I have a Viper alarm system. The top button locks the door if you press one time. But if you press the same button for a couple seconds, the alarm will sound which is suppose to be like a panic button alarm. The Viper alarm came with a duplicate remote entry key so I can place one in the rear of the van next to the bed so that if I need to sound the alarm manually while inside the van, I can do so. The nice thing about Viper alarm is that you can buy an extra remote entry alarm key for around $40 at Best Buy store, which I did, so I now have a total of 3 duplicate Viper remote entry/alarm keys. The 3rd key is locked up in a box in a separate location as an extra spare. You can never have enough spare remote alarm keys! <br><br>My Viper alarm also has an additional feature installed. If I press a certain button on my remote key, the engine will do a remote ignition start from up to 1 mile away. That means if I press a certain button, the engine will start whether I'm inside the van or outside the van. I would imagine that if someone is trying to break into your van while you're inside, just pressing the button to remotely start your engine might hopefully scare off an intruder! In other words, you could be lying in your bed, press a button, and the engine starts instantly. Since I also have another duplicate key already in the starter, I can quickly get into the driver seat and speed off in a hurry if necessary. <br>Here's a link for more information on the Viper alarm & remote engine start:<br><a href="
http://www.viper.com/P-4204V/Viper-4204-Responder-Le-2-way-Remote-Start-System" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">
http://www.viper.com/P-4204V/Viper-4204-Responder-Le-2-way-Remote-Start-System</a><br><br>The reason I added this remote engine start feature is to start the engine while I'm bed in the middle of the night in order to turn on the heater which is already preset. The engine will come on for 15 minutes and automatically turn off after 15 minutes as a safety feature. If the van is not warm enough within that first 15 minute interval, I can press the remote engine start button again, and the engine will turn on for another 15 minutes, and hopefully the heater that also turns on will warm up the van sufficiently at that point before the engine automatically turns off again. I can keep pressing the remote engine start button indefinitely every 15 minutes if I want to until the van interior is warm enough from the dashboard preset heater. I actually don't use my remote ignition function for heating the van anymore, instead I now have both the Little Buddy and Big Buddy propane heaters which work better than starting up the engine, especially when the engine is cold. Only "problem" is that I wish the Little Buddy/Big Buddy heaters have an automatic timer shutoff, haha! I prefer the Little Buddy heater which provies sufficient heat in a short time for my low-top Ford E150 conversion van. The Big Buddy heater model is actually slightly too large for my van interior setup.<br><br>For those who might have a 2nd smartphone in your van, you might check out the premium feature of "Lookout" app that you can download to your phone. With the upgraded feature, you can log into your account on any computer and have your phone (in your van) send a GPS map/location of where the phone (and van) is located. The phone can also do a "scream" alert too. I already have the premium feature installed on my phone, which costs something like $30 a year if I recall correctly. I'm not using my phone to find my van if lost, I'm only using the app/feature to find my phone in case of loss or theft. But theoretically, this should also work too if you want to use an extra phone for GPS tracking. Obviously, this phone would require a cellular signal connection. The Lookout app is actually used for my smartphone for its antivirus feature but also has GPS tracking plus remote wipe and other security features too.<br>Check out: <a href="
https://www.lookout.com/features/missing-device" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">
https://www.lookout.com/features/missing-device</a><br><br>As for a GPS tracking system inside the vehicle, I have a question for those who have such a system installed. Are you paying some type of monthly service fee for this? If so, what cost? Is there any GPS tracking service that is "free"? I'm guessing not.
