GPS Tracking devices:

[speeder]

I’m interested in getting some inexpensive tracking devices to put on vehicles and trailers to track them if they run away. Not really anti-theft devices since they only come into play AFTER the rig gets stolen.

I just found this on Amazon, (first result), but it looks like it needs a subscription of some type(?)

https://www.amazon.com/Spy-Tec-Portable-Waterproof-Weatherproof/dp/B00L2KBB8C/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?_encoding=UTF8&c=ts&keywords=GPS+Trackers&qid=1637017695&s=gps&sr=1-2-spons&ts_id=617650011&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyVDQ4T0JNWTJDRENMJ mVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDA4NzMwM1ZDS1FKQkhPMU1PUiZlbmN yeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMjU1OTAwMUQ3S0ZJWEpTNkhaRiZ3aWRnZ XROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWN rUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

[speeder]

Auto theft is off the charts right now, my PU truck got stolen over the weekend. I will never see it again, most likely, now I’m thinking about my RV and the truck I will be buying to replace it.

Also interested in suggestions for kill switches, something that a nutless monkey cannot figure out in 30 seconds. I really don’t like aftermarket alarms but maybe that’s what I need?? Any help appreciated.

[TimT]

Disconnect negative terminal:

doesn't help though if you're like that A hole from 914club who flat bedded a 914 prototype...

[A930Rocket]

I’m interested in this as well. My sons Tahoe was stolen in Mountain View a couple of months ago and with his new Porsche, he wants to install something, including cameras.

[Solamar]

I have been researching GPS tracking devices for my car and have just about given up.

- Basically, all require a monthly subscription, $10 to $20 per month
- Clear view of the sky required for stable tracking (Mounting under dash or under trunk/hood not recommended).
- Spot Trace https://www.findmespot.com/en-us/products-services/spot-trace seems to be the best of the bunch, but still reviews are hit/miss
- All can be easily defeated with a very cheap device plugged into cigarette lighter (search Ebay "GPS Signal Anti Interference Tracking Blocker"

I would be totally OK with the Spot Trace, and $10 per month if it could be mounted discreetly and wasn't so easily defeated.

[Evans, Marv]

Maybe just an old time rocker or toggle switch hidden someplace under the dash would be just as good.

[red-beard]

If you have an iPhone, why not use AirTags? They connect with any iPhone to give location data.

[flatbutt]

How about a hidden kill switch?

[Brian 162]

I knew a guy that put a hidden kill switch for the fuel pump under the center console

[MMiller]

Just purchased one of these for the Casita trailer.....we shall see..

https://shop.trak-4.com/collections/frontpage/products/trak-4-12v-gps-tracker-with-wiring-harness-for-tracking-equipment-vehicles-and-assets

[dan79brooklyn]

How about a sticker on the window that says :

This car is protected by GPS tracking

Stop the theft before it happens

[speeder]

Originally Posted by dan79brooklyn

How about a sticker on the window that says :

This car is protected by GPS tracking

Stop the theft before it happens

That would just make them look for the tracker after they stole it around here. The idea is to track it surreptitiously and then do a Navy SEALs type operation on them down in Tijuana.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by red-beard

If you have an iPhone, why not use AirTags? They connect with any iPhone to give location data.

Because they can be detected.

Apple did consider the potential that people would use them for stalking and while they are not perfect they did build in safe guards.

If the thief is using an iPhone they will at some point be alerted to the fact that they are being followed by an unknown Airtag, one not registered to them.

The Airtag itself will randomly beep if away from the owners phone for 8 or more hours.

[911boost]

Your Ford got stolen Denis? That blows, I am sorry to hear it.

My first 911 had an aftermarket alarm from the 80's on it, since it was a cab there was all kinds of crap i eventually had to remove. Was a complete pain in the rear end.

The problem with a kill switch is that is has to be easy enough to use to not be a pain, but hidden well enough to be hard to find. If it was me, I would get a factory switch of some kind for the dash, like fog lights or heated seats, and wire the switch through it. So it does not look out of place and is easy to use.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Solamar

I have been researching GPS tracking devices for my car and have just about given up.

- Basically, all require a monthly subscription, $10 to $20 per month
- Clear view of the sky required for stable tracking (Mounting under dash or under trunk/hood not recommended).
- Spot Trace https://www.findmespot.com/en-us/products-services/spot-trace seems to be the best of the bunch, but still reviews are hit/miss
- All can be easily defeated with a very cheap device plugged into cigarette lighter (search Ebay "GPS Signal Anti Interference Tracking Blocker"

I would be totally OK with the Spot Trace, and $10 per month if it could be mounted discreetly and wasn't so easily defeated.

It is sometimes laughable how far reality is from TV and movies. TV often has a simple magnetic hand size GPS that the cops stick on a bad guys car and it tracks for months from under the car, and no batteries need to be changed.

James Bond gets a chip implanted in his arm and can be tracked from anywhere on the planet.

Reality is a bit different.

[svandamme]

only GPS trackers that work, have a subscription because they need cellphone coverage to work.

Please be aware, that car thieves know that those things exist. And for high value cars, they will simply jam it with an aliexpress cellular jammer.. drive the car to a place with no cellphone reception and then find and destroy the tracker.

GPS trackers are zero guarantee

Porsche uses tracking devices in europe that do not rely on celular but on RAM data , it's like a network on CB radio or something like it.

[GH85Carrera]

We all know, if a pro wants your vehicle, it will be stolen unless you keep it in a secure storage facility with armed guards.

Many years ago before cell phones, a local PCA member was out in his 930 and remembered that the next day was his wedding anniversary, so he stopped at the mall to buy a present for his wife.

He had some fancy alarm system that would send him an alert to his pager if the car was moved or touched. He parked in a "good" spot for not getting a door ding. He said the door to the mall closed and 30 seconds later his pager went off alerting him to a problem with the car. He ran outside and saw a UPS sized truck had poured diesel fuel on the ground, tied a cable to his 930, and sucked it inside the truck, lowered the door, and drove off. The alarm was going off as they drove away. No tag on the truck, and no identifying marks except it was brown.

He just called the police and his insurance agent. The car was never seen again. To top it off, he forgot to get a present for his wife and she was mad at him for forgetting.

He figured that is why he had insurance. And he ended up getting a new wife a few years later.

[svandamme]

she was angry at him , even when she knew the car was just stolen in front of him.

And he still stuck with her for any length of time?

[javadog]

That blows. Didn’t you install some video cameras a while back?

Wayback in the 1980s, Chuck Stoddard came up with a relay arrangement for the fuel pump relay that would allow a vehicle to be started, then it would run for a short period of time and die. Just long enough for the thief to get underway and have it crap out on him, in traffic. The mod is described in one of the upfixen der Porsche books from PCA, I can’t remember which one, and is designed for a 911 but the concept would work for other things.

[porsche4life]

T-Mobile recently came out with some little trackers that have a cheap monthly fee. They work off cell service not GPS, but as long as you aren’t way out in the sticks I bet it’ll work fine.

https://www.t-mobile.com/iot-devices/syncup-gps-tracker-device

I’m going to get one for the next RV we get. AirTags are cool, but they will notify they thief potentially and I don’t want them knowing that they should be digging for a tracker.