To disconnect, or not...that is the question!

HappyCamper1 · 02-13-2023, 10:40 PM

Hello....I'll be headed south in a week or two, going to take a cruise out of Florida. My question is this...our Roadtrek Simplicity will be in a Port terminal parking lot for a week and a half. I have a close friend who a year ago out west took his rented RV to a lot where it was eventually unlocked,stolen, driven right out of the "secure" lot! How the heck do they do this??? I was thinking of disconnecting the battery under the driver seat while we're gone. I think this will disrupt the solar panels from charging the coach batteries. Is this ok for 1 1/2 weeks?? Thanks for any input!!!

GallenH · 02-14-2023, 12:05 AM

There was a recent thread on this. Try searching the site. Some responses were to pull the fuse to the fuel pump. I responded that I set up a means to short the ignition coil (on another vehicle). Not sure if you can also search site specifically for my posts but you might.

GallenH · 02-14-2023, 12:08 AM

https://www.classbforum.com/forums/f...tch-13756.html

mumkin · 02-14-2023, 05:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyCamper1

I was thinking of disconnecting the battery under the driver seat while we're gone. I think this will disrupt the solar panels from charging the coach batteries. Is this ok for 1 1/2 weeks?? Thanks for any input!!!

That is what I would do... disconnect the starter battery. It has a manual disconnect already on the negative post. Put the cover and floor mat over the top so people can't see it. This is always a good idea for Promasters as many have trouble getting them to start if they sit more than a week.

The solar is completely independent of the starter battery. Turn off the battery disconnect over the door, and the solar will still keep your house battery (s) nicely charged.

Supposedly the Promaster is one of the more difficult rigs to break into, but thieves are a creative bunch. Pulling the fuse for the fuel pump sounds like it wouldn't be a bad idea.

MsNomer · 02-14-2023, 01:02 PM

It's hard for me to imagine how anyone could steal your PM unless you leave them the key. Without it, the van is going nowhere.

HappyCamper1 · 02-14-2023, 02:54 PM

Thanks everyone for the info...Yes ours is a Promaster..I heard that some of these thieves use a scanner(?) to get into these RV's...

avanti · 02-14-2023, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyCamper1

Thanks everyone for the info...Yes ours is a Promaster..I heard that some of these thieves use a scanner(?) to get into these RV's...

I don't know how old this vehicle is, but unless it is old, this is no longer possible due to the magic of encryption.

Also, my guess is that only professionals do that, and that professionals have zero interest in RVs. You need to worry about bottom feeders, and they don't have scanners.

booster · 02-14-2023, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avanti

I don't know how old this vehicle is, but unless it is old, this is no longer possible due to the magic of encryption.

Also, my guess is that only professionals do that, and that professionals have zero interest in RVs. You need to worry about bottom feeders, and they don't have scanners.

I am not sure on the scanner thing these days, but I do know that around here a lot of them bad folks have switched to just hijacking the car so they have the key with it. Doesn't apply to parked van of course.

Our 07 Chevy came with no security from Roadtrek, not even a steering wheel lock. The later ones had some version of Passkey and if those are as easy to get around as the older versions it would be very easy. I don't know it they have improved that or not at this point, but even the newest of the Chevy class b vans are starting to get old.

mkguitar · 02-14-2023, 04:16 PM

a steering wheel lock such as "the club" is a visual deterrent which will cause them to look for easier pickings- they can see the club before breaking the door or window.

the club is easily defeated, but it adds time to the theft. they want easy.

in addition to other measures such as battery or fuel pump fuse ( which is what i do)

I also have my plate number engraved into the catalytic converters and cats painted bright yellow.

Months ago my cameras caught my neighbor's range rover being burgled. they took small things from the car, including his paperwork. a month later my cameras caught the theft, guy got out of car and clearly used a cloned fob to unlock and drive away car. a club or any other measure ( lights camera) on neighbors part could have prevented

HappyCamper1 · 02-14-2023, 06:26 PM

Thanks everyone again!!!! My poor buddy was victimized by druggies...later found the RV torched...lawsuits by RV owner and the renter against the parking lot...what a mess! His family was thousands of miles from home, I still don't think it is resolved yet.....

avanti · 02-14-2023, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyCamper1

Thanks everyone again!!!! My poor buddy was victimized by druggies...later found the RV torched...lawsuits by RV owner and the renter against the parking lot...what a mess! His family was thousands of miles from home, I still don't think it is resolved yet.....

That's a sad story. Breaking Bad didn't do the image of RV owners any good.

Dee Jsaan · 02-16-2023, 10:27 PM

I have one of these hidden in my rig. I reasoned that a lot of thieves would come in the night and it would foil their efforts for an easy "snatch & grab". The longer it would take them to mess with the rig the more likely it would be for them to be caught.

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Disco...7MTYX5Z5&psc=1

avanti · 02-16-2023, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dee Jsaan

I have one of these hidden in my rig. I reasoned that a lot of thieves would come in the night and it would foil their efforts for an easy "snatch & grab". The longer it would take them to mess with the rig the more likely it would be for them to be caught.

[URL="https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Disconnect-Isolator-Removable-Waterproof/dp/B07MTYX5Z5[/url]

I know nothing of that particular product. But I will say that I have had multiple failures of low-end high-current switches. The posted specs appear to often be BS. If you do use cheap ones, keep a spare.

If I were buying another one, I would go to Bluesea.

booster · 02-17-2023, 12:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avanti

I know nothing of that particular product. But I will say that I have had multiple failures of low-end high-current switches. The posted specs appear to often be BS. If you do use cheap ones, keep a spare.

If I were buying another one, I would go to Bluesea.

I totally agree that Blue Sea is the way to go.

Before I bought our first one over a decade ago I read lots of information on the boater forums and was amazed how many had failures of non Blue Sea disconnects, but almost no issues with Blue Sea.

We have had two, a 4 position to start out with and then a two position when I did the last and most major power system upgrade. No problems with either.

GeorgeRa · 02-17-2023, 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by booster

I totally agree that Blue Sea is the way to go.

Before I bought our first one over a decade ago I read lots of information on the boater forums and was amazed how many had failures of non Blue Sea disconnects, but almost no issues with Blue Sea.

We have had two, a 4 position to start out with and then a two position when I did the last and most major power system upgrade. No problems with either.

I had Intellitec on several RVs so also used one for my DIY. Had one failure due to copper contact corrosion. Blue Sea has silvered contact to prevent corrosion in the marine environment.

GallenH · 02-18-2023, 04:29 PM

My old RV didn't have a battery disconnect. I installed an inexpensive one and when I later checked the battery water levels, the switch which was connected directly to the battery was a corroded mess. Now it's a BlueSea. No problems over many years. Definitely worth the price.

avanti · 02-19-2023, 03:00 AM

There is a current discussion on the Sprinter list titled "Do Sprinters get stolen?"
Although there are a variety of views, a consensus seems to be forming around this quote:

Quote:

All stolen vans that I know of has been from carjackings, idling during delivery, or keys stolen during warehouse robbery.

This statement matches my belief. Any approximation of a "hot wire" is pretty much impossible these days, although I imagine the quality of the protection may vary by brand to some extent.

Davydd · 02-19-2023, 02:03 PM

Sprinters with the Autogen feature of idling to charge the house batteries can't be stolen in that manner. If you attempt to drive off you will kill the engine.

avanti · 04-08-2023, 02:30 PM

Based on new data, I have reconsidered my position on the implausibility of bad guys being able to start and drive modern vehicles absent a key.

The following article was recently referenced over in the Transit forum:

https://arstechnica.com/information-...ction-attacks/

Basically, the bad guys have been able to use low-level CANbus hacking to confuse the vehicle into starting without a key. They access the CANbus via the connection to a front headlight. The exploit was described in enough detail such that I believe it is real.

Now, I still believe that thieves of this calibre are extremely unlikely to be interested in a camper van (the article mentions that most stolen vehicles end up being shipped to Africa--not a hot market for American B-vans). Plus, the hack is model-specific and takes a lot of work to develop. But I no longer believe that the modern equivalent of "hot-wiring" is impossible.

booster · 04-08-2023, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by avanti

Based on new data, I have reconsidered my position on the implausibility of bad guys being able to start and drive modern vehicles absent a key.

The following article was recently referenced over in the Transit forum:

https://arstechnica.com/information-...ction-attacks/

Basically, the bad guys have been able to use low-level CANbus hacking to confuse the vehicle into starting without a key. They access the CANbus via the connection to a front headlight. The exploit was described in enough detail such that I believe it is real.

Now, I still believe that thieves of this calibre are extremely unlikely to be interested in a camper van (the article mentions that most stolen vehicles end up being shipped to Africa--not a hot market for American B-vans). Plus, the hack is model-specific and takes a lot of work to develop. But I no longer believe that the modern equivalent of "hot-wiring" is impossible.

Yep, they always seem to find a way to do it. Hackers are very resourceful.

If you have an older Chevy like ours (07) it likely will not have any security on it at all. No Passkey, no steering lock, no alarm, NADA. I think having a disabler of some sort is essential on a vehicle that vulnerable these days, so I put on ours a number of years ago.

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