Beefing Up Your Vans Security - How I Done It -

[Iron Giant]

Ours lives on the street so although I have cameras they don’t always cover the van - sometimes just some random era car that has been dumped outside for days on end!

Like others I shunned steering locks as cutting the steering wheel is easy. As a physical deterrent I went for a pedal lock (mine is made by ATE). It’s fine with a bit of practice but I wouldn’t want to do it multiple times a day.

If I were spending any more on security I’d go for the gearstick lock mentioned in this thread Bear Lock
Seems like an easy to use solution.

Upgrading the alarm would be good.

Trackers are great but can easily be removed- several of our work vans have been stolen and the tracker is out within 20 minutes despite being a professional commercial one. Also many car thieves now use cheap but effective GPS jammers rendering positioning from a tracker useless even if it tells you the van has gone.

Thanks for this, yeah I have been in two minds about a tracker more so if they are just going to get ripped out as fast as you say more so being a greedy northerner and some firms wanting anywhere from £100-189 a year or £500 for a lifetime which is better value, this on top of the tracker and fitting cost,

My thoughts are to upgrade to an audible alarm from the factory-fitted immobiliser, get an ODB lock fitted, I have done Disklock steering wheel lock, I'm going to evaluate the bear lock,

Had a quick search online and maybe people can confirm this, will the engine be damaged if a van is towed whilst in gear there seems to be conflicting opinions online if it can sustain a fair amount of damage then a bear lock would be the way to go as putting the van into gear and locking the bear lock someone ain't going to tow it away if they spot the bear lock or have serious trouble if they do

 

[Iron Giant]

The locks loosen up over time and you quickly develop the technique.

I bought the carry bag and leave the handle hooked over the drivers armrest somI can slip the lock straight in.

Thanks for this,

They didn't have the carry bag etc, I'd have to wait a few days so just going to order one online as the lock itself was more importatnt

 

[Lubrown]

Thanks for this, yeah I have been in two minds about a tracker more so if they are just going to get ripped out as fast as you say more so being a greedy northerner and some firms wanting anywhere from £100-189 a year or £500 for a lifetime which is better value, this on top of the tracker and fitting cost,

I did buy a TruTrak unit, as they are cheap at £35 (was £25 when I bought it) and had a low subscription cost compared to others. (I haven’t fitted it yet and the subscription seems to have doubled since I bought it but still fairly cheap if you buy a year at once - £59).

I didn’t want to spend a fortune knowing how easily defeated trackers can be. Having said that I did find the tracker I had on the old motorbike useful for peace of mind a) for when my son was riding it as I’d know where he was if he needed me and b) because bike thieves apparently move a bike and dump nearby temporarily to see if a tracker is fitted so there is a chance of recovery (not sure how long this tactic will last as jammers are becoming cheaper and smaller and therefore are used more and more).

I haven’t fitted the TruTrak yet so can’t give you an opinion on quality/usability. The bike had a Datatool Stealth tracker and we had to have the unit replaced four times (in two years) due to failures! All under warranty but quite frustrating when it suddenly dies and you’re left without cover for up to a week while they arrange an auto-electrician to come out and fit the new unit (no refund on subs either).

 

[Iron Giant]

I did buy a TruTrak unit, as they are cheap at £35 (was £25 when I bought it) and had a low subscription cost compared to others. (I haven’t fitted it yet and the subscription seems to have doubled since I bought it but still fairly cheap if you buy a year at once - £59).

I didn’t want to spend a fortune knowing how easily defeated trackers can be. Having said that I did find the tracker I had on the old motorbike useful for peace of mind a) for when my son was riding it as I’d know where he was if he needed me and b) because bike thieves apparently move a bike and dump nearby temporarily to see if a tracker is fitted so there is a chance of recovery (not sure how long this tactic will last as jammers are becoming cheaper and smaller and therefore are used more and more).

I haven’t fitted the TruTrak yet so can’t give you an opinion on quality/usability. The bike had a Datatool Stealth tracker and we had to have the unit replaced four times (in two years) due to failures! All under warranty but quite frustrating when it suddenly dies and you’re left without cover for up to a week while they arrange an auto-electrician to come out and fit the new unit (no refund on subs either).

I was even considering a cheap tracker like https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tracki-Veh...hvtargid=pla-2271695742918&psc=1&gad_source=1 and hide it inside the van if it's undetectable it would serve the same purpose as expensive trackers just wouldn't get ripped out of the most obvious place that expensive trackers are no doubt typically fitted

It's definitely something to explore further, I'd currently rather utilise my budget on multiple layers of defence so it doesn't leave our driveway, because even the most expensive systems like Pandora on the face it seem to able to be over-ridden because why do they have an option to able to stop a vehicle after it's been stolen and driven off, apparently this is illegal in the UK

 

[T6ChrisO]

I did buy a TruTrak unit, as they are cheap at £35 (was £25 when I bought it) and had a low subscription cost compared to others. (I haven’t fitted it yet and the subscription seems to have doubled since I bought it but still fairly cheap if you buy a year at once - £59).

I didn’t want to spend a fortune knowing how easily defeated trackers can be. Having said that I did find the tracker I had on the old motorbike useful for peace of mind a) for when my son was riding it as I’d know where he was if he needed me and b) because bike thieves apparently move a bike and dump nearby temporarily to see if a tracker is fitted so there is a chance of recovery (not sure how long this tactic will last as jammers are becoming cheaper and smaller and therefore are used more and more).

I haven’t fitted the TruTrak yet so can’t give you an opinion on quality/usability. The bike had a Datatool Stealth tracker and we had to have the unit replaced four times (in two years) due to failures! All under warranty but quite frustrating when it suddenly dies and you’re left without cover for up to a week while they arrange an auto-electrician to come out and fit the new unit (no refund on subs either).

I used TruTrak for my camper that I hired out. I have no complaints

 

[DaveD]

I was even considering a cheap tracker like https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tracki-Veh...hvtargid=pla-2271695742918&psc=1&gad_source=1 and hide it inside the van if it's undetectable it would serve the same purpose as expensive trackers just wouldn't get ripped out of the most obvious place that expensive trackers are no doubt typically fitted

It's definitely something to explore further, I'd currently rather utilise my budget on multiple layers of defence so it doesn't leave our driveway, because even the most expensive systems like Pandora on the face it seem to able to be over-ridden because why do they have an option to able to stop a vehicle after it's been stolen and driven off, apparently this is illegal in the UK

Imagine remotely killing the engine on your T6 that has just been stolen, when it was negotiating a bend at 70MPH, power steering fails, big crash, innocent people killed, blah blah, I'm sure you get my drift.

 

[Iron Giant]

Imagine remotely killing the engine on your T6 that has just been stolen, when it was negotiating a bend at 70MPH, power steering fails, big crash, innocent people killed, blah blah, I'm sure you get my drift.

Yes, I know this is what I was thinking, and as it's illegal in the UK I don't understand why Pandora have been allowed to build this into their high end security systems when it can't legally be used,

Even if someone killed the engine at 20-30mph if it resulted in a accident how are people going to explain this to the police and insurance company, probably for people who have got more money than sense and the money to pay a top solicitor to get them off of any potential prosecution

 

[DaveD]

Yes, I know this is what I was thinking, and as it's illegal in the UK I don't understand why Pandora have been allowed to build this into their high end security systems when it can't legally be used,

Even if someone killed the engine at 20-30mph if it resulted in a accident how are people going to explain this to the police and insurance company, probably for people who have got more money than sense and the money to pay a top solicitor to get them off of any potential prosecution

You can buy plenty of things on the internet that are illegal to use in the UK!
The problem would be your insurance and your own liability if you were to disable the van while it was moving and cause a collision.

 

[Adi-66]

Imagine remotely killing the engine on your T6 that has just been stolen, when it was negotiating a bend at 70MPH, power steering fails, big crash, innocent people killed, blah blah, I'm sure you get my drift.

I have a StarLine system (Like Ghost) on my bus.... and the app allows me to remotely stop the car by sending a command on the app, a text code or a a call and voice command (code).

My understanding is that IF someone makes off with my Bus and I activate the "stop" feature it will stop the car from moving away the next time it comes to a natural stop, I.E at a junction / light etc .... It won't just cut the engine whilst driving.

 

[Bav]

Imagine remotely killing the engine on your T6 that has just been stolen, when it was negotiating a bend at 70MPH, power steering fails, big crash, innocent people killed, blah blah, I'm sure you get my drift.

The Meta Trak only allows remotes immobilisation when ignition is off. Pretty sure that's true of most systems that allow remote immobilisation.

 

[Lubrown]

I’d be just as worried about the thing breaking and disabling the engine while I was using the van. Technology isn’t always as reliable as we think.

 

[paulfr]

For ease of use i'd recomend the Ghost system and a tracker........we had ours done as a Package.