Trailer-alarms.com
I needed a good trailer alarm for our 30' trailer and I needed it quick. What I got was totally unexpected. Not only did we find an excellent alarm system, it was backed up by outstanding customer service!
Do you remember a time when business owners gave their word and stood behind it? How about the good ole’ days when a company really cared about whether or not a product worked as advertised? Or, a time when you could pick up the phone and talk to a tech expert who was really determined to resolve your issue? Thankfully, some of those businesses still exist and one of those is Trailer-alarms.com.
In May of 2022, I purchased a used, 30’ race trailer to transport antique and restored motorcycles to my customers. I was so busy finishing up restorations, I didn’t have a chance to look the trailer over thoroughly until just about a week or so before I left on a six-thousand-mile trip. At the very last minute, I decided I needed a good alarm system for the trailer. After several hours of on-line research I landed at the website for Trailer-alarms.com. I left a message and, amazingly, Lyle, the owner of the company, called me back within a few minutes. I told him what I was looking for and explained about my time crunch. I like what he had to say about his system, so I quickly ordered one on-line. When Lyle saw my order, he immediately called me back and explained that at this time he was having supply chain issues for some critical components used in his systems. (Of, course, it wasn't just traileralarms.com having issues, small and large businesses alike were dealing with supply chain issues at the time.) Lyle let me know he had just two circuit boards left and they were being held back in case any customer had a warranty issue. He explained problems were very rare, but he wanted to be nonetheless prepared.
In May of 2022, I purchased a used, 30’ race trailer to transport antique and restored motorcycles to my customers. I was so busy finishing up restorations, I didn’t have a chance to look the trailer over thoroughly until just about a week or so before I left on a six-thousand-mile trip. At the very last minute, I decided I needed a good alarm system for the trailer. After several hours of on-line research I landed at the website for Trailer-alarms.com. I left a message and, amazingly, Lyle, the owner of the company, called me back within a few minutes. I told him what I was looking for and explained about my time crunch. I like what he had to say about his system, so I quickly ordered one on-line. When Lyle saw my order, he immediately called me back and explained that at this time he was having supply chain issues for some critical components used in his systems. (Of, course, it wasn't just traileralarms.com having issues, small and large businesses alike were dealing with supply chain issues at the time.) Lyle let me know he had just two circuit boards left and they were being held back in case any customer had a warranty issue. He explained problems were very rare, but he wanted to be nonetheless prepared.
A 1955 BMW /2 with a Steib S500 inside our transport trailer. It's protected with an excellent alarm from traileralarm.com
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Lyle was somewhat hesitant, but he also wanted to help me out, so he decided to send me a system built from the reserved warranty stock. Within two days, I had the alarm system delivered to my door. His quick response and willingness to help, allowed me to get the alarm system installed on time. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
As soon as the package with the alarm was delivered, I called my assistant over to help me install the system in our trailer. Within a couple of hours, we had the alarm installed and tested. Unfortunately, there was an issue and the alarm wasn’t acting correctly. Everything worked by the siren. |
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Before calling Lyle again, we preformed numerous continuity tests, as well as power and ground tests. But the system still wasn’t working right. I then called my buddy who is a retired electrical engineer. Over the years, we’ve worked together on several harnesses for custom cars, experimental airplanes and motorcycles. I’m pretty good with electrical systems, but when there’s an issue I can't resolve, I call him. I asked my buddy to look over our work and see if we missed anything. After checking himself, he said, the system should be working. I called Lyle and explained how we installed and tested the system. His reply was something to the effect of, “I’m not sure, but it sounds like an issue with the board.” I reminded him I was in a time crunch and would be leaving in two days. He said, "I’ll overnight a replacement system to you.” The next day, I had a new unit in my hand. We installed it and it worked perfectly. So now I had both his back up boards. Before we left, I returned the original system to Lyle.
It turns out the first unit was fine, but one of the fuses on the board was not good. When we were looking for faults, I pulled the fuse and It visually appeared good. There were no typical signs of a burnt fuse. We looked closely at the wire and the part we could see under the plastic looked intact. But, in hindsight, I should have performed a continuity check across the fuse. I really didn’t think we’d have an issue with the fuse because we didn’t have any shorts while installing the alarm. I later read how fuses can be manufactured incorrectly and not work from the get go. It’s rare, so I don’t think it’s something anyone needs to worry about. But it's good info to keep in your back pocket - just in case. The alarm system has worked flawlessly since I purchased it, including a very difficult, six-thousand-mile journey across some of the worst roads I've ever driven on. From start to finish, Lyle stood by his product. He didn’t know me from Boo, but he went out of his way to make sure my experience with his company was a positive one. I highly recommend Lyle and Trailer-alarms.com. Rick Carr The Vintage Bike Builder |
These are images from the traileralarm.com website. As soon as I get a chance, I'll show pictures of our trailer and the alarm system installed.
The siren horn is loud! Nobody is going to want to be within ten feet of this thing when it goes off.
These are the door sensors. We needed to strengthen one a bit for our back door, but otherwise they worked flawlessly.
Two key fobs are provided with the system. Should you lose them, you can easily program another.
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