Lo Jack security

[kiwibird]

These days there seems to be no boundaries for crooks. Identity theft, mail theft, home invasions, fraud; and the list goes on. We can not always be where our Airstream is and when we can't see it we worry. It has value and we have clothes and personal belongings stored in there. It would not be the first time an RV has been hitched up and taken never to be seen again.
We would like advice on a Lo Jack system the would not be dependent on power from the trailer. It should be a "stand alone" system so that if the batteries were unhooked the system could still report it's position to satellites.
If anyone has knowledge in this area, please advise. WBCCI 8861

[AWCHIEF]

Info here,
LoJack - LoJack Recovery System for Cars, Trucks, Motorcycles, Equipment, Cargo & Laptops

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by kiwibird

We would like advice on a Lo Jack system the would not be dependent on power from the trailer. It should be a "stand alone" system so that if the batteries were unhooked the system could still report it's position to satellites.

The sending unit must have power from somewhere, and at least as much power as a smartphone with GPS as a best guess. How long will your smartphone stay powered up in standby mode? A week? Less? You really are better off hooking LoJack up to your house batteries so it will have power when you need it.

If you have solar panels on the roof of your Airstream, I'm guessing that they'd be able to keep up with the load of a LoJack system so your house batteries wouldn't run down. Wire it independently of the main disconnect, so that when you disconnect everything else, the LoJack still has power. Then let the solar panel do its job.

[SuperTrouper]

I use a Go Track system on one of my cars to keep track of the teens and it has worked well for over two years. Hourly updates with the car off and notification when leaving or entering a 300 ft and 50 mile radius from my house. When moving the unit reports speed, direction and location every minute. Now that the kids are grown and I have solar I wanted to move the unit to the trailer. I asked the sales rep if I could have the unit send voltage data as well ( I wanted to monitor the solar). He said no, unless there's a low volt threshold passed and then it reports low voltage and shuts down to protect the starting battery. He then suggested their new asset tracker made for RVs and trailers. It's self powered. The only downside is that it only reports in once a day. If my trailer's moving without me, I want an email immediately (which I get with the car unit when defined boundaries are crossed). I also get email notifications when the car is going faster than a preset speed (measured by the ODB network). So I may stick with the car unit and pay more per year for tracking to get to define boundaries for immediate email reporting.

Brad

Main site: http://www.gotrack.com

Asset tracker: http://www.gotrack.com/home.php?cat=5





- Brad Sent from my iPad using Airstream Forums