Trackers

[SWBEKB]

We are new to camper vans having just purchased a California coast. We are looking at fitting a tracker and would welcome advice on the options. I understand there are battery operated units that you hide in the van. Are they any good?
TIA

 

[Jester]

Question, why do wish to fit a tracker, have you been asked to fit one, would you want it back after being stolen and recovered.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Not worth fitting one unless you need it for insurance purposes. Annual fees can be hefty, and would you want the van back after it had been stolen / damaged.

Calis have factory fitted Thatcham Cat 1 alarm as standard, as do most modern cars.

 

[B J G]

Look at theft prevention first.
Steering wheel & pedal locks.

Better to not have it stolen in the first place.

 

[lohr500]

If you want a reasonably priced one that isn't insurance company approved (although meets the LV Insurance tracker requirement), then look at the Trutrak GV57MG with proximity tags.

£95 to buy and the annual tracker subscription is a very reasonable £60.00.

• Provides near real-time tracking to a phone app or webpage.
• Allows you to set up separate and multiple entry and exit geofence areas to trigger an alert if your van enters or leaves a mapped area.
• Sends an alert if it is disconnected from the battery.
• Sends an alert if the vehicle is started or moved without the keyfob proximity tag being within 3 meters of the tracker.
• Alerts sent by email and by push messaging to your phone.
• Can be configured remotely by Trutrak for connection to either a permanent live feed off the vehicle starter battery, or permanent live feed off the leisure batteries.

I am very pleased with the one I am using.

 

[B J G]

Bit of reading for more insight into options

Best GPS car trackers 2023

A GPS car tracker can give you real peace of mind, but the best can do more than simply tell you where your car is. We've put eight to the test, and named the one you should spend your money on

www.whatcar.com

 

[g0cew]

We are new to camper vans having just purchased a California coast. We are looking at fitting a tracker and would welcome advice on the options. I understand there are battery operated units that you hide in the van. Are they any good?
TIA

Insurance companies now seem to want monitored trackers so I went ghost 11 immobiliser and scorpion tracker non of its cheap but for piece of mind I had to do this

 

[Jay586]

I have a Metatrak 7 & it's great. The one time I forgot the fob, straight on the phone.

Husband can work out where I am when lost too, bloody bril.

 

[Kayleigh]

I went with the Vodafone S5 tracker and it’s been trouble free for the last 8 months. I chose this over the Scorpion one as it comes with two fobs so you don’t need to use the phone app for your second set of car keys. Purchased from Connect My Car £450 including one year monitoring, which is about as cheap as you will get.

S5 VTS GPS tracking System – Connect My Car

Price includes fitting Includes 1-year Subscription The Vodafone Protect Connect S5 VTS GPS tracking system Cat S5 VTS tracker is a step up from any other entry-level trackers. The Vodafone Protect Connect S5 VTS GPS tracking system is a Thatcham Category S5 approved tracking system. A...

www.connectmycar.com

 

[KevH]

I went with the Vodafone S5 tracker and it’s been trouble free for the last 8 months. I chose this over the Scorpion one as it comes with two fobs so you don’t need to use the phone app for your second set of car keys. Purchased from Connect My Car £450 including one year monitoring, which is about as cheap as you will get.

S5 VTS GPS tracking System – Connect My Car

Price includes fitting Includes 1-year Subscription The Vodafone Protect Connect S5 VTS GPS tracking system Cat S5 VTS tracker is a step up from any other entry-level trackers. The Vodafone Protect Connect S5 VTS GPS tracking system is a Thatcham Category S5 approved tracking system. A...

www.connectmycar.com

I did exactly this, Vodafone S5 fitted on my drive by Connect My Car.
Although this was an insurance requirement I would have had this fitted anyway; it also acts as an immobiliser so with careful key management it can prevent your van being driven away, though not towed of course, but then you can tell the police where it is.
Prevention is better than cure, as they say, so you need visible deterrence too, eg wheel locks, bear lock, or similar. One device is probably of little value to the determined thief.
I personally don't buy the 'let them have it, would you want it back' argument...I don't think this would apply to your home so why to your van? Just personal opinion obviously.