Boris113 Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Not strictly a Land Rover query but it's related to Land Rovers so bear with me The farmer who stores my 90 and scrap metal assorted LR parts has decided that he wants to use his grain-store for it's intended purpose and the 90 has been re-homed to a shipping container in the yard. The yard is busy during the day but is away from houses and a sledge hammer/grinder would probably not be heard during the night. The container has padlocks on both doors and the 2 closest door bars have a hefty chain around them but I would like to secure it a little more. Assuming the owner is happy I was planning to weld a tab to each door to work as a third padlock latch with a welded box over the top to shield it but curious whether anyone has a better idea? Thanks in advance, Harry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Use stainless not mild steel for your padlock box, it cannot be cut with oxyfuel and will take longer to cut with a grinder You can always line the box with ply and ceramic tiles to make it ultra cut proof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrainH Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Security is a matter of making it as difficult as possible to make it break into anything, that said if the door has to open there will always be a weak spot. Sealing up one for by welding is only half the battle, welding a box over the lock hasp is about as effective as you can be is stopping the use of a grinder or croppers being used to attack the lock. Use the best lock you can buy and ensure the hasp cannot be unbolted. (If you think a shipping container is difficult to secure you have never had a shed on an allotment) Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Don't make it too obvious, a huge shiny padlock and lots of security advertises there's something worthwhile in there. By all means make it strong, but try and cover it up, disguise it, make it look a bit abandoned / uninteresting, like the farmer might just be storing old junk in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Do your self a favour and paint the inside with anti condensation paint otherwise you'll have a very rusty landy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoSS Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Use stainless not mild steel for your padlock box, it cannot be cut with oxyfuel and will take longer to cut with a grinder You can always line the box with ply and ceramic tiles to make it ultra cut proof welding stainless to mild with conventional methods will result in a brittle joint, possible that a tap with a hammer will break it off... http://www.henrykrank.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2964 will make them think the farmer has his 12 bore out and a battery powered GSM alarm will let you or the farmer know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynic-al Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 We had a mega expensive padlock on our gate at work which is all made of mega thick steel. To break in they somehow managed to get a mega long bar through the gate and twist it until it snapped. If you keep everything close and thick it makes it hard to get bars, bolt croppers, cutting wheels etc where they need to be. Can you put secondary security inside so even if they get the door open they then have another level of security to overcome. Chains, bars, gates, grills with an electric fence supply attached etc. That way if you have an alarm that goes off when they open the door they still have 10 minutes of work to do before the car will come out rather than being able to instantly drag the vehicle away. Even if you can't hear the alarm from where you live it will make anyone nervous working whilst an alarm is sounding. Especially if you have one of those sound bombs or smoke bombs in the container. I bought a cheap GSM alarm of ebay for my garage, it has a pay and go sim and runs off a (i think) 12v power supply, ok I wouldn't put in on my house but it phones me when the alarm is going off. If you don't want to spend money I've made alarms in the past from car horns, telephone bells, car door interior light switches, bits of string as a tip wire connected to a switch etc. It doesn't have to be sophisticated as they don't have a deal of time to work out what random things you've done. Also, the biggest thing, try keep everything out of sight, try keep the container out of obvious sight, try not to let people see you arrive / put it in etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 I tend to agree with fridge on this one, security through obscurity seems to be quite effective welding stainless to mild with conventional methods will result in a brittle joint, possible that a tap with a hammer will break it off...I can only assume you have little experience welding ss to ms. If you were that concerned use dissimilar rods or over alloying rods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
=jon= Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Drag the welder up on top of the container and weld it shut at the top (or add some more padlock points). It'd be a bugger to get to, and in the dark you probably wouldn't see it to be able to figure out why the door wouldn't open... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris113 Posted November 1, 2015 Author Share Posted November 1, 2015 Thanks chaps I see the reasoning about making the container look less appealing, maybe best to remove a padlock or 2 and just get the welded box (with ceramic/ply internally) then something inconspicuous on the top to hold the door. As for inside the container welding a couple of removable bars inside would be a good plan, they can be made 'padlockable' for easy access but wouldn't draw attention to the container externally. A small alarm/tracker controlled by a switch against the door like an interior light with a text faciity to alert me and the farmer would be easy enough to sort out. The 90 boxes in the LR parts so if that can be made non-removable then nothing else can be removed without great difficulty, I have a few ideas so will get down there with some steel and the welder asap to start plotting. As for electrickery, the other 90 was stored in an open barn with a 12 bore blank firer and wired into the 3-phase supply (batteries disconnected) The owner of that shed recently called me to say he had found a slightly deaf/disorientated individual on the floor beside the vehicle... Clearly he didn't read the little warning sign lying face down on the floor that warned of electric security devices! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 OK, what about making a false wall a few feet behind the doors and filling the space floor to ceiling with rusty, oily scrap - and leave the doors unlocked. Cut the rear of the box such that it can be opened. You'll probably have to reinforce the open end of the box a bit. You could even weld all the scrap together - and put it on wheels. Nobody is going to think the scrap-pile is going to wheel out easily so they can see what's behind. If it just looks like it's full of junk - they probably won't look much further. No matter what you do to the doors to protect them, the hinges are vulnerable and they can easily just cut a new 'door' in the side / back. Best option is to make it look unappealing. Visible locks just say "something worth stealing inside!" Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marktdi Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 Every time we have had a container broken in to they have always cut through the hinge pins . we have even had stainless pins put in . The low life just spend all night with good quality stainless hack saw blades . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 How about something like this? Black blocks attached to the container wall, red blocks attached to the container door. Blue is a rod that goes through the container top and bottom, and the blocks attached to the container side and doors. The rod sits flush at the top, so it can't be cut. Thread a hole in it so it can be lifted out. Maybe bolt a work light or something to it, so it's completely inconspicuous. You could probably even keep the container door unlocked, and nobody would be any the wiser unless they studied it very closely (or saw you close it up). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanuki Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 What about signwriting it with things like "For Class 3 Casualty Cattle/Fallen Stock Only", "Not for Human Consumption", and "J.Jones and Son - DEFRA Licensed Carcase Rendering and Animal Byproduct Recovery" then leaving a couple of sheeps' paunches or other stinky-things adjacent to it? If you're actually storing a vehicle in the container, weld some anchors to the front inside of the container and use cables to attach the vehicle to these. Steel braided cables are harder to angle-grind than chains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shackleton Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 What qwakers said. A container that takes direct sunlight even in winter is like a big broiler. It'll heat and then as it cools in the eve it'll suck in a whole lot of moisture. Then every time it's sunny it'll sweat your LR for 8hrs a day. I stored a BMW bike in one - it went in like new and came out like it had been left in the ocean for a few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Hmm.... Containers are for transport and storage is not really their thing. Ventilation is a problem and most things rust inside. I have a universal container opening tool (I work with Customs a lot) and it will open anything when asked. It doesn't make noise and it works very well. And before you ask, one needs a special licence to carry one If they want to open it, they will open it. An alarm, some good locks and insurance are your friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Some of the ideas in this thread... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 I hadn't considered frickin' sharks with frickin' laser beams on their frickin' heads yet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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