Watching Over My Non Profit's Van

August 13, 2021 10:31 AM

I have a non profit, and recently, I purchased a van to help me do its work. There has been a wave of vehicle break-ins and catalytic converter thefts. My van is full of stuff that I'd use for events, like tents, tables, ... whatever. Not stuff I'd think anybody would want to steal in a vehicle I'd think nobody would want to vandalize, but you never know.

I want to be able to surveil the van other than when it's in my driveway, like, when I'm out running errands or at an event but the van is out of sight. I have a Vivitar DB-210 camera in it connected to home Wifi. But I can't get it to connect to my phone's hotspot, its bluetooth or any free, non-native wifi when I'm away from home. I also looked at a Cobra SC 2000 dashcam, but its app wouldn't download onto my phone. And I used to have a Naxa NDC-406 Wifi camera that came closest, but I lost the password, so I can't use it either. Do you have any recommendations for an easy way to keep an eye on my vehicle when I'm away from home, other than keeping it in eyesight?

posted by CollectiveMind to Technology (8 answers total)

There are things you can buy and install on vehicles to make catalytic converter theft more difficult; this doesn’t help you with surveillance but might be useful for your concerns.
posted by foxfirefey at 10:35 AM on August 13, 2021 [2 favorites]

I used to have a Naxa NDC-406 Wifi camera that came closest, but I lost the password, so I can't use it either.

If you didn't change it to a custom password, the default password for that camera's WiFi feature should be "1234567890", per the instruction manual.

Even if you set a custom password for the camera's WiFi, you should be able to change/override it from within the camera's menus, I think.
posted by Kadin2048 at 10:59 AM on August 13, 2021 [3 favorites]

Put a sign in the window that says:

smile! you are on camera! 👀

The eyes are important. It's a psychological thing.
posted by phunniemee at 11:08 AM on August 13, 2021 [5 favorites]

Not a camera, but a Club on the steering wheel will deter people. They know it's an additional hassle, and will move on.

There are also battery based GPS devices with a transmitter, and their service will notify you if it moves from a location. A good mechanic can hide one deep within the frame. Also makes for an easy way to encourage the cops to help you take back possession of it.
posted by nickggully at 12:16 PM on August 13, 2021

For the catalytic convertor, there are places that will weld extra rebar on it to make harder to steal.
posted by drezdn at 12:46 PM on August 13, 2021 [1 favorite]

Catalytic converter thieves know which vehicle models have more rhodium, search your van to see if it's a likely target. If there's a lot of ground clearance, that makes it easy enough to steal that someone might bother with it regardless. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry too much about this specifically.

Inside the car, it's a crime of opportunity, so folks will just grab what they can. Depending on the door/seat/parking situation, you can make it harder for thieves by parking the rear/largest door so close to a wall that it won't open. Tinting rear windows or throwing an old blanked over your stuff makes it harder to see what's inside.

But also, this is what insurance is for. A video won't replace your stuff, you can't watch your phone all the time and you might not be able to stop the theft even if you do, if you decide to call the police and they do find the culprits you still might not get usable stuff back. Insurance.
posted by momus_window at 4:32 PM on August 13, 2021 [2 favorites]

A local church had a chain-link fence "cage" built for their van. The fence was 8 or 9 feet high and they (the fencing company) put a chain-link "roof" across the top; there's a gate on one end that is padlocked. If you have room and permission wherever this van is parked, it might be something you want to do.
posted by TimHare at 9:24 AM on August 14, 2021

Can you park it somewhere else?
posted by oceanjesse at 5:28 PM on August 15, 2021