Latest news with #LukeWeber
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Automotive
- News.com.au
Aus caravan homeowners warned of horror trend
An expert has warned caravan owners of a 'simple' trick that can be used if thieves attempt to steal items from their van. Luke Weber, owner of Affordable Caravans Service & Repairs which sells and repairs vans, told Yahoo News that the tactic is used to lock travellers inside their caravans. Mr Weber explained to the outlet a 'crazy story' of a customer who revealed they had their camping gear stolen in front of them by the cunning act. The thieves used a piece of paper to disable the latch lock on their caravan door. Trapped inside, the travellers apparently couldn't do anything but watch as their belongings were taken away from them. According to Yahoo, a majority of caravan doors manufactured from 2000 onwards have a lock mechanism involving a latch. The latch needed to jut outwards in order to open the door. However, a metal ring also found on the door handle — which is used to hook the door open when required — can be used to prevent the door from opening. In a recent video, Mr Weber demonstrated the trick with a piece of paper that can be used to block the space where the latch juts out, preventing the system from unlocking. 'It's very, very simple and it'll lock people in,' Mr Weber explained to Yahoo News. 'I've been fixing caravans for a long time, and it has been well known for a long time that a thief can just use a sheet of paper, or even sticky tape, to stop those doors from opening. 'It's such a common problem, people get their gear stolen in the middle of the night. 'People even get their barbecues taken and their fridges taken … 'They just have to sit in the caravan until it's over, then climb out a window or something.' Mr Weber explained there is an 'easy fix' to avoid being locked inside a caravan 'It's an easy fix, you just take the little metal ring off where people put the paper,' he said. 'It just clicks right off, and you can put it inside your caravan, and the problem is solved.' Removing the metal ring, which serves as a functional hook to keep the door open, does not affect the door's locking mechanism. Therefore, caravanners can still securely lock themselves inside overnight.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Caravan repairer warns over hair-raising but 'common' trick after customer's 'crazy story'
Caravan owners are being warned of a "simple" trick that can be used against them if thieves try to steal gear from outside their van. One caravan repair expert told Yahoo News it's a well-known tactic used to lock travellers inside their caravans. Luke Weber, owner of Affordable Caravans Service & Repairs which sells and repairs vans, explained he first heard of the trick over six years ago when a customer explained they had their camping gear stolen right in front of them, when thieves used a piece of paper to disable the latch lock on their caravan door. The travellers, trapped inside, could apparently do nothing but watch as their belongings were taken away. The majority of caravan doors manufactured from 2000 onwards have a lock mechanism involving a latch, with the latch needing to jut outwards in order to open the door. However, a metal ring also found on the door handle — which is used to hook the door open when required — can be used to prevent the door from opening. As demonstrated by Luke in a recent video, something as innocuous as a piece of paper can be used to block the space where the latch juts out, preventing the system from unlocking. The "crazy story" he relayed from a customer detailed how they had their camping possessions ransacked "in the middle of the night ... and they couldn't get out of the caravan," he said in the video. "It's very, very simple and it'll lock people in," Luke explained to Yahoo News. "I've been fixing caravans for a long time, and it has been well known for a long time that a thief can just use a sheet of paper, or even sticky tape, to stop those doors from opening. "It's such a common problem, people get their gear stolen in the middle of the night. People even get their barbecues taken and their fridges taken... They just have to sit in the caravan until it's over, then climb out a window or something." 👀 'Bizarre' moment caravan family's stay gatecrashed by 'best buddies' 😲 Council makes major caravan rule change to tackle housing crisis 📝 Van traveller shares best free camping spots as price hike looms Caravanners advised of 'easy fix' to avoid being locked inside Thankfully, there is an easy solution, Luke explained. "It's an easy fix, you just take the little metal ring off where people put the paper. It just clicks right off, and you can put it inside your caravan, and the problem is solved," he said. As the metal ring is simply a functional hook for keeping the door open, removing it doesn't impact the ability to lock the door, so caravanners can still safely lock themselves inside overnight. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Yahoo
Caravanners warned of 'simple' trick used against them by thieves
Footage shows Luke Weber, a caravan salesman and repairman, showing how a piece of paper can disable a caravan door from unlocking. Video transcript All right, you want to hear a crazy story. All right, so I had a customer once, this was a few years ago, come to me to see if there was a solution for these doors, as they were up in the middle of Australia and camping overnight, and in the middle of the night, they had someone ransack their whole awning area and take all their stuff, their fridges and their barbecues. And pretty much everything they had outside. Out. And I couldnt get out of the caravan because of this, this trick. So hes probably want to see this. So, now, as the doors locked, Im gonna close the door. Theres a guy inside the van. Im gonna close the door, and hes gonna lock it for us. So. So the door handle goes flush on these cammic doors. So, basically what happened to them is somebody came up, got a piece of paper, and then they clicked the door handle closed, and now as Carl will demonstrate, hes trying to unlock the door right now, and he cant flick the door handle out, so hes stuck in the caravan. So, well pull the ladder out. You can open it now? The door handle flicks open and you can open the doors, so. Its a pretty crazy story, and its something Ive always just thought about. And, uh, yeah, I dont know if anyone with these cammic door handles, which these doors were used on, um, they were introduced in 19, 1999, 2000. So every van from 2000 onwards, um, or the majority of them were using these doors. So, there are a lot of them out there. Its a little weird paper trick. So yeah, just something to keep in mind when youre out there camping.
