Tracker alternatives

[Mick]

My Tracker is due renewal next month but they want an arm & a leg.

£400 for 3 years (£150 for 1) plus they are telling me tracker is coming to end of life on the battery which cant be charged: that'll be an extra payment and I am waiting for an answer.

Are there any alternatives out there?

 

[Loz]

Firstly, is a tracker compulsory for your insurance or just price advantageous?

 

[Mick]

It's not compulsory, it is logged on my policy, the policy is due renewal and they do accept alternatives.

 

[Loz]

I have a back2you tracker and it's very cheap to run.
I don't tell the insurance company I have one, as in my opinion, if it didn't work during a theft they would use that as an excuse not to pay out.

 

[Alan Ginger]

I have a Vodafone S5 Connect and Protect Tracker- expensive and keeps switching off and sending a theft alert to Vodafone. Pain in the bum. I am contracted to 2025. Time will pass and maybe technology will have improved by then or maybe the price of diesel will be so high I won’t be able to use my Campervan any way.

 

[Kevin]

I personally would have a tracker. Its on my insurance. Don't think it makes much of a a difference to insurance, but many wont insure with out a tracker. Its just another layer for protection. The more you have it makes it harder to steal?

 

[Mick]

I have a back2you tracker and it's very cheap to run.
I don't tell the insurance company I have one, as in my opinion, if it didn't work during a theft they would use that as an excuse not to pay out.

Just looking at that sounds reasonable.

 

[Texxaco]

I personally would have a tracker. Its on my insurance. Don't think it makes much of a a difference to insurance, but many wont insure with out a tracker. Its just another layer for protection. The more you have it makes it harder to steal?

I got my Immobiliser/tracker fitted by @Dav-Tec saved me £200 on my insurance.

 

[LondonLad]

Has anyone had their vehicle stolen and recovered thanks to a tracker? My experience is the Police are not in a rush and it comes down to you to go and get it or risk it being moved and/or tracker disabled in the meantime.

 

[Howzat]

Heard plenty of stories about the police not being interested.

To the OP...
Chinese tracker off amazon, £20, o2 payg @£20 per year. Gives me full tracking with backup battery and the ability to disable the starter by sending the tracker a text.

If my van did go awol I'm pinning my hopes on the van being disabled en-route and being abandoned then I could go and find it. It's a slim chance but for £20 per year I think it's worth the small investment.

 

[SAF1981]

Just purchase a fused TruTrak tracker £40 and top up with PayPal. Not for insurance just another security reassurance measure.

 

[Bobbych]

Heard plenty of stories about the police not being interested.

To the OP...
Chinese tracker off amazon, £20, o2 payg @£20 per year. Gives me full tracking with backup battery and the ability to disable the starter by sending the tracker a text.

If my van did go awol I'm pinning my hopes on the van being disabled en-route and being abandoned then I could go and find it. It's a slim chance but for £20 per year I think it's worth the small investment.

Which Tracker did you get. I got a cheap one too it works well but needs a power source for it to work. I did not want to use the Van 12v System as if the main cable is cut it would disable it as it would do if Aux battery was disconnected.

 

[Howzat]

This my GPS Tracker which has a small backup battery if the main power is cut.

 

[Mule]

I got my Metatrak S5 tracker fitted by @Dav-Tec saved me £200 on my insurance.

+1 for Metatrak S5.
Thankfully I haven't had to use it, but it's the peace of mind we're paying for.

It may be BS, but I was told that if you have a remote monitoring service such as Metatrak or Vodafone etc, then the police are more likely to take the theft seriously than if you or I called them to report it.

Either way, I'm hoping I never have to use it and if the van is stolen, it can be immobilised remotely and recovered quickly.

 

[t6blo]

I will probably get one of the self install for piece of mind, but to completely contradict myself if my van is stolen I hope I never see it again - don’t want it back if it is abused/stripped/crashed.

 

[Dickieboy3]

I have a a van guardian self fit tracker see link below. I put in a Lebara SIM costs £5 month 3gb data 1000 texts then it contacts my phone using noise and vibration and allows real time tracking via "any tracking app" that's the name of the app not any tracker app.https://vanguardian.co.uk/shop-custom/

 

[Irvine101]

I went for a Smartrack Protector Pro, current price is £195 installed. I then went for a lifetime of vehicle ownership tracking, currently £499, as I am planning on keeping the van for a few years.

The installation includes a 3 year warranty, which I extended for another 3 years for £99.

Backed up the tracker with a Ghost

 

[Dav-Tec]

My Tracker is due for renewal next month but they want an arm & a leg.

£400 for 3 years (£150 for 1) plus they are telling me the tracker is coming to end of life on the battery which cant be charged: that'll be an extra payment and I am waiting for an answer.

Are there any alternatives out there?

I wouldn't say £150 per annum is expensive we do the Metatrak S5. Comes with the first year's subscription which is £169 per annum thereafter. The subscription pays for the vehicle being monitored 24/7 365 days a year globally.

Depends on what you get with your tracking company but metatrak is excellent and tell you if the battery is ok or has been disconnect, what your driving is like can be wired into your alarm and can remotely immobilise your vehicle. We've done lots of them for forum members with no complaints

Let me know if you want any more info

Cheers
Chris

 

[Dav-Tec]

+1 for Metatrak S5.
Thankfully I haven't had to use it, but it's the peace of mind we're paying for.

It may be BS, but I was told that if you have a remote monitoring service such as Metatrak or Vodafone etc, then the police are more likely to take the theft seriously than if you or I called them to report it.

Either way, I'm hoping I never have to use it and if the van is stolen, it can be immobilised remotely and recovered quickly.

It's not BS.

 

[Shaun Witts]

I’ve hard wired my old iPhone into the van, and use the Apple “Find My” App for location. Mrs says that it is more reliable than my in-use iPhone. I use a PAYG SIM which only needs topping up (£5) a few times a year.