location tracking of stolen rigs?

[Matt Hixson]

Do you have any kind of tracking system for your rig? A few different options come to mind. I'm located in Washington State and overland into western Canada occasionally.

1) APRS
Pros: Free to use for non-commercial use.
Cons: Requires radio to be on an functioning and within comms distance of repeater or other Hams.

2) LoJack
Nevermind.

3) Fleet tracking solutions.
These usually come with a monthly fee. Linxup is an example.

4) Custom solution.
I work with Arduino microcontrollers and low-power electronics. There are some satellite radios that can send/receive short messages over the Iridium network. Here is an example.
Pros: Works outdoors anywhere on the planet. Can be backup battery powered so that disconnecting the vehicle's battery does not immediately knock it offline.
Cons: Custom solution that would take some time/money to get working reliably. Monthly satellite comm fee. RockBLOCK is another device and here is its pricing info.

What other options have you considered?

Would anyone be interested in an overland-compatible custom tracking solution like #4?

 

[rgallant]

There are a lot of different trackers out there they are just hard to find outside of commercial offerings. Try searching for GPS tracker

 

[trail_runn4r]

I would just hide an AirTag, $29 and you are set.

 

[smritte]

I would just hide an AirTag, $29 and you are set.

Those rock

 

[Matt Hixson]

I would just hide an AirTag, $29 and you are set.

I hadn't thought of that. Apparently this has already worked for exactly this purpose.

 

[MidOH]

I'd rather not post how easy it is to defeat these devices.

 

[trail_runn4r]

I would just hide an AirTag, $29 and you are set.

Yes they are pretty neat, and cheap.

I hadn't thought of that. Apparently this has already worked for exactly this purpose.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

I'd rather not post how easy it is to defeat these devices.

There were stories in the news last year of GM trucks that were found stripped by the time they were tracked even with OnStar and whatnot. The same applies to any make and model. With those devices, you are really only deterring or catching the amateurs or the ones that just suck at thier "job." There IS value in that.

But the pros have automotive knowledge and know where these devices are typically placed. Sometimes they even have keys and codes and security is a moot point.

I kind of like the Air Tag idea. You could hide it pretty easily. Someone sent one to Elon Musk and to Apple last year and tracked them the whole way.

I guess the best you can do is keep it locked and alarmed and tracked, and be careful where you park.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

Problem with Air Tag is that it only connects to ultra wide band iPads and iPhones. It uses them as a network and puts them into the "fund my iphone" .

Range: 30 feet.

So, if your thief carrys an iPhone, you're in luck. If not, location updates could be sporadic at best. This probably works better in the city than rural areas.

A multi-layered approach is best:
.lock
.audible alarm
.OnStar or similar
.notification to your phone
.Air Tag or Google equivalent

Layers of an onion

 

[Murphy Slaw]

I'd rather not post how easy it is to defeat these devices.

Indeed.

4 new BMW's were stolen from a dealership in Paducah Ky. last weekend...

 

[LostWoods]

I'm in Arizona so if my truck disappears I know exactly where it will be in approximately 3 hours. As was said these devices are incredibly easy to identify and defeat so all you're really doing is deterring the casual thief looking to joy ride. New vehicles are a bit difficult to steal for that class of criminal and someone coming after a new vehicle generally knows what they're doing.

If I had an older rig, I'd definitely try the air tag method as cheap insurance because stealing an older Jeep or Toyota is trivial.

 

[CJTherapy]

I also live in WA and have been concerned about theft of my rig. Here are a few things I did: Installed a GPS Tracker with paid service. (Optimus GB100M 4G LTE) It's linked via an app to my phone and sensitive enough to trigger when opening the door or you can set a Geo-Fence. When installing something like this you can easily run power to it and put it somewhere hidden. I also have a AirTag hidden in the vehicle (I'm pleasantly surprised by how well this works). Lastly I've installed a Fuel Pump cutoff switch that is hidden, so even if they get in they will have extreme trouble getting it to start.

Ok, I know I'm a little paranoid.

 

[BoomTator]

The air tags are great! I have them in everything from y wallet to vehicles to travel bags

 

[John Bishop]

This works too…

 

[Wanderer351]

Do you have any kind of tracking system for your rig? A few different options come to mind. I'm located in Washington State and overland into western Canada occasionally.

1) APRS
Pros: Free to use for non-commercial use.
Cons: Requires radio to be on an functioning and within comms distance of repeater or other Hams.

2) LoJack
Nevermind.

3) Fleet tracking solutions.
These usually come with a monthly fee. Linxup is an example.

4) Custom solution.
I work with Arduino microcontrollers and low-power electronics. There are some satellite radios that can send/receive short messages over the Iridium network. Here is an example.
Pros: Works outdoors anywhere on the planet. Can be backup battery powered so that disconnecting the vehicle's battery does not immediately knock it offline.
Cons: Custom solution that would take some time/money to get working reliably. Monthly satellite comm fee. RockBLOCK is another device and here is its pricing info.

What other options have you considered?

Would anyone be interested in an overland-compatible custom tracking solution like #4?

I have these TRAX-4 modules I have one of each one of my vehicles and can confirm that as long as there is at least a cell service it will ping you when the vehicle leaves your invisible fence area and the active tracking is fairly good as long as there’s not too dense of tree canopy. And they each one of the units was $40 on Amazon and I paid for the yearly subscription 120 bucks each.


Trak-4 GPS Tracker for Tracking...

 

[MadVet71]

The 12volt solutions remote start, if you have the app module (5th Gen 4R here) will show you the location in the app on a map since it has its own 4G transmitter for receiving remote start commands from the app.

 

[Pragmatic]

Thanks all for this string and discussion of tracking alternatives. We have Lojack and Mopar EVTS ('lifetime") in our high theft risk vehicles (trucks/Jeeps) and they work well.

AirTag was mentoned as a "Poor Man's Lojack" per an April 23, 2021 Cars Direct article, about the time Apple first released the AirTag. It has distinct limitations compared to full-up subscription-based, cell network enabled GPS trackers, but the $29 price ($23.50 ea. in 4-pack) is hard to ignore.

While less-than-totally-perfect, AirTags are an option to consider for older/lower-dollar value trailers, motorcycles, ATVs, etc.

 

[Crusader]

You should just prevent the theft.

 

[lloydrage]

You should just prevent the theft.

this, trunk monkeys are a must and I have one in each of my vehicles.

 

[H&B Adventures]

Do you have any kind of tracking system for your rig? A few different options come to mind. I'm located in Washington State and overland into western Canada occasionally.

1) APRS
Pros: Free to use for non-commercial use.
Cons: Requires radio to be on an functioning and within comms distance of repeater or other Hams.

2) LoJack
Nevermind.

3) Fleet tracking solutions.
These usually come with a monthly fee. Linxup is an example.

4) Custom solution.
I work with Arduino microcontrollers and low-power electronics. There are some satellite radios that can send/receive short messages over the Iridium network. Here is an example.
Pros: Works outdoors anywhere on the planet. Can be backup battery powered so that disconnecting the vehicle's battery does not immediately knock it offline.
Cons: Custom solution that would take some time/money to get working reliably. Monthly satellite comm fee. RockBLOCK is another device and here is its pricing info.

What other options have you considered?

Would anyone be interested in an overland-compatible custom tracking solution like #4?

I feel silly, I have not considered it and now I am interested.