Alarms in trailers
#30
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I use all of these on my trailer. My house was broke into once and I swore it would never happen again to anything I own. Bad thing is if you leave it attached to your car all they have to do is unscrew the ball link from the hitch and attach it to theirs. Nothing is theft proof. If someone wants it bad enough they will get it. You just have to make it so difficult that they will just ignore it and move on to the next poor sap.
#32
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Another thing that can help, is don't advertise whats in your trailer with race stickers, fuel stickers, ect....keep it all low key and generic. Or outsmart them and put a magnetic sign on it when it's parked that says "Joe's Stable Maintenence", where all it would think is theres nothing but a dirty shovel to find if they break into it where it's not worth the risk....
#33
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Hi,
Back in the day I had a landscaping business and locked everything in my landscaping trailer to free up garage space. I bought a reasonably priced car alarm kit, a 12-volt motor cycle battery, and mounted everything inside the trailer (and furthest away from the door). I wired the alarm per the instructions, locked everything inside and armed the alarm using the key ring clicker.
The alarm itself was inside the trailer, but it was more than loud enough to be heard outside.
The sensitivity on the alarm had to be turned down to the lowest setting because the trailer was built out of plywood that would resonate when vehicles of a certain size / noise level went by, setting the alarm off. Mount the alarm sensor on the most rigid part of the trailer - likely the floor - to avoid this sort of problem.
I can't remember how often I had to charge the battery but I did have a regular 12-volt car battery charger which I used for the job.
Good luck.
Back in the day I had a landscaping business and locked everything in my landscaping trailer to free up garage space. I bought a reasonably priced car alarm kit, a 12-volt motor cycle battery, and mounted everything inside the trailer (and furthest away from the door). I wired the alarm per the instructions, locked everything inside and armed the alarm using the key ring clicker.
The alarm itself was inside the trailer, but it was more than loud enough to be heard outside.
The sensitivity on the alarm had to be turned down to the lowest setting because the trailer was built out of plywood that would resonate when vehicles of a certain size / noise level went by, setting the alarm off. Mount the alarm sensor on the most rigid part of the trailer - likely the floor - to avoid this sort of problem.
I can't remember how often I had to charge the battery but I did have a regular 12-volt car battery charger which I used for the job.
Good luck.
#34
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#36
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I stay in crime heaven - South Africa! Seems to me you had a few of our brothers coming over there to your valley? Anyway, what you could do is to use a lock coupling, i.e. the device that you put over the ball of your hitch takes a lock. This would make it difficult just to unhook your trailer & then hook it onto the thief's vehicle. Also, use the special security bolts and nuts they use on gearlocks. This would prevent the thief from undoing your coupler or tow hitch. Just watch out for the bolt strength (and thickness - it is normally preferable to keep the trailer together with the vehicle while driving....).
Regarding the alarm you could buy an auto alarm as previously stated. You could also make your own and use your 12V model starter battery. All you need is a key switch, a relay, a mechanical motion detector (tilt switch) and a sounder (12V sounder from any electronics shop - ask for a "soundbomb"). The trick here is to build a system that does not use any power until the mechanical motion detector is triggered. The relay is wired as a stop/ start unit that retains the power to the sounder until the key switch is switched off. Regarding the motion detector I've seen some people using a pendulum setup. Another grand idea is to use a rod in the centre of a longish spring. A piece of weight (this one had a 9mm slug on top) makes the spring unstable at the slightest touch. When the spring touches the rod, the circuit is completed and the retaining contact of the relay then short-curcuit the spring setup (or pendulum setup). The only downside is that if you don't switch the sounder off once triggered it will carry on until the battery is flat.
Forget about 911. In case of emergency dail 9mm.
Regarding the alarm you could buy an auto alarm as previously stated. You could also make your own and use your 12V model starter battery. All you need is a key switch, a relay, a mechanical motion detector (tilt switch) and a sounder (12V sounder from any electronics shop - ask for a "soundbomb"). The trick here is to build a system that does not use any power until the mechanical motion detector is triggered. The relay is wired as a stop/ start unit that retains the power to the sounder until the key switch is switched off. Regarding the motion detector I've seen some people using a pendulum setup. Another grand idea is to use a rod in the centre of a longish spring. A piece of weight (this one had a 9mm slug on top) makes the spring unstable at the slightest touch. When the spring touches the rod, the circuit is completed and the retaining contact of the relay then short-curcuit the spring setup (or pendulum setup). The only downside is that if you don't switch the sounder off once triggered it will carry on until the battery is flat.
Forget about 911. In case of emergency dail 9mm.