Which tracker

S

StephandJohn

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Thinking we may do this but haven't a clue where to start so all help would be great please.
What would it cost, best place to get one and would it be easy to fit are the first questions that come to mind.
Thanks everyone.
Steph
 
StephandJohn said:
Thinking we may do this but haven't a clue where to start so all help would be great please.
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Morning Steph,

Do you need one for insurance purposes or just for your own peace of mind.

We needed one to get our insurance policy but as you would expect there are a few dozen choices out there.

Our tracker is a Cat-6 unit and if purchased by you then it would cost £199 to buy & fit and then the airtime is a.) £149 per year or, b.) £399 for as long as you own the van.

I have opted for the 1-year airtime for now just in case we change our van again. The reason why I mention this is that we have bought lifetime airtime for our two previous vans and then have sold them in quick succession so in theory we have lost a lot of money on trackers.

I'm sure a few more guys will post-up their experiences and knowledge too.

Good luck,

Andrew
 
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Thanks Andrew. The insurance haven't asked us to do it. Its just that its precious to us and we probably couldn't afford to replace it (we haven't got old for new or anything like that). Its in very good condition for an 11 year old van and 'only' worth about £20,000.
Its kept in gold star storage so we're as confident as you can be that it won't get nicked from there. Its just while we're away and its left in car parks etc.
We have wheel locks and stearing wheel locks etc etc etc.
 
We needed one to get our insurance policy but as you would expect there are a few dozen choices out there.

Our tracker is a Cat-6 unit and if purchased by you then it would cost £199 to buy & fit and then the airtime is a.) £149 per year or, b.) £399 for as long as you own the van.

If the insurer asks for a tracker don't they also insist it is fitted by a registered dealer/fitter, they did for our Alarm and we had to send the instillation document in?

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MichaelT said:
If the insurer asks for a tracker don't they also insist it is fitted by a registered dealer/fitter, they did for our Alarm and we had to send the instillation document in?
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You're right about that Michael.

We transferred our tracker from our last van to the new one and it was the engineer that had to speak with the tracking company to verify our new VIN, VRN, colour and model details etc.
 
You can have the ‘Tracker’ transferred to a new vehicle by the dealers
 
I'm pretty sure there have been a few threads recently about new standards/regulations for next year, hopefully @eddievanbitz will be along shortly as he knows a lot about them.
Or look at their website, Vanbitz .
 
It has been explained on previous posts that it really does depend on what you are wanting from the tracking system and if it is a requirement from the insurance company.
As from Jan 2019, the VTS category of tracking systems will be the requirement of any new installation of tracking (CAT 5&6 will still be current if already fitted, but not on any new installation to a vehicle or if transferred to a new vehicle). If your insurance is insisting on a tracking system, then you will require a monitored VTS system with a 24hr call centre. The equipment we use has a multi network Sim installed so it will bounce on different providers so has more of a fighting chance to communicate, however I cannot comment on other company's equipment if they use the same concept. Here is an example of such a system;
https://www.vanbitz.com/wp-content/uploads/Shadow-VTS-flyer.pdf

Next would be systems fitted by companies based in the UK. Again these would be a hard-wired units but with the back-up of a UK based firm should things require attention (such as equipment/APP failure, network issues etc). Check if the network/software provider offers on-going support and they use a multi-network Sim for reliability. Check with the company that is installing the product that they can offer technical support and try to avoid agents rather than the actual company supplying and fitting, as these agents tend to come and go and most of the time fit to everything rather than specialists in motorcaravans.
An example of such a system can be found here;
​

You can then go for a Wire-Free unit that can be buried in the MH. These rely on their own power source (so that's one limitation, especially if you like to keep tabs on the unit a lot), plus normally using a single network Sim Card which it relies on to send out the data to an app on your phone, or log-in portal on your computer. Problem is the Sim Network, as it needs a stable platform to send the data from the unit and to it for you to communicate with it.
Again another DIY Fit is the latest run of imported hard wired tracking systems found on tinterweb. Again single network providing sims may limit the data from being sent and received to and from the unit. Plus if you have issues with the system and it's software provider, I wouldn't like to say how good the support will be and how long it will take before they will not support the product. Many have come and gone in this department. I can use an example of a recent little device I bought to watch DVB-T on my iPad. Bought from that well known internet auction site and sadly the App wasn't supported 8 months later, rendering the box useless.

All tracking systems will incur some running costs from a few pence a day to £200.00 per year, these vary based on self-tracking and monitored tracking services so again you need to factor in these costs.
Hope this info helps.
 
Thanks. Nickvanbitz. Its getting more and more complicated now!
I'll have to ponder longer.

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The issue I am having currently is that insurers are all quoting cat 5 trackers, and don't seem to understand the change to vts, so can't quote for a vts system, I don't want to go for a cat 5 now and find next renewal they then insist on a vts.
 
This is ours:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/323534938708

About 13 quid plus a payg O2 sim card £10.
Sends it's location every 5 mins when switched on. The system uses tiny amounts of data off the sim card so it will last years.
It works under the bonnet and if powered up continously has a current drain of 27ma.

You download the app which is like Google maps (y)

PS I don't think it's Cat 5. Or indeed Cat anything :ROFLMAO:
 
This site contains affiliate links for which MHF may be compensated.
As from Jan 2019, the VTS category of tracking systems will be the requirement of any new installation of tracking (CAT 5&6 will still be current if already fitted, but not on any new installation to a vehicle or if transferred to a new vehicle). If your insurance is insisting on a tracking system, then you will require a monitored VTS system with a 24hr call centre.
@nickvanbitz can you point us to some publication/law/rule with this new requirement please. I did a goggle search but found nothing? Maybe my search terms. Thank you
 
A friend of mine has a Metatrack system fitted to his motorcycle which cost around £46 a year on a three year subscription for self monitoring, he showed me the current location of his bike which was sitting in his garage in Spain. There are insurance approved options as well, might be worth a look.
 
MichaelT said:
As from Jan 2019, the VTS category of tracking systems will be the requirement of any new installation of tracking (CAT 5&6 will still be current if already fitted, but not on any new installation to a vehicle or if transferred to a new vehicle). If your insurance is insisting on a tracking system, then you will require a monitored VTS system with a 24hr call centre.

Got an email today from Alistair at SMC telling me that their current Smartrack Category 5 trackers will “ immediately conform to the new standard next year” that “they fall in line with the new standard which is basically the old standard with a new name” hope this helps.
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Alex and Lesley said:
Got an email today from Alistair at SMC telling me that their current Smartrack Category 5 trackers will “ immediately conform to the new standard next year” that “they fall in line with the new standard which is basically the old standard with a new name” hope this helps.
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Agreed, a whole load of hype for nothing.
 
Tracker or not if your van is stolen it will be recorded as stolen / recovered by your insurance so will be worth a good few grand less when you come to sell or exchange ----- got to ask yourself do you want your van back ?
 
Terry said:
Tracker or not if your van is stolen it will be recorded as stolen / recovered by your insurance so will be worth a good few grand less when you come to sell or exchange ----- got to ask yourself do you want your van back ?
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That is what I've been thinking. The answer is yes I would if it hasn't been damaged much. We couldn't afford to buy another one.

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there is a good self monitored system about for £40 and £4 a month subscription. 2 wires to install and includes geofencing and alerts to your phone. can be hidden inside the van or even underneath
 
StephandJohn said:
That is what I've been thinking. The answer is yes I would if it hasn't been damaged much. We couldn't afford to buy another one.
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I understand what you are saying but they would pay you out value of your van for you to buy another same value rather than have a van that is probably worth 10 k less simply because it's been stolen and recovered.
 
Wasn't there a thread a while ago when Jim was pushing a foolproof tracker ?
 
MichaelT said:
As from Jan 2019, the VTS category of tracking systems will be the requirement of any new installation of tracking (CAT 5&6 will still be current if already fitted, but not on any new installation to a vehicle or if transferred to a new vehicle). If your insurance is insisting on a tracking system, then you will require a monitored VTS system with a 24hr call centre.
@nickvanbitz can you point us to some publication/law/rule with this new requirement please. I did a goggle search but found nothing? Maybe my search terms. Thank you
Click to expand...

Sorry for the delay, I am currently on holiday but will answer.
Even the insurance companies are unsure of the category changes as from next year. Thatcham will publish their categories normally to the ABI and the insurance companies first, then eventually they will be somewhere for the public to view. This will be as of 2nd January 2019.
The main category they have reviewed is Cat 5 & 6, however I can imagine most existing suppliers will just re-apply to have their systems re-classified. We chose to get on to it straight away, so that we were ready for the changes before they came into effect.

It has been mentioned that another system will already conform to the VTS standard, my advise is get it in writing and insure that your certification clearly has an appropriate Thatcham evaluation number to conform to VTS. Anyone currently that has CAT5/6 fitted already don't have to worry, as these were current at the time of installation and will remain so. VTS only applies to any new installation on any vehicle from 2nd January 2019.

Technology wise their main focus his having another addition to identifying that it is you that's starting and running the vehicle, by forms of an I.D tag (Currently used with CAT 5 systems).
The concept is that you DO NOT leave this tag on your key ring and that it is a separate form of communication to allow the vehicle to be used. Now VTS systems and currently CAT 5 systems will notify the control centre first, which will then talk to you before activating the tracking the system (just in case you have forgotten to take your tag with you and left it somewhere, or your on a ferry etc). If the van has been stolen at this point, they will start tracking it and prompt you to contact the police and get a CRN.
The reason for the change is mainly to introduce this extra form of identification, as with the saga of the Ford immobilisation issues, "Relay Theft" and key theft/cloning etc, by having the i.d tag means that the tracking system is already alerted the moment the ignition is switched on, but the i.d tag isn't present. This then kick starts things much quicker than say you going out for a few hours only then afterwards discovering the MH has gone. By being alerted the moment something's a miss, you have a better chance of taking action before the van disappears forever.

Again apologies for not answering sooner, it is of course the season of G&T and too much food.

Have a great Christmas all :xgrin:.
 
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Thank you Nick, you have summed up the issue I am having, buying a van in mid January, looking to arrange insurance and trackers etc, but the insurers currently don't recognise VTS, only insisting on a cat 5, which effectively will be redundant in January if they then update their systems.

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We found they do recognise VTS but little is known at the moment so you have to push it a bit with them and explain to some of the staff that S5 is supposed to be replacing current Cat 5 and Cat 6 Thatcham in January. Some insurers say the info is just coming through (end November) and others make enquiries and confirm they do have a note of a particular VTS or not and they will accept. I believe some have to put it through as unknown Cat 5 at the moment as system not set up yet. However, they did agree it does meet their requirements!
 

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