My van has just been done over

London mike 61 · Post by **London mike 61** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 7:03 am

Chrrris
I don’t know if it’s any use to you but this van security vid came up on one of the channels I follow

https://youtu.be/QKvl190gXYc

I hope it helps mate

Mike

Ps
Just as I was about to post Argyll posted as well, but here it is anyway

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 7:14 am

I tend to take at least the valueable tools out of my van at night. I agree it can be a pain and you end up with a houseful of tools. I end up with mine in the hallway and i currently have a circular saw , router , planer , sds , cordless , a couple of sanders , a hedge trimmer , a strimmer and a box of handtools there. Today i've just loaded the strimmer , hedge cutter , cordless and the handtools. It varies with each day. As i say pain in the butt but at least it makes me feel that they are safer. Other stuff lives in the van , shovels brushes , step ladders and the like as it is frankly impossible ro move everything. On the facebook group i use there have been stories of crims pinching half a bottle of glass cleaner so there's always a chance all that stuff could vanish . There was also another post where someone had one of those "no tools in the van" signs and they had peeled the door and scratched in the paintwork "just checking" .
I suppose in the scheme of things a couple of thousands of pounds worth of tools is small fry compared to the value of crime in total but the knock on effect is probably uncounted for. The days without work , the insurance excesses and higher payments , the cost of repairs and extra locks and so forth. Then there's the stuff with no monetary value , the feeling of violation , the loss of sleep lying awake listening for the slightest noise and the gnawing feeling that in all probability those responsible will never face justice. Again you have my sympathies.

Dave54 · Post by **Dave54** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 10:39 am

I'd certainly wonder about having the power tools in an easy to take out box. I'd also lock it to the van somehow.
Don't want to make it too convenient for the scumbags.
Nothing is really safe from them anywhere though. And while this social worker type "These people need out help" attitude prevails it'll only get worse.

chrrris · Post by **chrrris** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 4:53 pm

Thanks for the additional thoughts. I've ordered a set of these which I'm not really looking forward to fitting as the thought of massacring my new van (only had it 4 months!) fills me with trepidation. Metalwork is really not my thing.

The other 6 million dollar question is what to go for power-tool wise as I'm no longer locked into Hitachi for the batteries, now that I've been cleaned out (I have a spare combi drill and 2x 1.5Ah that weren't in the van, but that's not enough to keep me tied into Hitachi necessarily). Will make a separate post in the power tools forum about that though.

And, Dave, I'm 100% with you on the happy-clappy social worker type attitude and the problems it causes. I think of myself as a fairly libertarian sort of person, but this "we need to understand why these people commit these crimes" stuff gets right up my nose; they do it because they're scum and the chances of being caught and punished to any significant degree are microscopically small.

wine~o · Post by **wine~o** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 5:31 pm

I've got my Public liability insurance through "trade direct" after the first year they added up to £1000 tool cover and after year two added "professional indemnity insurance" for free (that's what they tell me anyway) about £130 per year.

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 6:24 pm

Not crime related but i had a stone shatter the drivers door glass recently . I phoned the insurance on thursday late afternoon , around sixish , and they said that being the side glass it was more of a priority than a windscreen ( presumably because windscreens are laminated and stay in one piece?) and they'd have someone out as quick as possible . They apologised that there wasn't a rep!acement in stock for the friday but by 10am on saturday it was all sorted . I'm with Budget. Waiting a week to get a quarterlight replaced seems a long time.

chrrris · Post by **chrrris** » Thu Sep 05, 2019 8:20 pm

Grendel wrote: ↑Thu Sep 05, 2019 6:24 pm Not crime related but i had a stone shatter the drivers door glass recently . I phoned the insurance on thursday late afternoon , around sixish , and they said that being the side glass it was more of a priority than a windscreen ( presumably because windscreens are laminated and stay in one piece?) and they'd have someone out as quick as possible . They apologised that there wasn't a rep!acement in stock for the friday but by 10am on saturday it was all sorted . I'm with Budget. Waiting a week to get a quarterlight replaced seems a long time.

Yeah, that's what I thought. I did it via the autoglass website -- you put in the details of the vehicle, and your insurance company, the site goes off and tells you what the insurance excess is and books in a fitting date. The earliest possible was Monday the 9th, but that's no good for me so I moved it to the Tuesday. Might be just a London thing -- there's a massive shortage of trades inside the M25 area. We had a new Sky Q box thingy fitted today and the guy that came to upgrade the dish and all that gubbins was from North East of England -- sent down to London by Sky for a couple of weeks to cover the shortage of engineers here. Everyone round these parts works in offices or shops; you struggle to find anyone willing to go up a ladder or get their hands mucky!

Argyll · Post by **Argyll** » Fri Sep 06, 2019 7:40 am

chrrris wrote: ↑Thu Sep 05, 2019 4:53 pm Thanks for the additional thoughts. I've ordered a set of [url=<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B074JFTLVH" class="skimlinks-unlinked" data-skimwords-word="https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2FB074JFTLVH" data-skim-creative="500005" title="">https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B074JFTLVH</a>/]these[/url] which I'm not really looking forward to fitting as the thought of massacring my new van (only had it 4 months!) fills me with trepidation. Metalwork is really not my thing.

The other 6 million dollar question is what to go for power-tool wise as I'm no longer locked into Hitachi for the batteries, now that I've been cleaned out (I have a spare combi drill and 2x 1.5Ah that weren't in the van, but that's not enough to keep me tied into Hitachi necessarily). Will make a separate post in the power tools forum about that though.

And, Dave, I'm 100% with you on the happy-clappy social worker type attitude and the problems it causes. I think of myself as a fairly libertarian sort of person, but this "we need to understand why these people commit these crimes" stuff gets right up my nose; they do it because they're scum and the chances of being caught and punished to any significant degree are microscopically small.

I fitted one of those to my van. It was fairly straight forward. Just make sure you fit it to the top side of the door as many thieves will bend the top part of the door to gain access.

fin · Post by **fin** » Fri Sep 06, 2019 5:55 pm

it is sh*t housery of the highest order pinching a blokes gear like.

one of my mates had his van pinched a while back. all his gear in the back

makes me laugh when people say ohh you should empty your van every night and just put all your tools back in the morning.

ive got a van vault in my van but its not fixed in place just yet as ive not had a chance. im aiming to get all my cordless gear onto that eventually and cut down on the amount of boxes i have to carry.

OchAye · Post by **OchAye** » Fri Sep 06, 2019 7:22 pm

I don't really want to say this, but here goes I say it. What you got to watch out now is that the b@st@rds once they see the van on the move, i.e. you are working, will assume there is nice new shiny gear in it again. You should remove the power tools from it, if they were to pinch hand tools they will get nothing for them so they might leave them alone.

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Fri Sep 06, 2019 7:45 pm

You need something like this Chris https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDrzMGdYWZc

DWD

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Fri Sep 06, 2019 9:15 pm

OchAye wrote: ↑Fri Sep 06, 2019 7:22 pm I don't really want to say this, but here goes I say it. What you got to watch out now is that the b@st@rds once they see the van on the move, i.e. you are working, will assume there is nice new shiny gear in it again. You should remove the power tools from it, if they were to pinch handtools they will get nothing for them so they might leave them alone.

Take the tools out at night , it really isn't that difficult and it doesn't take long. Yes it's a faff , yes you shouldn't have to do it and yes the hall may smell vaguely of petrol but if it saves your livelyhood disappearing it's worth doing.
Oh those locks with the circular padlocks , i 'm thinking they all come from the same manufacturer . They all seem to have a propensity to rust quickly and look tatty . I've got them myself and have to regulary repaint them.

chrrris · Post by **chrrris** » Fri Sep 06, 2019 9:56 pm

dewaltdisney wrote: ↑Fri Sep 06, 2019 7:45 pm You need something like this Chris https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDrzMGdYWZc

Yeah... That'd be great. I have half seriously considered booby-trapping the side door somehow -- I put carpet grippers on the insides of of the doors on my last van to stop anyone peeling them, but they don't fit on the new one.

Didn't really want to put those massive hasp locks on this van, as it's the newest van I've ever had, and is all sleek and shiny with no dents in it at the moment. But needs must... I suppose if it looks a bit more rotten, it might put people having another go at it...

oz0707 · Post by **oz0707** » Sat Sep 07, 2019 5:53 pm

My two cents,
used to ALWAYS remove high value power tools every night. Yes it is a faff and yes you do have to be more organised IE not taking every tool every day (have a good idea of what you will be doing). Came unstuck with this theory once though. Van got broken into, only thing work taking was my hand kit bag, as has been said though this is sometime the worse. All old tools which take time to accumulate. Stuff you don't even remember is in there. It was also a double whammy. Local bobby was alerted by a neighbour of where I was visiting. Bobbies attend, see van compromised, decide that they should have van towed away to protect from further theft (nothing left in there!). Hey presto in morning I thought my van had been nicked. Called police, was told where it was and where to collect after I paid the fee over £200! Got in touch with police and my MP but was told their budget doesn't stretch to them paying for vehicles to be towed away!
When I was doing quite a bit of sub contracting the other year I invested in a big HEAVY lock box like van safe but a biggun. It fitted most of my day to day power kit in there excl chop saw. Kept this chained to the body in back of van with the theory that only a super prepared thief would be able to get inside that.

As has been said above my latest pub liability/contractor insurance does include an element of tool cover (which wasn't an add on included in price). The cover is not old for new so they would give you the value of secondhand tools but at least it's something. Im keeping most of it in my garage now as doing a project at rear of house. Garage has an alarm seasor linked to my house alarm, garage zoned separately and the lockbox out of the van is in there. Nothings 100% but decent setup now. I have a mate with a wireless battery alarm in back of his van but if they are as quick as has been suggested it's no better than the van alarm. Only difference is he has the alarm speaker in his bedroom next to a starter pistol which may encourage the thiefs to abandon ship.

chrrris · Post by **chrrris** » Tue Sep 10, 2019 12:01 pm

chrrris wrote: ↑Thu Sep 05, 2019 8:20 pm Might be just a London thing -- there's a massive shortage of trades inside the M25 area.

Turns out it was a London thing. The guy that came to do this today came from Maidstone in Kent. A good hour and a half away.

Plenty of work around here for anyone willing to travel - the downsides are houses cost a fortune, parking costs a fortune, and you'll probably get your van broken into!