personal alarm that will activate if somebody opens the door or window, all you really need is a lot of noise to scare potential burglars off. Don’t forget to stick a warning that your RV is alarmed on the outside, this in itself makes a great deterrence.
Change The Locks
It seems that most motorhomes come with locks that are easy to open. Before setting out we highly recommend having your motorhome’s locks checked and if you find that they aren’t as secure as you’d like them to be, have new, more secure locks installed. You will find that there are very secure new RV locks that you can have installed which will also make things easy for you because you’ll have fewer keys, you can also now get wireless fobs for your motorhome.
Don’t forget window security. The easiest way for intruders to enter your motorhome is through the windows, which they can easily remove. Make sure to install a security system that will lock windows properly.
There are also ways of keeping your motorhome secure when it is in use. You can purchase a wheel clamp and clamp one of the wheels. No RV thief is going to want to spend time trying to remove a wheel clamp. You can also get a steering wheel lock, a break or gear lock and even a ball coupling lock, which will also help to keep your motorhome secure.
