Do I need an alarm system (1 Viewer)

[wp1234]

My first post on here so pls forgive me if this has been asked before .

Am taking delivery of my first ever MH this Saturday and although the 2008 Autotrail Cheyanne is fitted wih a smart tracker and Fiat immobiliser it does not have an alarm system .
As far as can see the cost of a system is circa £550 so am wondering how important it is to have an all singing and dancing system .

Seems to me that the majority of MH have them fitted or am I being paranoid ?

If the vote is to put one on is there a nationwide fitting service that I can use or will the local car alarm fitter be OK to use on a MH ?

Thanks in advance

 

[Terry]

Hi wp1234 if it has a tracker and immobiliser fitted I would not bother,be sure to tell your insurers about the tracker it should reduce your premium
terry
BTW WELCOME

 

[derekfaeberwick]

Well, if they are able to overcome the immobiliser they'll get caught because of the tracker but remember how much valuables will be in the van when you're on holiday and do you want to come back to a van that's been trashed inside?

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[DESCO]

Hi and WELCOME

I personally would have an alarm fitted, had ours fitted by dealer.


Dave:thumb::thumb:

 

[scotjimland]

Alarm systems are of little value when you are no where near the van.. I would spend the money on decent deadlocks for the cab and habitation doors..

and for night time peace of mind, fit a hab door alarm.. about a fiver each .. available from the likes of Maplins, these are cheap but very effective.. can also be fitted to vulnerable windows.

for example ...

Link Removed

 

[derekfaeberwick]

Alarm systems are of little value when you are no where near the van.

They are if you are parked where there are passers by,i.e. parked in a town ,supermarket etc.:thumb:

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[Euromobil]

Hi, with all your existing security you really only need to disuade the opportunist thief. I fitted a wireless diy alarm to our van, covering the interior with a pir and doors with a contact.
Its now very obvious the van is alarmed plus stickers on glass, so hopefully it will seem too much bother .
Cost very modest compared to dealer fit.
Plus I fitted extra door locks, again very visible deterrent.

 

[madbluemad]

Hi

With the security that you already have I woudnt bother. Perhaps buy a local alarm for doors etc.

The only reason that I have one is because it was an insurance company requirement.

I was going to use the word prerequisite there but thought about the grammar and spelling police and discarded the idea.

Cheers

Jim

 

[vindiboy]

Definately have an alarm system, every little helps as they say. Mine has a facility to alarm the van but allow us to leave an animal inside or us move about inside when enabled. If any door or locker is opened when set the alarm sounds, how many posts have you read where someone is asleep in their van and get robbed and know nothing about it till they wake next day, well if any one entered my van with alarm set all hell would sound and I sure would wake up.:thumb::thumb::thumb:

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[savantuk]

I'm also in favour of an alarm.

Ours is fitted with quite a sophisticated system - all the doors and windows are alarmed, including the garage, gas locker and Thetford hatch. Theres a lot of 'value' kept in the outside lockers, and we actually had a casette stolen from our last van

There is a setting which disables the internal sensors, so that we can sleep and move about the van, with all the external doors locked - great if you are wild camping, or on some of the 'less salubrious' Aires in france and spain. It also arms the alarm, and disables the engine if the doors aren't locked after about 10 minutes.

We also have deadlocks fitted.

The complete system was supplied and fitted by Brownhills.

As far as a 'tracker' is concerned, we have an old mobile fitted 'secretly' and hard wired to a12v charger. This means that the van can be tracked within the UK, whilst not as accurately as a purpose built tracker, it can be tracked to an individual cell, costs nothing, and there is no annual service charge. I ring it every so often, just to make sure that it is still working.

 

[Mick H]

I only had an alarm professionaly fitted because the insurers wouldn't insure it without, otherwise i wouldn't have bothered with one.
Please be aware that most trackers can be blocked, so they are NOT as good as people think! Also, most have a very high cost.

Mick H.

 

[wp1234]

Definately have an alarm system, every little helps as they say. Mine has a facility to alarm the van but allow us to leave an animal inside or us move about inside when enabled. If any door or locker is opened when set the alarm sounds, how many posts have you read where someone is asleep in their van and get robbed

Hi Vindiboy - thanks for that I think im convinced to fit one if only for peace of mind ... can you tell me if you had yours retrofitted and am I right thinking its around £500

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[0zzy]

what alarm

dont bother with a alarm
when they go off nobody takes any notice.
if someone wants to get in they will. also by the time you alarm goes off the thief has already broken your window/door. making it a insurance job anyway.
we have just a tracking device and the burstner factory fitted imobilizer in our 747-2:thumb:

 

[pappajohn]

They are if you are parked where there are passers by,i.e. parked in a town ,supermarket etc.:thumb:

sorry derek but i have to disagree.

alarms go off on a regular basis...usually false alarms, so no-one takes a blind bit of notice these days. maybe a qiuck glance and walk on.

try it !!!!

next time you're in a supermarket carpark, sit in the car/van and press the alarm fob panic button.
see how many people come and ask what you're doing...

NONE !

 

[pappajohn]

I only had an alarm professionaly fitted because the insurers wouldn't insure it without, otherwise i wouldn't have bothered with one.
Please be aware that most trackers can be blocked, so they are NOT as good as people think! Also, most have a very high cost.

Mick H.

before a tracker signal can be blocked (if it can) the thief would need to scan the tracker for the transmitter frequency then set the blocker to that frequency.

how many 'T' leaves are going to spend loads of money on a scanner/blocker, spend a while scanning, while the tracker has been activated, and then drive off knowing the police have been alerted anyway.

PS....i would have gone elsewhere for insurance if mine insisted on a tracker.

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[stagman]

I only had an alarm professionaly fitted because the insurers wouldn't insure it without, otherwise i wouldn't have bothered with one.
Please be aware that most trackers can be blocked, so they are NOT as good as people think! Also, most have a very high cost.

Mick H.

Tell me how to block it so I can do it on my works van .:thumb:

 

[pappajohn]

Tell me how to block it so I can do it on my works van .:thumb:

as it'll be GPS based just drive in tunnels ALLthe time....job sorted.

 

[stagman]

as it'll be GPS based just drive in tunnels ALLthe time....job sorted.

Yes but they will know when and where I go in and come out , on the other hand ain't got many tunnels down here. Could cover the ariel in lead or foil , but don't think i would get away with it .Sackable offence . :thumb:

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[pappajohn]

Yes but they will know when and where I go in and come out , on the other hand ain't got many tunnels down here. Could cover the ariel in lead or foil , but don't think i would get away with it .Sackable offence . :thumb:

Hey!!!!
who said anything about coming out ?

 

[takeaflight]

If I was going to have an alarm fitted, then without hesitation I would go to,

 

[6pm Cowboy]

Hey!!!!
who said anything about coming out ?

So now the tracker shows you entering a tunnel and not coming out...... police car at each end and wait till you starve to death. Sorted.

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[madbluemad]

I know a chap who has an alarm fitted although he never has it turned on. When the wind blows the alarm goes and so does his battery.

Jim

 

[Jim]

My first post on here so pls forgive me if this has been asked before .

Am taking delivery of my first ever MH this Saturday and although the 2008 Autotrail Cheyanne is fitted wih a smart tracker and Fiat immobiliser it does not have an alarm system .
As far as can see the cost of a system is circa £550 so am wondering how important it is to have an all singing and dancing system .

Seems to me that the majority of MH have them fitted or am I being paranoid ?

If the vote is to put one on is there a nationwide fitting service that I can use or will the local car alarm fitter be OK to use on a MH ?

Thanks in advance

Hi wp1234

Welcome to Motorhomefun. Thanks for posting :thumb:If you are ever going to leave your motorhome in a public place, even for a moment, then you should consider getting an alarm fitted. By public place I include your driveway at home, the supermarket car park and the service station forecourt. This is only my opinion. I know full timers that do not have an alarm and do not feel the need for them

If you do decide on an alarm, at the very least you should choose an alarm system that will immobilise the motorhome and sound an alarm if anyone tries to gain illegal entry to it. If your budget runs to it, a good alarm addition will allow you to protect individual lockers and secure the bikes on your bike rack as well. The best alarms will also be able to protect the interior whilst you sleep.

The ability to sleep in your motorhome with the alarm turned on is one of the best reasons for having an alarm. The best systems allow this by shutting down the internal sensors so you can get up to use the toilet or make a pot of tea without the alarm being activated, whilst all the time the immobiliser is set and the perimeter of the motorhome such as doors, windows and lockers are protected and will activate should anyone try to break-in. This facility is even more useful if you have a pet as you can alarm the system and not worry about the pet activating the alarm whilst you shop or pay for fuel at a service station. The benefits of this system when wild-camping are obvious and plenty of wild-campers would not dream of parking up without having their system set to “exterior only.”

You can read a lot more about Motorhome security in the Motorhome Security Handbook. The link is in my signature

 

[Terry]

Hi WP1234 I think the question should now read DO I WANT ONE you already have a Tracker and immobiliser so any cheapo alarm will do What are the odds on you getting a all singing and dancing alarm as well ? Pretty high I think The only reason I fitted a cat 1 alarm/immobiliser was because it did not have one
terry

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[Theonlysue]

I know a chap who has an alarm fitted although he never has it turned on. When the wind blows the alarm goes and so does his battery.

Jim

I had a car with the same problem ( I think the neighbours were getting a bit fed up with it).
I got the sensitivity changed and it was fine after that.
If an alarm is fitted, it may as well be used.

S.

 

[madbluemad]

I had a car with the same problem ( I think the neighbours were getting a bit fed up with it).
I got the sensitivity changed and it was fine after that.
If an alarm is fitted, it may as well be used.

S.

Hi Sue

I didnt know that they had a sensitivity changer thingy. I must get this fella to read the handbook/instructions

Jim