Securing front door from the inside

[hocho]

I want to share a way to secure your door from the inside. This is useful, because if someone breaks a window, they can't open the door. And then, hopefully they either give up, or you have an advantage of some delay time.

HOW TO DO IT
find something on the door you can screw into. Metal is better, but I screwed into the plastic armrest.

Screw a short screw with two washers.

Loop a piece of webbing/strong cord so it can be secured between the washers.

Then, tie off the cord to something stationary (seat frame, shearing wheel)

Photo showing this.
Vanlife safety, secure door from inside.

I searched to see if others have shared this idea on this forum and didn't find anything.

 

[mattvei]

thanks for sharing. A nifty hack

 

[hocho]

Here is the picture of the installation:

[img=400x700]

A better way (in my case) might be to install a bolt and a nut. That way, I'm for sure it's not gonna pull out. Glue might also help, but not be as strong in many cases.

 

[MrNoodly]

How about a cable long enough to loop from the center of the cab, through both door pulls and back, with the ends secured with a lock, carabiner or something similar?

 

[MrNoodly]

Or how about getting a pair of seatbelt extenders and looping the belts through the door pulls?

 

[hocho]

My car doesn't have door pulls that would allow looping.

And, to your other post, I'm just making a loop to the door. Yes, use a caribiner and some cord or paracord to tie it to whatever is sturdy in the cab.

 

[hocho]

An even simpler way to prototype and experiment with this is just to use packing tape straight to your door. As long as it's on a parallel (to the door frame) area, the stick will be very strong. Probably 50+ lbs.

Or, use filament tape which is 300lbs of strength. Make a loop to then tie to a caribiner or piece of cord. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XYHTB8...abc_03MT9TRAG0N8B5NY71KH?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[tx2sturgis]

An old school way that us truck drivers secured our cab doors when we had to sleep in an 'iffy' area was to use a nylon ratcheting cargo strap...attach the metal hooks to the door pulls, or loop them around and hook them to each other...ratchet the mechanism just enough to be secure.

Yes it's been covered here but it a was quite awhile back and probably not showing up in search results now.

 

[MrNoodly]

Or ratchet strap out one window, over the roof and back in the other window, hooked together, ratcheted snug, windows rolled up leaving the air gap you might've wanted anyway.

 

[highdesertranger]

Dang where are you guys parking? I would just move. Highdesertranger

 

[hocho]

Or ratchet strap out one window, over the roof and back in the other window, hooked together, ratcheted snug, windows rolled up leaving the air gap you might've wanted anyway.

That's a good idea. One downside is lack of stealth, so it can't be used on surface streets. But it's very secure, for boondocking.

Another downside is that people could cut the strap from the outside if they have a knife. But it would stop casual thieves.

 

[hocho]

Dang where are you guys parking?  I would just move.  Highdesertranger

Some people, and I think especially women, may want that extra security. Like if they have a stalker or domestic violence situation.

It isn't hard to do and gives a little extra peace of mind.

I mostly park in safe spaces and just locking the door is enough.

 

[wayne49]

Break the window then cut the strap/cord.

Steel cage over the window outside or inside.

Or get out of Dodge.

 

[vanbrat]

I like this thread. Good ideas to have if I ever need it.