From: John De Armond
Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.rv-travel
Subject: Re: RV Security
Message-ID: <kun1hvgvuhtumls9k4b6doosogmodv9n65@4ax.com>
Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2003 00:41:22 -0400

On Sat, 12 Jul 2003 16:55:40 -0500, Bob Giddings <bobg@invalid.com> wrote:


>A fellow on another NG was talking once about where to keep one of
>those little fire resistant safes from Walmart.  This guy liked to
>carry a bit of cash.  Anyway, he ended up putting it under his couch
>next to his fresh water supply.  Figured the plastic tank would melt
>and put out any fire, for a while.
>
>Might.  Certainly as unlikely a place for a thief to look as any.

Hey Bob.  I'm not concerned about fire too much.  I don't use credit cards so
I tend to have a lot of cash with me when I travel.  My safe is a little steel
unit with a flush fitting door (no place for a pry bar) and a cylindrical
lock.  Made out of 1/4" welded steel plate.  About the size of a half of a
loaf of bread.  I have it securely bolted to the floor with thru-bolts whose
nuts are MIGed to their respective bolts.  there's a hunk of 1/4" steel plate
under the floor so that the bolt heads could not be pried through the floor
sheetmetal.

I have this right behind my seat so I can get to it easily.  I usually keep no
more than a couple hundred bux in my pocket so I need to be able to "rob the
bank" fairly easily.

I have an identical box in my restaurant that I use for a cash drop.  Several
years ago I had a burglary.  Thieves came equipped with a crowbar.  I think it
was an inside job because they knew exactly where the safe was hidden.  I had
bolted it on three sides to a heavy steel restaurant cabinet that is in turn
bolted to the floor.  They pried on the safe until they broke the pry bar.
Then they apparently beat it with a hammer.  It didn't come off or spring open
and they left with only a camera.  The safe was ruined but it did it's job.
Real bitch to get in there with a grinder to grind off all the welds, though
:-)

About the only weakness this little safe has is to a cutting torch.  In the
restaurant safe is a pound can of FFFF black powder and a label on the outside
announcing same.  If a thief were to use a torch, the experience would be
memorable...... My intent, of course, is to keep the gunpowder safe....
(Meddlers: save yer breath.  My business, not yours.)

John

From: John De Armond
Newsgroups: rec.outdoors.rv-travel
Subject: Re: RV Security
Message-ID: <oi74hvke0k6j4ual8c87mn74gbe5m33c4h@4ax.com>
Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2003 23:15:09 -0400

On Sun, 13 Jul 2003 00:11:01 -0500, Bob Giddings <bobg@invalid.com> wrote:


>That'll probably work.  :o)
>
>I used to take another route, the sly safety of something hidden in
>plain sight.
>
>On my canvas top Jeep Wrangler, which was anything but secure, the
>roll bar was covered by zipped up, tightly fitting padded canvas
>coverings.  When I was pulling the little trailer, I kept a thousand
>hidden in a small ziplock under the zipper, easy to hand but
>invisible.
>
>Who'd think of looking for money there?
>
>That wouldn't work after people saw me getting it out, but was okay
>while traveling.  I didn't go into it in public, anyway.

For civilian thieves I bet that works well.  After having been a victim of the
Knoxville TN pigs' Stop'n'Rob thing, I now feel the need to protect my money
from the police too.  If they fabricated enough probable cause to get a
warrant I'm sure I'd have to open the safe but at least then it would be on
the record, hopefully with witnesses.  The safe is also a nice place to drop
my pistol when I'm going into some place that concealed carry would not be
appropriate.

>
>So where did you find this safe?

Local surplus place.  It was called the Fyre Fighter.  I bet they got nicked
by the feds for claiming it was a fire safe without any insulation and had to
dump them as salvage.  The surplus place had 'em for $14.95 so I bought 10 of
'em.  At that price, handy for all sorts of stuff.   I have the standby
battery for my restaurant's burglar alarm in one to prevent tampering.

I've seen similar safes labeled as "drop safes" at the local locksmith,
usually in the $50 price range.

John