Making it a little safer

The door of the camper Lou built has a deadbolt. But since the door swings out, the hinges are exposed. That means a half-clever thief with a screwdriver and hammer, and maybe a little WD-40, could pop out the hinge pins and jiggle the door off.

So to add a little bit more security I made a modification I saw somewhere years ago. I drilled a hole in the jam and inserted a center punch I sacrificed for the cause. Then I drilled a slightly larger hole in the edge of the door. The tool steel center punch fits in the door hole when the door is closed. Now the door can’t be easily pried out if the hinge pins are removed. 

You could accomplish the same thing by installing a second deadbolt on the hinge side of the door, but then you’d need to lock and unlock both whenever you used the door.

I know it won’t stop everyone. A coworker’s family owned a cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains. Cabins in the area were unoccupied most of the time, making them targets for thieves who would just cut open the doors with chain saws. Now, with battery-powered hand tools, determined and equipped thieves can probably get into any unattended space. But at least I did what I could.