Yeah I have the buttons on the key, I don't know if I like how they did that, makes the key huge. I'll have to look around at some of the other alarms too.

 

my key has the pad built in it...lock, unlock, and panic....and my trucks got the alarm for that....but are we talkin about that alarm, or is there an upgrade to it. you guys have me comfused with this led thing. also, are we talkin about factory alarm, or aftermarket....

 

Well I was originally talking about a factory upgrade to the system. My key is exactly like yours Night and it does have a very basic alarm in it. If you lock the truck with the remote then open a door without unlocking it it starts honking, that's about it. I'm looking for something with a little more protection and eric suggested looking at aftermarket systems. So far I've called one place and they quoted me almost $500 on a viper system which is a little out of my price range. Contacted another local place but they haven't gotten back to me yet. And don't worry, I wouldn't let best buy touch my truck with a 10 foot pole, I don't trust most chain stores to do work on anything I own.

 

Well I was on directed electronics website looking at alarms and the 2way remotes seem like a really useful feature. I'm assuming those cost a lot more though... Do those actually work well over any distance? I just keep thinking that if I could park and go in a mall and it won't work it seems kind of pointless.

As for installing it myself I don't know, I know I could install it, put a crimeguard 745i3 in my last car, but that was the biggest pain in the *** I have ever done. And I tore the whole thing apart and installed a custom system too, the alarm was still a lot more frustrating. If the savings were big enough I'd have to consider it, but I don't think I have the time or the patience to do the install right, classes right now and work over the summer would make it rather tough. I know crutchfield has harnesses to make security installs easier but doesn't that make it that much easier for a potential thief to find and remove quickly?

I just want to make sure I get something that's going to have a high level of protection and I want to make sure it's installed perfectly (I'm not sure I'd do as good an install as someone with more experience even if I had the time), even if it means I have to wait and save up some more money first. This is my first vehicle with under 100k miles on it (just put the 10k mark on her 2 days ago) and I plan to keep it for a long time so I don't want to cut any corners, especially on security.

 

I had the EVS 1 installed at the dealer when I bought my truck new. Never worked right "would go off once in a while when I unlocked the truck like normal with the key fob" It didn't do it all the time but probably 1 in 10 for no reason. Dealer never could fix it and eventually I told them to rip the f-ing thing out of my truck. Then I went to a reputable alarm shop and had them install a Viper from Dedicated electronics. It is a way better alarm straight away and it was cheaper to have installed. It is the type that works with the factory key/fob. Here is the kicker, this one does the same thing as the factory EVS 1 and from what I have read this is a common problem that supposedly has to do with the new key/fob setup of our trucks. Something to do with the timing of the system. I know it's not the alarm at this point because I have had two totally different systems from two totally different sources. The thing about the Viper is it is easy to control because I just listen for the chirp when the thing disarms. If it chirps I'm good, if not I need to lock & unlock again and then it's O.K. I don't even think about it any more, it's instinctual so it doesn't bother me. Gotta have an alarm to go with my Lojack and Lojack First Alert so I had to adapt. I love this truck to much to let some thug have it without a fight.

 

Thanks man, I definitely won't go with the mopar system then, I don't want to deal with that. On a side note, anyone know if I can get the dealership to make me a key without the fob on it so I can just use the fob for whatever alarm I end up getting?

 

Got a little first hand knowledge for that one also Altair. We had the top of the line Viper put in my wifes GT Cruiser, the one with remote start and 1 mile, two way remote. There was a module that is made to go with some of theDedicated electronics alarms (Viper, Clifford...) that eliminates the need to use a chipped key hidden in the vehicle somewhere. I really didn't want to do that because it just didn't seem like a good idea so we got this module installed with the alarm and have had zero problems with it. The module is also made by dedicated so any reputable dealer should know about it. The whole getup cost us $500.00 installed. Before anyone says it, yes thats a little expensive but I have more money than patience for putting the damed thing in myself or getting the low bidder to keep trying to make it work right. I would rather pay my ace alarm guy a premium than have any more problems than can already occur with this stuff.

Good luck