Campervan security: Stay safe on a road trip
- Gadabout
- Oct 19, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 3
….especially staying off-grid in free spots!
These are the campervan security 'rules’ that we choose to live by so that we can safely sleep at night.
If you’re anything like us, you like to travel on a budget but also to see more remote places which means being off-grid in your motorhome or van. But we've found that there is a far less Instagram-friendly side to staying off-grid in your van. No-one wants to lie awake worrying all night when you have to drive the next day. Or, much worse.
Are you looking for how to secure. a dog in a campervan? Read our blog here!
We’ve been lucky and haven’t had anyone try to enter the vehicle, nor have we been broken into, but we have had a few uncomfortable nights and several hours of sleep lost because we hadn’t made the right decisions.
We have an old motorhome which we call Lucky Duke. When we say old, we do mean it. It’s a lovely Fiat Ducato Burstner and it’s now well over thirty years old so we definitely aren’t talking about an expensive campervan security system here.
None of this is foolproof and it will come down to personal choice (and maybe your budget) but we’ve learned a few things and this is just a simple set of what we think are very sensible rules that we now follow every time we stay anywhere that’s free and off-grid or remote.
Get some security measures in place, even if they act more as deterrents (it all helps) than unbreakable measures. We use:
High quality ratchet or storm straps which we loop between the interior door handles across the cab: This means that if someone does pop the lock quickly/easily, they will meet significant resistance if they try to pull either door open. This may only buy you time but that may be all you need and it’s guaranteed to help you sleep. Specifically, we use these simple ones from Bison Gear but there's plenty out there. Just get reliable ones.
Personal alarms: We have two in our habitation and we know exactly where they are. One is in reach while we’re sleeping and the other in reach from the hab door if we’re ‘downstairs’!
Additional window locks or similar: Despite trying several, we actually haven’t found any to fit our van windows but we keep looking and they’re a great idea. They’re simple gadgets, often made from red plastic so they’re a visual deterrent as well as making it more difficult for someone to get your windows open. Be sure, unlike us, to ensure that they fit your specific window system.
Have a plan: Whether you’re solo, a couple or a family, make sure you have a plan in place and that everyone knows it.
Ours is simple…. If we wake to someone around the van or trying the locks or windows, I grab my glasses (I always know where they are) and the van keys (which are always in the same place) and Eppie sets off the personal alarm, holding it close to the roof vent to be heard while keeping an eye on the habitation door or other points of entry. Meanwhile, I've jumped into the cab, pulled the light windscreen protector away and am turning on headlights and starting the engine.
Note that we've tested that I can quickly slide under the ratchet strap (above) for the purposes of a quick escape!
The whole thing can happen within about 20 seconds.
Select your parking spot carefully, thinking about manouverability (i.e. no three point turns here) and a quick exit: It's easy to pic the spot with the most beautiful view but you won't enjoy any of it if you can't get out easily in an emergency.
Know your exit: This is simply about understanding where you head to get out if you're woken quickly in a bit of a panic.
We don't use an external screen over windscreen: Well, we do, but definitely not when we're off grid, remote or relatively alone. If we did, I wouldn't be driving anywhere except into the sea, a river or a wall! Obviously that's an overly dramatic take on things but, in reality if the worst happens, there won't be time to exit the vehicle and carefully remove an external cover. We do use one but it goes inside so we can easily pull. it away quickly to drive.
Don't keep laptops or expensive equipment on display (even during the day)
We put the awning and furniture away before we sleep (or earlier). It's actually often forbidden to use them in a lot of free spots anyway (as it constitutes 'camping') so make sure you look at the rules wherever you are. The important thing here is that there's nothing to put back away should you need to drive away very quickly!
Cover glowing lights at night such as, for us, our beloved Alpicool fridge, if they appear as electronics or perhaps a digital safe etc.
We keep the windows closed as there's no sense in allowing easy access and the roof vent generally allows enough air in overnight. That said, in super warm weather, we do keep the very small upper over-cab bed windows open overnight also as they're nigh on impossible to enter from the outside and we can reach them easily to close them quickly if need be.
We have a safe spot where to keep the keys (every night) so we know exactly where they are (always). Specifically, we attached a hook next to our bed. Same goes for my glasses as I need them to drive so they're always beside us overnight!
Don't drink too much: Yawn! I know. But, if you're way off-grid (or parked somewhere you shouldn't be) and something happens (including the police moving you on), you don't want to sleep through it and you need to be able to drive safely.
We make sure we keep a phone with decent charge. Hopefully we (and you) will never have to call emergency but we want to be able to if we need to!
On that note, make sure you know your local emergency number and that goes for everyone in the van, of course. Kids too! For us, in Spain, it's 112. For the UK, it's 999 and in the US it's 911. Most mobile phone companies send you a message when you cross. a border now but it's worth checking on arrival (or before).
Know your neighbours, if you have any! Sounds bonkers but it's not a terrible idea to check plates and look for a mix of countries to ensure you're not walking into a set up. It's highly unlikely though (unless you're staying in. a motorway services which we strongly advise against) so don't worry! For us, saying hi on arrival helps give a sense of who's around. Worst case scenario, you don't talk again but you might end up looking out for each other or sharing some salt, sugar or a teabag. We've stupidly been caught out (once) without water before too!
Arrive early (or certainly well before dark) so you can leave again and find somewhere else if it doesn't feel safe.
Don't run out of energy! For most of us, there's safety in light so we make sure we top up our leisure battery with this (invaluable for us) simple portable 200w Renogy solar panel and a separate powerstation - we have our system set up to easily switch between boosting/trickle feeding our leisure battery directly or to recharge the powerstation, depending on what we need). We have more recently had a 200w solar panel fitted to the roof too so that's constantly boosting the leisure battery and the portable panel is used (when we need it) to charge the powerstation etc.
We also have small battery powered push lights if all else fails along with spare batteries and powerbanks for our phones. We're now slightly obsessive about charging everything while we have either power, if we're on-grid, or sunshine if we're not!
We hope that this doesn't feel a bit doom and gloom as that couldn't be further from the truth. We absolutely LOVE our life on the road (and our life in our wee Spanish casa). You can be off-grid, remote and totally safe. But we totally believe that security matters for peace of mind if nothing else!
Go forth and enjoy (safely)!
NOTE: As on other parts of our site, there are a few affiliate links in this blog. We write them because we believe them and want to share what we've learned but we do also make a small commission on sales if you click on these and purchase something (and that it won't affect your pricing or ability to get live discounts etc and it may benefit you) which helps pay for a bit of our time in writing this. Thanks!
Don't forget to check out more of our roadtrippin' tips and stories here.
