The sheriff department sent out robot-calls warning of a string of vehicles being burglarized in my area. It told me I need to make sure my vehicles are locked up and any valuables removed. But how do you lock the back door of a school bus?
Ever since we got our bus we have struggled with Skoolie security. The back door of a bus is designed to be an emergency exit. Because of that it doesn’t lend itself well to being locked up.
While we were converting the bus, which is not done yet, we didn’t worry too much about locking the back door. However, as our conversion gets closer to completion security has become more important.
This solution is not the best but it is the best we have found so far. This method doesn’t allow for unlocking from the outside. However it does make the back door of our Skoolie very secure.
After purchasing a new set of Dewalt metal drill bits, drilling holes in metal has become my favorite thing to do. You can do so much with just a few holes.
Skoolie Security in 3 Steps
The first step is to gather what you will need. This setup requires just 3 things, a carabiner, a large metal hoop and a stainless steel wire key chain cable.
The tools you need are a drill with two metal drill bits. The drill bit sizes depend on the size of the carabiner and the stainless steel cable.
The second step is to drill two holes. First remove the black handle guard and drill a hole in it large enough to attach a carabiner. Then drilled a small hole in the door handle and thread the stainless steel cable through the hole.
The last step is hooking it all together. Slip the large metal ring down the handle and loop the stainless steel cable through the ring.
The stainless steel cable is just to keep the large metal ring from falling off. This might seem like overkill. However, in my experience the universe will make sure that if the metal ring is not secured it will fall off at the worst possible time.
Re-attach the black handle guard, which now has a carabiner hooked through the hole you drilled. Congratulations! the hard work is done.
Skoolie Security Achieved!
Now when you close the door and lower the handle you can hook the carabiner through the large metal ring. Your Skoolie is now secure.
It should be almost impossible for someone to force their way in. They can always smash the window in the door and reach in and unlock the handle. But then that’s true for any vehicle.
We can now sleep soundly knowing that our Skoolie security is up to par (for the back door at least).
