I just got my first van. I'm like a kid in a candy store waiting to fill up his bag with lollies!
It has no side windows and I blocked out the rear window.
A friend of mine who installs car alarms for a living suggested that plain white vans that look like tradie Vans are a target to be broken into and the tools stolen.
If I plastered the van with windsurfing stickers and left the windows unblocked then maybe it's less of a target.
After all, windsurfers are hard to run off with.
Alternatively should I make a sign for the side and back that says "yuppy's bakery". Who is going to break into the bakery van ?
The question that needs your input:
What is more secure?:
A. A plain blocked out van
B. a windsurfer van
C. A bakery van
Get a sticker made up for each door and a hazardous good sign for the back and nobody will touch your van
www.google.com.au/search?q=%22biohazard+signs+printable%22&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=EwMPVO7bH42_uASGoYK4DQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1100&bih=573
A "Yuppy Nappy Laundering Service" mesh sticker on the rear window could work.
Blocking out the rear window will attract Police attention.
An outfit in QLD called SolarScreen are worth looking into. They make reflective insulated window blocks, that stick to the window using suction cups.
On longer drives, the screen is easily removed to keep the law happy.
Enjoy your new freedom.
Paint it pink and write hygeine services down the side. No one will park next to your van let alone break in.
My e2000 that I used to have had clear windows. I had the sails and fins and stuff stored under the bed platform, as well as a few boards. If I wanted to hide stuff, everything just went under the platform.
The only way anyone could have stolen anything was to open the tailgate, but at one stage I had a length of chain and a padlock on the inside of that, so even if they forced that lock, they would have to cut the chain or padlock to get it out.
I think sometimes people steal windsurf boards thinking they are surfboards, but then again I have met so many people that leave the gear on their roofracks and had nothing stolen.
Yuppy,
Out of site out of mind, they dont even try, I have had a few vans, mates who have had gear stolen out of vans could be seen.
A really dark window tint is sometimes all you need like the limosine tint.
The other thing that stops them is mesh guards on the windows. If they cant smash and grab they wont bother.
It's ok to block out the back window as you can rely on mirrors but the LH sliding door needs a window you can see out of.
It's pretty hard to get across roads with a median strip when turning right when you can't see what's coming
I'm with Paul Kelf on this....you MUST have a window in the sliding door.
You might try All Vehicle Accessories in Sth Melbourne as the installer. Just a note, when the steel is cut, the installer has to apply a preservative to the cut steel, to prevent rust underneath the window rubber. Usually, rust shows up about 3 years after the installation, if it's done wrong.
Also, I'm looking for a free Formula board. I understand that by breaking into TDK 086, I can get one.
Hey Yuppy,
It looks like you've got pretty secure parking there, so you should be ok. A mate used to park his van on the road in Port Melbourne and that got broken into once and a board nicked (I think) - I reckon they probably thought it was a surfboard.
Out of sight is a good idea though. I just tinted the back window out on mine and parked it in a secure underground carpark under my apartment and never had any issues.
I'd stick a Hawaii-style flower chain round the rear-view mirror, a dancing hula girl on the dash and some stickers on it to make it look like more like a backpacker / surf van - after all, who in their right mind would want to even get into a stinky backpacker van. I'd also probably chain the tailgate down from the inside if you were worried about it - aka FormulaNova's effort.
Nice van. Just needs some rims and to be lower... :)
why not label it up as one of those women's sanitary bin pick up vans. NO One would break into one of those.
Righto.
The consensis is out of sight out of mind. I'll keep the windows blocked out and decorate it with something distracting.
Select to expand quoteYuppy said..
Righto.
The consensis is out of sight out of mind. I'll keep the windows blocked out and decorate it with something distracting.
I heard flames down the side are a good idea.
vans and trailers for keeping dirtbikes in have the same problem of breakins,
read a really good article in aus dirtbike a few years ago when a druggy from Sydney wrote in and told how he always done a uey and followed any van that had fox stickers etc plastered all over them cased them out and then flogged to bikes the next night for easy cash. said it was so easy to do a couple a week,
I have mates that have there dirtbike trailers with signwriting like portable dog wash etc on them for this very reason. I'm just lucky I live in the country and never even lock my car at the beach even though even us smaller places are all getting hit by the ice plague as well.
Ill see if I can find the article it was very interesting.
As a side discussion, I'm thinking about picking up a Hiace van from the government auctions next year as I'm sick of tieing boards to roofs, and playing Tetris when packing gear in the car. The only thing I'm worried about is a front end impact. I live in the back waters and travel 90km/h for about 30min to my closest down a few busy truck routes. These roads always have accidents. I'm worried that vans don't have a buffer like cars and wagons do. What are peoples thoughts on this ?
J
"Yuppy's Mobile Asbestos Removal Service"
should get the thieves thinking twice...
Select to expand quotejn1 said..
As a side discussion, I'm thinking about picking up a Hiace van from the government auctions next year as I'm sick of tieing boards to roofs, and playing Tetris when packing gear in the car. The only thing I'm worried about is a front end impact. I live in the back waters and travel 90km/h for about 30min to my closest down a few busy truck routes. These roads always have accidents. I'm worried that vans don't have a buffer like cars and wagons do. What are peoples thoughts on this ?
J
It's the down side. You have to accept the extra risk, modify your driving style (become ultra defensive, go slower), and get on with it.
They are crazy slippery in the rain too. The short gearing means the rears will break out in an instant. You really have to slow down and be gentle with the throttle.
Never had a problem driving a van without windows - you just have to be much more aware of the traffic around you. When changing lanes into the left, speed up past the car on the left, then keep them in your mirror at all times, then you can move across once the distance is good. As a secondary, use the little mirrors as the safety check for cars next to you that may have snuck across. Easy.
Don't expect people to be aware that you have blind spots, people are generally retarded and collectively Abbott....... so assume the worst of your fellow drivers :/
^^Agreed. Only recently moved to a windowless van. With only the windscreen and two side mirrors (with front side windows in the same view) to scan driving is simplified. My central review mirror is blocked by the fitout. The superfluous central mirror and rear side windows you get in a regular car overloads the brain. All you really need are side mirrors. Get used to it, trust them. Now I'm used to it the van is my preferred vehicle for tackling Sydney traffic.
I was driving my fathers transit van there for a while, which didn't have windows in the side,and sometimes I would find a car 'sticking' there in my blind spot. Luckily he had those stick on curved mirrors where you could spot them.
I think some people don't want to look at their speedo, so they attach themselves to another car, but sometimes they do it in the blindspot, and after a while, I forget they are there...
In the E2000 van I had, it had windows all around. Vision was excellent. It didn't stop me reversing into a pole when it lined up with one of my boards in the back though.. 
I'd be interestSelect to expand quoteFlickySpinny said..
Hey Yuppy,
It looks like you've got pretty secure parking there, so you should be ok. A mate used to park his van on the road in Port Melbourne and that got broken into once and a board nicked (I think) - I reckon they probably thought it was a surfboard.
If that'd be this mate, I think I left the van unlocked too... the board was sitting on top of the stack of other boards.
I'd just be interested in an after-market "ultrasonic screacher alarm"... anybody heard of such a thing?
I have an ‘unmarked van’ with no windsurf stickers on it. It got broken into, but I was lucky. The thief only took what he could carry from the van. An I-Pod and bag full of fins and spares. How is that lucky?
The cretin left his mobile phone in the van. I was fielding and logging all his phone calls. His ex wife called, looking for maintenance arrears. She had nothing good to say about him. I let everyone who called know, I was looking for my gear to be returned within 24 hours, or I was off to the Police. There was no response, so I handed the phone over to Police and made my statement. Ex-wife and the guy’s employer were very co-operative with Police.
Two days later I found the bag of fins and gear dumped in an obscure corner of the car-park, from where it was stolen. No sign of the I-Pod. The guy went to ground as carneys do.
A month later Freo’ Police station called, saying they pulled him in on an unrelated matter (pissing on a lamp-post?). They asked me to quote the I-Pod serial number, which I did. Still had the receipt, warranty card and packaging. Bingo! A hock shop logged the same I-Pod serial number against some stuff the guy hocked on the day of the theft.
The cretin went down for at least two convictions. Theft and making a fraudulent declaration as to ownership.
Got my I-Pod back.
Keep a written log of your windsurf gear and all the serial numbers. Keep the receipts. It just occurred to me a photographic log could be useful too. Some fins don’t have serial numbers.
Oh, and don’t do drugs.
Why not paint it in up like a Wicked van? Although everyone at the beach will assume you're the one there to steal stuff.
