gill Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 After many years of camping under "canvas" we bacame motorhomers two years ago. (Swift Sundance) We are soon to take delivery of the new Auto-Trail Savannah and are considering our security options. Does anyone have any experience or thoughts on Smartrack or other vehicle tracker devices? Is it worth the additional expense - do they work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyB Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 My personel opinion is probably not, for a couple of reasons- 1 Having seen where stolen motorhomes turn up and what condition they are found in I wouldn't want mine back if it got stolen. and 2 High cost to install the tracker and subsequent subscriptions for monitoring will probably be well in excess of any insurance discounts. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil malcolmson Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 I had the same thoughts as you, After losing my previous home to pikey scum i decided...every little helps. went for a Outsmart the thief combined alarm and tracker.. It has the ability to stop the engine remotely at a safe place for the police to intercept.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil malcolmson Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 AndyB - 2010-06-02 5:33 PM My personel opinion is probably not, for a couple of reasons- 1 Having seen where stolen motorhomes turn up and what condition they are found in I wouldn't want mine back if it got stolen. and 2 High cost to install the tracker and subsequent subscriptions for monitoring will probably be well in excess of any insurance discounts. Andy If you get it back with a tracker you get it back quickly before much damage is done.. The heartache and costs involved plus dealing with insurance companys trying to wriggle out of payment, and then insulting you with an offer, I would have sooner had my old van back even if slightly damaged.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gill Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share Posted June 2, 2010 Thanks Andy. Point 2 particularly relevant. With a Category 1 alarm system there is no further insurance advantage in having a tracker. We are 50-50 on this at the moment ! We agree a recovered vehicle may not be in ideal shape - but what about the contents? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil malcolmson Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 gill - 2010-06-02 5:41 PM Thanks Andy. Point 2 particularly relevant. With a Category 1 alarm system there is no further insurance advantage in having a tracker. We are 50-50 on this at the moment ! We agree a recovered vehicle may not be in ideal shape - but what about the contents? I got buttons for my contents.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gill Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share Posted June 2, 2010 Thanks Neil. Your systems sounds pretty upmarket. We'll take a look and compare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porky Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 You may find when you come to insure it the insurance company will insist on one being fitted because of the value. Ours did, and as they gave us the best cover, including unlilmited time in Europe we obliged. If you are going "foreign" surely a tracker will give you peace of mind!:-> Roy Fuller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave G Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Having just spent upwards of £50,000 on a new motor home surely it makes sense to protect your investment the best way you can? I can recommend the "Outsmart the Thief" tracker system particularly having set the alarm off accidently a couple of times. My mobile was ringing before I had time to reset the alarm and I was in Spain at the time. I cannot fault the system, having seen how alert the tracking people were. Their web site: http://www.606060.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gill Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share Posted June 2, 2010 Hi, our current insurers (Safeguard) have advised either alarm or tracker - or both if we prefer.They are not requiring both but we thinking of "belt and braces" for our own benefit. And, yes, we will most likely be taking a trip across the Channel at some stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gill Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share Posted June 2, 2010 Thanks - second mention of Outsmart so will take a look. We already have a quote for Smartrack fitted at same time as various alarm points. Happy motorhoming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Make sure that whatever you go for is likely to be around in a few years, otherwise it's a lot of expense if there's no-one to monitor it. Not saying that the above companies are likely to go that way, but best to be sure. Personally I wouldn't want one. IMV the risk of theft of the motorhome is minimal and to some extent I think the companies play on your insecurities to get you to buy them .... a bit like narcotic gas alarms. IMV as most vans have a good immobiliser (upgrade it to Cat 1 with an alarm and you get a discount with insurance anyway), if they really want your van badly enough they'll get it, with or without a tracker. You may be able to get it back but, as has been said, do you really want it back? You may be out of pocket for some of your chattels but for the cost of some of these tracker systems you could easily replace that anyway. If my van got nicked (hopefully it never will) then the only things I'd want back would be my dogs! :-S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gill Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share Posted June 2, 2010 Thanks Mel. More good points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 I have a Strickback alarm, and a GP800 tracker fitted to my 2008 Bessacar765P. It is of the simm card type which alerts me or the missus if the alarm is triggered, I can track the van from my mobile phone and remote immobilise the engine, and there are no ongoing fees. It texts me once a month to tell me all is well I can interrogate it at any time and it warns me if the battery voltage is low. I put £20 credit on the simm April 2008. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gill Posted June 2, 2010 Author Share Posted June 2, 2010 Thank you. Worth considering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Some insurance companies insist on a tracker system for up market motorhomes. If you have one fitted ensure its a mainstream company (like trafficmaster) because the value is in the support infrastructure. You can have the poshest bit of kit burried under your dashboard but if the company who provided it go bust its a housebrick! Van Bitz were mentioned and they seem to go with the mainstream traka companies and are well respected in the motorhome fraternity. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gill Posted June 3, 2010 Author Share Posted June 3, 2010 Thanks Clive. We are looking at Smartrack which can be fitted at the same time as other essential door & locker alarm set up. This seems to have a good backup system in terms of reaction in the event of theft/possible theft, particularly if we cannot be contacted (ie no mobile signal). Having just returned from a 3 week tour of Scotland I would say we had an iffy sig for a good many days away - bliss !! No contact with us means the company assumes theft and the police are involved straightaway. Still undecided ! Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art338 Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 When parked, remove all items from display, put a picture of an aggressive dog where it can be seen and leave a (large) dog chain beside it. Would you chance going in? I think not. a deterrant is worth a thousand alarms art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
le canichot depang Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 Just another option, as we spend about 10 months of the year on a rock of 45 square miles, we decided not to go for the tracker option, but have got two dogs (one with a very big bark) plus one of the disk locks that covers the steering wheel, (now I have heard that these are easily removed, but if a thief has the option of stealing two vans, one with and one without, it might just detract him), also we get a discount from our insurers for using it . We also have a hidden mobile phone with Payg sim card in it (with a little credit on it), if you have an apple iphone you can download an application called "find my phone", which, when any mobile number is called up the GPS automatically activates and shows exactly where the signal is coming from with co-ordinates. This is obviously presuming that the thief hasn't found the hidden phone (but then again would he know or waste time looking for one?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
art338 Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 le canichot d'epang, Catching a thief on Jersey only needs a push bike surely. Where can he go? art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
le canichot depang Posted June 3, 2010 Share Posted June 3, 2010 exactly the reason why we didn't get one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasper Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 For all you travellers out there who carry equipment of any sort then it's worth a look at www.exactTrak.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowtelse2do Posted June 8, 2010 Share Posted June 8, 2010 Dave G - 2010-06-02 7:17 PM Having just spent upwards of £50,000 on a new motor home surely it makes sense to protect your investment the best way you can? I can recommend the "Outsmart the Thief" tracker system particularly having set the alarm off accidently a couple of times. My mobile was ringing before I had time to reset the alarm and I was in Spain at the time. I cannot fault the system, having seen how alert the tracking people were. Their web site: http://www.606060.com/ If spending that sort of money, I would expect a state of the art alarm already on it !!Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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