Newbie Security

[Fatboy1960]

About to pick up our new motorhome 6 months old looks lovely and still smells lovely too. When not in use it will be in a good secure storage facility. The world of security is complex! It’s a Swift 685 and if I read the forum right they are fitted with tracking devices so good to know you can find it if it’s stolen but would rather it wasn’t stolen in the first place so looking for recommendation. We pick the van up Monday I am assuming it has an alarm but I didn’t ask or check! The choice and cost is pretty wide ranging so any pointers welcome

 

[Carpmart]

I was in a similar position to you Fatboy1960 and I’m currently parked up in Taunton and having a Vanbits Growler alarm fitted in the morning!

My logic is similar to yours, in that with a mixture of physical security and a high quality alarm, I’ve a fighting chance... tracking it if ‘nicked’ is almost secondary!

 

[Charlie9038]

We had our swift bolero stolen of our drive, without the factory fitted tracker we would not have been able to recover it. After this event we have upgraded our security.

It is now fully secure with a van bitz growler and non starter. I have also fitted Heosafe locks on all doors for extra security, and we keep the keys in a Faraday pouch, I am sure it was Relay theft as there was no damage to locks or ignition on recovery. We also have cctv on the drive, so if they attempt to ever try again they will be on camera, and will wake the street up when the Growler goes off, if they get past the heosafe locks.
Even the they wont be able to start as the non starter will stop that.
These we professional thieves as they fitted diplomatic number plates so i have hopefully done all i can to secure ?

 

[rosalan]

Most vans do not have a tracker factory fitted, for you must pay an annual fee. The same goes for Cat 1 Thatcham. Insurance company's may refuse to insure without a Cat. 1 so both are worth checking.

 

[Fatboy1960]

This is really helpful, thanks folks need to give it some thought The growler sounds a good Soloutions and I’ve read diy tracker is a good option too

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[Landy Andy]

I wanted an alarm system that offered an app so that I could remotely control the system, offer me the ability to always see the whereabouts of my van, also to be able to activate the engine immobiliser when I wanted, not wait for it to be stolen. The two systems that I found that offered these were Growler, and Outsmart The Thief. I went for Outsmart, and having the system fitted does give me confidence and I really like the ability to self monitor and control. The standard alarms aren’t great and are a known system to the thief, which is a big down side to them.

 

[Campervan_man]

You could have a Cacagoo 12V swivel view internal wi-fi camera fitted motion detector, alerts etc
Plus if You are away in the van You can monitor things happening LIVE in the van.
Pets etc

 

[Vipar]

I rely on the old fashioned anti thief methods. Steering wheel lock bar, straps on doors, thatham alarm, cctv, remove one rear wheel.
Yes I know pain in the rear fitting the wheel on but better than losing the van. Oh and a secret switch stopping the lights being used at night.
Why can’t people work for their goodies instead of nicking other peoples hard earn toys?

 

[Fatboy1960]

Thanks folks, what I don’t get is why you have to pay for monitoring Of alarms/ trackers - my house alarm sends me alerts direct to my mobile can’t see the advantage of a third party ringing me when it suely van automated or am I missing something?

 

[BOWHOUSE52]

can't you just pull ignition fuse out and fit a dummy one plus lock swivel chairs

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[IRHP]

Thanks folks, what I don’t get is why you have to pay for monitoring Of alarms/ trackers - my house alarm sends me alerts direct to my mobile can’t see the advantage of a third party ringing me when it suely van automated or am I missing something?

Because the companies fool you into believing they have to monitor everything then call you when there’s an alarm, for this you pay them an annual fee. Sadly the insurance companies believe them too. There are plenty gps trackers available that you can monitor youself on a website or phone app. They will send you text alerts or app alerts if you have them set up for geo fencing or move alarms or shock alerts. Also alerts for low batteries. You can park at any new location, with the app set a move alarm in seconds to any required distance and if your van moves out with the set radius you will get an alert by text and app.