Quote: Originally posted by david&anne on 18/8/2011
What's the best diy type alarm to fit to a caravan?
Answer: A smoke alarm. Provides endless hours of fun!
Seriously. I think it depends on the sort of alarm you want and your particular circumstances. It depends on how you intend to use it. If it's one that just makes a noise, then personally, for me, I wouldn't bother. In my experience, if folk hear an alarm going off, many (if not most) will ignore it on the basis that it's probably gone off in error. Our van is in storeage, and if an audible alarm were to go off, no one would hear it anyway. If you keep the van by the side of your house, them I can appreciate it may be of value.
Then you must ask why you want the alarm. Is it to stop people getting in to steal things from the van, or is it to stop the van being stolen? If the answer is 'both', then I suspect you might need two devices.
To stop the van from being stolen, then a tracker device is probably the best (and most expensive) - one that alerts you via phone/text that the van is moving. With regard to theft from the van, I would have though some form of sensor on the door, or floor pressure pad that again alerts you by phone/text. Another consideration is, if you would are alerted to an intruder in your van, are you in a position to be able to confront the intruder?
These are all just random thoughts, but something among this just might trigger off other thoughts.
David is spot on, its only worth doing if the van is outside your house. and the hint about smoke alarms is also a good one, done this with shed/garage/other.works great.
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