# Tracker or Alarm which would you fit??



## philelektra (Feb 9, 2008)

Tracker or Alarm which would you fit?? To protect your motorhome
please let me know what you think 
phil & anne


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## brimo (May 10, 2005)

Normally its a tracker coupled with an alarm. When the alarm is activated you are informed and should investigate, if you find the van missing you inform tracker who liaise with the police to find it.

Personally, we wouldn't be without a tracker. Its great peace of mind :lol:


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## 96299 (Sep 15, 2005)

Hi

I`ve only got a tracker fitted at the moment but will get an alarm at a later stage.The tracker was fitted because insurance company insisted on it,but it is peace of mind and works very well.


steve


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## 2kias (Sep 18, 2006)

Fit one of these.
Works very well and we have used ours for 4 years.


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## 109481 (Jan 25, 2008)

*Phantom Tracker*

10:17 Friday morning (14th) and the man is fitting the Phantom Tracker right now on my drive
I have a Sigma S30 alarm which in my opinion is essentail since it detects movement and when coupled with Tracker it will activate the rceovery procedure
Early days but i will keep you posted on how it behaves
Happy Wheels
Skimbo


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## eddievanbitz (May 1, 2005)

The alarm benifits the owner, the tracker saves the insurer paying out if the van is stolen.

That is the most basic viewpoint I can offer.

That is the reason that Insurance companies like tracking.

Very few new vans actutally stolen though when compared to the number broken into vandalised or robbed.


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## 109481 (Jan 25, 2008)

*Don't tell anyone*

The man who is fitting my Tracker has suggested that I should not tell anyone (walls have ears!) and let the crooks out there be unaware of the fact
I guess its 'a need to know' scenario
I suppose for the same reason you shouldn't put a sticker on the glass saying that you have a XXX alarm/immobiliser fitted
Happy Wheels
Skimbo


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## kazzzy (Apr 9, 2006)

Alarm or Tracker depends on what you are trying to achieve, a tracker means if the van is stolen then there is a chance it will be recovered but a tracker doesnt stop someone breaking in and stealing everything in your van does it ! Ideally you want both but if cost is an issue I would still go with an alarm system over a tracker it gives a greater degree of cover, tracker is only any good after the van has been stolen 8O


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## weldted (May 1, 2005)

*tracker or alarm*

I have had a Strikeback alarm and a GP800 tracker fitted by Vanbitz. The advantage for me is the GP800 works via a vodafone simm and has no ongoing monitoring fees. just the price of a few texts a year. It is accurate to within ten feet as long as there is a phone signal. It allows you to monitor the status of the van and can remote immobilise if required. Fitted by Eddies team at taunton fully explained how it works and phone backup on any questions. no cheap but when you look at the cost of the van £52000+ it is money well spent.


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## 98316 (Mar 25, 2006)

We have the same as Welted, the Strikeback alarm and the GP800 tracker both fitted by VanBitz. This is the third motorhome we have had both systems fitted to and wouldn't be without them. The peace of mind the combined systems offer is invaluable. 

Plus VanBitz have the advantage of having their own very nice caravan site so you get a free nights accomodation ensuring you are either there nice and early ready for the fitting or that you don't have to leave as soon as the alarm is fitted if you don't want to. I would suggest if you go for this option then you spend the night after the alarm is fitted on site, just in case you forget how to use it!! Plus it has the sleep (or as we call it dog) mode allowing you to be asleep inside or moving around inside with the alarm on.


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## Gasper (Apr 26, 2006)

We just want to know the whereabouts of our motorhome if stolen or if we lend out. Eazytracker does it for us with no costly charges and by simply using your mobile phone and Google maps (which we all have!). Going to put one in my car as well as so simple to install. We bought on line from eazytracker.co.uk for £149.


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## tonyblake (Apr 4, 2008)

*Tracker or Alarm*

Personally I would have both providing the Tracker works per se. I have a Phantom and an engineer is calling on Monday to check the working of it.

Apparently the aren't picking it up properly but they contacted after 8 hours and moved 200 miles and only just last Thursday I had to go to Hymer in Preston and they contacted me (or rather woke Janet at 07.55 to say the vehicle was moving....wrong it was stationary....parked at Hymer but it had moved exactly 1 hour before and had been moving for the previous hour but at the point the phoned it was parked.

Let's see if the engineer can sort it but in saying that apparently they are good.

Tony


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Alarm or tracker*

Hi

I would make my decision based upon where the van is when not in use.

A motorhome that is always on your driveway or a campsite, then I would prob go for an alarm.

If you leave the motorhome in storage - possibly not manned 24/7, then maybe a tracker.

R


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## TR5 (Jun 6, 2007)

Always an alarm first. If left or stored away from home, maybe with a text notification to your mobile if activated.

For tracking, use an old mobile phone, wire in a 12v charger and hide the phone somewhere out of site, fit a p.a.y.g sim and put £5 credit on it, then register the number with www.followus.co.uk and add a small credit to it ..... £5 - £10 is ample.
If the van gets stolen, you can track that number online. Not as accurate as a tracker, but usually around 100metres of its location - near enough to find it, but cheap as chips!
All you need do is make one call or text every (depending on network) 3 months or so to keep the sim active. The £5 credit should last a couple of years. 
Don't forget to set the phone to "silent" and "no vibration" so any incoming texts or prospective calls do not reveal the phones location.
You could also set the phone to auto-answer if it has this facility, and listen in for further clues to its location.
You can register several phones to the one account at followus, so have several potential trackers available - one for the car, one for the van, etc...


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## richardjames (Feb 1, 2006)

Hi :lol: 
Have a look at this http://www.max.tv/product-detail.asp?number=415GB 
Regards
Richard


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## baldybazza (Feb 21, 2007)

We have had an alarm and tracker fitted for peace of mind both to the last van and now our new one but when the tracker was taken off the old van for transferring over it was discovered it wasn't working. So we had been happily leaving the van and it wasn't as protected as we thought and we don't know when it stopped working. 

It was partly our fault for not testing it regularly but RAC gave us a good deal with the replacement and I have diarised reminders now for testing it so be warned they can go wrong.

Jan


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## navman (May 10, 2005)

TR5 said:


> If the van gets stolen, you can track that number online. Not as accurate as a tracker, but usually around 100metres of its location - near enough to find it, but cheap as chips!..


In rural areas it could be quite a bit more than that...

I have RAC trackstar that works on a GPS signal being sent to the RAC... together with an alarm with a text to notify me if it has gone off. The alarm was fitted when I bought the van.. I have had Vanbitz fit a system before on my last van and would always go back to them in future...


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## Gasper (Apr 26, 2006)

We found tracking our motorhome with a mobile phone in the cab via followus was not very accurate as it only works from GSM – triangulates between phone masts, so if few masts around the accuracy was not good. The EAZYTRACKER uses GPS to position and GSM to send the data to your mobile phone. Very accurate. We have hidden the GPS antenna under the dash so it is not obvious what is installed. The LED on the dash could be anything but it tells you the GPS and GSM status. Don’t have to worry about power as connected to the vehicle (2 wires, pos and neg). It also has a back-up battery in case the vehicle battery is disconnected… it even texts you to say so. Highly recommended and seems an inexpensive way to track very accurately without any confusing rigmarole!


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## Annsman (Nov 8, 2007)

We've got both, but for anyone thinking of getting them to get an insurance discount, think again. The companies have got wise to this and now either:

1. Insist you get one or t'other before they will accept your business or 

2. You only need them if the van is over £60,000 and then rule one applies!

I tried most of the companies for my Cheyenne 660 and this was the response I got.

No discount! no excess reduction! nada! nowt!

But if the van goes I'll hear it drive off wailing and I'll know where it is gone to, to the nearest millimetre, so that's all right then!


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