Tracker advise needed

[Fred the shed]

Hi we have just bought a caravan, after not having one for some years. It is a 2013 swift. We are looking to buy a tracker. One for peace of mind and also to bring the insurance down a bit , hopefully. Any advice would be great.
Thanks Fred

 

[Buckman]

Hi we have just bought a caravan, after not having one for some years. It is a 2013 swift. We are looking to buy a tracker. One for peace of mind and also to bring the insurance down a bit , hopefully. Any advice would be great.
Thanks Fred

We have the Phantom tracker fitted and I can remotely monitor the condition of the battery, check monthly mileage done by caravan and view the location of the caravan. If someone interferes with the caravan, the call centre is immediately alerted and they contact us to verify whether it is us or not. If not us the police are alerted and the caravan tracked. If we sell the caravan the tracker can be transferred to the new caravan.

 

[Beachball]

Hi Fred welcome to the forum hope you enjoy your caravan you will receive more replies to your question sorry i cannot help about a tracker

 

[Jcloughie]

Hi Fred, and welcome to the forum.

Like Buckman, I used to have the Phantom. And they do exactly as they advertise. But as my van dropped in value, I thought they were too dear. Also, I pay for insurance so I was happy to rely on that. After all, if it is stolen, perhaps you don't want to get it back.

Nowadays there are many off the shelf alternatives, some will also provide a history of your journeys. Something I would have liked to have had many years ago so I could look back on trips now.

Monitored trackers, like Phantom, will always be at a premium. A similar thread is running at the moments which may interest you.

Battery monitor

Hi folks after having battery troubles and a dead battery (my fault) I want to keep an eye on the new battery but storage is half an hour away is there anything on the market so I could monitor the battery from home. Would appreciate any advice Thanks Chris

forums.practicalcaravan.com

John

 

[Raywood]

Trackers do work and help get a few caravans back. They tend to be fairly expensive and I think they will be far more to buy and keep being useful than any small discount on your insurance. It is then more a case of balancing the cost against the peace of mind it might give.
You do not say what model you have but in general thieves will be looking more for late models for their value but you never know what some opportunists will take. Personally I would say the risk for you is low although if it is a twin axle the risk would be higher.
The Phantom has a good reputation though.

 

[Buckman]

The idea of the Phantom tracker is to prevent the caravan from being stolen and used as the tracker alerts the call centre the moment anyone interferes with the caravan.

I have read that if a caravan is recovered within a month or so of being stolen and you have not been paid out, you will have no option except to take it back.

It is personal choice whether to have a tracker or not, but on a high end value caravan it is probably worth while even if the insurance discount is not very much.

Having a two cars stolen in the past, I am in favour of anything that helps apprehend the culprits.

 

[ProfJohnL]

It's a sad reflection on the society in which we live when we have to be so active about protecting what we own. It's even worse when very expensive items like cars and caravans appear to be so vulnerable, especially when the criminals take them and then either strip them for parts, or trash them to the point of even if they are recovered, do we really want to have them back?

The best we can do is to make our property less attractive to steal than other peoples, and whilst having a tracker can be a good thing to make it work as a deterrent you have to advertise the fact your property has one fitted.

Many caravanners invest a lot of time and effort into tuning their pride and joy into a mini home from home. I'd suggest that if that is your intention, don't put any irreplaceable items in the caravan, so if the ner-do well's do take it at least you still have your precious items at home.

 

[Malx]

Hi we have just bought a caravan, after not having one for some years. It is a 2013 swift. We are looking to buy a tracker. One for peace of mind and also to bring the insurance down a bit , hopefully. Any advice would be great.
Thanks Fred

I had a phantom tracker on two caravans over 17 years. A bit flakey (to say the least) but everything improved. Yes you do save a bit on insurance, but the annual cost of phantom subs is more than the insurance savings.

you might look at trutrak.co.uk, advertised in CAMC magazine. Though doubt if you will get any insurance discounts As it’s self installed and not Thatcham rated.

 

[Fred the shed]

The caravan is a swift 2013. About £15k worth. I hadn't thought about not wanting it back, knowing some lowlife had been in it. It does make you wonder whether to get one. So far I've looked at the phantom and the scorpion. the phantom is close on £600 then £400 for life monitoring. The scorpion is £370 then £350 for three years. Both expensive and a big differance between them

 

[Malx]

The caravan is a swift 2013. About £15k worth. I hadn't thought about not wanting it back, knowing some lowlife had been in it. It does make you wonder whether to get one. So far I've looked at the phantom and the scorpion. the phantom is close on £600 then £400 for life monitoring. The scorpion is £370 then £350 for three years. Both expensive and a big differance between them

Wow. I am amazed at the purchase costs. Nothing more complex than a simple phone! but that ham approved. I assume it includes installation. £400 for lifetime monitoring sound great … if u intend keeping it for 10 years!

they seem targeted at £100k vehicles, not a £15k van. Our challenger SE was the same age as yours. When we sold it. We left the phantom tracker in it. You don’t happen to live in Redditch?

 

[Buckman]

The caravan is a swift 2013. About £15k worth. I hadn't thought about not wanting it back, knowing some lowlife had been in it. It does make you wonder whether to get one. So far I've looked at the phantom and the scorpion. the phantom is close on £600 then £400 for life monitoring. The scorpion is £370 then £350 for three years. Both expensive and a big difference between them

If the insurance company recover it before they pay out, you will probably have no choice except to take it back however the Phantom tracker should prevent it being used by some low life.

To us it is not the cost of the caravan, but the memories and the hassle of replacing the caravan. Yours would probably be insured for market value so probably insurance pay out would be a lot less than what you paid for it as the cost of second hand caravans is now dropping and you would lose out either way.

As said we can only advise and the choice is yours after taking into consideration everything.

 

[Mr Plodd]

I was going to post a lengthy reply, but then spotted the threads age, so deleted it!

 

[Jcloughie]

I was going to post a lengthy reply, but then spotted the threads age, so deleted it!

Two days! Perhaps you should go for it.

John

 

[Buckman]

If you have a Phantom tracker fitted afterwards, the thieves may not know its ,location or even if one is fitted. On our caravan they will probably find the Tracker, but may not find the Phantom tracker which was installed afterwards. However by that time the police have been alerted by the tracking company which may then prevent the caravan being removed. Plus the storage owner who lives on site will have been notified.

 

[Dustydog]

I have the Tracker system fitted by Bailey a long time ago.

Retrieve Battery Powered

The Retrieve Battery Powered tracking product utilises its own power source to make sure yours never runs down. Find out about the Retrieve today.

www.tracker.co.uk

You will see the charges eg £269 for 24 months.

How much do you expect to save on your caravan insurance? I assume your Insurers have not made a Tracker mandatory?
Six years ago the premium saving for having a Tracker was £25 against , then £160 annual Tracker premium. I no longer subscribe but still retain the tilt motion and pir sensors which trigger the audible alarm.

 

[Buckman]

We never expected to save anything on our insurance premium, but what we got was peace of mind. We pay about £120 pa for the subscription.

 

[Raywood]

I think with a tracker it is the peace of mind rather than anu saving which has to be the most important think for you.

 

[Bluetonic]

If they want your van they will take and and the tracker will be found in a nearby layby or hedge, especially the factory fitted ones, the thieves know where they are fitted

 

[Buckman]

If they want your van they will take and and the tracker will be found in a nearby layby or hedge, especially the factory fitted ones, the thieves know where they are fitted

Many people have after market trackers fitted. The idea of a proactive tracker is to notify the call centre the moment that someone interferes with the caravan and not when the tracker is dumped in a laybye. Trackers are very handy and do catch a number of toe rags.

 

[Raywood]

If they want your van they will take and and the tracker will be found in a nearby layby or hedge, especially the factory fitted ones, the thieves know where they are fitted

The trackers do have a good recovery rate and should not be disregarded. Some thieves will have an idea where to look for the factory fit ones but not all. They are a useful tool but like all other security devices are not totally impregnable.