15 replies to this topic

[C.FiberglassFreedom]

  I searched the forum but couldn't find a specific answer to my question.   Is anyone else concerned about the door of our cable hatch?  It's simply a thin piece of plastic with an unsecured sliding door and here in Florida we have a large tweaker problem as they will literally steal plastic hubcaps.   My paranoid mind thinks about that thick bundle of copper wire laying in our Casita's unsecured along with whatever else you might have placed inside that compartment.   

 

 

  Sure I understand that if a thief wants something bad enough they will find a way to get it.  But this just seems like such an unnecessary flaw in securing your RV and I'm wondering what can be done about it or if anyone else has thought the same thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   -Charlie 

Edited by C.FiberglassFreedom, 27 September 2015 - 01:05 PM.

[nealreust]

Charlie

Install one of these just below the hatch.  Inside the hatch cut the cord and attach the short end to the new socket.  http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/B002IWZSPU

Install an L5-30P NEMA locking 125V 30Amp plug to the end of the cut off cable.  Store it in the closet  or wherever is safe.  Also superglue shut the mouse hole.

Another approach is to cut the cable with about a foot hanging out the hatch and installing the appropriate 30 amp connectors on the cut ends, thus making a short and an extension cord.

Either way frees you from fighting that tangle and the possibility of snagging and disconnection the hot water heater sparker control. 

Neal

[ArizonaEileen]

Charlie

Install one of these just below the hatch.  Inside the hatch cut the cord and attach the short end to the new socket.  http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/B002IWZSPU

Neal

 

Neal,

 

That's a $50 part. The cord to fit the plug is another $70. A 30 amp replacement cord from Casita is around $56.

 

I believe the odds of it getting stolen are infintesimal...and it would be the first I'd heard about from a Casita. But then, I guess it depends on where you camp and where you store your trailer. Most people wouldn't even know that hatch is there, unless you're plugged in.

 

I have a thumb lock on my electrical cord compartment door and just don't worry about theft. There's too little copper in the cord to make it worth stealing. More likely, they'd interested in having the intact cord.

 

Eileen

[C.FiberglassFreedom]

 

Charlie

Install one of these just below the hatch.  Inside the hatch cut the cord and attach the short end to the new socket.  http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/B002IWZSPU

Neal

 

Neal,

 

That's a $50 part. The cord to fit the plug is another $70. A 30 amp replacement cord from Casita is around $56.

 

I believe the odds of it getting stolen are infintesimal...and it would be the first I'd heard about from a Casita. But then, I guess it depends on where you camp and where you store your trailer. Most people wouldn't even know that hatch is there, unless you're plugged in.

 

I have a thumb lock on my electrical cord compartment door and just don't worry about theft. There's too little copper in the cord to make it worth stealing. More likely, they'd interested in having the intact cord.

 

Eileen

 

 

 

   Putting it that way I suppose you're right I have the mind that evaluates the worst before the practical,  and my biggest fear is the time I have to leave the trailer for any length of time.   

[nealreust]

 

Charlie

Install one of these just below the hatch.  Inside the hatch cut the cord and attach the short end to the new socket.  http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/B002IWZSPU

Neal

 

Neal,

 

That's a $50 part. The cord to fit the plug is another $70. A 30 amp replacement cord from Casita is around $56.

 

 

 

No need to buy new cord.  Put a $14 L5-30P plug on the cut end of the original long cord.  

Functional equivalent of the $50 part is ALEKO® 30AINWH and is only $20 on Amazon.  (I should have found that sooner.)

[jwpark]

This mod will make it much easier for the bad guys to make off with the power cord. On the bright side, they won't destroy the door to get to it.

 

jwpark

[Us burros]

This mod will make it much easier for the bad guys to make off with the power cord. On the bright side, they won't destroy the door to get to it.

 

jwpark

 

And they won't even need a cutter.

 

My question.  - Has anyone had their power cord stolen, or know of anyone that has had one stolen?

[Southern Comfort]

I have a few cords of firewood stacked behind the house and it is kinda close to the road. Well, I noticed my firewood was walking off about an armload at a time. I took some rat traps and spray painted them black so they would be hard to see at night and strategically placed them in a stack. A week or so and a cold spell and I went to check. Sure nuff, one was missing. I found it in the ditch down the road a bit.Only problem is, you may forget that you put that trap in there. Don't ask me how I know.

[J and J]

Some folks have eliminated locks on all hatches altogether for reasons of convenience and installed thumb knobs instead.  We simply copied keys and now leave a key permanently in every lock for convenience.  Hatch security is quite a ways down on our list of concerns.  This may not have been the answer you were looking for Charlie but it works for us.

 

John   

[Meadowlark]

Southern Comfort, if your rats are big enough to carry a load of wood, their stealing your power cord is the least of your worries....;-)

[Hot Toddy]

I suspect people are more apt to walk off with camp chairs or a cooler before they will go to the trouble of cutting your power cord for the copper inside it. I would be more worried about someone pulling the entire trailer up on a flatbed and hauling it out into the country to cook meth in it than I would be the loss of a power cord.

You just can't live in fear lest life pass you by...

[C.FiberglassFreedom]

  Thank you everyone for your response.  I agree it is more likely for so many other things to walk off before someone has the idea to grab whatever is inside the compartments.   It was something I was thinking about while I was washing off the trailer,  figured it would be an interesting topic to raise up in the forum.  I also must remind myself how large and supportive the RV community is towards each other regarding who is walking around what camp while in a campground or even Walmart parking lots people usually keep an eye out for each other.   

 

 

  In my experiences I've been less than lucky compared to the rest of you regarding simple theft.   I've had bicycle seats walk off from my bicycle while it was attached to my car outside walmart for less than 30mins.  I've had magnets and decals peeled off my car as well and also hubcaps have even gone missing.   Not to hate on Florida but there is certainly something in the water down here,  I think once I start my travels and make new experiences my mind will settle as those thumb locks do sure sound convenient! 

 

  SC those must be some huge rats!

 

To raise another question what are some of your feelings about adding a deadbolt to the Casita door.  I know the handle/lock mechanism has a small secondary lock/Deadbolt but I've seen quite a few Casita door mods where they added an extra bolt.   I've questioned this myself wondering if it's simply a sight deterrence or if there is true added benefit towards security, since most of us leave our emergency windows unlocked for different reasons the door would be the last of my worries.

[Meadowlark]

C. FiberglassFreedom, I'm sorry you've had so many thefts. That is just not funny. I've seen where thieves so thoroughly stripped a bicycle (with an extremely skookum lock) they left only the frame...everything else was gone.

I'm not sure what to advise, if that's possible. Maybe you should do what a coworker used to do when I lived in Washington DC. Her only means of getting to work was a convertible MG. She would routinely park it downtown, with the top down, and even leave her purse in it, and never had a theft,ever. Maybe it helped that she also left her two ginormous Dobermans in the car.....

 

another amusing thing I've seen is a sign on a fence, a big yellow triangular sign with a lightning bolt on it that says "DANGER: 50,000 Ohms".

 

When I'm sitting in camp, I do people watch. It's not being nosy, just...sitting and watching. You get to know who is legit and who isn't. Maybe that's an advantage of having a Casita, there's always coming over saying What IS that, it's so CUTE and you develop a short term friendship.

I must say, though, in all the time I've camped (mostly in the West and the Upper Midwest) I've never had anything stolen. Knock wood.

[Southern Comfort]

A huge rat with a broke finger I bet. Dem kinda rats grow big because dey sit around, too sorry to work for anythang.Your security concern is gonna lead this thread right back to the one about totin a pistol. My camper sits out here on the drive and is never locked. The damage to the door would be more expensive than anything stolen. I was warned once at a state park at the beach by the rangers about theft. Steady stream of day use people there though because of the beach. He should have warned me about the racoons. I knew not to leave food out but them critters are smart enough to open a cooler and help themselves to my iced down beer. Thievin varmits!!!!!!!!My dad had a 5er and would spend the winter in Fla. He had a bike rack bolted to the bumper with bikes and a combo cable lock. They just unbolted the carrier and did not worry with the lock. It happened at a store, not the camp ground. A bottle of  18yr. old Scotch would be the most valuable thing a thief would find in my camper and even then, odds are it is closer to empty than full.But............ I hear ya, Seems like they will steal anything. And to think, over 400.00 is a felony in this state. That is most lap tops and I phones.

[C.FiberglassFreedom]

  I think I finally got what was hidden between the lines there.   Yeah I'm certainly not trying to revive that topic/thread and I think I see a growing trend which is to live and not worry about it.  Which I can do to some degree still I'm interested in any advice or if anyone has their own stories/concerns and what they did.   

 

 

  Funny thing I live in a nice neighborhood with tons of Law enforcement but even then,  I had a couple bungie cords laying across my trailer hitch which is pulled out on the front lawn, I was using them for the hitch cord and today they are now somewhere else.  I already asked the neighbors and family but I guess the birds must of taken them for their nest  .    I don't know what it is, my experience is if it isn't nailed down it's gonna grow legs.