Given the high demand for caravans and their components, it’s little wonder that there’s been a corresponding rise in thefts. How can you protect your tourer? Here, we look at the various options
Words: Peter Rosenthal and John Sootheran
IN DEPTH
CARAVANS ARE INCREDIBLY popular at the moment, and if you were one of the many thousands who visited the most recent NEC National Motorhome and Caravan Show, you’ll have been pretty amazed at the footfall.
But owing to the combined effects of Brexit, Covid, war, silicon chip shortages and the energy crisis, there is a distinct scarcity of tourers and parts.
Coupled with the continuing high demand for vans, this has created a perfect opportunity for enterprising criminals.
The prices they can get for selling on stolen caravans and parts has never been higher. So there’s currently a far greater incentive for them to target leisure vehicles.
As well as stealing entire caravans, though, thieves can also purloin items from your van. Caravans are an appealing target because they often carry more in the way of high-value equipment than cars, and once inside – with the blinds down – thieves can rifle at their leisure.
In many ways, the theft of items from inside your caravan is a more insidious crime than the whole van disappearing – it’s as if somebody has violated your home space. This can be a deeply disturbing experience.
Who is stealing vans?
It’s quite difficult to describe the typical caravan thief, but specialist law enforcement teams dealing with stolen vehicle recovery often focus on gangs of professional thieves, who are highly specialised and have connections to organised crime across Europe.
To be frank, there’s not much you can do to stop professional thieves taking your caravan. They will operate very rapidly and very effectively. With a bit of care, though, you can add a few items that will at least hinder their progress, and potentially totally put off the more casual criminal.
Free things you can do
In these cash-strapped times, we’re all keen to save a bit of money wherever we can, so what can you do to help prevent caravan theft?
One of the easiest things is to always make sure you park up with your hitch-head facing away from the road (this is much easier if you have a motor mover). That makes it more difficult for thieves to simply tow the van away.
Theft of items from caravans is often carried out by pesky opportunists, who tend to be serial offenders undeterred by the prospect of community service or a bit of prison time.
To discourage them, don’t leave anything on show and don’t advertise the contents
