Hello everyone ,
Still new to the forum and waiting on delivery of my ordered 2019 CCLB 6.7 King Ranch . I was wondering if anyone has had a Viper Alarm system installed and if so what is your opinion and experience with it . If you have some other type or brand of alarm I would be interested in hearing about that also as I am mulling over whether or not to install an alarm system . Thanks in advance . P.S. If this is posted in another thread already I apologize for my ignorance . I did look through the thread on security but didn't see alarms mentioned .

 

Hmmmm, so you ordered a 2019 KR SD and you’re interested in a Viper alarm?
Is there any reason why you think the factory alarm wouldn’t do the same thing?
If your KR comes with FordPass Connect, you’ll have even more security features.
Just wondering.

 

Hi , Thanks for your response . I guess my concern is that it seems that thieves have become pretty proficient at defeating the stock security features . I would like to keep my truck safe as everyone else does . I am only about 2 hours from Mexico and there seem to be lot of thefts of the f250 and f350 to be used for drug and human smuggling activities . They even stole our local Sheriff's f250 when he ran into a Lowes store in San Antonio . The truck was found about 2 weeks later with the back seat removed and after a chase where they took the truck through some ranch fencing and were able to get away after the truck was trashed . Just trying to think ahead and try to make it a little harder to steal . I've never had a vehicle stolen but i've also never had a $80,000 truck (other than my Izusu crew cab box truck) .

 

The original owner of my 05 Excursion installed one in that year, it was a 2 way system that has great range.
I had one problem in the 9 years i owned it and the shop fixed it for free. A great feature is to remove the key
and the truck kept running, arm it and leave for a few moments with peace of mind it wasn't going to be stolen.
It was on a diesel so the delay was 30 seconds for the 6.0. I would buy another one without question.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience with the Viper system . It looks like now they can also can be operated on your Smartphone . I think I would feel more comfortable with an extra layer of security above and beyond what Ford provides .Of course I have no experience yet with the Ford system it just seems like the thieves have found a way around it .

 

I had a viper alarm put on my '14 Tundra and also now on my '18 f250 xlt that did not come with factory remote start. On the Tundra I had an issue in the summer with the windshield shade in, the receiver would get too hot and set the alarm off and disable me from driving my own vehicle, my shop told me that problem is fixed now on the new ones, the Superduty hasn't seen a summer yet, I did go with the viper phone app for the remote start, locks and GPS tracking, the features are nice but its finicky, I get many "unable to connect to vehicle" notices when trying to remote lock or remote start, and the gps looks like it is either tracking my phone location (not the truck location) or it thinks my truck is still at home when I have it at work. The alarm has only gone off one time when I was in the truck, armed it, then opened the door to get out. I believe to disarm it all you have to do is push the button on the receiver on the windshield next to the blinking blue light, sounds easy to defeat. hope this helps.

 

Thanks for the info . Finicky and unable to track properly do not sound like a ringing endorsement . Might have to to re think that system . Any other ideas out there let me know .

 

I have a viper installed on my F350. I don't have the smartphone piece installed so I can't comment on that. I've only had the truck for about 6 months, but no issues so far with the Viper. You can't disarm it by pushing the button on the receiver. That button is there for when you want to put it into valet mode.

I've had Viper alarms on all my cars for the past 15 years. I wouldn't hesitate to put one on if you want an extra layer.

 

I had a Viper with SmartStart on my old duramax the last 6 or so years I owned it and loved it. My wife used the phone app exclusively. I used it most when I was out hunting if I needed to allow someone to access my truck during the hunt it was easy and no limit on distance since it was via cellular. Had one issue where the chirps/alarms would not make any noise from one day working to the next day. Took it in and found a rat or squirrel had chewed the wires off. 5 minute fix. Outside of that it was super easy. They sent me a new command center when the technology changed from 3g to lte or whatever it was at no cost and gave me credit back on my unused time on my old plan and nice discount on the new plan that had more features for same price. Customer service was always top notch the few times I had to call them.
I haven't installed one on my SD yet. My cousin had a DroneMobile installed on his 17 SD and really likes it. It doesn't interfere with any factory alarm settings only adds to them. Probably paid for itself about a week when his phone went off alerting him his truck had been tilted during dinner at a restaurant. He rushed outside to find a teenage girl pulling away from his truck. He was able to get her stopped. She claimed she didn't know she had hit his truck and the impact folded in part of his bedside behind the rear wheel.
My installer that installed the Viper on my old duramax didn't recommend Viper for my SD. He recommended the DroneMobile system my cousin has that is made by Compustar. Very comparable systems and price is about the same as well. I asked him why and he said they had had some issues with Viper not playing nice with the factory settings on the push to start trucks with the fob. My cousin's system maintains the factory fob settings and when the fob is used to lock/unlock the truck it arms/disarms the system.
If the FordPass Connect app is as buggy and unreliable on the 19's and up as FordPass is with my 18 I sure wouldn't put any faith in it keeping my truck safe that is for sure! It has rarely worked correctly for me and crashes often or won't update for weeks at a time.
Beware those who are anti anything that Ford didn't put on the truck. Those fanboys are totally unreliable when it comes to being honest about what works and what doesn't. I will say this forum has way more of them than any other forum I've been on. Comical at best but sad nonetheless.
Look forward to what you decide to go with and reviews pre and post install.

 

Hi KCrebel , Nice review on the alarm systems . I like the real world experience that you and some of the others are posting . I like the system your cousin has and will look into the dronemobile system . That seems to have what might be a good fit for me . I will definitely let everyone know which direction I go and what my experience is . Now if only I can get my new truck and get starting ideas into action !