Tracker, is there any point?
- Thread starter Chrissy101
- Start date
- Jan 17, 2014
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Can you track the vehicle yourself or is it only via their control room?
Not sure about the control room to be honest, I prefer to track my vehicles myself....unless you report the vehicle missing, they then take control.
You control the type of alert you recieve and how often.....the tracking unit has 4 settings
At the moment my campervan is in the repairers (caused during the Lincoln show) and I have had to set the tracker unit setting so that I am not alerted every time a worker touches the camper....yes it can be that sensitive.
We have a monitored tracker, vehicle had a problem with the reversing camera, and while we were fiddling about with fuses, we must have looked dodgy because Sargent were on within minutes to two of our numbers to check if the battery had been disconnected.
Secondly, The trouble with leaving the keys in, well with ours anyway, the key is paired to that vehicle so if the thieves have the key, it’s assumed it’s the owner. Once we read that we ensure the key is very well hidden when not in use…
That doesn’t excuse the police for being disinterested though
I looked at insurance with and without a tracker when I first got my current van. I have done this most years since then then and the best I managed to find was a £20 saving. Needless to say I have never bothered with one although I do have a subscription free one and various visible deterrents.
Yes, saves me over £200/yr because the cheapest and best rated insurers insist on a high-calibre tracking device. CAMC or CCC memberships also save more on insurance prices than they cost to remain a member whether you actually use them or not. They both work for me at least
- Apr 19, 2022
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- Autotrail
We have the Sargent tracker standard fit at manufacture by Autotrail. It’s £135 a year supposedly monitored 24/7. We have had alerts such as when setting off on a ferry or if I’ve been doing work in the van and disconnected a battery. Just this week I’ve had an email from Sargent to say there is no signal. Apparently the tracker battery has gone dead and needs replacing. It’s £55 for a new battery. They also said the current tracker is only 2g and really should be upgraded with a later 4g model at £170? We are insured with Caravanguard. They don’t insist on a tracker but having one makes the premium about 7% cheaper. I’m thinking of ditching the Sargent one and buying one online at around £25 with a £4.99 monthly fee. Even with an additional premium it’ll work out cheaper than replacing with a Sargent battery or upgraded box and their annual fee.
chris McKenny
Free Member
- Aug 3, 2022
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- Rapido V:68
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Apart from the obvious use to track if stolen , provided fitted properly ,ours is used for our daughter to be able to monitor exactly where we are when travelling ,useful as one gets to an age !enjoy
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- Apr 6, 2024
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Hi, sourds perfect, can you message me more details. Thanks
- Nov 27, 2024
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- Westfalia Columbus
Ours came with a Scorpion tracker, and a couple of insurance companies I asked wouldn't insure vans over a certain value without one.
But I hadn't really thought any more about it, until I came to make Youtube videos about a recent trip, some time after the event, and realised that the Scorpion app was an exceedingly good way of reminding myself which routes I had taken on which days...
But I hadn't really thought any more about it, until I came to make Youtube videos about a recent trip, some time after the event, and realised that the Scorpion app was an exceedingly good way of reminding myself which routes I had taken on which days...
We bought a tracker for an iPhone for about a tenner from Jiffy in France. Cheap as chips and does the job. Who cares what insurance wants it’s all a bloody huge scam! And they will still contest everything because they can.
DBK
LIFE MEMBER
2g is being turned off in many places so you may have to change if you want coverage.
Hi RioRob please send me details of the above.
Jack.
I love the intimidating name - Dragon Hellfire. We have the ultimate demobolizer in Das Van- the Gnasher. Cheap to buy but annual sub is a few £'00. Basically if any part of your anatomy enters the vehicle the Gnasher Immobiliser, aka Jess the Jack Russel, will seek its teeth into it, immediately immobilising you. Your yells will then attract the attention of the Police.same as what I have now Wattguardz not Vanbitz. Tracker, alarm and immobiliser! Last 3 motorhomes have all had it, I should have a loyalty card lol.
Hellfire - WattGuardz
Security Systems Hellfire The Dragon: Hellfire– The ABSOLUTE Motorhome Security System When only the very best will do, choose The Dragon: Hellfire—our most advanced and complete motorhome security solution to date. Building on the superb protection of The Dragon: Shockwave, the Hellfire system...www.wattguardz.com
WESTY66
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Yes, well we actually have the Platinum VIP Gnasher. As well as the immobiliser there is the Back Up Unit which is 42kg of Russian mongrel. It's normally totally passive but activates if the Immobiliser is interfered with.Unless of course you enter with a rotty or one or two staffies
Dennisad
LIFE MEMBER
Tracker Fitted-MH stolen off drive at 9:30pm back on drive at 11:30pm the same night, thief arrested by Police speaks for itself.
- Oct 8, 2014
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I have just done that. I got a 20% reduction on my insurance premium. Following Ash's advice, I contacted MetaTrak to request an upgrade to include a Tracker. It can be updated to S5 or S7. To upgrade to an S7 increases the Annual Subscription from about £75 to about £120. From memory, a S5 is about £180 per year. It has no affect on the immobiliser.
WESTY66
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So to clarify, you can arm the immobiliser (turn off the starting) and still track the van on the app with all the journey features etc?
- Oct 8, 2014
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Yes, you can, but hopefully with the immobiliser armed, it won't be going on any journeys!
MichaelT
LIFE MEMBER
Except on the back of a lorryYes, you can, but hopefully with the immobiliser armed, it won't be going on any journeys!
- Oct 8, 2014
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Agreed! But any movement without the ignition on results in an App alert and a phone call from MetaTrak.
WESTY66
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- All the gear, and no idea!
I’d have to move a car and guy over road would have to move his truck, then it could be craned out I suppose
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I believe the need for a tracker for insurance purposes depends on the van's age. If it's of high value i.e. new or nearly new, then insurance companies will likely demand a tracker. Anything older >=3 years I sense that a tracker is optional, but your premiums will likely be very high without one. The only reason I say this is that when I purchased a new van the insurance company asked me what tracker had been installed. It didn't sound optional, but as it happened there was a tracker pre-installed that came with the van. Where-as on a previous older van the insurance company asked "is there a tracker or not?". The language and tone sounded as if it was optional.
- Nov 27, 2024
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- Westfalia Columbus
Yes, it was required for insurance on our new van, but on our previous one (worth about half as much), I could save about 20 quid on the insurance by paying 120 per year for a tracker.
I hid an airtag in the van instead, with its speaker disabled...
I hid an airtag in the van instead, with its speaker disabled...
I have a TruTrak basic tracker I pay £17.00 every three months, not sure how much use it would be if the van was stolen but it has given me peace of mind during our breakdown in France, I have been able to watch the van and keep an eye on it's location during its repatriation to the UK and it's movements during the repair process. Made me feel better about the whole process so it has been worth the money in my mind.
- Apr 19, 2022
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Following on from my previous post regarding my Sargent tracker failing. I notified Caravan Guard today about it and that I would not be upgrading it. They confirmed a tracker is not necessary for my insurance however having a monitored one did reduce the premium. It resulted in me paying an extra £30 to cover through to July 2026, that included a £15 admin fee. So the savings in premium in having a monitored tracker are only a fraction of the annual subscription cost. I’ve ordered a TruTrack Pro off Amazon with a monthly £4.72 payment. Even with the additional insurance cost it will work out cheaper and it’s 4G rather than the 2G Sargent one. Don’t need it but it gives me extra piece of mind.
Most insurance companies insist on trackers of thatcham quality fitted to vans that are over a certain value or at least this has been my experience if no tracker not able to insure
- Jan 17, 2014
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That seems to be who the brokers are and not necessarily who the underwriter is, see my comments above.
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