If the worst happens and your campervan is stolen, a tracking system can help recover it quickly.Here’s a guide to choosing one for your ’van
Demand for campervans has never been higher. But, sadly, that growth in popularity has come with an increase in thefts. It’s hard to pinpoint an exact number, but some police forces reported a 50% increase in 2020.
Thankfully, trackers can make a huge difference to whether a stolen campervan is recovered – the recovery rates for those fitted with an insurance-approved tracker are claimed to be as high as 95%.
And it’s not just newer vehicles being stolen, either, as the limited availability and high cost associated with spares mean that some older vehicles are being stolen to be broken down (for things like catalytic converters and engine and chassis components).
Standard security
If your campervan is under 25 years old, it probably has some form of immobiliser and possibly an alarm. These factory-fitted immobilisers are tricky to bypass as they’re often integrated into the engine control unit.
Professional thieves will either use a relay box – in the case of a keyless-entry vehicle – or may break into a house to steal the keys. Some modern vehicles guard against relay theft, some do not – it’s wise to keep keyless-entry fobs well away from doors and windows in a Faraday bag or box.
The most sophisticated criminal gangs have keymasters that can make up and code an original key. Key cloning is rife and vehicles can be pinpointed and stolen to order. As you will appreciate, a determined professional is tricky to guard against.
How do trackers work?
Most trackers use a combination of satellite GPS and the mobile phone network to communicate with a control centre. Some additionally use a low-frequency VHF signal. Depending on the package you’ve opted for, this can either be a passive tracking device – ie, the control centre sends you a message via text, email or phone – or an actively monitored system. All these systems will alert you via phone, email or text (depending on how you’ve set it up) that a possible theft has occurred and, once you’ve alerted the police and have a crime number, will act on your behalf to track the vehicle.
Insurers usually insist on a 24-hour actively monitored system and this can be a great benefit if you’re sleeping, remote from your phone, in a signal blackspot or have simply forgotten to charge your phone.
Some of the cheaper trackers only work on the 2G network, rather than the more modern 3G and 4G networks, and it’s worth noting that the 2G network is set to be phased o
