xcountry move: GPS tracker?

[Spock]

I'm going to commit financial stupidity and move 5 bedroom/3 car garage sized load of accumulated crap 1600miles this spring. Yes, we have started throwing stuff out (I don't think I'll need my college textbooks on electromagnetic wave theory any more...)

It's looking like the only way to afford this is to use one of the shipping container/pod outfits like ABF's ReloCube. I would like to be able to track all of the containers independently of where the shipper says they are. ABF's estimate tool says I'll need 10 containers, so I can't spend hundreds of $ per tracker.

I don't need real-time tracking which should extend battery life. A once a day/every couple of day check-in would be OK as the pods will spend most of their time in storage. But I would like something in the range of 6 months battery life.


Has anybody used a GPS tracker and have a brand/model they recommend?
Or know of a good moving company that might have a senior discount?

 

[braumeister]

Apple AirTags or Tile tags should work well for that.

 

[Spock]

Apple AirTags or Tile tags should work well for that.

From what I've read Tiles/AirTags require somebody else to have bluetooth enabled, be running the tile app on their phone, and to be within 400ft of the tile. I think odds are low those conditions will be met in industrial areas/business parks where movers warehouses/depots are located.

 

[braumeister]

From what I've read Tiles/AirTags require somebody else to have bluetooth enabled, be running the tile app on their phone, and to be within 400ft of the tile. I think odds are low those conditions will be met in industrial areas/business parks where movers warehouses/depots are located.

Not true.
Volvo has a program where you can get your car at the factory in Sweden, drive it in Europe for a while, then they ship it to your local dealer. I know people who have put an AirTag in their car at the factory and were able to track it going to the ship, in transit (except in the open ocean), and then through port processing and truck transport to their dealer. Worked like a charm.

 

[Bamaman]

Most families of four can be moved in 1/2 of a moving van cross country. When I moved 30 years ago, we filled up 1 1/2 moving vans including a full cabinet shop.

We later inherited my parents' furniture and belongings and an aunt's very large house full of furniture--fine furniture. I swapped out my good furniture with the great furniture. And I ended up with six single car garages packed full of "stuff". I spent years making dozens and dozens of trips to the city dump and passed furniture around to adult children.

I again moved 3 years ago, and downsized somewhat.

The trick is to anticipate what furniture you'll need, and don't move unneeded items. Facebook Marketplace is a great way to sell stuff. I learned the hard way.

 

[Sunset]

From what I've read Tiles/AirTags require somebody else to have bluetooth enabled, be running the tile app on their phone, and to be within 400ft of the tile. I think odds are low those conditions will be met in industrial areas/business parks where movers warehouses/depots are located.

You are vastly underestimating the number of people with i-phones who will pass by your stuff every day.

A regular GPS tracker, will need to have a cell phone connection not available in various places, and won't work well in steel buildings.
Plus the cost of a regular GPS tracker with cell phone service for each one will be easily $100 each (my est.).

The i-phone will inside a steel building without cell service, still pick up the airtag and later report it when it has cell service.

You will need an i-phone, or friend who has one to use the air-tags.

 

[tfudtuckerpucker]

Or know of a good moving company that might have a senior discount?

We did a 2000 mile move last year. After looking into moving options, we purged as much as possible, including most furniture/appliances. Then, we loaded the rest into a Penske truck and I drove it. We re-bought a bunch of furniture/appliances here. I would do it that way again.

 

[ERD50]

You are vastly underestimating the number of people with i-phones who will pass by your stuff every day.

A regular GPS tracker, will need to have a cell phone connection not available in various places, and won't work well in steel buildings.
Plus the cost of a regular GPS tracker with cell phone service for each one will be easily $100 each (my est.).

The i-phone will inside a steel building without cell service, still pick up the airtag and later report it when it has cell service.

You will need an i-phone, or friend who has one to use the air-tags.

But the air tags work via Bluetooth, that has a limited range.

I think OPs concerns are warranted. These things could be parked pretty far out on a lot somewhere.

https://www.macrumors.com/guide/airtag-vs-tile/

The Tile trackers have Bluetooth ranges between 150ft to 400ft, depending on the model. Apple has not disclosed the AirTag's Bluetooth tracking range.

Bit it's still Bluetooth, that's not a long range communication format.

-ERD50

 

[cathy63]

Could you use one of those satellite trackers that hikers use? I have no idea if it would work inside a container, but there's definitely no cell service or blue tooth required.

I get messages from a couple of family members who like to venture off into the middle of nowhere, and I plot them on Google Maps so everyone else can see where they are. One uses Spot and the other has a Garmin device.

Here's a typical message from Spot:

Device Name: xxx's spot
Latitude: 50.08416
Longitude: -124.85962
GPS location Date/Time: 08/28/2020 16:24:06 PDT

Message: Ca va bien!

Click the link below to see where I am located.
http://fms.ws/1MxYgY/50.08416N/124.85962W

If the above link does not work, try this link:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=...5962&ll=50.08416,-124.85962&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

You have received this message because "xxx's spot" has added you to its SPOT contact list and attempted to contact you.

FindMeSPOT.com

 

[braumeister]

Could you use one of those satellite trackers that hikers use? I have no idea if it would work inside a container,

No, it would not.
I use a Garmin InReach for that purpose when out in the boonies, and it needs a clear view of the sky to make a connection.

 

[Sunset]

But the air tags work via Bluetooth, that has a limited range.

I think OPs concerns are warranted. These things could be parked pretty far out on a lot somewhere.

https://www.macrumors.com/guide/airtag-vs-tile/



Bit it's still Bluetooth, that's not a long range communication format.

-ERD50

I agree, as nothing is going to be perfect.
Should the containers be stored in a metal building, it pretty much kills all communications.
OP could get lucky with airtags and the driver has an apple phone.

Maybe it would work, to put an i-phone in the container with airtags in all containers. As long as the containers were close together and the move didn't take more than 4 days, his container i-phone would report on the location ?

 

[COcheesehead]

I’ve known people who have tracked lost luggage with air tags even when they were in Europe and the bags were in the US.

 

[Ronstar]

Apple air tags. I haven’t run into a situation where I haven’t been able to track my air tags. Gps needs clear view of the sky like others have said.

 

[Ronstar]

But the air tags work via Bluetooth, that has a limited range.

I think OPs concerns are warranted. These things could be parked pretty far out on a lot somewhere.

https://www.macrumors.com/guide/airtag-vs-tile/



Bit it's still Bluetooth, that's not a long range communication format.

-ERD50

OP wants a position every day or 2. Chances are an iPhone will be close enough to the container to get a connection at least every day unless the shipper is airborne, off-road or at sea.

The person tracking the AirTag will see the last known position and how long ago since the last position acquired, whether or not the AirTag is currently in range

 

[ERD50]

OP wants a position every day or 2. Chances are an iPhone will be close enough to the container to get a connection at least every day unless the shipper is airborne, off-road or at sea.

The person tracking the AirTag will see the last known position and how long ago since the last position acquired, whether or not the AirTag is currently in range

OK, I was thinking they'd be sitting stored for periods of time. I suppose if they are moving, they will be likely to get updates.


-ERD50

 

[Beldar]

How will the Airtag (or any similar low power device) transmit through the wall of a metal shipping container (which may very well be in close proximity to many other similar enclosures)? Will you be epoxying it to the outer surface, or does the container vendor offer an external radome-type enclosure on the container for this purpose?

_B

 

[Koolau]

I'm going to commit financial stupidity and move 5 bedroom/3 car garage sized load of accumulated crap 1600miles this spring. Yes, we have started throwing stuff out (I don't think I'll need my college textbooks on electromagnetic wave theory any more...)

It's looking like the only way to afford this is to use one of the shipping container/pod outfits like ABF's ReloCube. I would like to be able to track all of the containers independently of where the shipper says they are. ABF's estimate tool says I'll need 10 containers, so I can't spend hundreds of $ per tracker.

I don't need real-time tracking which should extend battery life. A once a day/every couple of day check-in would be OK as the pods will spend most of their time in storage. But I would like something in the range of 6 months battery life.


Has anybody used a GPS tracker and have a brand/model they recommend?
Or know of a good moving company that might have a senior discount?

None of my business but I find it difficult to imagine too many items worth shipping (especially long distances.) We moved 5000 miles in 2 suitcases each. Heh, heh, that was back when you were allowed 2-50 lb suitcases. In '07, we were looking at $8K to move one container door to door. I'm guessing that's doubled or tripled by now. We filled our Island 3/2 1300SF townhouse with furniture and "stuff" for about $3K (mostly very good - but used items.) I guess it's all a matter of priorities so YMMV.

 

[rk911]

I'm going to commit financial stupidity and move 5 bedroom/3 car garage sized load of accumulated crap 1600miles this spring. Yes, we have started throwing stuff out (I don't think I'll need my college textbooks on electromagnetic wave theory any more...)

It's looking like the only way to afford this is to use one of the shipping container/pod outfits like ABF's ReloCube. I would like to be able to track all of the containers independently of where the shipper says they are. ABF's estimate tool says I'll need 10 containers, so I can't spend hundreds of $ per tracker.

I don't need real-time tracking which should extend battery life. A once a day/every couple of day check-in would be OK as the pods will spend most of their time in storage. But I would like something in the range of 6 months battery life.


Has anybody used a GPS tracker and have a brand/model they recommend?
Or know of a good moving company that might have a senior discount?

how Apple AirTags or Android Tiles?

 

[38Chevy454]

I guess my question is why do you want to track so close? ABF gives you the ID of the cubes, and they are responsible for delivering it. It's the contracted service you are using. Your knowledge of tracking it doesn't make delivery any faster or any less control over where it goes. So why try to control something that you can't effect.

It might make you feel better knowing the transit the stuff takes. But in the end you can't change it.

 

[Spock]

How will the Airtag (or any similar low power device) transmit through the wall of a metal shipping container (which may very well be in close proximity to many other similar enclosures)? Will you be epoxying it to the outer surface, or does the container vendor offer an external radome-type enclosure on the container for this purpose?

_B

I can only hope the container is metal. I've discovered the uhaul pods have canvas sides... better for tracking signals but uhaul bottom tier to start with and then to have a container you can cut open with a box cutter? nah.

 

[Spock]

None of my business but I find it difficult to imagine too many items worth shipping (especially long distances.) We moved 5000 miles in 2 suitcases each. Heh, heh, that was back when you were allowed 2-50 lb suitcases. In '07, we were looking at $8K to move one container door to door. I'm guessing that's doubled or tripled by now. We filled our Island 3/2 1300SF townhouse with furniture and "stuff" for about $3K (mostly very good - but used items.) I guess it's all a matter of priorities so YMMV.

well... there is the matter of my wife's piano that she's had since childhood...

 

[Spock]

I guess my question is why do you want to track so close? ABF gives you the ID of the cubes, and they are responsible for delivering it. It's the contracted service you are using. Your knowledge of tracking it doesn't make delivery any faster or any less control over where it goes. So why try to control something that you can't effect.

It might make you feel better knowing the transit the stuff takes. But in the end you can't change it.

I don't expect to control it. But relying temp help to scan a barcode at check-in is too soft for what I'm valuing enough to pay to ship. I want to be able to show ABF "it's in Kansas City" when they say they don't know where it went. They'll have 10 chances to lose 1.

 

[Teacher Terry]

You still have twice as much stuff as what you need).

 

[COcheesehead]

I don't expect to control it. But relying temp help to scan a barcode at check-in is too soft for what I'm valuing enough to pay to ship. I want to be able to show ABF "it's in Kansas City" when they say they don't know where it went. They'll have 10 chances to lose 1.

You probably know this, but insurance for movers is based on weight. So if something is super valuable to you I would look into other secondary coverages you may already have or can purchase because weight is not a good valuation.

 

[pacergal]

Is your new to you home another 5 bedroom 3 car garage house? If not, where are you putting all that stuff?
I understand sentimental things, but is there any way you can sell the majority and repurchase? Yes, a childhood piano is worth moving, as long as your wife still plays and its not a current dust collector
DH and I have worked on reducing "stuff" since we retired, but I realize if we were to move or God forbid, something happed sooner than we planned, we still have way too many do dads and what nots for our kids to chuck in the garbage LOL.
Our small ranch home is still a work in progress, I can't imagine trying to haul it all someplace. I would go serious Marie Kondo beforehand.

Best of Luck in your move. Enjoy your new place!