Best alarm, immobiliser and tracker for a bus

After an alarm and Immobiliser and possibly a tracker.

Seing as I have had quite a bit of work done, I might as well add some more protection.

Any make and model recommendations?

 

depends on how much you have to spend i guess?

 

Nice question, as i'm about to be doing this myself.

I'm going to be fitting a Toad Ai606 alarm, you can get them for under £100 brand new, there cat one and have loads of options and features (from memory you can run up to 3 extra functions with the fob, flash your lights, close windows and doors (have to be powered of course) switch your night heater on remotely!! ) Also have a twin immobiliser system so i'll be wiring mine so one cuts the starter relay and the other cuts a fuel solenoid.

I've fitted quite a few of these now and theres awesome! cant rate them enough for the simplicity yet the features they provide.

My dad bought one of those cheap trackers the other week that you put the sim card in, they look a handy piece of kit nice and small etc but I havent dont anything with it yet so cant tell you how well it works. I think he paid about £70 for it from china.

 

It looks like this is the one (tracker system) I'm going to have fitted next month http://www.smartrack.eu/products/trident.cfm . I need to make a decision in about 7 days time. If anyone knows a better type then I'm all ears.

I'm probably not going to bother having an alarm fitted. As for an immobiliser, I'm having a Subaru conversion done in February. The conversion includes the Subaru factory immobiliser system.

TLB member Moons is very hot on knowledge, especially when it comes to bus security. No doubt he'll post here too.

 

Toad alarm mentioned mentioned above is very good for the money, as long as you have the skills to fit it properly, a poorly fitted alarm is pointless cos a thief will get straight past it. If they can get to the siren and fill it with expanding foam it wont make a sound, this limits your placement on a bus. Pro install can be expensive but they know their stuff and as long as the alarm is cat approved (not wort getting an alarm thats not cat 1 really) you get a cetficate to discount your insuance so you recoup a bit of the dosh on a bit of a discount on your insurance.

 

When I got my bus I had these guys fit this alarm:
http://www.suffolkalarms.co.uk/index_files/VW_Camper_Van.htm

Its always worked pretty good, and as a bonus it goes off when your battery goes flat to remind you to put the trickle charger on!!

(Not really it has a battery backup and assumes if there no bus power that someones trying to cut the cables)

Anyway a reasonable alarm and fully fitted.

I see they're doing trackers too now (I had mine installed a couple of years ago) but didn't have that. Instead I've hidden an old mobile phone in the van hooked up to power and signed up for one of those child locate services. Nowhere near as good as a proper tracker, but very cheap!!

Cheers.

 

Trackers are meant to be a stealth install. No stickers etc and you don't tell people you have one. If everyone knows you have one then when your bus gets nicked they look for it and rip it out.
Same for telling people on an open forum that you have this and that security but post up pics of your bus and where you live etc
Just seems a bit odd to me

 

I'd go for one of the basic Toads. They're fine. Forget the fancy Cat fitting (do it yourself). In a 70s vehicle with exposed wiring, they're easy to bypass, anyway. If they do go off, everyone ignores them. The most effective bits are the stickers and flashing LED...

The GPS trackers work well, but are very easy to neutralise. Buy some stickers from eBay and forget the tracker itself .

First (cheap) steps: get an engine lid lock and always set the factory steering lock when you leave the van (it's surprisingly hefty). Worth fitting a fuel cutoff valve linked to a switch - the best insurance against engine fires as well.

Hard to protect these old vans, unfortunately.

PS Sticking an old cellphone in your van doesn't work btw.

 

How to fit a Cobra Alarm in a Late Bay window, this is a good thread showing what to do when fitting an alarm.

 

I disagree about wiring being exposed making it easy to bypass, theres plenty of places to hide alarm ecu's so its all hidden and a good installer isnt going ot have all the wiring on display, unfortunatley the wiring will need to be extended to accomodate the van.

Theres plenty of places to link into the loom, it doesnt have to be done behind the dash.

The Toad also lets you run more than one siren, so thats what i'll be doing.

 

cheers for the replys. I'll have a nose about for an alarm. Like the trackers, but the annual fees are a bit steep though !!

 

Toad are good alarms & so are Cobra, I prefer Cobra but that's just personal, one is as good as the other. Clifford are also good but not for DIY as they are very complicated. I personally wouldn't fit anything else.

 

I'm with David on this one. No fancy alarm will stop a determined thief. I have a wheel clamp and try not to leave it anywhere too dodgy.

 

Before you rush out and buy alarms and trackers, fit an engine lid lock and engage the steering lock when you leave the bus. It's pretty hefty.

 

TISO GPS tracker. Easy self install, low running cost, no monthly costs, made in the UK. The have had a stand at numerous vw shows over the past two years.

www.tisogps.com

Apparently you can get it to turn off fuel solenoids and ignition thus making the vehicle undriveable!

I've fitted one to three of my buses and track them on my iPhone.

 

I got one of these http://thelatebay.com/index.php?topic=510.msg72112#msg72112 as a tracker, works well for the money.

I will be getting a toad or cobra as a cat 1 alarm etc in the near future. For a couple of hundred quid it seems silly not to try and protect your £10k van...