• Considerhavingatrackingdevicefittedsothatthecaravancanbetracedifitisstolen,somesystemscanbe“geo-fenced”sothatwhenacaravanismovedoutofadesignatedareaitraisesanalarm.Allcaravansmanufacturedsince1997havebeenelectronicallytagged(RFID).

• AllcaravansmanufacturedintheUKsince1992havea17-digitCaravanRegistrationandIdentificationSchemenumber(CRiS)etchedontothevehiclechassisandwindows.Writeyourvehicleidentificationnumber(VIN)inseveralhiddenplaceswithinthecaravan.UseapermanentmarkertowritetheVINontheundersideofdrawers,incupboards,andwoodensurfacesThismakesthecaravaneasytoidentifyifit’sstolen.

• ConsiderhavingtheCRiSnumberputontheroofofyourcaravan,manyPoliceareasusehelicoptersnow.

• Haveareliablealarmfittedandswitchitonwheeveryouleaveyourcaravan,evenifonlyforafewminutes.

• MostEuropeanmanufacturedcaravansdonothaveaCRiSnumberonthem.ThereissomeevidencethatsomebrandsofEuropeanmanufacturedcaravansaremoreatriskfromtheft.

• Lockthecaravancouplingheadintoacoverusingagoodqualityhitchlock.Fitlockablewheelnutsorwheelclampstothewheels.Padlockgascylinderstofixingclamps.

• Alwayslockalldoorsandwindowseverytimeyouleaveyourcaravan.Alwayslockyourrooflightandgascompartmentaswell.

• Therearelockinghandrailsthatmaynotonlybeagooddeterrenttotheftbutalsoaidyouingettinginandout.http://www.milenco.com/products/security-hand-rail/andhttp://www.thule.com/en/es/products/rv-accessories/securityproducts/thule-hand-rail-_-308892

Caravan theft prevention advice

Considerhavingatrackingdevicefittedsothatthecaravancanbetracedifitis

• Puttheimmobiliseronwhenthecaravanisparked,andwhenyoustopforshortperiods.Caravanshavebeenstolenwhilstunattendedwhilstparkedathomeforcleaningorjustpriortosettingoff.

• Keepyourcaravankeyswithyouwhenyouleaveyourcaravan.

• Takevaluableswithyouwhenyouleavethecaravan.Ifyoucan’t,lockthemawayinacupboardoutofsight.

• AnypropertyleftinthepremisessuchasTVs,DVDplayers,gameconsolesetcshouldberegisteredforfreeonwww.immobilise.comshouldtheitemsbestolenandsubsequentlyrecoveredthiswillhelpthePolicereturntotherightfulowner.Inadditionkeeparecordofthemake,modelandserialnumber.

• SomeITcomeswithfactoryinstalledsecurityandtracking,insomecasesit’sfreesoremembertoactivateit.

• Athome,alwayskeepcaravankeysinasafeplaceoutofsightfromwindowsanddoors.

• Whenyourcaravanisnotinuse,leavecurtainsandcupboarddoorsopen–thievescanbeputoffbyacaravanthatisobviouslyempty.

• Neverleavevehicleregistrationdocumentsinsidethecaravan.Theycanhelpathieftosellthecaravan.

• IfstoringacaravantrytouseaCassoaGoldfacilityforpeaceofmindhttp://www.cassoa.co.uk/Caravan_Storage_Home.aspx.

• Ifparkedonyourpropertymakeitdifficultforthethief,ifpossiblefacethetowhitchwayfromtheroadandconsideracollapsiblepostorevenlockablehoopthatcansecureoverthetowhitch.

• Ifyousellyourcaravan,beawareofFraud.Neverpartwithyourcaravanuntilthechequehascleared.

• Ifyouhaveadoubleaxlevanortrailer,thewheelclampshouldbefittedtotherearwheel

• Lookoutforeachother’scaravansoffandonsiteandreportanythingsuspicioustothesitemanagerorthepoliceusingthenationalnonemergencypolicetelephonenumberof101,inthecaseofanemergencydial999.CallCrimestoppersifyouwishtoremainanonymous,on0800555111.

www.caravan-advice.co.uk/caravan-security.htmlwww.caravanclub.co.uk/expert-advice/using-and-maintaining/safety-and-security/www.crimestoppers-uk.org/crime-prevention/helping-prevent-crime/vehicles/caravans