Pelican 1514 - Help prevent theft?

I am looking into purchasing a Pelican 1514 case to both store my equipment at home, and to lock it up in the car.

Sometimes when my wife and I go out I want to take our camera gear with us, but then need/want to leave it in the car if we go out to eat or into a store. I tend to get very uncomfortable leaving it all in the car due to theft.

I do have all of my gear insured, but I would rather not deal with it if I don't have to. I know keeping my gear with me is the best solution, but not always practical. My question is, if I lock the Pelican case with two padlocks and lock it to the inside of the car with a chain, do you think this would help detour theft enough to be more comfortable leaving it in the car? Is it hard to pry open when locked closed?

Thanks in advance!

if they want it they'll get it.

but doing what you described will make it so difficult and time consuming that won't be worth it to most theives

drewl wrote in post #16430572
if they want it they'll get it.

but doing what you described will make it so difficult and time consuming that won't be worth it to most theives

I understand this. My main concern is smash and grab. I just want it to be difficult for anyone to be able to get it in a public spot in broad daylight. As is, I dont like just leaving everything in my backpack in the car because it is way too easy to steal.

Having a chain attached to the case would make it harder so as long its attached to something like a chair. This will require more effort on the part of the thief. Even trying to get the pad lock open, they need a bolt cutter. But who carries that around randomly unless you're targeted specifically.

If you're out in public, I don't think anyone would know what you have in your car unless its hidden from plain view. Only time is if someone sees you put your camera in your car and you walk away. Otherwise, if you just pulled in, get out, lock the door and go eat or whatever, you're not going to get robbed.

Don't know what kind of car you have, but I leave my Pelican in the trunk of my sedan. If they don't know it's there, they won't try.

My friend puts blankets over things of value, or even random garbage from the back seat.

I guess you can also put a sticker that says "URGENT: TRANSPLANT ORGAN INSIDE" or something.

Go to home depo and get a CABLE. In the padlock area, they have multistrand cables with the ends swedged into loops. Get one of those. Padlock one end to the car and the other to the case. Been doing it for years. Works well...

Mark H

P51Mstg wrote in post #16430726
Go to home depo and get a CABLE. In the padlock area, they have multistrand cables with the ends swedged into loops. Get one of those. Padlock one end to the car and the other to the case. Been doing it for years. Works well...

Mark H

Wouldnt a cable be much easier to cut?

Got a trunk? If not, get a new car.

In simple terms, cables are B_t_h to cut........ (referring to female dogs here), Because you need something sharp enough to cut through all the strands of cable and its hard to do. Normal smash and grabs don't carry those kinds of tools... Chains, are fairly easy to cut with bolt cutters which are relatively dull, to cut a cable you need a really sharp edge.

http://www.etrailer.co​m/Locks/Master-Lock/78DPF.html

This is an example. Buy two of them, take them home and try to cut one with bolt cutters, or hold it and hacksaw it.... The test will cost less than $10 for you...

Of course, use your head, watch to see if anyone is watching you get stuff out of the car, etc. Open trunk for a MINIMUM amount of time, etc. Sometimes I'll stop in WalMart parking lot miles from where I'm going to shoot to pull the bodies out and put lenses on them so I can grab them and go when I get to where I'm shooting from....


Mark H

FarmerTed1971 wrote in post #16430738
Got a trunk? If not, get a new car.

SUV, so it does not have a "trunk". Plus trunks are not always safe. I have had things stolen right out of a trunk.

P51Mstg wrote in post #16430750
In simple terms, cables are B_t_h to cut........ (referring to female dogs here), Because you need something sharp enough to cut through all the strands of cable and its hard to do. Normal smash and grabs don't carry those kinds of tools... Chains, are fairly easy to cut with bolt cutters which are relatively dull, to cut a cable you need a really sharp edge.

Of course, use your head, watch to see if anyone is watching you get stuff out of the car, etc. Open trunk for a MINIMUM amount of time, etc. Sometimes I'll stop in WalMart parking lot miles from where I'm going to shoot to pull the bodies out and put lenses on them so I can grab them and go when I get to where I'm shooting from....

Mark H

Awesome! Thank you! I will go and look into that .

drewl wrote in post #16430572
if they want it they'll get it.

but doing what you described will make it so difficult and time consuming that won't be worth it to most theives

yes if they no its in the car they may take the whole car,this is the risk we take with our gear!they have made movies about this,just use caution ....

Tint your windows and toss a blanket over it?

BTW I use window tint on the minivan and full sized (Ford E-350) vans I have. That helps a lot. Blankets help too (also keeps cops from "seeing things"). Use blanket that matches the carpet (I use a gray one)..

Also NO PHOTO SIGNS on the car ("JIm Smith Photographer" on the doors). Looks cool to you, but says, valuable stuff inside steal me.....

If you already have your gear in a backpack, you can get one of these Pacsafe protectors. They are made out of wire rope mesh and have a cable that you lock around some structure (same as you would lock the Pelican case to a hard point in your vehicle). Check it out here:

http://pacsafe.com …c35l-camera-bag-protector

The pacsafe originally gave me the idea about cabling down the pelican. Of course with its $80 cost that's half a pelican 1514.

I see it as a mobile solution if you want to attach your pack to a telephone pole when you are away from the car. On the other hand with the terrorist scare going on. The cops may be cutting it off the pole and placing it in the middle if a field and blowing it up now.

Pelican and cable as well as good locks (padlocks are nice now compared to the laminated master locks of olden days) is a good solution.

Mark H