The Caravan Owners Club

[Hobbynut]

I have previously placed to entries on this topic under the headings of....Recent Break In and Lightening Does Strike Twice.
In both articles I mention a local company called Catfoss Caravan Storage in East Yorkshire, who have been the victim on both occasions. This has caused me great concern about the safety of my own Hobby 710 which I store there during the winter. As a result I have made enquiries with both the local police and my insurer. I have therfore come up with the following information.
1. These vans are usually stolen by a certain element who I would not wish to name directly but we all know who they are and they tend to drive Ford transit vans.
2. A german twin axle van is 12 times more likely to be stolen than an English van.
3. Security devices only slow the thief down as they come well equipped with modern power tools so the theft can be carried out in record time.

These people are not just fly by night opportunists who just happened to be passing. They steal vans to order and are accomplished professionals, who unfortuneately, are bloody good at what they do.
Hobbynut

[keith]

These people are a real pain, last year at the Dorset old Steam Rally the Police seized 30 yes 30 stolen vans mostly Hobbies. Do make sure you have the vin No etched into all the windows it is expensive for them to replace windows. Register with Theft Check or CRIS so that when the Police stop vans to check them they will show up on PNC and post vin No's on the STICKY I have placed in General section. That way we all have a chance of spotting stolen Hobbies. You may not want your stolen Hobby returned but that doesn't mean you should let the low lifes get away with it.

[fokion]

Ok I may me idiot or mentaly retarded

But the campics are guarded arent they? How can you steal a whole van ( not just brake into it, which I can understand as been easier) take it out of a camping or any other guarded area???

And something more, the vans are nearly half price for you compared to what I have to pay.......

[Chubbs]

Hey......you mean if I tow my van to Greece, and then sell it there, I'll come back with more than enough to buy another new caravan for myself AND have had a holiday too?

Whose for Greece next year??

[fokion]

More or less........

A 5,5 meter hobby deluxe of 2002-3 model is at 15.000 euros....

What do you think, is it woth it???
All caravan dealers they buy the vans from Germany ( mainly ) and they charge extra ( some 1000-1500 euros) the transportation to Greece

[jeepstar]

In our local paper tonight the police visited a local lowlife camp and found 3 stolen caravans, Generator etc total value £25.000 .