Beware Spare Wheels Stolen

[LisaKent]

We also had our spare wheel stolen whilst at the NEC in Birmingham!! We did not realise until a we got home as they put everything back in place.

 

[Billy]

It is not only Cali's, my brother in law had his pinched from his Velle back in March whilst at Old Trafford !

 

[MattBW]

I am also a member of Hubba Dubba Club Hinckley, we meet every other monday at 8pm at the Milestone pub Hinckley Leics, LE10 3EA. Any local Cali owners feel free to pop down and see us the pub does good food and in the summer there is normally a great variety of vw's.

Dave

Do you still meet there? About to pick up my new Cali Beach and this sounds like a must buy.. Be good to get one without the need for delivery

 

[calikev]

Its free delivery in the shop

 

[wasted]

Returned back from a weeks holiday in Wales on Friday and whilst cleaning the van this morning I notice the spare wheel has gone! I have no idea where it was stolen from but they have even done up the bolt after they removed it.

I am now searching Ebay for a replacment spare before we head of to France next weekend, I suspect many of the wheels on Ebay are the stolen ones so I can see this just being like a roundabout.

I suggest you all go outside and look under your vans and check yours has not been stolen too

 

[MattBW]

Mine is still on at the moment, I check it day and night, hopefully the device is a deterrent.

 

[dayslikethis]

Hello all

We have designed a device that will help with this problem. I was told about this forum by one of your members who ordered one yesterday.

Now available in the club shop



http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/shop/product-category/spare-wheel-theft-protection

View attachment 4974

Can anybody tell me - Have I fitted this correctly as it appears the bolt could still be accessed?

 

[WelshGas]

Have a look at the first page of this thread, halfway down there is a picture by the Inventor of the SpareSafe.

 

[dayslikethis]

Have a look at the first page of this thread, halfway down there is a picture by the Inventor of the SpareSafe.

View attachment 10157

Yes I have seen that however when fitted mine looks different in fact the actual design of the item looks different I'll have to contact the shop.

 

[MattBW]

I seem to remember a gap on mine too which worried me, I reinstalled the tube that was covering the original bolt. Let me know what they say, I hope I've installed mine correctly

 

[calikev]

Can anybody tell me - Have I fitted this correctly as it appears the bolt could still be accessed?
View attachment 10156

What's wrong with your sparesafe they have not changed in anyway
Is the head of the bolt not inside the tube?

 

[dayslikethis]

What's wrong with your sparesafe they have not changed in anyway
Is the head of the bolt not inside the tube?

My query is this. The head of the bolt is inside the casing - no problem. However compare my photo with the original photo from the manufacturer and you will see in my photo that there is a gap above the unit exposing the bolt (under cover) which therefore may leave it open to cutting perhaps.

If you can explain why there is a difference in the two units I'd be grateful. I'm not sure the red casing adds much value to anti-theft but please tell me if I'm wrong.

 

[calikev]

Im not sure then it came from the same supplier it looks the same as the stock photo to me

 

[larrylamb]

Personally it looks like it has been welded lower down the tubing so it doesn't sit as high up to the wheel. Maybe check with others??

 

[calikev]

All the same

 

[dayslikethis]

All the same

View attachment 10160

I'm not sure how the thefts were occurring but in this batch - which appear different from the model in the original advert and on the current shop photo there is an opportunity to attack the visible bolt above the casing therefore making the unit vulnerable. I suspect a fault in the recent design which differs from the original.

 

[dayslikethis]

I'm not sure how the thefts were occurring but in this batch - which appear different from the model in the original advert and on the current shop photo there is an opportunity to attack the visible bolt above the casing therefore making the unit vulnerable. I suspect a fault in the recent design which differs from the original.

I think the have welded the U bar to the wrong position on the cylinder and that these may be faulty as opposed to the original advert - if you examine the two photographs you can see this????

 

[calikev]

Are you sure its not just the way the photo is taken? It looks like its a different angle

 

[Bigted]

If they are bringing tools to cut the through the bolt then you won't stop them as the tray the wheel sits in would not take much to get through with the correct tools. Cutting would be noisey and take time. The spare safe stops the chav with the tire brace and mole grips.

 

[Martin]

I have both here and they are identical when fitted onto my van, they are designed to stop a thief getting to the head of the bolt with locking grip pliers.

If people are getting confused by the label, this is just the clubs branding, they are still made and supplied by AL Tyres


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[dayslikethis]

Are you sure its not just the way the photo is taken? It looks like its a different angle

Yes I'm sure and the gap between the top of the red unit and chassis is larger. I appreciate some of the recent comments re mole grips etc but bottom line is that original picture of unit offers more protection than the current model.

 

[MattBW]

This is mine and I think I was under the impression It is designed to stop opportunists with grips or a wheel brace. Someone with a grinder could get through the bracket if so inclined faster than the bolt anyway but they'd make a lot of noise.

 

[bjw970s]

This is mine and I think I was under the impression It is designed to stop opportunists with grips or a wheel brace. Someone with a grinder could get through the bracket if so inclined faster than the bolt anyway but they'd make a lot of noise.

This is a device to deter opportunist thieves and works very well for that purpose as stated above.

If you want something even more secure you can fit a mounting plate to the base of the vehicle which then has a lock mechanism which locks the wheel on to the body for 3 times the money. That is likely to cause the determined thief to do more damage to my van so I opted for this which deters.

 

[Andy]

The idea of this device is also to make your spare harder to get off than the T5 next to it with no spare security at all.
Get on with life & enjoy your cali !

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[Andy]

If you feel that there is still a risk from a hacksaw you could make one of your own that iliminates what you see as a weakness.

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