17' Series GPS Tracker Device & Mods

[baarsm]

Hi all,

Newbie here, just did our first trip with our brand new 17.56-2-MY-EX. Managed to pick one up a few days ago and chilling in Woodside beach at the moment. Sitting inside and wondering what internal/external mods to do. Quite a few 3M hooks already placed in a few spots.
I did purchase a GPS tracker from mytag.com.au - XTraK GPS Locator - 3 Year Battery Life, however noticed that the signal stopped outside Traralgon. I do have Telstra reception here, but signal won't come up. Anyone can recommend a good reliable GPS tracker?

Also any mods/tips would be welcome

Anyone installed a separate Gas connector for outdoor cooking? prefer to minimise indoor cooking?

 

[Drover]

I find a portable barbie like a weber with its own gas bottle more versatile than having a fixed gas point, you can move it around to suit the weather and keep it away from van walls...... have a fixed gas point outside but haven't used it for ages now plus the long hoses are way overpriced.

 

[Crusty181]

The pic makes your van look 30ft long. Welcome to the forum and congrats on the van, first time vanners??

Woodside is quite a nice spot, we were there btw lockdowns. Unfortunately you can get a few rednecks in there.

I use a retire mobile phone as my gps tracker, a $10 charge lasts forever. I wrote a couple of Apps to geofence and live track mine, but the "find my phone" feature will do the job. It works, because i forget i have it and the damn thing goes off like a frog in a sock everytime i move the van.

I thought all Jaycos have the outside gas bbq bayonet. I added a 2nd one under the awning side behind the wheels, if you dont have one there easy enough to add. Each appliance needs its own isolation tap.

As for bbqs, the van regulator is not high pressure to run the Weber at full tilt. Bbq'ing or roasting single meals isnt really an issue, but cooking multiple pizza and needing full heat etc takes much longer and is painful.

 

[Drover]

As for bbqs, the van regulator is not high pressure to run the Weber at full tilt.

Never knew that, so why ??????? where's the pics ?????

 

[Crusty181]

Never knew that, so why ??????? where's the pics ?????

The last time I took a pic of gas pressure, it didnt focus well.

I dont know why the Jayco regulator runs gas slower, i thought small regs were much the same. I found out when camped with friends, we were both cooking Weber pizzas them directly off a bottle and us on the van bayonet.

Their pizzas were ready way quicker than ours. Determined to figure out why we eventuallt swapped Webers, and the results were the same. Webers flame is small anyway, but after looking a little closer the flame on either Weber on our bayonet was smaller than that of either Weber on the bottle through the Weber regulator.

 

[baarsm]

The pic makes your van look 30ft long. Welcome to the forum and congrats on the van, first time vanners??

Woodside is quite a nice spot, we were there btw lockdowns. Unfortunately you can get a few rednecks in there.

I use a retire mobile phone as my gps tracker, a $10 charge lasts forever. I wrote a couple of Apps to geofence and live track mine, but the "find my phone" feature will do the job. It works, because i forget i have it and the damn thing goes off like a frog in a sock everytime i move the van.

I thought all Jaycos have the outside gas bbq bayonet. I added a 2nd one under the awning side behind the wheels, if you dont have one there easy enough to add. Each appliance needs its own isolation tap.

As for bbqs, the van regulator is not high pressure to run the Weber at full tilt. Bbq'ing or roasting single meals isnt really an issue, but cooking multiple pizza and needing full heat etc takes much longer and is painful.

Thanks for the tip!!
Sorta 2nd time vanners. I had a tent trailer which i just sold. We hired an expanda a few years ago and drove to Uluru. It was an amazing experience! Now we bought one, the pic does make it look long hey?!?! Lol

We got this one and getting a journey 19ft OB in March.. looking to hire out the expanda then!

The gps tracker was something to hide and not worry just in case it gets stolen. I have since had a reply from the makers saying its run on their own sigfox network..

The XTraK uses the SigFox network. Its coverage is growing and it currently covers 85% of the Australian population. However it does not mirror the mobile phone network as it is a completely different network and technology. In rural and remote areas away from major centres there are likely to be coverage gaps.

Not too happy with that response.. so on the lookout for something else.

Woodside was a lot chillier on fri/sat, very gusty southerly winds. Sunday was better and Monday the mozzies returned . Back in Melbourne and heading out on Friday to Sydney with 3x 2 day stops in Lakes, merimbula and Gerroa. Cant wait!

 

[jazzeddie1234]

I bought a 3G gps tracker on ebay for $80 that works great although you need to get familiar with the sms codes to set it up. I use a telstra phone sim around $30 every 6 months. Just check the tracker uses telstra 3g frequencies 850/900/2100 from memory (900 is optus if required)

 

[jazzeddie1234]

My list of essential mods on a starcraft:
Cheap Chinese diesel heater
External Anderson for portable solar panel
Dust proofed (silicon) wheel arches
Painted and insulated fridge cavity (cavity fans if not fitted)
LPG (floor) and CO (ceiling) alarms
A couple of extra 12v cigarette/usb charging outlets
Lights in wardrobes

 

[baarsm]

I bought a 3G gps tracker on ebay for $80 that works great although you need to get familiar with the sms codes to set it up. I use a telstra phone sim around $30 every 6 months. Just check the tracker uses telstra 3g frequencies 850/900/2100 from memory (900 is optus if required)

Which make and model? Aren't they switching off 3g in some areas?

 

[RickB]

I use a telstra phone sim around $30 every 6 months.

Personally I use an Aldi sim, Telstra network, $5 for 12 mths. Just get a new one every year!

 

[baarsm]

But then what's your method for keeping the phone charged or in a location where people can't find it? My purpose is purely coverage against theft..

Found this article about 3G

Redirect Notice

mp

 

[Crusty181]

Thanks for the tip!!
Sorta 2nd time vanners. I had a tent trailer which i just sold. We hired an expanda a few years ago and drove to Uluru. It was an amazing experience! Now we bought one, the pic does make it look long hey?!?! Lol

We got this one and getting a journey 19ft OB in March.. looking to hire out the expanda then!

The gps tracker was something to hide and not worry just in case it gets stolen. I have since had a reply from the makers saying its run on their own sigfox network..

The XTraK uses the SigFox network. Its coverage is growing and it currently covers 85% of the Australian population. However it does not mirror the mobile phone network as it is a completely different network and technology. In rural and remote areas away from major centres there are likely to be coverage gaps.

Not too happy with that response.. so on the lookout for something else.

Woodside was a lot chillier on fri/sat, very gusty southerly winds. Sunday was better and Monday the mozzies returned . Back in Melbourne and heading out on Friday to Sydney with 3x 2 day stops in Lakes, merimbula and Gerroa. Cant wait!

I have an iDrive LiveTrack in the car. GeoFence, shock sensor, live incident tracking, and also passive tracking. Uses mobile data, not sms so data usage in minimal. After 12mths i still have $8 on my initial $10 Sim. Coverage obviously mimicks your chosen phone provider network.

 

[baarsm]

First Google maps from melb 2 woodside

Second back to melb

3rd is the mytrak, quite a bit out of whack.. I'm gonna email them today..

 

[Drover]

I leave the Weber at home now so dunna matter...................

I have had an old 3G phone waiting for me to set up as a Locator but to date couldn't be bothered......... but then I suppose its where you park it up at home that could be a concern..... My only deterent is old school by Chubb and Browning.

Whats having a black awning like for keeping the mould away ?????

 

[jazzeddie1234]

Personally I use an Aldi sim, Telstra network, $5 for 12 mths. Just get a new one every year!

Brilliant! I'll switch when this recharge expires. I only need 3 or 4 sms a year .

I also purchased a 3g tracker and connected the alarm button wire into my house alarm output. Now I get a 'help, help' sms on my phone if the alarm goes off - much cheaper than a monitoring service

 

[jazzeddie1234]

Which make and model?

Here is an example. Tk300-3G-GPS-Tracker-Car-Vehicle-Anti-Theft-Real-live-Time-Tracking-Device-mini

Things I look for:
Has telstra frequencies,
can be setup via phone app or sms (important as some trackers only have 12 months free app use),
Has a battery and a 12v charging wire
has alarms for low battery, 12v charger disconnect,
movement outside preset zone,
can alert multiple people,
has a manual alarm button/wire (optional but useful if wanting to alarm the door)

 

[Macca_75]

The last time I took a pic of gas pressure, it didnt focus well.

I dont know why the Jayco regulator runs gas slower, i thought small regs were much the same. I found out when camped with friends, we were both cooking Weber pizzas them directly off a bottle and us on the van bayonet.

Their pizzas were ready way quicker than ours. Determined to figure out why we eventuallt swapped Webers, and the results were the same. Webers flame is small anyway, but after looking a little closer the flame on either Weber on our bayonet was smaller than that of either Weber on the bottle through the Weber regulator.

You make me want to investigate a little further and possibly change my reg out, but knowing my luck this will stuff my gas heater.....

 

[rags]

You make me want to investigate a little further and possibly change my reg out, but knowing my luck this will stuff my gas heater.....

The pressure from a gas regulator doesn’t change, they are designed with spring tension to reduce the bottle pressure down to 2.75 Kpa. Yes you can get problems , especially when the 1st stage ( small regulator) fails, but that usual results in no gas.
What does affect the performance of a gas appliance is the size of the gas pipes, particularly the use of 5/16“ pipe. It becomes problematic when more than one appliance is running.
As a minimum I will only use 3/8“ tubes.Add a few appliances together and potentially 1/2“ should be run to lithe first tee.
Gas fitting is all about correct sizing.
For a Weber, they are fairly economic with gas, burning around 10mj/hr.
The other issue to be aware of is that the gas regulator must be elevated above the bottle outlet.( or at least the pig tails/ Flexi hoses at the change over valve higher than bottles.

Why dose a Weber work better connected directly to a regulator at the cylinder? Because of pipe(hose) sizing = shorter distance to draw gas from source.
A Weber struggling to burn is an appliance struggling for gas.

Probably this subject is now off topic given the title being about GPS matters

 

[Crusty181]

But then what's your method for keeping the phone charged or in a location where people can't find it? My purpose is purely coverage against theft..

Found this article about 3G

Redirect Notice

mp

No real difference to where you hide a gps tracker i suppose, both just require power, and the hiding spot doesnt need to be any different. An unplugged phone will also last a long time on it own battery

 

[RickB]

For power I just bought one of these and hard wired it in.
Then phone cord just plugs into the USB socket.