I wanted to share my experience with a GPS tracking device. I have included some pictures below. First, why is it important to consider a GPS tracker? If you’ve ever worried about having your sled and/or trailer stolen from the hotel, the parking lot while riding, or it's normal storage location then this product is for you! I work for a government agency and this is the same tracker that we use. From my experience, Covert Track offers the easiest interfaces, the most sensitive, and accurate trackers available today. Covert Track also offers many other types of trackers but the Micro Tracker III seemed to be the best fit for what I wanted to use it for. I don’t work for this company or get paid by them but it was so easy to use at work that I bought one for personal use to install on my sled trailer.
I purchased the Covert Track Micro Tracker III EXT. You cannot purchase directly from Covert Track, you have to use one of their distributors. The cheapest place I found was eyespysupply.com. There are two versions of the Micro Tracker III, the EXT model has a 2.0 amp batter vs the 1.3 amp in the standard model. You will also want to purchase the external battery and waterproof pelican case, the 2.0 amp model and the external battery will maximize your runtime. If you have the settings at conservative level, it will last at least three months. Battery time is less depending on how often you set the device to check in. I set mine at 15 minutes. Someone who is good with electric could probably wire this up to a car battery on the trailer that would charge off the truck when you’re driving and you’d never have to worry about it. I just charges off a USB cable. I also painted my pelican case a flat black so it’s almost impossible to spot under a trailer.
The entire package ended up being $398. Airtime (cell) plans start at $33/ month. The tracker locates itself with a highly sensitive GPS antenna and transmits that location via a small text string though the cell network. The antenna on the unit is so sensitive that you can affix the unit underneath your trailer and it will still pickup GPS satellite signals bouncing off the ground. The signal will also travel through glass and plastic, but not metal. The best place you can mount the tracker is going to be somewhere on the roof or where it has a clear view of the sky. Make sure that it is still hidden though. If you cannot find anywhere to mount on the roof, underneath the trailer will still work. The waterproof case comes with heavy duty magnets so it will not come off even on washed out roads (and if it ever did, you can find it
). One of the best features is the geo-fences. A geo-fence is an imaginary square boundary that can be placed around an area. If the tracker leaves or enters that imaginary square, you will receive a text message to your phone. I have the number saved as a contact in my phone, so when I get an alert there is a separate text notification sound from normal text messages. This way I will know right away what’s going on!
Now I’ll explain the website. I have a screenshot below. On the left is your map, this is a google map interface so it’s super easy to use. You can switch between map and satellite. On the right is the setup for alerts, you can have up to ten phone numbers and ten emails to send alerts to. Below that is your battery power. If the battery gets too low, it will also send you an alert letting you know. The “LOCATE NOW” feature sends a signal to force a check in from the tracker even if it’s not time for it to check in. The “MOTION ALERT” can be turned on and you will receive an alert if the tracker moves at all. It’s very sensitive; I’ve had it go off by just dropping the hitch onto the ball of my truck. The proximity settings are more for law enforcement. It will basically alert if one tracker is within a certain distance of another one. Usually they'll use that for tracking stalkers and those types of things. The geo-fences I explained. Another interesting little feature is a panic button located on the front of the GPS. If for some reason you were out in the wilderness and you needed help, you can press this button. A message will instantly be sent to a predetermined phone or email that you have entered. That person will be able to find your exact GPS location and track you if you move by logging into the mobile site on their phone.
The website saves your data forever and can be downloaded via a KML or KMZ file and uploaded right into Google Maps or Earth. Each “check-in” is saved as a data point on the map. When you click on the data point it will give date/time, speed, and heading. Cool if you want to track where and how far you rode for the day too! If you ever do leave cell service, the tracker will continue to save data points and then upload those when you return to service. It will save up to 10,000 data points while out of service.
So, I would recommend this product to anyone who worries about their trailer being stolen. Lots of us have real money invested in all this dumb stuff, as my girlfriend would say. If it is ever stolen you will receive an alert to your phone. From there, pull up the Covert Track mobile site and track your stolen trailer in real time showing its current location, direction of travel and speed! Then contact the police to catch the thieves before they can do any real damage!
Lemme know if you have any questions!
I purchased the Covert Track Micro Tracker III EXT. You cannot purchase directly from Covert Track, you have to use one of their distributors. The cheapest place I found was eyespysupply.com. There are two versions of the Micro Tracker III, the EXT model has a 2.0 amp batter vs the 1.3 amp in the standard model. You will also want to purchase the external battery and waterproof pelican case, the 2.0 amp model and the external battery will maximize your runtime. If you have the settings at conservative level, it will last at least three months. Battery time is less depending on how often you set the device to check in. I set mine at 15 minutes. Someone who is good with electric could probably wire this up to a car battery on the trailer that would charge off the truck when you’re driving and you’d never have to worry about it. I just charges off a USB cable. I also painted my pelican case a flat black so it’s almost impossible to spot under a trailer.
The entire package ended up being $398. Airtime (cell) plans start at $33/ month. The tracker locates itself with a highly sensitive GPS antenna and transmits that location via a small text string though the cell network. The antenna on the unit is so sensitive that you can affix the unit underneath your trailer and it will still pickup GPS satellite signals bouncing off the ground. The signal will also travel through glass and plastic, but not metal. The best place you can mount the tracker is going to be somewhere on the roof or where it has a clear view of the sky. Make sure that it is still hidden though. If you cannot find anywhere to mount on the roof, underneath the trailer will still work. The waterproof case comes with heavy duty magnets so it will not come off even on washed out roads (and if it ever did, you can find it
). One of the best features is the geo-fences. A geo-fence is an imaginary square boundary that can be placed around an area. If the tracker leaves or enters that imaginary square, you will receive a text message to your phone. I have the number saved as a contact in my phone, so when I get an alert there is a separate text notification sound from normal text messages. This way I will know right away what’s going on!Now I’ll explain the website. I have a screenshot below. On the left is your map, this is a google map interface so it’s super easy to use. You can switch between map and satellite. On the right is the setup for alerts, you can have up to ten phone numbers and ten emails to send alerts to. Below that is your battery power. If the battery gets too low, it will also send you an alert letting you know. The “LOCATE NOW” feature sends a signal to force a check in from the tracker even if it’s not time for it to check in. The “MOTION ALERT” can be turned on and you will receive an alert if the tracker moves at all. It’s very sensitive; I’ve had it go off by just dropping the hitch onto the ball of my truck. The proximity settings are more for law enforcement. It will basically alert if one tracker is within a certain distance of another one. Usually they'll use that for tracking stalkers and those types of things. The geo-fences I explained. Another interesting little feature is a panic button located on the front of the GPS. If for some reason you were out in the wilderness and you needed help, you can press this button. A message will instantly be sent to a predetermined phone or email that you have entered. That person will be able to find your exact GPS location and track you if you move by logging into the mobile site on their phone.
The website saves your data forever and can be downloaded via a KML or KMZ file and uploaded right into Google Maps or Earth. Each “check-in” is saved as a data point on the map. When you click on the data point it will give date/time, speed, and heading. Cool if you want to track where and how far you rode for the day too! If you ever do leave cell service, the tracker will continue to save data points and then upload those when you return to service. It will save up to 10,000 data points while out of service.
So, I would recommend this product to anyone who worries about their trailer being stolen. Lots of us have real money invested in all this dumb stuff, as my girlfriend would say. If it is ever stolen you will receive an alert to your phone. From there, pull up the Covert Track mobile site and track your stolen trailer in real time showing its current location, direction of travel and speed! Then contact the police to catch the thieves before they can do any real damage!
Lemme know if you have any questions!
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