Motorhome Window Security- Lock M Out Review

Hey guys, I'm Kat from the motorhome travel website Wandering Bird, where we share tips and tricks for touring the UK and Europe by motorhome and campervan. Now, a few months ago we put out a video about motorhome security and things that you can do to protect your van both from being stolen and also from being broken into. And one of the things that we said in that video was that the most vulnerable part of your motorhome or camper were the windows, and we hadn't figured out exactly how we were going to protect ourselves from that point of vulnerability. That led to a conversation with a company called Lock 'Em Out, who have created these metal attachments which go over your window opening levers and stop them being opened from the outside. Now, one of the reasons that motorhome windows are so vulnerable is that a bit of wire or something quite small can be slipped up from the outside of the window, and it can actually be used to push open the levers of the window. If you haven't got one of those Levers with a locking button, so they lock shut and they've got to be pushed— the button's got to be pushed in to open it. If you've just got a normal lever, they can be opened from the outside quite easily and quite quickly, so this protects against that vulnerability. There we go, right. So we got into a conversation with Lockermat. Now, on our windows, certainly on the big windows, we've got 4 different lever points. All of them have got the buttons on. She says, Lockermat. Yeah, all of them have got the buttons on, but we think that you'll be absolutely fine with only having 2 on per window, one in each corner. So that's what we've decided to do rather than have one on every single one. So that's the preamble, let's fit one and show you how it works.

This is what we're going after. Okay, that dog's too fast.

We're trying to distract the dog, it's not working.

Here he is, and these are very clever.

Which one are you going for? That one?

So I'm gonna go for this one first. So we have a plastic latch. Now, these windows, uh, are built quite, quite well. We have the lock in the middle so that it locks, so it can't open. The theory is somebody puts a screwdriver through the side there, because you can see, you know, they're quite flimsy, and they can just lift that up and they get through. It's that simple to get into these things. This, this It's designed to stop that. So what happens is you slide it over the edge.

Tight. If it is loose, it's pointless.

Slide it over the edge.

And then the little button comes through. Pin comes through. Yeah.

So it locks out. And then even if that's pushed, it can't open.

Yeah, there will be a little bit of wiggle room. We spoke to them about the wiggle room because we expect it to be tight so that it didn't move at all, but that's totally normal.

So it's making it good solid.

The thing—

the point is that nobody could put a screwdriver or something up there and—

Whatever you try and do, you're gonna snap off this. Before you do anything else.

But the force required to do that is much more than it would be just to move the—

Well, at that point, if, if you're breaking that off, they're gonna get in no matter what.

Yeah, the point is that nothing is totally infallible and unbreakable.

You're trying to slow them down.

100%. Yeah, you're making it as difficult as possible.

You want to make it as much— yeah, as much of a pain in the bum. Yeah. So that either A, they'll become loud and noisy and notify other people.

Yeah.

Or B, You know, it gives you the time to come back. It's difficult, isn't it? You can only do what you can do, you know, as much as you can, bar putting metal shutters over the outside of the window.

Which is what your idea was. So anyway, how many of these do you recommend per window?

I think they recommend 2 per window.

One in each corner.

One in each.

So do you want to stick the one in that corner?

Yeah, for me, generally with this, get the corner in. I'm using that to push that in.

Push the button in.

Yeah, and then it clicks on. That's quite easy then.

Yeah.

But again, you know, it's, it's, it can't be lifted, so technically it can't move forwards.

Yeah, well, it's a really good solution to a, it's a difficult problem because like I say, it's a plastic window.

It is. Really, really impressed with WhiteGulls, and you know, they've done, done some brilliant bits of engineering for various windows.

Um, yeah, they do it for different types. So one thing we didn't know actually was that different motorhome brands And even sometimes the same brand has different types of motorhomes and the connections are different. I knew they were different, but I didn't really appreciate that you'd have to have a totally different type of lock, so we had to figure out which ones ours were.

I mean, these are one of the latest ones where they have the lock built in.

No, a lot of them, even when they have the lock, the technical arm or the handle or whatever the heck they're called, they're different and they're different shapes. and they're different, all sorts. So yeah, they're totally different, so you need to be careful which ones you order, but they've got a variety of them for different brands and types of vans.

I think as security devices go, it ticks a lot of boxes. It's got the visual deterrent, it's actually got a physical use, yeah, um, it stops that from lifting up.

Yeah, so one in each corner should be more than adequate, shouldn't it?

Yeah, I mean, that's what we're going for on there.

Cool.

Do you have anything else to say other than a massive thank you to Lock 'Em Out for working with us?

Huge, huge thank you. Um, Um, you know, as I say, I feel better for having them on the windows.

Yeah.

I feel a lot better for having them on the windows.

Absolutely. I quite like the fact that they're fairly unobtrusive. Um, yes, you'll have to take them off if you ever want to open the window.

Yeah, but, but that is as simple as just push the button and sliding and slide it off. It's that simple.

Yeah, so you'd be able to. So awesome.

Okay, thank you very much, Lock 'Em Out. Um, Awesome job. Yeah, really, really, really neat piece of kit. Yeah, um, he fell off.

Did you need saving? Okay, so apparently we're doing this. So there we go, those are the Lock 'Em Out catches. We're really impressed with them. Will they stop anyone from ever being able to pry open your window with any device in any situation? No, of course they won't. If somebody's got a crowbar and a heck of a lot of strength Then they could probably still prise open your window. But our belief is they are definitely better than nothing, and our hope, apart from the added strength and security, is that the visual deterrent that they have will be enough to make anyone who would be so inclined to try and force our windows open to move on to an easier target. Which is the crux of all motorhome security— try and make your van look like it's too much hard work. So I hope you found that useful. I'm going to leave all of the details below if you do decide you want to order any of your own. They'll all be in the notes for you. And certainly if you haven't got the catches with a button in the middle, highly, highly recommend that you get some as quickly as possible. But even if you have got the catches with the button in the middle, I still think that they are worthwhile. They're not particularly expensive either, especially when compared to the cost of a claim or what your excess might be. So there's definitely something to think about and weigh up whether or not it's right for you. Massive thank you to Lock 'Em Out for working with us. They are a family business, they're a lovely, lovely family, and we're really pleased to be able to work with them and support them and share their story with you all. So I hope you found that useful. If you'd like to get more motorhome tips and tricks, then by all means hit subscribe and the little bell. You'll be notified when our next video comes out. In the meantime, from me and Mac, thank you very much for your time. Yeah, you, I said you. Yeah, I did. Yeah, I did. I said you. Thank you very much for your time. We'll see you on the next video. Take care.

Bye.

We are out. We're talking about a good time. We're chasing every moment. All the good nights. We're always looking out, and it's a good life. We go around the world for a show. Ah ah ah.