GPS Tracker

[Mou and Iryna]

Good morning everyone. I am after purchasing a GPS Tracker for my MH. Any advice you could give in terms of brands and price? Any good experience you could share? Many thanks. M

 

[AndyPK]

Do you want a subscription service….?
We have a Tracker installed in our ‘van - fitted by the converter (Marquis).

Home

Tracker has over 25 years experience in the tracking and recovery of vehicles, and has built a working relationship with all UK police forces.

www.tracker.co.uk

 

[Sleafordquin]

I have a phantom tracker fitted in mine with a subscription

 

[Brains]

There are thems you pay for and thems you dont.
They can be monitored by a company, or monitored by yourself on your phone
Phone based ones are cheaper, as you are the monitor.

MetaTrak would be your benchmark item to look at first.
It's the one used as standard by the top of the range motorhome tracker installers such as Van Bitz
It's a phone based monitoring system

It means you can see where your vehicle is
You can set up your own 'geofence' which means if it moves beyond your perimeter you get an alert

You have the ability to block the engine from starting remotely, which means it's impossible to start, or if you activate it after it's stolen, as soon as they switch off the engine, they wont get it restarted.

You can check on your battery levels
As, like most alarm systems on motorhomes, your really need a solar panel and a battery master to ensure your batteries stay fully charged even in when the vehicle is laid up

Vodafone might be worth looking at, not as good as metatrak, (and it's more expensive) it's a central based monitoring system and you need to keep your key fob ner, but not attached, to your keys, which we found a bit of a pain.

Note: Depending on where you park your van, we have found our van can 'move' by upto half a mile on the tracker, so make sure your geofence perimeter is big enough!

 

[Guigsy]

Are you looking for a tracker for your own personal interest, or because your insurance company requires it?

If it's just for you, there are lots of cheap trackers that are pretty reliable that just require you to keep a SIM alive for ~£30 per year. You text them and they text back the location.

A small step-up is to pay someone like Rewire security. Their trackers are essentially the same ones as the kit you get on eBay. But the tracker reports back its position to a server when it's moving. So you can get history. You pay ~£85 per year for their service, plus approximately the same amount for the SIM. If you are smart enough, there's free software to do the same thing, but you still need to host it on a server.

Or there's insurance certified trackers. These are a few hundred to install and cost a couple hundred per year in subscription. They aren't significantly different to a Rewire system. But they keep the insurance company happy.

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[Guyadria]

I had to have a Thatcham approved one for insurance purposes. Always remenber to negotiate as they all do deals, I got a Smartrack S7 with 3 years monitoring via Global Telemetrics included for £500. There is an App that shows position, battery condition, geofencing and journey history. I also can track via my router, but that is not hidden in the van like the official tracker. Guy

 

[Mou and Iryna]

Do you want a subscription service….?
We have a Tracker installed in our ‘van - fitted by the converter (Marquis).

Home

Tracker has over 25 years experience in the tracking and recovery of vehicles, and has built a working relationship with all UK police forces.

www.tracker.co.uk

Thank you for your prompt response.
What does a subscription service entail and what are the costs involved ?
By the way, I live in Spain. Cheers. M

 

[Mou and Iryna]

There are thems you pay for and thems you dont.
They can be monitored by a company, or monitored by yourself on your phone
Phone based ones are cheaper, as you are the monitor.

MetaTrak would be your benchmark item to look at first.
It's the one used as standard by the top of the range motorhome tracker installers such as Van Bitz
It's a phone based monitoring system

It means you can see where your vehicle is
You can set up your own 'geofence' which means if it moves beyond your perimeter you get an alert

You have the ability to block the engine from starting remotely, which means it's impossible to start, or if you activate it after it's stolen, as soon as they switch off the engine, they wont get it restarted.

You can check on your battery levels
As, like most alarm systems on motorhomes, your really need a solar panel and a battery master to ensure your batteries stay fully charged even in when the vehicle is laid up

Vodafone might be worth looking at, not as good as metatrak, (and it's more expensive) it's a central based monitoring system and you need to keep your key fob ner, but not attached, to your keys, which we found a bit of a pain.

Note: Depending on where you park your van, we have found our van can 'move' by upto half a mile on the tracker, so make sure your geofence perimeter is big enough!

Thank you so much for the detailed information. Very helpful. I would rather monitor it myself. A couple of questions:
1) Can I have the tracker plugged into the main batterries then I wont have to worry about charging it. I do have Solar Panel fitted in my MH
2) I live in Spain, will the subscription work? How about roaming, travelling from country to country in Europe? Any idea of subscription costs?
Much appreciate your help. Regards. M

 

[Mou and Iryna]

Are you looking for a tracker for your own personal interest, or because your insurance company requires it?

If it's just for you, there are lots of cheap trackers that are pretty reliable that just require you to keep a SIM alive for ~£30 per year. You text them and they text back the location.

A small step-up is to pay someone like Rewire security. Their trackers are essentially the same ones as the kit you get on eBay. But the tracker reports back its position to a server when it's moving. So you can get history. You pay ~£85 per year for their service, plus approximately the same amount for the SIM. If you are smart enough, there's free software to do the same thing, but you still need to host it on a server.

Or there's insurance certified trackers. These are a few hundred to install and cost a couple hundred per year in subscription. They aren't significantly different to a Rewire system. But they keep the insurance company happy.

Thank you for the reply. No it is not for the insurance. It is to protect my MH. I was watching Overnighter TV over the weekend and in one of the series, they had their van stolen in Essex, from their home. That triggrered the need for me to have one. I invested a lot on my MH and wanted to make sure, it is soemwhat secured. I live in Spain and I just wonder how would the subscription work?

 

[Mou and Iryna]

I had to have a Thatcham approved one for insurance purposes. Always remenber to negotiate as they all do deals, I got a Smartrack S7 with 3 years monitoring via Global Telemetrics included for £500. There is an App that shows position, battery condition, geofencing and journey history. I also can track via my router, but that is not hidden in the van like the official tracker. Guy

Thank you for the info

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[Brains]

Thank you so much for the detailed information. Very helpful. I would rather monitor it myself. A couple of questions:
1) Can I have the tracker plugged into the main batterries then I wont have to worry about charging it. I do have Solar Panel fitted in my MH
2) I live in Spain, will the subscription work? How about roaming, travelling from country to country in Europe? Any idea of subscription costs?
Much appreciate your help. Regards. M

1) The idea is to hide the tracker as much as possible, so it should never be easy for a thief to follow the wire.
But it could be plugged in either battery, or better still, both.
If you have a [Broken Link Removed] fitted (£50) then the solar panel will trickle charge both batteries.

2) I don't think it matters where you are in Europe, but on the basis that you need a SIM card in the tracker, it would make sense to have one local to the country that the vehicle spends most of the time in.

3: Costs. Metatrak cost £58 PA (£174 for a 3 year sub) in the UK.
From memory I think Vodafone was £75pa

 

[Diabalo]

Amazon product ASIN B071FQNQ1L
I use one of these, if moved it alerts me showing where it is via google maps via SMS giving location, you can also set it up on their web site and monitor the movements in real time if it's stolen without charge, that's if the tracker hasn't been jammed. Battery lasts about 2 months but you can buy a hard wiring kit. I use 1p mobile sim that last 180 days for £10. Some may knock it but it does what I need without the need for a yearly subscription.

 

[Mou and Iryna]

1) The idea is to hide the tracker as much as possible, so it should never be easy for a thief to follow the wire.
But it could be plugged in either battery, or better still, both.
If you have a [Broken Link Removed] fitted (£50) then the solar panel will trickle charge both batteries.

2) I don't think it matters where you are in Europe, but on the basis that you need a SIM card in the tracker, it would make sense to have one local to the country that the vehicle spends most of the time in.

3: Costs. Metatrak cost £58 PA (£174 for a 3 year sub) in the UK.
From memory I think Vodafone was £75pa

Thank you. Very informative.

 

[Mou and Iryna]

Amazon product ASIN B071FQNQ1L
I use one of these, if moved it alerts me showing where it is via google maps via SMS giving location, you can also set it up on their web site and monitor the movements in real time if it's stolen without charge, that's if the tracker hasn't been jammed. Battery lasts about 2 months but you can buy a hard wiring kit. I use 1p mobile sim that last 180 days for £10. Some may knock it but it does what I need without the need for a yearly subscription.

Sorry but the link on Amazon did not work. !! Could you please resend it again. Thank you

 

[Badknee]

2) I live in Spain, will the subscription work? How about roaming, travelling from country to country in Europe? Any idea of subscription costs?

MetaTrak does indeed work in Spain and it’s about a pound a week. Im sure eddievanbitz will have all the info you need

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[Mark McG]

I bought a db1 tracker from Rewire security 4 years ago and they have been great. All information clearly shown on their website. easy install and I have connected ours to the alarm so it notifies us if the alarm sounds.

 

[Mou and Iryna]

I bought a db1 tracker from Rewire security 4 years ago and they have been great. All information clearly shown on their website. easy install and I have connected ours to the alarm so it notifies us if the alarm sounds.

Thank you

 

[Diabalo]

Sorry but the link on Amazon did not work. !! Could you please resend it again. Thank you

Amazon product ASIN B071FQNQ1L
Try it now. If that doesn't work for you open up Amazon and put the following in the search bar TKSTAR GPS TK905 Strong Magnetic GPS Tracker

 

[Richard n Ann]

The one I buy has it's own app based on Google maps. You can click on the location and go to Google maps navigation. They are only about £10 and very accurate. After a year the licence to use Google maps on their app expires and you have to use the text link the tracker sends like most other ones do anyway. I just buy another tracker, £10 a year is cheap

Mini Realtime Car GPS GSM Tracker Locator Vehicle/Motorcycle Tracking Device UK | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Mini Realtime Car GPS GSM Tracker Locator Vehicle/Motorcycle Tracking Device UK at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[Mou and Iryna]

The one I buy has it's own app based on Google maps. You can click on the location and go to Google maps navigation. They are only about £10 and very accurate. After a year the licence to use Google maps on their app expires and you have to use the text link the tracker sends like most other ones do anyway. I just buy another tracker, £10 a year is cheap View attachment 551129

Mini Realtime Car GPS GSM Tracker Locator Vehicle/Motorcycle Tracking Device UK | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Mini Realtime Car GPS GSM Tracker Locator Vehicle/Motorcycle Tracking Device UK at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

Thak you Richard and Ann.

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[Mou and Iryna]

Amazon product ASIN B071FQNQ1L
Try it now. If that doesn't work for you open up Amazon and put the following in the search bar TKSTAR GPS TK905 Strong Magnetic GPS Tracker

The link did not work but I searched on Amazon and have found it. . Do you need a subcription with this one? Can you plug it to the main batteries to avoid having to charge it all the time? Pls advise. Thank you.

 

[Richard n Ann]

Thak you Richard and Ann.

It's 12v only so wired into the vehicle battery.

For ours I made a 30min off timer so It goes off 30 mins after the ignition goes off. The location stays on the app until it's next powered up and used, this helps to prevent detection, saves data (not that it uses any) and saves battery drain.

 

[Mou and Iryna]

It's 12v only so wired into the vehicle battery.

For ours I made a 30min off timer so It goes off 30 mins after the ignition goes off. The location stays on the app until it's next powered up and used, this helps to prevent detection, saves data (not that it uses any) and saves battery drain.

I will see if I can get it in Spain. Thank you for the tip

 

[Richard n Ann]

I will see if I can get it in Spain. Thank you for the tip

Amazon sell it but it's more money,

 

[Diabalo]

The link did not work but I searched on Amazon and have found it. . Do you need a subcription with this one? Can you plug it to the main batteries to avoid having to charge it all the time? Pls advise. Thank you.

Yes you can get a hard wiring kit for it and no subscription needed just a sim card.

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[meatyparson]

Iridium Edge Solar

By harvesting the sun’s energy, Iridium Edge Solar enables long-term deployment of asset tracking, monitoring and management solutions.

www.iridium.com

I have this installed on my MH.

It uses the iridium satellite network so Pole to Pole coverage with a flat fee per month no matter where on the planet it is used.

Has Bluetooth so can be connected to other devices if need be but for basic dot on a map it works a treat.

Also has the benefit of solar powered. Can be discreetly hidden on the roof. And isn’t susceptible to GSM jamming.

 

[ChrisL]

With regard to sim cards global m2m sims work anywhere in the world, you just top them up online when you need to.

Global M2M SIM – Multi Network SIM Cards for all IoT and M2M applications

www.globalm2msim.com

I found a really cheap tracker on ebay that's disguised as a relay, it has quite good reviews on YouTube and has a small battery inside so if power is cut it will send you a text along with it's position, it's also capable of triggering an engine cut out.

C13 Relay GPS Tracker Rear Time GSM Locator Anti-theft Cut off Fuel Power System | eBay

Support 4-frequency GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz which can work worldwide. Warm start: 35 seconds. Network: GSM/GPRS. Network Band: 850/900/1800/1900Mhz. Main power cut off alert. Battery: Built-in lithium battery 3.7V 110mAh.

www.ebay.co.uk

Worth a go for £17 i thought just out of interest.

 

[Mou and Iryna]

With regard to sim cards global m2m sims work anywhere in the world, you just top them up online when you need to.

Global M2M SIM – Multi Network SIM Cards for all IoT and M2M applications

www.globalm2msim.com

I found a really cheap tracker on ebay that's disguised as a relay, it has quite good reviews on YouTube and has a small battery inside so if power is cut it will send you a text along with it's position, it's also capable of triggering an engine cut out.

C13 Relay GPS Tracker Rear Time GSM Locator Anti-theft Cut off Fuel Power System | eBay

Support 4-frequency GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz which can work worldwide. Warm start: 35 seconds. Network: GSM/GPRS. Network Band: 850/900/1800/1900Mhz. Main power cut off alert. Battery: Built-in lithium battery 3.7V 110mAh.

www.ebay.co.uk

Worth a go for £17 i thought just out of interest.

Yes indeed... very interesting. Thank you

 

[Mou and Iryna]

Iridium Edge Solar

By harvesting the sun’s energy, Iridium Edge Solar enables long-term deployment of asset tracking, monitoring and management solutions.

www.iridium.com

I have this installed on my MH.

It uses the iridium satellite network so Pole to Pole coverage with a flat fee per month no matter where on the planet it is used.

Has Bluetooth so can be connected to other devices if need be but for basic dot on a map it works a treat.

Also has the benefit of solar powered. Can be discreetly hidden on the roof. And isn’t susceptible to GSM jamming.

Thank you very much. I will for sure have a look at this.

 

[Mou and Iryna]

Iridium Edge Solar

By harvesting the sun’s energy, Iridium Edge Solar enables long-term deployment of asset tracking, monitoring and management solutions.

www.iridium.com

I have this installed on my MH.

It uses the iridium satellite network so Pole to Pole coverage with a flat fee per month no matter where on the planet it is used.

Has Bluetooth so can be connected to other devices if need be but for basic dot on a map it works a treat.

Also has the benefit of solar powered. Can be discreetly hidden on the roof. And isn’t susceptible to GSM jamming.

I had a look at it. It looks good. Where can one buy it? Is it best installed on the roof of the MH? Thank you

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