TRACKERS are they any use ? (1 Viewer)

[Otter Spotter]

I note that on the Motorhome stolen thread there is comment on how useful or not trackers are in stopping thefts.
Firstly can I suggest that a Tracker will not stop a theft, the tracker is only usual to ‘follow’ track a vehicle as it moves, it will not on its own recover the MH.
Most generic trackers are fitted into or next to the OBD socket and that’s the first place a thief looks to disable it, once disabled you cannot track the MH.
Where a tracker is fitted in a MH is important and it should not be in the obvious places.
The other issue to consider with a tracker is how it notifies you if the MH moves, is it monitored by a 3rd party or does it send you a message and or a map showing current location.
I would suggest that the 2nd method is better as you can coordinate any search or notification of Police and not rely on a call centre who may not be 100% awake.
I am sure there are experts who will add and or correct to my comments, but if you get a dealer to fit a tracker most are fitted by 3rd party contractors who use the same locations on multiple vehicles and their locations are well known to thieves so don’t expect the tracker signal to last long once the MH is stolen.
The obvious point is that any tracker for a MH should be fitted by a specialist MH security business and I believe there is only one in the country and that they are members of MHFun

 

[RedFrame]

I have a tracker, modified and fitted by myself,I believe it will outperform anything that I could have fitted elsewhere.

I'm not going to explain how it works on a public forum as that would defeat the whole object of modifying it.

Cheers
Red.

 

[pappajohn]

I would suggest that the 2nd method is better as you can coordinate any search or notification of Police and not rely on a call centre who may not be 100% awake.

Police aren't interested in tracking unless it's via a call center.
Most, if not all, call center trackers are thatched approved.
I have a Chinese tracker in the cupboard unused.
Couldn't be bothered fitting it after reading chinglish instructions.

 

[seasideBill]

On my previous van I fitted a cheapish off-the-shelf tracking device which does all the usual stuff like alert me if moved, battery disconnected or vibration, but it also allowed me to remotely cut power to the fuel pump. Didn’t bother with an alarm as who takes any notice? Didn’t need to use it, but it would probably have bought me some time should I have needed to.

 

[Itsmcb]

An old phone with a cheap sim permanently connected to a usb outlet concealed somewhere is as good as anything. Google maps or Find my iPhone will give reasonably accurate positioning information.

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[seasideBill]

An old phone with a cheap sim permanently connected to a usb outlet concealed somewhere is as good as anything. Google maps or Find my iPhone will give reasonably accurate positioning information.

Or AirTag, battery so no power supply needed and so small you can hide it anywhere.

 

[eddie]

I wholeheartedly approve of people not having alarms.

When I'm in a motorway aire and my RV is the only vehicle obviously alarmed, alarm security loop around the bikes and the rack, multiple LED's dotted about, and multi lingual warning stickers warning the thief the motorhome is alarmed, and there are half a dozen motorhomes with no apparent alarm system, in the wee small hours common sense dictates that they won't bother with the noisy one first, if at all!

This is why you get the pathetic whiney posts that "We woke up and the door was open and all our money and credit cards we stolen, I'm a really light sleeper and I didn't hear a thing!"

When then asked why didn't the alarm trigger when the door was opened, ergo waking them up "Oh we don't belive in alarms!"

Remember most casual crime is opportunistic, if someone is creeping around late at night, surreptitiously they don't want confrontation, if they didn't care about being caught they'd bang on you door and threaten you with a knife or acid

I can turn off any tracking system from out side the motorhome. Equipment to do this can be bought on eBay for less that £100 and I mean ANY tracking system which is why the Van Bitz Non Starter came into being, a tracker that immobilises the motorhome needing the customer (phone) to be able to start the engine

If you alarm or tracking system is plugged into your OBDP you may as well unplug it and throw it in the bin as its a waste of payload!

 

[eddie]

An old phone with a cheap sim permanently connected to a usb outlet concealed somewhere is as good as anything. Google maps or Find my iPhone will give reasonably accurate positioning information.

No it's not.

 

[Speve]

I wholeheartedly approve of people not having alarms.

When I'm in a motorway aire and my RV is the only vehicle obviously alarmed, alarm security loop around the bikes and the rack, multiple LED's dotted about, and multi lingual warning stickers warning the thief the motorhome is alarmed, and there are half a dozen motorhomes with no apparent alarm system, in the wee small hours common sense dictates that they won't bother with the noisy one first, if at all!

This is why you get the pathetic whiney posts that "We woke up and the door was open and all our money and credit cards we stolen, I'm a really light sleeper and I didn't hear a thing!"

When then asked why didn't the alarm trigger when the door was opened, ergo waking them up "Oh we don't belive in alarms!"

Remember most casual crime is opportunistic, if someone is creeping around late at night, surreptitiously they don't want confrontation, if they didn't care about being caught they'd bang on you door and threaten you with a knife or acid

I can turn off any tracking system from out side the motorhome. Equipment to do this can be bought on eBay for less that £100 and I mean ANY tracking system which is why the Van Bitz Non Starter came into being, a tracker that immobilises the motorhome needing the customer (phone) to be able to start the engine

If you alarm or tracking system is plugged into your OBDP you may as well unplug it and throw it in the bin as its a waste of payload!

My thoughts are the same Eddie with non starter and strike back I have had on last two vans and feel confident about the system and even if a thief gets in he’s not driving it away

 

[Guigsy]

Or AirTag, battery so no power supply needed and so small you can hide it anywhere.

AirTags are good for finding stuff you've accidentally lost. They are not good for finding stuff that's been deliberately taken.

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[seasideBill]

AirTags are good for finding stuff you've accidentally lost. They are not good for finding stuff that's been deliberately taken.

lost… like a motorhome?

 

[seasideBill]

Remember most casual crime is opportunistic,

Exactly, so if the potential thief turns up equipped to defeat a sophisticated all singing & dancing system, they hardly fall into the ‘opportunistic’ category. Risk is everywhere.

 

[eddie]

Exactly, so if the potential thief turns up equipped to deal with a sophisticated all singing & dancing system, they hardly fall into the ‘opportunistic’ category. Risk is everywhere.

And when has that happened ?

 

[eddie]

There you go a real live answer to your point, fact not based on an uninformed opinion

Long story, but here goes... My son's MH was stolen a couple of years ago, it was his pride and joy. Fortunately insurance paid out but he never wanted to go through that trauma again, so he bought another MH and went straight to Eddie who recommended going the whole hog with alarm, tracker and immobiliser. Son is sooooo grateful that he did.

Son put the MH into storage at Walton on Thames last autumn and went off travelling abroad. He had a Metratrak notification that someone had tried to start the vehicle, but wasn't sure if it was just that his batteries had failed. Then he had an email from the site saying there had been problems, but I spoke to them for him and they said his vehicle wasn't directly affected.

Son finally managed to get a flight home last week and this was how the inside of his van looked. He contacted Eddie who got straight onto Metatrak who sent out an engineer the very next day and sorted it for him. Son can't thank Eddie and Metatrak enough for all their help, despite being closed due to lockdown both came up trumps at his hour of need.

Son is convinced this was a very planned operation - the thieves had already removed half a dozen trackers from other units, plus cut off wheel clamps (he could see the scorched wheel hubs) and raised corner steadies of caravans, but they were held up by his MH which they just couldn't figure out how to get going - they even brought in a battery from another vehicle to bypass his one to see if that would work. The Metatrak guy said they very nearly cracked it, and they probably went off to research and would have been back to finish the job, at which point they would have broken the locks on the gates etc and taken all the MHs and caravans out in one big convoy. Quite a heist!

Son is so glad he managed to get back before it was too late. And Eddie is his hero

View attachment 384649View attachment 384650

A trip to Fiat a trip to Van Bitz and everything is back to normal, everything intact, possessions, gadgets, tools, clothes everything

 

[Gizmouk]

View attachment 889374

There you go a real live answer to your point, fact not based on an uninformed opinion


A trip to Fiat a trip to Van Bitz and everything is back to normal, everything intact, possessions, gadgets, tools, clothes everything

Are all of your installs like that, or do you sometimes replace covers?

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[MisterB]

View attachment 889374

There you go a real live answer to your point, fact not based on an uninformed opinion


A trip to Fiat a trip to Van Bitz and everything is back to normal, everything intact, possessions, gadgets, tools, clothes everything

which is another of the reasons i chose to visit a 'specialist', who offer free stopovers on their site near Taunton ...

 

[AshVanBitz]

I am not the biggest advocate for monitored tracking systems and I really only sell them as insurance companies bully customers into buying them. Yes it can provide additional peace of mind for some people but they can be blocked easily rendering them useless.
Prevention is better than cure so why allow them to steal it in the first place!?! Having a system installed that provides additional immobilisation (like our Non Starter for example) is the better option to have.
I understand that insurance companies put people between a rock and a hard place, however sometimes a little push back and saying the word ‘NO’ may be all you need to do, not to be bullied into buying something that you do not want. Fundamentally you are taking out an additional insurance policy to provide protection for you insurance company!! Doesn’t sound fair to me!!

 

[eddie]

Are all of your installs like that, or do you sometimes replace covers?

That's why they retired me and I'm sat in Spain

 

[Guigsy]

lost… like a motorhome?

For privacy/stalking reasons, it's easy to find someone else's AirTag. They are very short range and poll only occasionally, so they are unlikely to provide useful tracking beyond busy town centres. It's also easy to turn the scanning off so the thief's phone doesn't dob them in. AirTags are not good trackers.