Safe

[JuanVecino2023]

Hi - for those of you who have the safe fitted, how useful do you find it?

I specced it, as I needed options to use the £1,500 offer from VW.

But as something at the bottom of the wardrobe, I can’t see myself using a great deal. I’m not travelling with my watch collection or pot of valuables.

The dealer was super helpful and suggested it might be useful for the passports while abroad.

I rarely use the safes in hotel rooms now I think about it.

Would really appreciate current real world use feedback (having read some earlier threads on this topic).

 

[JohnCalifornia]

Hi we use our safe for jewelry, wallet , purse , small hand bags , Nebula projector, phones and anything else we don’t want pinching if the Cali gets broken into.if we leave the Cali for any period of time for example walking the dog or going to the pub on the campsite we are on. Luckily our 2nd hand Cali had one fitted and if it didn’t I would have bought one and fitted it.

 

[SamSara]

Mine van came with the safe and i have not used it, but have not yet travelled with very expensive or personal things

 

[Abracadabra]

Oh yes, the safe is really useful!!!!
We store the most valuable and necessary items needed for our travels.
It takes lots of toilet rolls and a spare kitchen roll.
What a relief that these important items can be so securely stored; giving great peace of mind and future proofing potential problems.

 

[WelshGas]

Hi - for those of you who have the safe fitted, how useful do you find it?

I specced it, as I needed options to use the £1,500 offer from VW.

But as something at the bottom of the wardrobe, I can’t see myself using a great deal. I’m not travelling with my watch collection or pot of valuables.

The dealer was super helpful and suggested it might be useful for the passports while abroad.

I rarely use the safes in hotel rooms now I think about it.

Would really appreciate current real world use feedback (having read some earlier threads on this topic).

Travel documents, passport, currency, V5c and insurance photocopies.

 

[Vagophile]

Same as @WelshGas, I wouldn't be without it, even if it is sometimes a bit of an effort to extract the correct item.

 

[JuanVecino2023]

Just out of interest, why do you keep insurance docs & hardcopy V5 etc? I've never kept a copy in my car. Is it a legal requirement?

I remember as a teen in a pre-digital world, the police might issue a 'producer' if I was driving enthusiastically, whereby I had to present all my documents at the police station to prove I was covered.

Am I missing something? And/or would a scanned copy on my phone/device suffice? TIA!

 

[Velma's Dad]

Just out of interest, why do you keep insurance docs & hardcopy V5 etc? I've never kept a copy in my car. Is it a legal requirement?

I remember as a teen in a pre-digital world, the police might issue a 'producer' if I was driving enthusiastically, whereby I had to present all my documents at the police station to prove I was covered.

Am I missing something? And/or would a scanned copy on my phone/device suffice? TIA!

I suspect they mean for when travelling abroad. Although if my van got broken into I don't think I'd be too bothered if they nicked my V5 or insurance certificate. And these days having a spare stash of cash is less important than it used to be.

We don't have a safe and if I was speccing a new van it would be pretty far down my list of options even though it might be useful once in a while I suppose.

 

[WelshGas]

Just out of interest, why do you keep insurance docs & hardcopy V5 etc? I've never kept a copy in my car. Is it a legal requirement?

I remember as a teen in a pre-digital world, the police might issue a 'producer' if I was driving enthusiastically, whereby I had to present all my documents at the police station to prove I was covered.

Am I missing something? And/or would a scanned copy on my phone/device suffice? TIA!

Recommended if travelling abroad, which I do a lot. Phone copy might be sufficient but in my experience the authorities sometimes require a hard copy.

Driving in Europe checklist | RAC Drive

A European travel checklist to help plan for your trip and keep you safe and on the right side of the law while you are away.

www.rac.co.uk

 

[Van Diesel VW]

Yes the safe is a useful option, which I included on my van, gives piece of mind for safe storing of important travel documents and cash. Stores an iPad and may get a small laptop in it.

 

[Barry Chuckle]

I too ticked this option for the reasons stated above, my question is at just £150 how sturdy is it, ie would it be easy to break into with a screwdriver or like? I'm guessing someone breaking into a Cali may well know where to look for it.

I promise I don't ask this question with any criminal intentions in mind!!!!!!

 

[Velma's Dad]

I too ticked this option for the reasons stated above, my question is at just £150 how sturdy is it, ie would it be easy to break into with a screwdriver or like? I'm guessing someone breaking into a Cali may well know where to look for it.

I promise I don't ask this question with any criminal intentions in mind!!!!!!

Nah, vehicles get targeted if someone wants to nick the whole shebang but break-ins are almost always opportunistic - they'll just grab anything obvious, eg in the glovebox, and go.

If your whole van gets stolen then (IMO) it's a non-issue whether you've left a couple of hundred quid/euros locked away somewhere inside, you've got bigger things to worry about, and if (say) your passports have gone with the van it doesn't matter if they're in a locked box or not.

We do long distance rally events in various parts of the world. Our car has a small safe mounted conveniently but inconspiciously in the cabin, which is great for chucking valuables in when away from the car, especially in spots where carrying them on your person would be even more likely to see them grabbed. But that works because the safe is so easy to access. Having a safe buried under lots of stuff at the bottom a Cali cupboard (or the wine cellar, as we call it) doesn't seem too practical to me but obvs. it depends on your mode of travel.

 

[Kayleigh]

Of course there may be insurance implications where policies state that valuables should be kept in a locked compartment.

 

[JuanVecino2023]

I suspect they mean for when travelling abroad. Although if my van got broken into I don't think I'd be too bothered if they nicked my V5 or insurance certificate. And these days having a spare stash of cash is less important than it used to be.

We don't have a safe and if I was speccing a new van it would be pretty far down my list of options even though it might be useful once in a while I suppose.

Yes, I was just using up the £1.5k freebies. I initially thought just go sports pack. But then I figured I could buy a set of black alloys & tyres for ca £1,500, flog the free Woodstocks brand new for say £600.

And black wrap the pillars between the windows and achieve the same look for about £1k as opposed to £2.5k.

Couldn’t justify the extra cash fir the black bash plates & smoked rear lenses. And a couple of other bits & bobs.

 

[neilp........]

Hi there
We had a safe in our cali se,but having hired calf's before we bought our van that were not fitted with safes,for us it was a waste of space .....literally.
Out local vw dealer removed it for us ....£100 well spent for extra storage space.

 

[Betsycalifornia]

Hi - for those of you who have the safe fitted, how useful do you find it?

I specced it, as I needed options to use the £1,500 offer from VW.

But as something at the bottom of the wardrobe, I can’t see myself using a great deal. I’m not travelling with my watch collection or pot of valuables.

The dealer was super helpful and suggested it might be useful for the passports while abroad.

I rarely use the safes in hotel rooms now I think about it.

Would really appreciate current real world use feedback (having read some earlier threads on this topic).

Ours came with a safe as it was a cancelled order. Best use we’ve had for it so far is to store more wine in. Got 2 bottles of Riesling in last week. Last bit of spare space we had.

 

[pluc99]

Of course there may be insurance implications where policies state that valuables should be kept in a locked compartment.

View attachment 116720

By the above description you could have your valuables on top of the safe and it would still be in a concealed compartment.

 

[RichardH]

Hi - for those of you who have the safe fitted, how useful do you find it?

I specced it, as I needed options to use the £1,500 offer from VW.

But as something at the bottom of the wardrobe, I can’t see myself using a great deal. I’m not travelling with my watch collection or pot of valuables.

The dealer was super helpful and suggested it might be useful for the passports while abroad.

I rarely use the safes in hotel rooms now I think about it.

Would really appreciate current real world use feedback (having read some earlier threads on this topic).

We use ours most of the time when on trips, especially abroad. Spare payment cards, copies of essential documents, iPad, laptop etc. No good for a professional thief who knows where it is, but likely to be effective against an opportunist. Ours is hidden under a carpet at the bottom of the cupboard. It's awkward getting things in and out, but worth it for the extra security.

 

[Baldrick]

Hardly ever use ours after 7 years as it’s really hard to get to. Although if your other half just brings what they’re likely to wear rather than as much as they can just about squeeze in there…
When the two of us travel together I actually find it virtually impossible to get to my clothes. Thinking about it, my next upgrade needent be a T6.1 it might be better spent on a W2.0

 

[Justinitus1972]

We didn’t spec the safe as we wanted to make as much use of the wardrobe space as possible.

Besides, after buying the Cali we don’t have much left worth nicking anyway

 

[JuanVecino2023]

We didn’t spec the safe as we wanted to make as much use of the wardrobe space as possible.

Besides, after buying the Cali we don’t have much left worth nicking anyway

Priceless.

Think I’ll can it!