fivekidsandavan

My 2019 3500 express has no alarm, and I need one. I'm thinking viper with 2 way, proximity, and glass break sensors. I live in an area that has mild crime, but people love to go around breaking into cars at 3am. I cannot park the van inside/away from criminals, so I'd like the car to defend itself. What do you all use, and did you DIY or professional? Any thoughts would help. I'm thinking best buy, al & eds, or pacific auto to do it for me to make sure its done right.

kevinkpk

You can shop around. Most places that install, want to install the unit they sell you. I'd recommend a custom truck shop, my personal preference for accessories.

mountainmanjoe

I hate alarm systems because of the eventual electrical problems they always cause.

Have you considered leaving the van unlocked, empty of valuables, with sign saying "nothing of value inside".

fivekidsandavan

Ha, that would be awesome! However, I have 5 kids, a wife, and a dad, emptying my van of car seats, accessories, and other stuff from every weekend trip with the family would take another weekend...Even if empty I bet they'd try for the seats or door panels... I had a beater of a car stolen where all they wanted was the chrome trim around the front window...they just cracked open my dad's bumper on his truck to steal the rear 7pin/4pin connector...No matter how worthless you make something, someone will try to steal a piece of it... I hope a 2 way remote will alert me to their actions and I can deal with it.

mountainmanjoe

oh wow. maybe you should hook up an electrical fence energizer to the vehicle body.

I guess I would call up a local locksmith and ask them. They know what's good.

fivekidsandavan

furiously looking up amperage required to initiate arrhythmia...

mountainmanjoe

you only need about 50mA of current, but at least 2,000V

tsoleno

You know I used to say the same thing. My Clifford alarm that was installed in my van when I got it already actually didn't work and it was 1 year old, It was installed by a previous owner. In checking it out, all the looms were nicely done, but one wire in an obvious spot was clipped. I figured it must be problematic. Repaired the wire and waited for what's next. Nothing. It's been perfect over the last 12 years. In programing I found out what modules they had and didn't . I was glad that they had not installed the engine kill or starter interlock. I didn't want anything to let me ever sit. As an alarm and as a RKE , it has worked perfectly.

mountainmanjoe

I had one that would just randomly go off and start howling while driving, and it prevented me from restarting the vehicle. The only way to stop it was to unhook the battery, but then it would howl again when you reconnected it. I think the alarm itself was high quality, but the splice job just didn't hold up over time.

fivekidsandavan

Just an update to my process, lots of looking at best buy, amazon, ebay, al & eds and pacific stereo websites. Visited best buy, most of their stores have closed the install shops, but a couple around me are open. Best buy does not charge for install, the price online for alarms is the price you pay installed. (In the best buy "blue" employee system it showed a $200 alarm, broken into 120 for parts, 80 for labor). I visited Pacific Stereo and their prices were similar to BB. I feel like a dedicated installer shop will be better than a best buy shop. FYI I got a quote for a viper 3305 alarm for $360, added glass break sensor for $60, and added proximity sensor for $60, $480 out the door. I'm going to talk to Al & Eds, and also look into proximity keyless entry (PKE).