A caravan tracker is one of the best investments a touring caravan owner can make. Unlike a car or a motorhome, a caravan has no engine to immobilise and spends most of its life unattended: on a drive, in a storage compound or on a pitch while you are out for the day. All a thief needs is a tow vehicle and a few minutes. This guide explains how a caravan tracker works, the different caravan tracker systems available and how to choose the right one.
A touring caravan is designed to be hitched up and towed away quickly, and that is exactly what makes it vulnerable. Hitch locks and wheel clamps slow a thief down, but they can be defeated with time and tools, especially at night or at a quiet storage site.
Caravans also spend long periods out of sight. A theft from a storage compound in January may not be discovered until the owner visits in March. By then, the caravan could be anywhere. A caravan tracker closes that gap by telling you, or our monitoring team, as soon as the caravan moves.
A caravan tracker is a small GPS unit hidden inside the caravan. It works out its position from satellites and sends it over the 4G mobile network to a secure server, so you can see the caravan on a map in an app or on your computer. Because a caravan has no ignition, caravan tracker systems detect movement instead: if the caravan is moved when it should be parked, an alert is raised.
Power is the other difference. Some caravan trackers are wired to the caravan’s leisure battery; others run on their own long-life battery so they need no wiring at all and keep working even if a thief disconnects the caravan’s power.
The Caravan Tracker S7 is Thatcham approved and monitored 24 hours a day by our UK team. If the caravan is moved or towed when it should not be, or the tracker is tampered with or loses power, the team acts at once and works with the police to recover it. It is the most common insurance approved caravan tracker requirement.
The Caravan Tracker S5 adds driver ID tags. Keep a tag in your tow car, and the system knows the difference between you towing the caravan and a stranger doing so. Some insurers ask for this category on higher-value caravans.
The Caravan Tracker S7 Ultra is Thatcham approved and runs on its own battery, lasting one to five years depending on how often it reports. With no wires to find, it can be hidden almost anywhere in the caravan.
If your insurer does not require an approved tracker, the Waterproof Caravan Tracker TM880 connects to the leisure battery with two wires and shows the caravan live on the map. The Waterproof Caravan Tracker Ultra is battery-powered and needs no wiring, making it ideal as a hidden second tracker.
Once fitted, a caravan tracker quietly gets on with its job. Draw a zone around your drive or storage pitch and get an alert the moment the caravan leaves it. Check its position from your phone during the winter without driving to the storage site. On tour, set a zone around your pitch and relax while you are out for the day.
You can give family members their own login, so whoever is nearest can check on the caravan. If you sell it, call us and we can move the tracker to your next caravan or transfer the subscription.
Wired caravan trackers report more often and never need their own battery changed, because they draw a tiny amount of power from the leisure battery. Battery-powered trackers report less often to save power, but they need no wiring at all and are very hard for a thief to find. Many owners choose a wired approved tracker for insurance and add a battery-powered tracker as a hidden back-up.
Where your caravan spends its time changes the risks. On a driveway, it is close to you but visible from the road, and thieves can watch your routine. Keep it behind gates if you can, turned so the hitch faces a wall or the house, and use a wheel clamp as well as a hitch lock. Motion-activated lighting and a doorbell camera that covers the drive both help.
In storage, the site’s own security does much of the work, but you may not visit for weeks at a time. That is where alerts on your phone matter most: you know at once if the van leaves its pitch, rather than finding an empty space in spring.
On a campsite, the risk is usually lower, but caravans left on a pitch for the day while their owners are out are still taken. Use the wheel clamp on site too, and set a zone around your pitch in the app before you head off.
Not all storage sites are equal. Look for perimeter fencing, controlled access with a gate code or barrier, CCTV that is actually monitored, good lighting and a manager on or near the site. Sites graded by CaSSOA have been assessed against a published standard, and some insurers offer a lower premium when a caravan is kept at a graded site. Ask the site whether engineers can visit to fit or service a tracker, so you do not have to tow the caravan home for the work.
Many owners tour in France, Spain and beyond. Our trackers use a multi-network SIM, so speak to us before you travel and we will confirm cover for your route. Carry your caravan’s documents, registration details and a few photographs, and know how to report a theft in the countries you visit. If the worst happens abroad, call us: our team can share the caravan’s position with you and the local police.
With a monitored caravan tracker, our UK team is alerted as soon as the caravan moves without authorisation. They call you to check it is not you. If it has been stolen, report it to the police and give us the crime reference number; our team will track the caravan and work with the police to recover it.
With a live GPS caravan tracker, you receive the alert yourself. Call the police straight away and share the location rather than trying to recover the caravan yourself.
If you discover your caravan has gone, act quickly; the first hour often makes the difference. Call the police on 999 if the theft is happening now, or 101 if you have found the caravan missing, and ask for a crime reference number. Then call us on 01622 234510 and select option 1, so that our team can track the caravan and share its position with the police. Do not try to follow or recover it yourself.
Next, tell your insurer and the storage site, if the caravan was in storage, so that they can check their CCTV. Have your registration details, chassis number and photographs ready. The quicker everyone has the information, the better the chance of getting your caravan back undamaged.
Approved caravan trackers are fitted free by an approved engineer anywhere in mainland UK, at your home or storage site where access allows. We call after you order to book a time, and your certificate is issued once the tracker is fitted.
Live GPS caravan trackers start from £4.99 a month with no contract. Monitored caravan trackers start at £10.99 a month for the S7 (from £8.72 a month on longer plans) and £9.99 a month for the S5, with lifetime cover available. See all our caravan trackers for current prices.
Our UK team has been fitting trackers for 21 years. Call 01622 234510, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and we will help you choose.
I Track Direct has been protecting vehicles for 21 years. From our base in Maidstone, Kent, we supply and fit insurance approved trackers, live GPS trackers, immobilisers, dash cameras and tool trackers for drivers, riders and businesses right across the UK.
Every approved tracker we sell is fitted by an approved engineer at your home or workplace, free of charge in mainland UK, and monitored by our UK team around the clock. Our live GPS trackers come with a free app and web login, unlimited logins for family and colleagues, and plans with no contract.
When you call us, you speak to real people who know vehicle security, not a script. We will help you choose the right product for your vehicle and your insurer, book your fitting at a time that suits you, and look after you for as long as you have a tracker with us.
Call 01622 234510, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, or email enquiries@itrackdirect.com. For a stolen vehicle, call the same number at any time and select option 1.
Some insurers require an approved caravan tracker on higher-value caravans, and some offer a discount when one is fitted. Check which category your policy accepts.
A caravan has no ignition, so caravan trackers detect movement. If the caravan moves when it should be parked, the tracker raises an alert. The S5 uses a tag in your tow car to tell the difference between you and a thief.
Wired trackers use very little power. If the caravan is stored for months, keep the leisure battery charged with a conditioner or solar panel. Battery-powered trackers do not use the leisure battery at all.
Usually, yes, if the site allows engineers access. Tell us where the caravan is kept when we call to book the fitting.
One to five years, depending on how often it reports. Based on two reports a day, the battery lasts at the upper end of that range.
Yes. That is when it matters most. A wired tracker stays powered from the leisure battery and a battery-powered tracker runs on its own cells, so either way the caravan is protected on the drive, in storage and on site, not only on the road.
Our engineers hide trackers behind panels and in places a thief would not expect, and battery-powered trackers switch their signal off between reports, which makes them very hard to detect. Many owners fit a second, hidden tracker for extra peace of mind.
Yes. It is worth letting the site manager know, especially if an engineer needs access to fit or service it. Some sites also like to know which caravans are tracked, as it helps if there is ever an incident on site.
Call us before the sale. We can arrange for the tracker to be moved to your next caravan, or transfer the subscription to the new owner if the tracker stays with the van.
Each tracker is fitted to one vehicle, but all of your trackers appear together in the same app, so you can see your caravan and your tow car on one map.
Give us a call on: 01622 234510 or email enquiries@itrackdirect.com
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