gordonaldson Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 Just wondering if any of you wonderfull people out there use your mobile phone to track your pride and joy instead of using the expensive tracker system. I've just been looking into sites like childlocate and locatemobiles co. uk for instance and for say £5 a month you can check up on your prized motorhome via you mobile to actually find out if is actually where its supposed to be. Hide your mobile somewhere in the vehicle with battery supply of course and your in business. Do any of you's out there do this and is there any pit falls. Gordon, Steamtown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixter Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 We have a tracker fitted on our Clou - it was part of the insurance conditions. Not sure if your insurance company would be too keen on you hiding a mobile phone somewhere on your motorhome as a suitable alternative! Our system is built on a sim card and we get monthly reports on battery condition and location and we can imobilise the motorhome by calling the sim card number. It was fitted by Van-bitz and is Thatcham approved. The Clou is fitted with dead locks on the doors and has toughened glass double glazed windows, so getting in is difficult anyway and we have nothing worth nicking either! VoH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel E Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 The big difference is that YOU have to use a mobile to check up on where it is. Tracker systems know the instant it is moved and can immediately inform both you and/or the police. Between mobile phone checks your van could be several counties away and the conversion already transferred to a different chassis! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miami Posted January 20, 2007 Share Posted January 20, 2007 We use http://www.alarm-trail.com/ and www.followus.co.uk.I check once a day to make sure the van is still there. Cheaper than a tracker and is pay as you go. Its alarm tells me if the van moves or if the battery is low. Can be run from the van's internal battery and can be programmed.In my view worth the money.Have used a phone but it uses the battery up if left for a while and doesn't alarm you if the van is moved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navman Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 Mel E - 2007-01-20 4:51 PM The big difference is that YOU have to use a mobile to check up on where it is. Tracker systems know the instant it is moved and can immediately inform both you and/or the police. Between mobile phone checks your van could be several counties away and the conversion already transferred to a different chassis! As I understand it, not all Tracking systems will update you if it is moved, you will need to check it on a web site ( as I understand it anyway). We have the RAC Trackstar fitted together with a Van Bitz alarm that will text me as the alarm goes off. Trackstar will also activate if the vehicle is moved not under its own steam (towed, back of a flatbed or ferry!! ) There are several tracking systems one of which ( one of the Company TRACKER options) that relies on static masts and Police vehicle to pick it up ( Still very good). I think that only works in the UK though.. With the RAC system we have, in the UK the police will deal direct with the RAC once the MH has been reported stolen. Abroad you act as the go-between. Not cheap but then again nor was our MH. Millions of pounds worth of vehicles get recovered each year.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orleander Posted January 21, 2007 Share Posted January 21, 2007 I looked into this as a cheaper option than a tracking system. I purchased a £10 credit from one of the companies offering GSM tracking and used my wifes mobile as the number to be tracked. ( I did advise her what I was doing). I checked several times when I knew her location but it was not very accurate sometimes giving her position some two miles away. I think this is because unlike GPS, GSM only tracks to zones and not specific points. I believe this was a problem when police were investigating the Soham murders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gordonaldson Posted January 21, 2007 Author Share Posted January 21, 2007 Interesting guys, looking into Miami's replies. Thanks some interesting replies. Of course I knew about trackers workings but my Motorhome is getting on a bit and is actually of the road but behind a locked gate some 150 miles away from my home. I live in it for a fortnight and come home for 4 days. These 4 days is what I am conserned about. Thanks Guys & Gals, Gordon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Hi gordonaldson, you may also be interested in the following which is a much cheaper option than the previously mentioned type, www.vancomfort.co.uk/trackers.html Regards Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Vixter - 2007-01-20 4:45 PM We have a tracker fitted on our Clou - it was part of the insurance conditions. Not sure if your insurance company would be too keen on you hiding a mobile phone somewhere on your motorhome as a suitable alternative! Our system is built on a sim card and we get monthly reports on battery condition and location and we can imobilise the motorhome by calling the sim card number. It was fitted by Van-bitz and is Thatcham approved. The Clou is fitted with dead locks on the doors and has toughened glass double glazed windows, so getting in is difficult anyway and we have nothing worth nicking either! VoH VickiIf you really mean toughened glass, don't count on it. That is the stuff that turns into neat little sugar cube like pieces that don't cut anyone and can then just be pushed soundlessly in. All you need is one sharp blow with a pointed object. That breaks the outer, heat treated, layer of the glass and the internal stresses do the rest - just like all those older type windscreens. Double glazed, do the outer sheet, then the inner. 20 seconds max!If the windows are plastics and not glass, provided they are polycarbonate, they just may qualify as tough. However, unless the catches are reinforced........ Chains and their weakest links?If they are glass, they need to be laminated and not toughened before they will resist breakage, just like all our new type windscreens! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navman Posted January 22, 2007 Share Posted January 22, 2007 Basil - 2007-01-22 12:03 PM Hi gordonaldson, you may also be interested in the following which is a much cheaper option than the previously mentioned type, www.vancomfort.co.uk/trackers.html Regards Bas You are correct it is cheaper but I don't think it will give you the exact location of the motor home. In rural areas the zone could be quite a few square miles. The more expensive ones will tell you what street it is in and the house number it is outside... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basil Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 Can't say as we don't use any of them, but the manufacturers state it's accurate to 150 metres. As it appears to use similar technology to the previous one mentioned by miami but at lower cost I believe it is comparable. Regards both the RAC version and the other that I forget the name of. I e-mailed both of them when I was interested but they did not even bother to answer my e-mails (four to each) or answer my questions so I don't hold them in high regard as if they can't bother their a***s to answer a sales query I don't hold out much hope for their service!! Bas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 If the system is using the GSM netwrok alone to establish position then yes it can be to within 150 mtres............ in a built up area with lots of mini repeaters. These systems work by the "tracker" unit logging on to GSM repeater masts, each of which have a unique ID. By comapring signal strength from each of the repeaters it is possible to establish a rough location. The more repeaters in any area gives greater accuracy. Out in open countryside where there might be several miles between repeaters it can be very difficult to get better than within a 1-2 mile radius. There are systems available for a few hundred pounds that use GPS technology for accurate location (usually quoted as "within 15 metre radius" although it is frequently better than that) and then use a pay as you go GSM connection to inform you if the location changes. These systems usually have the ability to be triggered by an alarm event or by setting up a "ringfence". This is simply telling the equipment to inform you by text if it is moved by more than, say 15 metres of current position. They can also be of use when the vehicle is in for servicing or repair. I know of one chap who took his Mercedes S class saloon in for a service and when he went to collect it insisted on seeing the service manager in his office. What the Merc agents didn't know was the car had a tracking system fitted and he had programmed it to warn him if the car exceeded 50 MPH. He had been notified and recorded the tracking of the vehicle via his PC onto CD which he then played back to the service manager. It showed the car being driven for nearly 20 miles on the motorway at speeds of up to 130 MPH! He got the service for free! D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Frank Wilkinson Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 Dave Newell wrote:It showed the car being driven for nearly 20 miles on the motorway at speeds of up to 130 MPH! He got the service for free! Didn't you know Dave that in the old days this was a legitimate way of servicing a car and was called "An Italian Tune Up"?An essential part of this kind of service was to red-line the engine for at least five miles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 Yes Frank, as long as the customer doesn't find out! Anyway, I served my aprenticeship in a BL garage in the late 70s and there weren't that many BL engines could handle red lining for 5 minutes! D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miami Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Basil - 2007-01-22 12:03 PM Hi gordonaldson, you may also be interested in the following which is a much cheaper option than the previously mentioned type, www.vancomfort.co.uk/trackers.html Regards Bas That is only a tracker. The one I suggested is also an alarm. Hence the greater price. Looks good though if you only want a tracker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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