Confidence shaker

[888dee]

Hey Len, don't worry about your previous comment, I actually found it quite amusing, wifey not so much though

I really appreciate all of you thoughts and wishes, many thanks to you all

 

[Deleted member 5816]

Boxerman you are right, my suggestion was out of line and I apologise. On a more serious note do any of you carry any bits of equipment for personal protection just in case? My van is alarmed but I still have a little cannister hanging inside the habitation door and I have got a little hammer just beside the handbrake. I am not quite sure what my reaction would be to a would be thief but I take some comfort from the availability of my two 'assistants'.

However, if we curtail our travelling because of these thugs they win. Notwithstanding that we must ensure we take reasonable precautions. For example, I always park the van facing out so that in the event of 'hassle' I simply drive straight out without having to reverse. Also, I use internal silver screens because if you have external ones fitted it means you have to go outside the van to remove them before you drive off.

Len

Remove the hammer it is an offensive weapon
Replace with 18" 1/2 drive tee bar with socket for wheel nuts plus insect repellent both items recommended by local police inspector as these are items likely to be found in a motor caravan (the 1/2 drive tee bar for removing wheel nuts )
Alf

 

[Boxerman]

On a more serious note do any of you carry any bits of equipment for personal protection just in case?

There's a fire extinguisher fastened to the passenger seat base, I've always thought to myself that if we should get attacked, then the attackers would get that discharged in their face(s).
I don't know how much good or harm it would do but I should imagine that it would slow them down a bit. Also, it would not be a "weapon in readiness", just something which came to hand while I was acting in self defence.

Frank

 

[Deleted member 5816]

There's a fire extinguisher fastened to the passenger seat base, I've always thought to myself that if we should get attacked, then the attackers would get that discharged in their face(s).
I don't know how much good or harm it would do but I should imagine that it would slow them down a bit. Also, it would not be a "weapon in readiness", just something which came to hand while I was acting in self defence.

Frank

It makes a mess if it gets inside the van

Alf

 

[Boxerman]

I don't think that would be my main concern - the safety of my missus is more important than the van

Frank

 

[MikeH]

CO2 fire extinguisher wouldn`t leave a mess and if its used in close proximity would freeze whatever was in its way. Very nasty to have frozen eyeballs

Also, the tinted film inside windows has another purpose. If shattered, the glass stays intact. You can get clear film if you don`t want to look like a boy racer

 

[BedfordMJ]

Remove the hammer it is an offensive weapon
Replace with 18" 1/2 drive tee bar with socket for wheel nuts plus insect repellent both items recommended by local police inspector as these are items likely to be found in a motor caravan (the 1/2 drive tee bar for removing wheel nuts )
Alf

Large steel maglite torch for me, great light output

 

[j77ake]

hi 888dee

hi 888dee , and all , dot and i were broken into while wee were asleap, just outside barcelona, 2007,, what a nightmare that was , stole our passports , cameras, euros, mobile phones, ect, this was our first time going down from scotland to spain, wee had to go to barcelona to uk embasy, spent 2 days there to try to sort things out ,got new passports , had to pay for them , got money transfered from my account , ect, but still traveled on , when wee got back to france they just ripped up the passports that wee had, when wee got back to u/k wee had to aply for new passports, this put us off a bit , but wee are now planing to go down again and dont let this experience get us down , i allways say to myself what if i had wakened up,,,, but in live you still have to go on ,, and that is what wee are doing, wee love our motorhome, and all the independece that goes with it , and it will never put us off doing it , just be on your gaurd, just the same way you would in your house, and dont be put off enjoing youself,, jake and dot xx

 

[j77ake]

hi 888dee

hi 888dee , and all , dot and i were broken into while wee were asleap, just outside barcelona, 2007,, what a nightmare that was , stole our passports , cameras, euros, mobile phones, ect, this was our first time going down from scotland to spain, wee had to go to barcelona to uk embasy, spent 2 days there to try to sort things out ,got new passports , had to pay for them , got money transfered from my account , ect, but still traveled on , when wee got back to france they just ripped up the passports that wee had, when wee got back to u/k wee had to aply for new passports, this put us off a bit , but wee are now planing to go down again and dont let this experience get us down , i allways say to myself what if i had wakened up,,,, but in live you still have to go on ,, and that is what wee are doing, wee love our motorhome, and all the independece that goes with it , and it will never put us off doing it , just be on your gaurd, just the same way you would in your house, and dont be put off enjoing youself,, jake and dot xx

 

[888dee]

CO2 fire extinguisher wouldn`t leave a mess and if its used in close proximity would freeze whatever was in its way. Very nasty to have frozen eyeballs

Also, the tinted film inside windows has another purpose. If shattered, the glass stays intact. You can get clear film if you don`t want to look like a boy racer

strangely there is a fire extinguisher in the drivers door bin but I didn't put it there for self defence, being an all trusting scot I never thought of that but I won't be moving it from there now for sure

and mike, it is clear film I have bought, I even bought a bit extra so I can test it out! lol

 

[topsy75]

now you say a hammer is an offencive weapon, but everytime my van broke down the first thing the rac did was to whack the starter motor with a rather large ball hammer! also, we use a tent or an awning often and sometime a rubber mallet won't drive those pesky pegs into the ground - so the rather large ball hammer we now keep in the van is a useful tool indeed (and i've used it on the starter motor once meself, and it worked!)