Alarm & Tracker - any recommendations please ?

[BRND]

there is really only one i would recommend having had it fitted to all our vans to date. that is Vanbitz, Strikeback or if you have deeper pockets Growler.
they will also sort the tracker.

Yes agreed, I have it but for insurance purposes also had to have a tracker which is monitored 24/7. Suggest you ask VanBlitz about that. I found them very good and helpful. I had the whole lot fitted including Growler. Cannot say how effective they are as so far, touch wood, have not had someone try and steal the van! Given the cost of the home worth the cost!

 

[lamyj]

Vanbitz - Growler .... don't waste your time looking anywhere else

 

[pjs25]

Van it’s gets another vote from. Exceptional service

 

[pjs25]

That’s the problem with auto correct! Vanbitz that should say!

 

[terminal15]

At the risk of repeating, it's a Vanbitz Growler for us too. After we were broken into in Barcelona we looked at all the systems on the market and went for the Growler. No issues so far and it's given us a lot of peace of mind! Easy fitting after a night on their campsite and great service!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Minxy]

At the risk of repeating, it's a Vanbitz Growler for us too. After we were broken into in Barcelona we looked at all the systems on the market and went for the Growler. No issues so far and it's given us a lot of peace of mind! Easy fitting after a night on their campsite and great service!

... not for the price of a 'cup of coffee' though!

 

[faraway]

Another vote for VanBitz Growler, Strikeback and non-starter.

 

[Dirtyhands]

Pandora alarm on mine. An excellent bit of kit

 

[SmithsInFrance]

Massive thanks to Eddie Vanbitz and Metatrak

Long story, but here goes... My son's MH was stolen a couple of years ago, it was his pride and joy. Fortunately insurance paid out but he never wanted to go through that trauma again, so he bought another MH and went straight to Eddie who recommended going the whole hog with alarm, tracker...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

This is what happens when you fit an alarm/non starter from vanbitz, it stays where you left it. Most trackers will alert you to where it’s probably being stripped down or you will get there as it’s still smouldering. The non starter allows you to immobilise it so it can’t be taken as in the above post

Yep, that was my son, without the immobiliser Vanbitz fitted his MH would have been stolen in a very well planned raid on a storage place in Surrey. They tried VERY hard to disable/bypass but couldn't manage it. If thieves are determined to have your van then you need the best to foil them.

 

[1ten]

We have a Vanbitz alarm. To be honest as I have never tried stealing my van and to my knowledge neither has a thief I have no idea if it is better than the others or not.
What I can say is they did a very tidy job, were very professional, it is stupidly loud and most importantly when we had a problem were very helpful. There wasn’t a fault on the alarm more with the user!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Brains]

Vabitz do they have Mobile installers country wide or is it on site only. We are waiting for our motorhome to arrive at dealers in a fortnights time and we live in Suffolk.

We live in London
We picked up our van from the dealers in Nottingham (150 miles north)
We then drove 150 miles south west to VanBitz at Taunton

We camped for the first night in the van at the campsite next to VanBitz (free)
Took the van into VanBitz at 8.30am the next morning
We then went shopping in Taunton (walking distance) for the day to buy bedding, kitchen stuff, and other bits for our new motorhome.
Got back by 5pm and we were fully fitted with a solar panel, GasLow, growler alarm, tracker etc
Spent another night (free) at the camp site before driving 150 miles home for the first time

Given the amount that you spend on buying a motorhome, to then spend 5% of the cost of that on security system is money well spent.

After all, would you buy a new bicycle for £1,000 and then fit it with a £20 lock ?

 

[funflair]

Lots of VB fans on here so must be some expert knowledge as well , is the VB alarm/tracker system monitored as in do you get a phone call as soon as somebody tampers with it.

Martin

 

[Brains]

VaBitz fitted alarm
I get a text if the alarm goes off

 

[WESTY66]

Lots of VB fans on here so must be some expert knowledge as well , is the VB alarm/tracker system monitored as in do you get a phone call as soon as somebody tampers with it.

Martin

No Martin, it is an app based tracker which means you are in control, for instance I can immobilise my engine from my app which means no one is hotwiring it to drive it round the corner to either strip it or burn it out, with it immobilised it stays where it is (of course it could be craned away but highly unlikely) and if the alarm goes off or someone tries jamming the frequencies it sends me a text or a message via the app, does that make any sense?

Ady

 

[funflair]

Cheers Ady

Yes that sounds much the same as we have but Our immobilisation is by a dongle/chip, we get text alerts and then we have the added level of a call centre.

Martin

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[WESTY66]

Cheers Ady

Yes that sounds much the same as we have but Our immobilisation is by a dongle/chip, we get text alerts and then we have the added level of a call centre.

Martin

If I had your van I’d have an extra alarm/immobiliser as a back up to the first alarm/immobiliser

forgot to add, we get a dongle type thingy to override the system if in case of poor phone/Data signal

 

[Dave Horton]

Vanbitz if you value service and quality!

 

[lorger]

Lots of VB fans on here so must be some expert knowledge as well , is the VB alarm/tracker system monitored as in do you get a phone call as soon as somebody tampers with it.

Martin

No Martin, it is an app based tracker which means you are in control, for instance I can immobilise my engine from my app which means no one is hotwiring it to drive it round the corner to either strip it or burn it out, with it immobilised it stays where it is (of course it could be craned away but highly unlikely) and if the alarm goes off or someone tries jamming the frequencies it sends me a text or a message via the app, does that make any sense?

Ady

I'm booked in with eddievanbitz next month and contemplating having his tracker fitted, will email Eddie this week to confirm this but the way I read it it's monitored.
Here is an extract from his page,

Just imagine the peace of mind you would have knowing that if your keys are stolen or cloned, your motorhome will report its theft “as soon as the engine is started illegally” Speed, direction and exact position would be known by the control centre and this information is passed on to the relevant Police Force

 

[WESTY66]

I'm booked in with eddievanbitz next month and contemplating having his tracker fitted, will email Eddie this week to confirm this but the way I read it it's monitored.
Here is an extract from his page,

Just imagine the peace of mind you would have knowing that if your keys are stolen or cloned, your motorhome will report its theft “as soon as the engine is started illegally” Speed, direction and exact position would be known by the control centre and this information is passed on to the relevant Police Force

I think Eddie does a few immobilisers, just for clarification the Metatrak Non Starter is App based (free for first year then £64 a year after that) and you are in control, there is NO control centre, you control it via the app, you can immobilise it, see where it is, see where you’ve been, record the mileage, see how good your drivings been etc all via the app.

The other immobilisers Vanbitz does are control centre controlled, and therefore Insurance discounts are available on these.

I apologise and stand to be corrected on any mistakes I’ve made above.

 

[Bognor Saint]

The system we have is Phantom sentinel. there is an app which controls several functions and there is also a map giving the location of the motorhome at any one time. If movement of the van is detected I receive a push notification on my phone. If the alarm is triggered I get a text message and if it has gone off by accident I reply to the text message with a 4-digit pin. If they do not receive a reply to the the text message you receive a phone call from the control centre. I have set it off on a couple of occasions and the response has been very positive.
I'm sure other systems work in a very similar manner.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[RandallC]

Can confirm during lock down, sick as a parrot (do they get sick?) new van sat, least said.....

where was I?, Oh yes, can confirm whilst in lock down reading the supplied manuals for the MH decided I need ignition on to check radio/satnav/forget what, that needed the ignition on for.

Hadn't been a few minutes and phone goes, Meta-Trak, your vehicle ignition has been switched on' was that you or, Red faced (they couldn't see that) said yes it was me sorry forgot system procedures. Ok they said No Prob happy all well.

Had growler fitted, ok maybe cheaper systems but not many that offer lifetime warranty. That's my life time I believe or as long as I own the van. But happy to hear it's the life time of the van.