Ducato door locks/security

ducatobuild

Guest
Hi i was wondering if anyone here could advise me on the best and cheapest remedy to the following forsaking replacing every door on my van.

Each and every door on this van has some problem or another the two fronts splayed to the top rear corners nessesitating the placement of two caochbolts being drilled through the door and the inner door frames to nable them to be totally 100% water tight graet security but not so good for access, secondly my side sliding door which was always meant to be our main access door has suffered the same fate only slightly different in so much as the top rear locating mechanism doesnt locate and when it does it jams nessesitating it be forced open from the inside not good either the only remedy we could see was the same as the fronts, now and more of a pain my rear doors are starting to play up with the bottom drop bolt tearing itself off the door making it very difficult to lock or open and one day we are going to be locked out.
It's one think to keep the scroats at bay but when you can't get in our out of it yourself something is far wrong .
What i am therefore seeking is to try and find a sort of rod threaded into another rod with high security locks on either end similar to alarm key locks so they couldnt be tampered with by scoats but so i could get in and out with relative ease whilst using the van which we do an awful lot, or anyone who thinks they could fabricate such a thing or knows of the wherabouts of such threaded rods as a starting point at least, if you have made alternative locks for your ducato or similar van and have drawings diagrams or advise please do get in touch, [COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE ONES ARE BOTH TO DEAR AND NOT ABLE TO BE OPENNED FROM INSIDE AS WELL AS OUTSIDE SO ARE THEREFORE USELESS].
Another slight problem is that i wish to fit a towball on the rear of my van Not To Tow With but only to fit a rear mounted cycle carrier onto so do not wish to pay the £180+ price i have been quoted for the same i would like to hear from anyone who has managed successfull to mount a ball to the likes of a bumper only or a rear door say etc ?.
And some way of fitting roof bars for a roofbox without the mass expense of a full commercial roof rack that i neither ned nor want, has anyone every mounted a rack directly to the roof as in made up a frame and bolted it straight through the roof can it be done and if so how ?.
And lastly for now can anyone advise on an alternative to a roof ladder i know i could use an ordinary ladder but i want it to be mounted to the rear doors how any ideas or plans etc .
All suggestions however daft they may sound might just assist me in my quest, it would of course help if there were drawings or plans to help me understand or possibly large scale photographs top aid in the fabrication process.
I look forward to all replies and promise to respond to all
For now
Dougie
 
not really my department dougie although try these guys here http://www.sbmcc.co.uk/ as im sure they know far more than me..hope this helps you in your quest for perfect motorhome sammx
 
Hi dougie
just a thought but if you buy a couple of those bonnet securing pins the boyracers used to fit and fix them to the door frame to correspond to a hole in the door edge then shorten the pin to suit you could then fit padlocks to them and they will do the same as the coach bolts but are removable.
sure they are only a couple of quid each.

john
 
door locks

Thanks for that what i was more thinking of was a threaded rod into a similarily threaded sheath with a sort of high secutity end on iboth ends [the circular type found on wheel locks and shop alarm keys that can not be copied or forced in anyway] so as to be able to open it from both sides as in from outside or inside should the need arise at anytime.
Another idea was to use dues locks i think they are called which are usually used on racing cars to secure body panels on with not unlike what you mention only a bit more sifisticated but most probably to expensive as well.
What in reiality i'm really looking for is someone who has already done it to show me how the bonnet pin and padlock has already been mentioned but to stop scoats forcing the doors when they see a padlock i would rather they were far more descreet.
Thanks for your input however it is appriciated.
Yours
Dougie
 
hi dougie,
R.E. your towing bracket..I got mine for £15 quid from a local breakers yard.
( If you are lucky you may get the electrics with it as well)
It's worth phoning round a few breakers yards..Good luck.

dogseal
 
Thanks

Yeah thanks for that i have already tried most of my local braekers yards but nothing available yet as i say i don't actually need a full towbar anyway only a way of mounting the ball securely enough so as it would hold a towbar mounted cyclerack for my bikes it would never be used to tow with so doean't need electrics etc etc .
As before any ideas suggestions please do get in touch
For now
Dougie
 
Bolt a towball direct to one of the rear doors (The fixed one preferably,the door that closes first. ) With a couple of spreader plates on either side of the door skin....It don't get much cheaper than that!

Dont forget that you can get nicked if the bikes are obscuring the number plate,
lights etc.
 
dogseal said:
Bolt a towball direct to one of the rear doors (The fixed one preferably,the door that closes first. ) With a couple of spreader plates on either side of the door skin....It don't get much cheaper than that!

Dont forget that you can get nicked if the bikes are obscuring the number plate,
lights etc.
Click to expand...

If anyone on this forum has any ideas for a cheap roof ladder that will fold up
i'd be interested. A normal door ladder just makes it easier for the scrotes to
nick your stuff.

dogseal
 
Yip i have though of using the door but surely it would firstly even with spreader plates put far to much strain on the door and secondly be way to close to the door to be of any real use, however if you are saying that basically my idea would work then am i to assume that it would work using the bumper also as this way i would be able to have it centrally fixed which means i could have it look better and could be removed completely if not required so pressumably using the same way of fixing it i should be ok then .
Also since you appear to be quite well versed on these matter of how to be a cheapskate like me, [is your favourite shop poundland to, i bet it is], what are your views on my ladder and roofrack ideas.
Roofrack in wood or dexion etc mounted with coachbolts straight through the roof with spreaders on the inside to stop it pulling through after all coachbuilts ones are done in this manner are they not , do you reckon that would be strong enough to hold a roofbox with a few seats and an awning in or not, any idea if my coachbolt therory would suffce or would using something else be better ??. and my ladder still not had any views on this one but pressumably you already asked about that also and got knowhere either ah well worth a try i suppose any [safe] way of saving money wins in my book, [ i didn't buy a £40k van coz i didnt want to spend that type of money, i couldn't afford it and i wanted the challenge of doing a design to suit us not a major manufacturer], however i openly admit i'm trying to get the best i can on a very limited budget of this i'm proud.
I shall need to post some pics soon of our build for all to see what can be done for around £2.5k thus far including buying the base vehicle a 1997 model 2.5 td lwb fiat hi-top Ducato i'm really proud of what i have thus far acheived, i don't want to now ruin it all by spending a fortune on shiny bits and therefore ruin the concept i started with some may call me cheap, some a cheeky b for picking everyone elses brains i tend to beleive im the clever one coz he what your all telling me you pressumably have tried or someone somewhere has thus saving me time energy and money, my mother always said there was a bit of the "Delboy " in me and i think she was correct some how.
Enough rambling for now anything constructive about the above i would love to hear it
As always for now
Dougie
 
I made 2 racks for my van, but made them from thin-wall 22mm dia stainless tube & 25mm thick dural for the sides.. If you have access to a pillar drill they
aint rocket science to make. I can post some pics if you like.
I like your idea of using wood for a rack, but with something like the
plastic coated wardrobe hanger tubes from wilco or somewhere for the tubes
(I think they do chrome ones as well)

I made mine for the awning as well, but in practice the awning is pretty much
to heavy to go on the roof...you dont want heavy items mounted that high up.

as for being cheap, i'd rather make stuff myself than buy. The money you save
can pay for weekends away. plus you will end up with a unique van.

Stuff I have made for the van includes..

seat swivells,
side step for the sliding door,
spare wheel carrier & cover,
better brackets for the cak tanks,
All the interior fittings, fold away bed etc.

I've got most of the stuff up on a picture sharing website somewhere..
I'll see if i can find it & post a link.

good luck mate.

dogseal
 
Dogseal
Your my kind of man for sure, i knew if i persited i could find someone as like minded as myself when it comes to the arguement of buying against making certain items, i would really like some more info on what you have completed and indeed any other things milling about in your brain for future development as i have quite a lot circling in my head right now, my over half thinks i have lost the plot, personally i like the challenge of designing and building my own most often better versions of currently available stock items and the best bit being the cost savings as you quite rightly say easily pays for weekends away, howevr this is a totally new field for me and as such i'm a bit wary and am not sure as to loads stress etc and all the boring stuff like that hense if someone has already done what i'm trying to it would easily dispel my worries on such things, any photos , diagrams or parts lists etc and specific details would be appriciated either here on via my own website at http://www.freewebs.com/expertbuild and the forum with-in it as a probem shared after all is a probem halved is it not, we are all in this together and there are few selfbuilders out there making it even more important to stick together and help where possible each other to help themselfs.
Looking forward to haering from you real soon
For now
Slanj
Dougie
 
Hi Dougie,
Try the sbmcc, probably the best forum for self-builds there is.
I was a member for 2 years but chucked my teddy out of the pram, as it were.

Here's a list of stuff in order that I did to get my van usable.

Had a hi-top fitted.
fitted trunking for the wiring.( you need to know where the lights etc are going)
insulated the walls,roof,sides with 1'' foam.
filled all the internal cavities with expanding foam.
lined the floor/ walls/ roof with 4mm ply.

Re-built the engine £800.jeez..I could have done without that!

built the carcases for the fridge/ cupboards/ etc..6mm ply.

cut out the bodywork for the fridge vents, side windows, hook up socket etc.

fitted a single seat instead of the passenger double.

made & fitted a bracket for the leisure battery, charger, 12v & 240v.

that should get you started!

good luck mate, you'le need it...If you get ticked off with it, leave it
for a few days. Rome was'nt built in a day!

dogseal
 
Dogseal
Thanks for that, i to am a member of the SBMCC forum i haven't as yet thrown my toys out the pram so to speak, but what i do find however with that forum is that not totally but a lot of their members tend to pressume that everyone knows what they are talking about, which in my case at least is not the case and from sounds of things it was much the same for you, not wishing to offend anyone, i have bitten my toungue onmany occasions and said or done nothing in reply to many stupid replies i have received to what i consider in my lack of true knowledge on these things to be perfectly valid questions.
Hence i have started my own forum for selfbuilders in an attempt to source valuable possibly simple at times information in a bid to off course help myself with my build but also to help others coming after me as i doubt i will be the last to embark on such a project, i have throughout this build taken the view if it don't work first time do it again until it does, working with this theory in mind i have thus far managed to complete most of the major jobs required however to of been able to access a forum of true likeminded people with little or no budjet like myself and pressumably you would of been such a boon to me, if for no other reason than to give me faith that i could do it when the going got tough which has been quite often.
I think we think along similar lines as regards our projects as such it is a real shame that we do not live closer as i'm sure we could be of great assistance to one another, which is another thing i would like to acheive through my forum and website to attempt to put people in touch with each other from all over the country to offer practical and moral support where possible to help one another to compltete our builds as each seperate person has seperate skills which could so easily be shared for the better good of all, a sort of trade off help with one part for help with another kind of deal.
I am actively working on a totally new format to my site and another forum at the sametime to try and fullfill this ambition i have, as i am now retired [early i may add at 43, due to ill health], i have plenty of time to do this and my build at the sametime, and am willing to put the time and energy into it if i could only source the likeminded people that could make it work.
I am not attempting to poach or steal other forums users or contributers by any stretch of the imagination, but what i am trying to acheive is to start a splinter cell if you like going that we bit further with the slfbuild topic as it fasinates me and i'm sure many others out there, and i'm positive could be worked on to end up with a lively, useful resource for all to benefit from.
I am an active member of many such forums on the internet each has their respective uses, but some which shall remain nameless tend to think that either we all ahve fortunes to spend on our builds or that we are all qualified selfbuilders, which in my experience just is not the case, anyone wishing to join, assist or contibute in anyway, any suggestions, comments or information they wish to share would be made most welcome at my forum at http://www.freewebs.com/expertbuild at anytime now or in the future and i look forward to welcoming you one and all whenever you decide to drop in.
I will remain an avide poster on all the other forums i am currently a member of whilst building up my own seperate forum at the sametime and one day in the not to distant future intend to purchase it's own domain name and launch a real purpose made web site dedicated to self building motorhomes/ camper and all that goes with it.
For NOW
Dougie
 
How's your build going, Dougie?

As above..Now is the time to get it all done for next summer.

I've just made a ladder for the rear doors, Made out of tube available
cheaply (3mm wall 22mm tube).

Ive made the ladder to fit the back door, rather than buy something
then hack the doors about.. I'll put the build of the ladders up on my
webbie if you want to see the finished article.

dogseal
 
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