GPS Tracking

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Cope

Cope

Fusing with fire
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I'm looking at buying a GPS tracker for my car. Wondering what folks like?

Standalone battery or one that runs off the car battery?

My car is a race car so the tracker would be on all the time as I figure it's most likely to be stolen via flat bed because if they start the car I'd probably hear it and they would be meeting the business end of my Sig and a hot 40 cal hollow point.
How much draw do they put on the battery?

If it hooked to the car battery do you think the thieves would be smart enough to pop the trunk and cut the lead to the tracker?

Any thoughts or recommendations would be great.

Thank you and happy hollidays!
 
Locks and such are only meant to keep honest people out, if someone wants something bad enough they will get it, there are a few companies on the market but the one ive heard for the longest time is lowjack. Others may have more experience with those systems, also if not already installed you could install a kill switch thats hidden, or install a removable steering wheel, no matter what you do it still wont be steal proof, but 99% of thefts can be prevented by simply locking the doors and having a alarm indicator light flashing. Also make sure your insurance appraisal is up to date
 
You are supposed to be able to track cell phones, perhaps a "family plan?" I don't know how you do so without a smart phone. If you can hide it so it has a backup battery, that will give you "a little time" before it's stripped and found.
 
I do bring the steering wheel in and there's no way to lock the steering shaft so it would have to be on a flat bed, it cannot be towed.
 
67Dart273 said:
You are supposed to be able to track cell phones, perhaps a "family plan?" I don't know how you do so without a smart phone. If you can hide it so it has a backup battery, that will give you "a little time" before it's stripped and found.
Click to expand...
There is an app called "Find my friends" in the Play Store, download it into the hidden phone and your smart phone, it uses GPS to locate you and your "friend" and displays the location on a map and it is fairly accurate. Granted both phones still need cell service, but as far as a battery backup, a hidden car phone charger hard wired to a live car battery circuit and plugged into the "hidden" phone should keep that phone going for a very long time.

I have a couple of friends myself and the wife in my "group", I just looked at the app and it shows me that the wife and I are home with the markers over our home.
 
j par said:
I ensure mine for an agreed-upon amount that will make me happy enough.
Click to expand...

This ,^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ plus a metal bldg. , and a Rottweiler living at the back door , and a loud mouthed german shepard at the front doors that are booby trapped , not too worried about it !
 
Cope said:
I'm looking at buying a GPS tracker for my car. Wondering what folks like?

Standalone battery or one that runs off the car battery?

My car is a race car so the tracker would be on all the time as I figure it's most likely to be stolen via flat bed because if they start the car I'd probably hear it and they would be meeting the business end of my Sig and a hot 40 cal hollow point.
How much draw do they put on the battery?

If it hooked to the car battery do you think the thieves would be smart enough to pop the trunk and cut the lead to the tracker?

Any thoughts or recommendations would be great.

Thank you and happy hollidays!
Click to expand...

We had soooo many items stolen out of our cars in CA that I rigged one of those Motorola walkies to my interior light and put it in the glovebox.
The one in the car had the call alarm button always held down, and the one in the house was always on and on a charging base.
Any one opened my door and the call alarm would go off inside the house.
It made it easy to catch them in the act.

I realize you have a different function in mind, but that setup sure worked for keeping stuff from getting stolen.
One night I caught a guy in the car and I threatened to pin him to the car with my compound bow and the SOB called the cops on me.:D
The cop arrived and proceeded to tell me how much trouble I could be in for doing that, and I told him not near as much trouble as the SOB that got into my car in the middle of the night could be.
 
MY best friend has a remote battery disconnect . One part is installed on the battery and the other part is a key fob button . At cruise nights he leaves the keys in his car and activates the disconnect . Blows people away . One night he went to get some refreshments and found a dude behind the wheel trying to start his car . Wes & Smithson did the rest .
 
Well looks like I'm back at a tracking device.
Hagerty wont insure my car as I don't have a garage and I sometimes leave the car in the driveway over night...

90 percent of the time the car is in our shop but not always. It's a car, I drive it and it does sit outside....
 
You should tell them that, you need to have the address of the shop for where its stored, having it at your driveway is no difference than having it at a friends house or car show event overnight. Should be insured either way no matter where its at, but they probably feel more comfortable if its listed as stored in a garage
 
I did tell em but the guy straight out said if its outside we wont insure it.

I'll look at some other companies if anyone got one that will cover a car outside?
 
So if you drive it outside its not insured? That cant be right Lol. What happens if you were to drive it to someones house and spent the night.

I think you should talk to someone else at hagerty, tell them it is stored at the shop but sometimes you drive it to yours or a buddies house and it stays the night.

Did you talk to them over the phone or through live chat?
 
Just came across this, as long as you put it in the shop when its “not in use” you can qualify for hagerty insurance

Storage
We prefer that collector vehicles are stored in an enclosed, secure structure when not in use - such as a private garage, pole barn or storage unit
 
I signed up for Haggerty insurance through a broker I met at a car show. He had very different answers to these questions. I asked, If I take the car on a trip and it stays outside at a hotel, is it covered? His answer in an E-mail, not just words was "Yes, absolutely". Then he went on to tell me about a big road trip he was taking with his adult son. Both in 60's muscle cars, parked outside in parking lots at night. That's the big draw to Haggerty for me is that you can actually use the car. I would ask more questions.

Cley
 
There are various motorcycle tracking apps out there. some work off cell towers, some work off wifi, etc. Just google motorcycle tracker. That will offer you realtime tracking that you can use to call the cops. but my preferred method would be to use lowjack. They have a very well established rate of recovery, and it is what I get on all new cars.

LoJack For Classics | Best Anti Theft Device for Classic Cars

Sadly I think for a racecar to be stolen, its likely going to be an inside job where someone you know passes the details along. They will likely know when you will be home or gone, so I'm thinking tracking along with actual physical security is a good approach. Fabricate a way to lock the parking brake, or use one of the clamp on car boots, etc. You may not be able to stop them if they are truly determined enough, but you can deter them to the point they give up. I wouldn't exactly classify a car thief as a hard worker..
 
So I called back Hagerty and this guy said yes!

I also reached out to lo jack, waiting to hear back.
 
I vote cell phone with life360 tracking on it. Some how rig the phone to auto answer with the ringer turned down and you could listen to the clowns talking in the car. We watch mommy come home and it gets down to street level. It also alarms you when the phone enters/leaves the area, usually 1-2 blocks away.
 
Hagerty just called me back and said no.
These people are not making me happy right now..

What a joke, I'm not worried about the car getting stolen when its locked inside a steel building... it's when I drive the car (and most of my driving occurs OUTSIDE) that I worry about it getting stolen..
 
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Just got done talking to hagerty online chat

Alana Z (12/17/2018, 6:16:34 PM): Hello, My name is Alana. How may I help you?

Me (12/17/2018, 6:16:56 PM): Hello Alana i have a question regarding coverage

Me (12/17/2018, 6:19:00 PM): My car that is insured through hagerty is listed as stored in a garage, if for some reason it has to sit outside overnight (if its being worked on) or if it stays out outside at a hotel a night before a car show event am i still covered?

Alana Z (12/17/2018, 6:20:55 PM): We would prefer that your vehicle is not stored outside overnight at your home, but should you be at a car event and your vehicle is parked outside the hotel overnight, we're understanding of that.

Me (12/17/2018, 6:23:07 PM): Oh ok, what if for some reason it had to be outside to be worked on not to make a mess in the garage for what ever repair it needed, is that understandable where it would still be covered?

Alana Z (12/17/2018, 6:24:22 PM): Storing it outside of your home may impact your policy in the event of a claim. I do not recommend keeping your vehicle outside overnight.

Me (12/17/2018, 6:26:36 PM): Ok i just want to know for future reference. I also read that some vehicles may be acceptable to be stored outside so long as they dont exceed a $50,000 value, what circumstances would qualify for this to be true?

Me(12/17/2018, 6:27:00 PM): Im just trying to get a little more info so i know for sure the stipulations

Alana Z (12/17/2018, 6:27:03 PM): That would require us to be rating your vehicle for storage in the driveway, which your policy currently is not.

Me (12/17/2018, 6:27:43 PM): Ok i gotcha, just wanted to clerify those things, thank you so much for your time and info!

So sounds to me like its covered so long its not sitting outside overnight for a long period of time. Its kind of screwy but it does make some sense, the biggest liability would be the weather if it was stored outside, but i guess if your driving it from the place its stored and plan on returning it there that night where it doesnt sit outside its ok
 
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