How to secure your vehicle

Chris Hogan, 17th April 2018, Business

Theft of tools from vans is growing steadily. Securing your tools and stock is incredibly important - what's on offer to help you out?

Getting into good habits is great. Don't leave your van unlocked, even if it's only for a few seconds. Make sure you wind the windows up - easy to forget on a hot day.

When you park up overnight, if you can't park off the road, park somewhere that's busy, under a street lamp if possible. If you have a sliding side door, try and park with that side to a wall to stop the 'peel and steel' tactic. Criminals can lever the top half of the side door down from the top if there's enough room to climb up and put their bodyweight behind it.

Your van probably has a Thatcham category 2 immobiliser as standard. Some come with category 1 alarms but if yours doesn't, it's worth considering adding one. It'll make your van harder to break into and could lower your insurance premium too.

Don't leave tools in the van?

Its fine for people to tell you not to leave tools in your van but it's another matter if they're heavy and they're loads of them. And where are you going to put them if you haven't got garage space - in the kitchen? Good luck with that one!

A sticker saying "no tools left in this van overnight" is definitely worthwhile, even if you can't unload. It's about moving the opportunist thief on to the next, easier target.

Securing the van

Deadlocks are a must. With many modern vans, if thieves get into the driver's door by wrenching the lock off, the side and rear doors can open automatically too.

Deadlocks don't have a spring mechanism that can be 'popped'. Even if the thief gets one door open they'll still have to get through the deadlocks on the other doors.

You can also fit thick steel plates around your van locks to make them harder to break or drill out.

Inside the van

If you've racked the van out, use chains and padlocks to secure tools and toolboxes. Every little problem you put in the way of these lowlifes makes them more likely to give up and move on - they just want an easy time.

Strongboxes and vaults are worth considering too. Look for reinforced fitting points where the boxes can be bolted down.

What about the tools?

Do everything you can to make your tools valueless to a criminal by marking them with your name and postcode.

You can burn the information into wooden handles and stocks, engrave it onto metal parts and mark plastic parts with indelible pen and UV pens. People are less likely to take them away if but they do, and they're recovered, you stand a better chance of getting them back.

Don't risk being underinsured

Make sure you know the real replacement value of your tools and that your insurance policy will cover that. Also check your policy to make sure it's got tool cover.

We can't stop the baddies taking your tools away. But we can help you carry on with your livelihood.

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