[gwrightson]

having already had one van stolen around 3 years ago, a transit,
I started the day wondering why my passenger door was unlocked, and my side sliding door was unlocked, " how careless of me, was my first reaction" however on closer inspection both locks had been tampered with, as if a chisel had been punched just under the locks, very neat and tidy.
nothing taken, nothing touched as far as i can see, apart from glove box door down and shoe covers on floor, releif thats all it was.
I guess they had been disturbed, so will be extra vgilant tonight. however i seriously need to know , if any one can suggest a comprehensive alarm system, and any other tips,
 i have from tonight fitted a retaining device on the inside of sliding door, so if they crack the lock out side the door, it  is restained from the inside and the only way to open that is fro m the inside, by getting through the back doors, which are parked tight against a large hedge in my drive this should help make it a little more difficult.
but any suggestions welcome, its a merc sprinter
 Geoff

[craigp]

absolute must, red flashing LED and alarm stickers

of course a alarm is a good idea, but i know car thiefs first look to see if a cars alarmed before they touch it, they look for flashing LED and stickers,
chances are they'll move on if they think its alarmed.

LED can be wired to fuse box, directly into 2 seperate fuses one of which needs to be live when ignition on, one perment live, then it will turn on automacticlly  just by switching engine off,

ps, LED £2.50 in maplins, dont use the 'Eagle electronic alarm' sticker that comes in there though, tea leaves not stupid, use real sticker, ie. fox alarm, cifford, meta, etc.


craig.

[conallon]

Geoff have a look at van gadgets (slam locks) these could be some use to you

Conrad

[gwrightson]

tks craig/ conrad will look into both im also think along the lines of some sort of electronic eye sensor placed across path they would have to take to get to van.\not sure if these sort of things are readily available , but would perhaps prevent them even attempting to break in.
the damadge they cause just attempting is costly enough, and never really worth claiming on insurance
 Geoff

[Art]

Geoff,

 You can get PIR flood lights with an alarm that goes off when the light is triggered, i think B&Q still do them.

Arthur

[Andy Hogarth]

Hi Geoff,

I have a motion detection shed alarm that I keep in the rear of my campervan, It's not a comprehensive solution but a cheap quicky one 

Think it cost about a tenner, 100 decibles, it'll go off if someone gets into the back of the van.

To stop the actual van from getting nicked I have a good old yellow steering bar and my radio flashes a little red l.e.d. when the fronts removed.

Maplin do a good load of pir devices. http://www.maplin.co.uk/searchpages/PIR_ALARM_OUTDOOR.htm

Glad nothing was taken

Andy

[stains-away]

sounds like they were seeing whats in there rather than trying to get away with the van, shielded locks are good although not cheap, they stop the locks being forced out by having a plate inside of the doorskin to prevent the locks actuating rod from being triggered,if your buying an alarm then you will be best off with one that has movement detectors for the vans interior and a knock sensor (thieves will "bump" a vehicle to see if it has motion sensors fitted) another common thing is for people to wire the alarm into the hazard light circuit so that the indicators flash when the alarm is set or turned off, I would have it wired into another circuit if possible to avoid the chances of it being shorted by your local tea leaf stabbing a screwdriver into the bulbholder after smashing the cluster,  Andy  

[gwrightson]

thanks for all replys, tried bq today , nothing really along the lines i was looking for  will try maplins,
 motion sensors good idea I feel , providing they make enough noise to wake me up
 temperory measurments are in place, sleeping bag and a 4 iron in back of van whilst locks fixed
 dont think they will argue with a golf club around the back of the neck.
 Geoff

[stains-away]

I wouldnt do that if your a heavy sleeper, you might wake up on a car boot sale surrounded by the contents of your van

[andy8004]

but any suggestions welcome, its a merc sprinter
Geoff

geoff, all the above suggestions sounded very useful, so its stumped me a little but heres my suggestion.  A ROTTWEILER! or several dependant on the area. try a rounders bat, they are alot faster to swing, and more compact..... perfect for a cramped, small environment......

[andrew chrysler]

A few suggestions.....

1. A Wheelclamp.
Pro: cheap, highly visible
Con: a pain to put on and off, especially in the rain

2. Tracker.
Pro: easy to use, very effective, at least you get the van back very quickly, probably all the stuff still inside it
Con: no visible deterrent, expensive, relies on Police efficiency (variable)

3. Accessory Deadlocks.
Pro: secure, can't be opened through broken window
Con: one more key to turn

4: Radio Alarm. Buy a solar diy alarm from B&Q for about £150. Put the siren by your bedroom window and put the detectors in the front and back of the van.
Pro: Siren by your window wakes you up, and is out of reach of thevan thief.
Con: Bright morning sunlight through the windows might trigger a sensor (make sure that the sensor can't see direct sunlight)

I use (2) and (4)

[gwrightson]

Andy, i like the idea of the siren by the window, just the sort of thing im looking for,
tracking device , think way to go , i recall some where that a mobile phone can be utilised as a tracker,
  not sure how or whee i read , perhaps anybody heard of this could let us know
 Geoff

[stains-away]

The idea of a mobile phone as a tracker is ok if

 a)The phone manages to retain network coverage throughout, and

b)You can get the signal tracked by te phone company

I dont want to appear sceptical but trying to get the police to do anything is hard enough, if you throw into the equasion a mobile network provider the cock ups could be amazing, surely if you work out the cost of your kit then work out the cost of a proper alarm and tracker its worth the expense, even if your kit is insured in the van overnight in the event of it being stolen your insurers wont pay out the next morning, think of the time lost whilst you replace your kit.

Having said that I know of someone who lost their bmw complete with tracker (main dealer fitted), 20 minutes later the signal went dead on a local a road, the tracker was actually found on the floor in a layby (the thieves were obviously knowledgable as to where the dealers located them) needless to say the car has never been found, the trackers manufacturers guaruntee stated that if it wasnt found they paid out themselves, but, as is the case they wouldnt because they classed it as an "inside job", nothing is fail safe, Andy