Outsmart the Thief

Posted on 19 Oct 2009

Andrew and Rona Bromley

The Outsmart team

BUYING a caravan or motorhome is a major expense.

How galling it must be to find your pride and joy broken into or stolen, especially as insurers are reluctant to pay out on lost contents without proper receipts.

This is why it makes sense to fit a sophisticated alarm, preferably in conjunction with a tracking device, to ensure rapid recovery in the unlikely event that a thief will get through the first level of security.

One system which ticks all the boxes is a new product from Yorkshire company ‘Outsmart the Thief Limited’. Their Sold-Secure, TÜV and CE approved ‘Defender’ system was fitted to our Ford Transit campervan earlier this year, and we’re well pleased with it.

Defender is made to Outsmart’s design by Italian specialist company Gemini Technologies, using Siemens components. Ours was installed at our home by Outsmart’s managing director, Carl Meyer, a friendly and most knowledgeable chap.

When laid out on the kitchen table, there seems little to the kit – a modest cable loom, a couple of remote fobs, two dongles and a Black Box containing the magic.

The very tidy installation took only a couple of hours as most equipment is wireless; only a tiny dashboard dongle-park, and discreet ultrasonic, door, and the PIR motion sensors are visible.

How can ‘Defender’ protect your van? Put simply, it combines alarm and tracker functions. The alarm defends the perimeter, sounding a siren if a door is opened, whilst sensors detect a change of air pressure (as when a window is opened) or a shift in the van – wind buffet is ignored.

Moreover, a night-time setting enables secure sleep without triggering the alarm. If the siren sounds, Outsmart has its own monitoring station which immediately calls the owner on home or mobile phone, so they can call the police.

If a thief tries to steal the van, Defender really comes into play. With the alarm activated, the engine won’t start until the alarm is de-activated by the key-fob. If the thief found and destroyed the black box, then the vehicle wouldn’t start until Outsmart returned to fix it.

outsmart the thief sign

Tamper with the vehicle battery when the alarm is active, and the Monitoring Station is alerted, but with the alarm switched off, the battery can be changed easily.

Should thieves steal your keys, (an increasingly common scenario these days), they must deactivate the alarm before starting-up.

When the owner discovers the theft, he contacts the Monitoring Station, which tracks the vehicle and liases with the authorities.

Here’s the ‘Unique Selling Point’ – Outsmart can arrange with the constabulary to immobilise the vehicle as soon as it comes to a halt at a safe place, such as a road junction, for instance.

The engine switches off and won’t start again until the police ask Outsmart to release it. This is a clever feature that avoids dangerous chases, with the attendant risks of damage or injury.

Of particular interest to caravan owners is Outsmart’s ‘Geo-fencing’ feature. Once armed, any change in location, say if the caravan is pushed, will alert the monitoring station, which will contact the owner to ascertain if the movement is lawful.

If the caravan cable is plugged into a tow-car electric socket, the alarm sounds and all outside lights flash and again, the monitoring station is alerted.

The key-fob incorporates central-locking and a panic-button (so you can trigger the van siren remotely).

We find the system simple to use, it has every feature we could wish for and peace of mind is included in the price. Supplied and fitted at your home, the Defender costs £649, with an additional monitoring cost of £95 per annum, or £395 for five years.

For owners with a suitable alarm already fitted to their motorhome, the Defender Tracker can be fitted in conjunction with the existing alarm for £495 fitted. This will still allow the Safe Stop feature to be used.