Video Knowledge / Video
Original Sussex Installations video

Nightmare Development of Internal Side Door Shields- Vivaro, Dispatch, Expert, Proace and Scudo Vans

Mar 17, 2023 · 3,638 recorded views

Video ID: Ycd1Z02f_pIAttacks, shielding and repairMar 17, 2023 · 3,638 recorded views

Watch on YouTube →

Jeff Scott’s retrospective context — 2026

This development illustrates why an internal shield cannot simply be a flat piece of anti-drill metal attached behind an external plate. Thieves adapt. When drilling becomes difficult, they may move above or below the shield, cut through the thin surrounding panel with snips or shears, or fold the panel and attached shield outwards to expose the latch.

Thieves adapt.

That drove the use of wrap-around features and geometry that protects the latch from several approach directions. The shield has to remain useful even when the surrounding door skin is damaged or partially removed.

The development was difficult because the door contains mechanisms, cables, wiring, moving parts and very limited installation access. A product also has to be practical to fit repeatedly, with clear instructions and without creating new risks for the installer or vehicle.

Original description

Developing internal door shielding for this model van was a nightmare, such a challenge with the little space that's available inside the side load doors of the Vauxhall Vivaro, Peugoet Expert, Citroen Dispatch, Toyota Proace and Fiat Scudo vans that are the current shape now in 2023. Find out more on our website at https://www.sussexinstallations.co.uk

Historical context: This video records the advice, products and attack methods relevant when it was published. Current recommendations may have changed as vehicles, products and criminal methods evolved.

Common questions

Why was developing an internal shield for this generation of van such a "nightmare"?

Jeff is determined to make all internal Stealth Shields as effective as possible to prevent thieves attacking the factory latch / locking mechanisms both directly and also from angled attacks. He also wants them to be multiple layers thick and be easy for the installer to fit and compatible with bolt on OG external shields.

Does fitting the internal shield change how the van looks on the outside?

No — because it fits inside the door, the exterior can look completely standard, or it can be combined with the external shield as well for extra protection; fitting the internal shield on its own doesn't change the look of the van.

What extra step is needed if a van has electronic (power) opening side doors?

The factory opening motor needs to be detached so the door no longer opens itself off the remote control, which Jeff says is actually a good thing for security, not just a fitting necessity.

Transcript

Show transcript
0:00 -hi I'm Jeff from Sussex installations
0:01 -keeping you up to date with the latest
0:03 -in Van security don't forget to
0:05 -subscribe to the YouTube channel to keep
0:07 -up to date with new attacks new
0:09 -break-ins and new points of Van security
0:11 -that I will discuss as we move on please
0:14 -do give us a like for the video be much
0:15 -appreciated and I will tell you about
0:17 -today's topic which is the new shape
0:20 -Toyota Pro Ace Vauxhall vivaro Peugeot
0:24 -expert Citroen dispatch and the Fiat
0:27 -scudo van so this sort of shape started
0:29 -around 2016 2017 with the Toyota Pro
0:32 -Aces voxel swapped over it to a bit
0:35 -later and Fiat swapped over to it as the
0:37 -latest one
0:38 -so internal shield for the side load
0:41 -doors we've had customers come to us
0:42 -with holes in the doors where they've
0:44 -been attacked where people broken in
0:45 -through the side load doors and we have
0:47 -had external repair shields for both the
0:49 -side load door uh here which we've got
0:52 -here in matte black and we usually have
0:53 -them in brushed finish or matte black
0:55 -and the barn door which we've same thing
0:58 -matte black or brushed stainless steel
1:00 -finish so we've had the external Shields
1:02 -which repair the damage if someone's
1:04 -made a hole in the van already and they
1:06 -give some extra protection in case
1:08 -someone's just going to come along poke
1:09 -a screwdriver through the hole but now
1:11 -we've got the internal Shield so you
1:12 -have internal Shields fitted the
1:14 -exterior of the van doesn't need to look
1:15 -any different to how it looks as
1:17 -standard or you can have the internal
1:19 -shield and the external Shields as well
1:21 -but it's just giving that extra layer of
1:24 -protection to your latch mechanism there
1:26 -is one point to mention if you've got
1:28 -the electronic opening doors what I mean
1:30 -by the electronic opening doors is if
1:32 -you can press a button on your remote
1:34 -control and your door will actually open
1:35 -itself then you've got electronic
1:38 -opening doors if you touch the handle
1:40 -here pull it a little bit pull the door
1:42 -like that the door will take itself and
1:44 -open itself that's what I mean about the
1:46 -electronic opening doors not a door like
1:48 -this one where you have to physically
1:49 -push it in the open position like most
1:51 -of them regardless you've got the
1:52 -electronic opening doors all the
1:54 -standard doors I would strongly
1:55 -recommend that you do have these
1:56 -internal Shields fitted to your van it
1:59 -just means that if you do have the
2:00 -electronic opening doors you do need to
2:02 -detach the factory motor and not have
2:04 -your door opening off your remote
2:05 -control which really is a good thing
2:07 -definitely from a security point of view
2:09 -it's a good thing we're now just going
2:11 -to fit one of these shields start to
2:12 -finish so you get a bit of an idea for
2:14 -how difficult it is to fit if you're
2:16 -considering a bite off the website or
2:17 -off of eBay or off of Amazon for you to
2:19 -fit yourself you can have a look now and
2:21 -see whether it's something you're up to
2:22 -not too difficult in all honesty
2:27 -[Music]
2:53 -thank you
2:53 -[Music]
3:00 -[Music]
3:24 -[Music]
3:27 -so I'm going to show you a little bit
3:28 -about the Journey of how I got to this
3:29 -point with developing this Shield it was
3:32 -an absolute nightmare it was my Nemesis
3:34 -but I got there it's something I've been
3:36 -putting off for a while I guess is
3:37 -developing an internal Shield so it's
3:39 -something that can go inside the door it
3:41 -can guard across the factory latch
3:42 -mechanism so if someone was to poke a
3:44 -hole through the thin skin of the
3:46 -Bodywork of the van that there's going
3:48 -to be a shield there which is going to
3:49 -be considerably stronger to try and stop
3:52 -the fee from popping the central locking
3:54 -open
3:55 -this has been my Nemesis this one this
3:58 -so far version 29 would you believe how
4:01 -many attempts I've had at this like I've
4:04 -had a change of plan I've had small
4:06 -changes and I've had like a complete
4:08 -sort of different concept change of plan
4:10 -again and again but I feel like I'm
4:12 -getting somewhere so look at this this
4:14 -is ridiculous
4:16 -look at this Trail
4:19 -of development so far
4:21 -the record for me for sure 29 so far and
4:24 -I'm still not even there yet I'm just
4:25 -along the way 29 different
4:29 -um design changes small changes I've
4:31 -just been going for nearly a week
4:34 -already I've been going from the CAD
4:35 -software on the computer to the laser
4:37 -laser off a new one make a small change
4:40 -go to the Press bend it Fold It Go to
4:43 -the development door which I've got here
4:45 -and which is our development door
4:47 -check-in does it fit how does it fit how
4:49 -well The Shield is guarding the latch
4:52 -mechanism that's in here and then I'm
4:54 -going to our real life vehicle same sort
4:57 -of model
4:58 -um I think this door was from a Toyota
4:59 -Prius
5:01 -2017 maybe this is 2022 Vauxhall vivaro
5:05 -so we're seeing some slight design
5:06 -changes inside the door from one model
5:09 -door from another one year to another so
5:11 -it's very tight inside this like latest
5:15 -model Vauxhall vivaro that I have here
5:17 -inside the doors very very tight to fit
5:20 -a shield around that latch so I'm having
5:22 -a I'm being tested on this one I'm
5:25 -having to work really really hard it's
5:26 -been keeping me awake in the night I've
5:28 -been thinking about it I've been
5:29 -dreaming about it I've been sleeping
5:31 -I don't know if I'm awake or asleep but
5:33 -I've been thinking about it day and
5:35 -night for around about a week now so
5:37 -I've got to do this I've got to get it
5:39 -finished I've got to get available so
5:41 -hopefully if you're watching this video
5:43 -now on the YouTube channel we do have a
5:45 -finished production Shield that's
5:46 -available to buy from our website or
5:48 -from eBay or from Amazon so hopefully
5:51 -that's the case anyway
5:52 -um probably there's a note in the
5:54 -comments down below as to where you can
5:56 -find it
5:57 -wish me luck I'm going to be going for
5:59 -version 30 in a minute I'm going to try
6:01 -and double layer this thing up to make
6:02 -it as secure as I can get it to be
6:05 -stay tuned Here We Go versions one
6:09 -three four five six seven
6:13 -thirteen
6:14 -fifteen
6:16 -eighteen twenty
6:19 -22 23 start to look a bit interesting
6:22 -some different ideas
6:25 -at this point getting through 26. yeah
6:29 -that's um something started to change
6:31 -there different went off in a bit of a
6:32 -different direction 27
6:36 -.
6:38 -28
6:41 -and you know what
6:44 -I feel like
6:46 -with a version number 29 I'm starting to
6:49 -get somewhere now
6:51 -so I'm going to get a look from the
6:52 -different angles where a thief might cut
6:53 -a hole in the door just to see is there
6:55 -any vulnerabilities uh in this Shield so
6:57 -far where I've not realized yet because
7:00 -it's so like tight in here
7:06 -[Music]
7:16 -[Music]
7:23 -okay so mate this makes a big difference
7:25 -seeing it from this point of view so
7:30 -that's the that's the latch that's the
7:32 -shield which I've made and I can see
7:34 -that actually
7:37 -that's really pretty good considering
7:39 -the amount of space that I've got in
7:40 -here to work with which is not a lot
7:42 -spare but time we put it in that newer
7:45 -shape of Arrow
7:46 -there's barely anything at all it's it's
7:48 -literally just enough just enough room
7:51 -to get it in there
7:52 -so the fact I've managed to cover that
7:54 -off
7:55 -so well from like the bottom being
7:58 -covered
7:59 -as well as the front face this is also
8:02 -part of the front face just a different
8:04 -angle on it
8:05 -yeah I'm pretty I'm pretty pleased with
8:08 -that so I think that the shape is
8:10 -basically there
8:11 -um next thing for me to do is to layer
8:13 -it up make it a bit more secure so I
8:15 -want to add an extra layer of Shield
8:17 -over the face of it I'm pleased with
8:19 -this shape you know it's
8:21 -all the work and all the sleepless
8:23 -nights I've had dreaming about this
8:24 -thing I'm really pleased that it's
8:26 -getting more or less there version 29 at
8:30 -the moment I'm gonna make a couple of
8:31 -small changes to it and then I'm going
8:33 -to add an additional layer to it so I
8:35 -reckon by around version 32 33 like this
8:39 -is going to be nailed
8:41 -so we did get there in the end I think
8:43 -it was like version 35 for the main part
8:45 -of this and then there was also about
8:47 -five or six versions of this second part
8:50 -which is like a reinforcement layer so
8:52 -I'm double layering it in the most
8:54 -vulnerable places
8:55 -I hope you found this video interesting
8:57 -please do subscribe to our YouTube
8:59 -Channel please do give us a like for the
9:01 -video and get in touch via our website
9:03 -if you're looking for security for your
9:05 -van our website is
9:08 -www.sussexinstallations.co.uk thanks for
9:10 -watching
9:13 -foreign
9:15 -[Music]

Transcript source: the YouTube transcript supplied for this project with minor corrections. Automated transcripts can contain recognition errors and should be checked against the original video.

Page details

Author
Jeff Scott
Publisher
Sussex Installation Team Ltd
Updated
2026-08-27
Primary focus
Attacks, shielding and repair
Jeff Scott, founder of Sussex Installation Team Ltd
About the author

Jeff Scott — Van Security Specialist and Industry Educator

Jeff Scott is the founder of Sussex Installation Team Ltd (Sussex Installations). He has fitted vehicle-security systems since 1997, started Sussex Installations in 2003 and has specialised in van security since 2008. His work combines installation, vulnerability research, product design, UK manufacturing and long-term public education.

In 2009, Jeff published the first known YouTube video explaining mechanical key-operated van deadlocks. He has continued documenting van-security products, installation standards, vehicle vulnerabilities and changing attack methods ever since – earning his description as "The OG Van Security YouTuber."

Jeff has supported thousands of professional vehicle aftermarket technicians across the UK and beyond with access to technical information, while actively promoting higher quality installation standards through his trade community ifitstuff.com since 2006.