You made it to the middle of another week,
which means it's time for Weird Question Wednesday.
And this week's question wheelie got us thinking.
(calm music)
Can you put a SimpliSafe home security system
in a car now?
Now, technically yeah, you could.
It's not really worth the trouble.
It would take a lot of finagling and experimentation,
and you'd probably get quite a few false alarms
and weird problems along the way.
But yeah, I guess knock yourself out.
But what you can do is stick around to the end of the video.
We've got a list of devices and safety tips
for your car that would actually work.
I don't recommend sticking a home security system
in your car, but I really like this question.
So we're gonna think through it.
Also, don't forget to like and subscribe to SafeWise
to catch more weird questions every week.
And if you have one in yourself, ask it to us
in the comments or on our social channels.
We would love to hear your questions,
and you might be featured on an upcoming episode.
Alright. Let's hit the road.
It's kind of a no-brainer, but home security systems
are designed for homes.
But I really like this question
because it's kind of an interesting thought experiment.
So I'm gonna go ahead and break it down.
We're gonna look at: What do home security systems
like SimpliSafe need to work?
What are the problems with putting a security system
in your car? And how do you keep your car safe?
Security systems need a few key ingredients to work:
power, signal, and space.
SimpliSafe and other DIY systems
need to continuously get power to work.
So you'd have to keep the base station in your car,
plugged in at all times, or rely on the backup battery.
SimpliSafe's backup battery lasts about 24 hours.
So you could, I guess in theory,
bring it in and charge it inside or plug it in in your car.
You can find power outlets for vehicles,
but it might take up some precious real estate in your ride.
In your home, something like SimpliSafe
would use the Wi-Fi network to connect all the components
of your system together,
as well as to the monitoring center.
And I guess like the battery, you could rely
on a Wi-Fi hotspot in your car or the system cellular signal
to get it to work.
SimpliSafe's most basic package comes with a key pad,
a base station, a contact sensor, and a motion sensor.
The contact sensor might be the only useful one
out of the bunch, though.
You could, in theory, stick it on your car door
to tell when you open or close
or on the inside of the trunk.
But as for the other ones, I'm not so sure.
So if you have the space, power, and signal
to run a home security system out of your car, why not?
Well, I guess you could say
there's some roadblocks involved.
First off, these devices are meant for indoors
and room temperature. Leaving your system in a hot car
or cold over the winter could damage
an already precarious situation.
And then there's the matter of locating your car
when you need help.
Security systems like SimpliSafe are tied to a home address,
not a moving target like your vehicle.
If your system is always on the move,
first responders might not go to your car,
but they go to your home.
Now to be fair, most security systems
have monitoring center pros that will call you
before they send help.
So, in theory, you could tell them where your car is
when you park it and the system goes off.
But would they send help if you're parked
in the mall parking lot?
That's an answer I don't have.
But what we can help you with is giving you some better ways
of protecting your car
than rigging a home security system inside.
So, here are a few ways you can protect your vehicle.
We have a ton of information on vehicle GPS trackers
on SafeWise.com.
And we also have a couple other videos
of myself testing them.
Check out our most recent one, testing the Vivint Car Guard.
These gadgets track your vehicle's location.
So if it's swiped, you can find it fast.
Steering wheel locks are a relatively inexpensive
and simple way to keep your car in place.
They lock around the steering wheel
and keep anyone from driving off with your car.
And then there's dash cams, which are cameras meant
to sit inside your car and catch any action around it.
That could include break-ins or thefts
or any suspicious activity around your vehicle.
Unfortunately, we aren't aware of any 100% foolproof ways
to protect your vehicle all the time.
But we do have a few tips for making your vehicle
less appealing to perps.
Lock your windows and doors.
Don't leave your valuables in the car.
That's things like wallets, purses, phones, electronics,
anything that someone could take with them.
And when you can, park in well-lit, populated areas.
So, to answer the original question,
yeah, you could put a SimpliSafe security system
in your car, but it's not really worth the trouble.
It's best to stick with things designed for cars.
That said, I would be curious to see how this would work
in something like a motor home.
If you have an RV or a motor home and have a SimpliSafe
or any other DIY security system in it,
let us know. We would love to see and hear about that.
And that's it for us this week.
Thanks for your question.
And let us know if you have a question.
Drop it in the comments below or tag us on social.
We also have more stuff in the description on car safety,
going to SafeWise.com. That's things
like our best steering wheel locks, best GPS trackers,
and best dash cams.
Thanks for watching and stay safe.
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