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Old 02-18-2019, 06:55 AM   #1
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Interstate security plates and dead locks

I broached this topic on another thread (permalink here), but the complexity of my search has now grown to warrant a separate thread.

Multiple threads, in fact, because the more I learn, the more I realize that it's a vastly under-served topic, especially for those of us who boondock.

I'm trying to locate a set of physical security augmentations - specifically, lock shields that are either made by the UK company Armaplate, or similar to Armaplate - PLUS, dead locks, what Americans tend to call dead bolts - for the T1N Interstate.

To that end, I hatched this thread on Sprinter Forum yesterday. I will skip the blow-by-blow vendor research details, which are over there. Bottom line: I have some leads, but I have not identified a suitable path forward yet.

The issue is also described on this Class B Forum thread, where a non-Sprinter owner is trying to find the same types of products for his rig.

I have asked Million Mile Sprinter if he would be willing to take up the importation role, given that the most suitable products are apparently not for sale in our country. I committed to being his purchaser for four Armaplates and four dead locks if he decides to do it, at whatever price he deems fair. IF ANY OTHER T1N INTERSTATE OWNER FEELS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO MAKE THE SAME PURCHASE, please let me know so that I can sweeten that pot.

*WHO* is the Class B trailblazer in North America on pretty much every topic? ARV, of course. I had no idea until this morning that they have already developed their own solution to this predicament. And why would they have gone to the trouble to do that? Same reason I'm encountering such difficulty - there was nothing suitable in the North American market that they could have used. They had to do it themselves.

As I mentioned on the other thread, I have a bunch of deep urban logistics coming up, which bumped this issue up higher on my priority list. Neundorfer does a pretty good job of describing the circumstances that warrant such devices in this video:

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Old 02-18-2019, 07:06 AM   #2
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For continuity, here's the most promising UK lead that I've got on the products (same vid as in the permalink given above).

Sussex Installations has emailed me saying that they'd ship me the hardware, but I haven't looked into the logistics of that potential importation in detail yet. I figured I'd ask Million Mile Sprinter before going onto that branch of the decision tree.

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Old 02-19-2019, 06:10 AM   #3
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My research is now concluded. There is no American source of the products I seek. None. This was confirmed by Sprinter Parts Depot. If David Gassaway doesn't know about it, then it doesn't exist.

Million Mile Sprinter is looking into the import options. He might become the sole-source domestic supplier.

Meanwhile, as I wait for an answer on that question, a bit of editorializing from me.

Obvious question:

WHY at least a dozen good installers in England and Ireland - specializing in van installations almost exclusively - vans, a very narrow market - and ZERO in the United States?

WHY the invention of MODEL-SPECIFIC products (e.g., stainless steel plates specifically cast to fit the T1N Sprinter handles) in Europe and not here? It's incredibly expensive to make molds for these metal parts.

Answer: CULTURE.

As a prime example, Hurricane Harvey flooded 204,000 Houston-area homes, but there was almost no looting. One law enforcement bulletin announced fourteen arrests... in an area of two hundred and four thousand empty homes. WHY? Because everyone here knows the mantra "you loot, we shoot". It simply isn't done, except by the rarest of idiots (who routinely end up dead).

During my research, when I started reading the accounts of the van crime intensity in England, it was so outlandish that I assumed I was reading fake news. What they were saying simply couldn't be true - one site stated 20,000 van break-ins PER MONTH.

But the more I read, the more consistent everything got, and from professional sources.

THAT is why the security products were invented for the market there, and not here. People in the UK do not defend themselves and their property the way Americans do. Because of the legal structure, they are prevented from defending themselves as effectively. You loot, and they cannot shoot.

I cannot imagine living in a society where 51% of vans are broken into. This figure is for contractor vans, but I've read in other sources that the Class B break-in rate is just astonishingly high. Americans would never submit to anything like this.

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Old 02-19-2019, 11:10 AM   #4
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The issue we have with our AIs is the amount of windows, right? They can still break any of the windows and do away with our stuff...



Do not get me wrong. I love the product shared in that link. I like the idea of making it more difficult to try to steal what we have in the AI, but outside of covering the glass with metal plates, we are still at risk of theft via a broken window...



In the meantime, I will keep my insurance current and hope that whatever we loose gets covered by it... meaning, the AI or whatever they break in the process... as we travel with very little to no valuables...


I do plan to get a small safe that bolts to the floor for when we want to leave the wallets, firearm, or anything like that inside the AI...
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Old 02-19-2019, 01:19 PM   #5
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I just got back from a 120-mile business round trip in the first half of today, so our Interstate is in the driveway, offering itself for convenient measurement.

Window glass - of course. But think of the logistics. The bottom of the window (ANY window) is 4'9" off the ground (T1N Sprinter). What's the perp going to do -- bust out and then with great effort hoist his sorry butt in through the gaping window frame hole, tie a rope around my LCD TV, and lower it to the ground outside??

It's both too hard and too conspicuous. They don't want that kind of hassle - especially because, if someone has gone to the trouble to add Armaplate and dead locks, God only knows what ADDITIONAL security gizmos await them inside the van. Dollars to donuts, the perp encountering the first layers of security will proceed to an easier target.
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Old 02-19-2019, 01:25 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by wachuko View Post
.... I will keep my insurance current and hope that whatever we loose gets covered by it... ......
My policy doesn't cover my life, my husband's life, or our dog's life. If we were not almost 100% boondockers with much of that being urban, I'd take a more passive approach, sure.
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Old 02-19-2019, 01:58 PM   #7
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Easy solution - Armaplate the entire rv. They do sell armored vehicles for RV conversions and limo conversions.

https://www.cleanridelimo.com/fleet/...-car-limo-bus/

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Old 02-19-2019, 02:29 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by InterBlog View Post
My policy doesn't cover my life, my husband's life, or our dog's life. If we were not almost 100% boondockers with much of that being urban, I'd take a more passive approach, sure.

Yeah, I was not talking about a situation where me and my family would be inside the AI... all scenarios I was thinking about were those where we would be away from the AI...
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Old 02-19-2019, 03:07 PM   #9
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Easy solution - Armaplate the entire rv. ...


Whatever you can dream up that can be done, some DIYer will eventually do it. I will let you know when I see the first decommissioned armored car conversion. Ambulances are common - armored cars, not so much. Kinda makes me wonder if there's a law against it or something (they could be used for urban assault by undesirable parties).

They'd be safer in a way, but they'd get exquisitely crappy gas mileage.
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Old 02-19-2019, 04:01 PM   #10
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I am unfailing puzzled by serious concerns that our rigs will be broken into, resulting in ramped up energy expended trying to protect them from what seems to be a remote threat.

Of course, some threat exists, it just doesn’t seem to be moderate or even low...maybe very slim, statistically speaking...one just very rarely hears of it, and there are thousands of us out there traveling, boondocking, dry camping all over the country, almost completely unmolested by criminals.



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Old 02-19-2019, 04:29 PM   #11
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It just dawned on me that for the price I paid to have the front cab windows tinted with 3M crystaline, I could have had security film installed. It comes in tinted versions, just don't know how dark. We had some installed on our patio doors at home. I wish I had done that on the cab.


Just as our homes, you can't keep someone determined out. But you can slow them down to the point they might give up for a quicker target.


Or. You can just drive the plumber's van version instead of the "purty" mercedes-based van.

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Old 02-19-2019, 06:37 PM   #12
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Check out lock dog brand here:
https://www.inlad.com/

They are external, but a pretty polished look, I think.
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Old 02-19-2019, 06:46 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lily&me View Post
i am unfailing puzzled by serious concerns that our rigs will be broken into, resulting in ramped up energy expended trying to protect them from what seems to be a remote threat.



Maggie
x2!
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Old 02-19-2019, 07:05 PM   #14
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Check out lock dog brand here:
https://www.inlad.com/

They are external, but a pretty polished look, I think.

Good find!
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Old 02-19-2019, 07:19 PM   #15
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I'm surprised there's no market here for OP's locks and reinforced plates. Fed-ex used to use Sprinters and they market them here as the ultimate work van. You'd think those markets would want extra security.
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Old 02-19-2019, 07:21 PM   #16
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I'm surprised there's no market here for OP's locks and reinforced plates. Fed-ex used to use Sprinters and they market them here as the ultimate work van. You'd think those markets would want extra security.
They do, but most all the solutions are very industrial looking.
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Old 02-19-2019, 07:27 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by rowiebowie View Post
It just dawned on me that for the price I paid to have the front cab windows tinted with 3M crystaline, I could have had security film installed. It comes in tinted versions, just don't know how dark. We had some installed on our patio doors at home. I wish I had done that on the cab.


Just as our homes, you can't keep someone determined out. But you can slow them down to the point they might give up for a quicker target.


Or. You can just drive the plumber's van version instead of the "purty" mercedes-based van.

.
Nice - I really like the Avenue. Now that Roadtrek is gone it would be nice for Airstream to bring it back.
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Old 02-19-2019, 07:42 PM   #18
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Nice - I really like the Avenue. Now that Roadtrek is gone it would be nice for Airstream to bring it back.

The demise of Roadtrek and the popularity of the Promaster spell the end of the Chevy Express chassis. It had a good long run.


EDIT: Also, the new Shorty '19 ft. carries on the floor plan (shown above the Avenue - below).


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Old 02-19-2019, 07:44 PM   #19
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Something else is coming along.....but.....the commercial market still loves the Express. 3 shifts, full tilt. Robust body on Frame. Parts everywhere for cheap......but, a Las, this too will end in a couple years.
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Old 02-20-2019, 05:19 AM   #20
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I am unfailing puzzled by serious concerns that our rigs will be broken into, resulting in ramped up energy expended trying to protect them from what seems to be a remote threat.

Of course, some threat exists, it just doesn’t seem to be moderate or even low...maybe very slim, statistically speaking...one just very rarely hears of it, and there are thousands of us out there traveling, boondocking, dry camping all over the country, almost completely unmolested by criminals.



Maggie
How often do you boondock in places that look like what is shown below? Note the public parking sign in front of the lot.

Next obvious peanut gallery question: Why boondock in places like that? Aren't you just "asking for it", to become a crime victim?

Corollary question: As a woman, why even get a university degree in geology? Aren't you just "asking for it", by exposing yourself to such a intensely male-dominated career field? What are you going to do when you are on remote assignment in an environment where there are no women and only roughneck men?

Some of us women get degrees in geology and other STEM fields, and some of us choose to do other things that most people don't have the stomach to handle. Guess what? It's a free country on both counts. It's not without risks, though, and that's why we plan for them.

There are some Airstreamers out there who know what I am up to right now, and why. I am not keeping that stuff a secret, but I would prefer to keep it off the forums. If you hear about it through parallel channels, please PM me if you would like to discuss, rather than commenting here.

Suffice it to say, I've chosen to do what I'm going to do next. I have THE best possible reasons.

My pathway does not involved leading a charmed life, however, and so I'm reasonably responsive to that fact. I do realize that I may seem a bit odd to people who have difficulty relating to such decisions. No charmed life on my end - sorry.

I've cropped the Google image to disguise its location so that I won't be construed as "disproportionately criticizing" any one city in particular, but this is the reality of the deep urban environment - drug users strewn around, homeless encampments, every kind of crime you can think of (and many kinds that you cannot). And it goes on, and on, and on.

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