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Am new member so sorry if I am posting in the wrong place! 

Anyway, we have just bought a caravan and the insurance people Caravan Guard want us to fit an alarm in the caravan.  The lady on the phone said that we could just get a cheap one from Argos. 

http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-1428744-10294381?url=http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/0072966/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7CGarden+and+DIY%7C14418702/c_2/2%7Ccat_14418702%7CHome+security%7C14418707/c_3/3%7Ccat_14418707%7CHome+safety+and+alarms%7C14418708.htm

I found this one above for £19.99 and just wondered whether anyone knew whether it was okay to use.  Both practically and also for the purposes of the insurance.  She said so long as it had PIR and tilt (whatever that is ) then it was fine.  It just seems a little too good to be true that you can get an alarm so cheaply.

Sorry there is more!.....  Even if this alarm is fine  for insurance does anyone know whether it will be a complete nightmare to have.  I have been reading other posts to try and see if anyone else has mentioned the above and have seen a few issues with alarms being loud and going off unneccessarily.  And these are far more expensive alarms not a cheap Argos one!

Any thoughts gratefully received!  Thanks! 

That alarm does not have "tilt".

Tilt senses movement, IE when the van is "tilted" to hook it up to a motor vehicle.

Some PIR sensors will react to heat build up in your car or van on a hot day so getting one that is good enough to detect movement but will not trigger a false alarm due to heat is where you pay the difference in prices.

Also most more expensive alarms have spare contacts for you to add extras in the future like pressure mats, window and locker sensors, trackers and gas detectors.

It really is down to you. You know what your van is worth and you know how much hassle it would cause you if some sod nicked it.

If all you want to do is satisfy an insurance company, then fit a cheapo. If you really want to deter a thief, then buy a proper one.

Hi Lobey

Thank you very much for your response.  Good job I posted otherwise we would have just bought that alarm!

Our van is new so it is expensive and I don't want it stolen but the woman at the dealership said she didn't see the point in buying expensive alarms etc because if a thief has set their sights on stealing your van then there is nothing you can do about it. 

It all feels like such a dilema!  It does feel a little bit mad spending all this money and then not securing it with the best.  But ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, it's all so expensive and we have spent so much money already.

What alarm would you reccommend?  An average costing but still good one.

Thanks SuperGeist

When I renewed my caravan insurance last month, Caravanguard wanted a silly level of security. Not content with a wheel clamp, hitch lock, hitch post, and locked gates they wanted a second wheel clamp, or an alarm or corner steady locks. In the end I went through the Caravan Club who were cheaper and did not need this level of security.

Frankly, as a security measure, I don't hold a lot of faith in alarms. Caravans are quite well soundproofed.

That's true.  I don't know if you have seen my last post about Out Smart the Thief but we are now looking into a tracker system.  It's all so expensive.... grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.  We are very excited about picking up our caravan but we really didn't do enough research into how expensive it all was. 

Anyway, I think we are going to go with the tracker.  I take your point about no faith in alarms and also the threads about trackers which suggest that the thieves just disconnect everything and go.  But...... I suppose we feel as if we have to do something. 

Don't know if it is obvious from post, going from £19.99 to £700 but I am a libran therefore very indecisive lol!  Still getting feedback from people on the forum and reading previous posts has helped me enormously.

Hi Sue

We've already gone with Caravan Guard.  Reading throught the posts they seemed to be the ones that people hadn't had problems with.  I have to be honest I didn't try Caravan Club because we're not members.  Maybe I should have done?  Actually think my head might have exploded if I hadn't just made a decision about something!!!  We have had the which van to buy, which awning to go for, insurance, now alarm decisions to alarm or not to alarm etc etc.  Still am so excited about picking up the van tomorrow I can hardly contain myself!!!!   Once all sorted then it will be worth it.

Our last van was insured with the Caravan Club and I do not have any complaints about them, but our present van is with Caravan Guard.

We have a Farsight Alarm and a Smart Track tracker system with lifetime and European coverage.

The savings from our now reduced premiums that we have got from fitting these two units will pay for them both in 10 years.

As a canny Scot, money is a priority  and like most items in a caravan, if it does not do more than one job then it is useless.
The major job that these two do is bring me "peace of mind".

  Be very careful with the SIM card tracker...Most work on triangulation between Mobile Phone cells. If your caravan is in a rural area with one local cell the tracker will only give limited positioning. But, if your trips are to areas where there is good coverage you will get a better result. Unfortunately there are no guarantees.

The best trackers work on GPS.

If anyone would like my free guide to a DIY tracking sytem please send me an EMail to bill.chesters at virgin.net

The tracker company we are going with Out Smart the Thief give you a phone call if the battery on the alarm goes dead.  I think from reading all posts, especially the one about the caravan being stolen from the services, we won't be leaving it unattended unless we are at the site or obviously storage place.  Legsdownkettleon (great name by the way!) you are right because Caravan Guard told me it was the cost you were insuring for that dictated their security requirements.