New Van

[etodd]

Our squadron just got a brand new 12 passenger van! 

As with many CAP vans, they can sit for days or even weeks between uses. So we were going to put in the hangar with the airplane (lots of room, could hold three airplanes and two vans), in order to keep it out of the weather and be all nice and shiny for years.

But Wing said no.  Has a GPS tracker on it, so keep it outside. More important for someone to be able to make sure its still sitting in the same place for weeks, than to keep it from rusting. LOL

I mean, if someone stole it, then it "would" be seen going somewhere. Just thought it was amusing. Maybe we can throw a tarp over it.

[arajca]

Interesting. It's news that they're putting GPS trackers on them. I know the APX4500 radios have a GPS connection, but it's not a tracker. It will just include the GPS location whenever it transmits. When the radio is off, it's not sending anything.

[Eclipse]

Most wings would trip over themselves to have a vehicle inside vs out.

[Fubar]

Park it inside and see if anyone notices. If wing says something, just tell them you were confidence checking the GPS tracker

[NIN]

Park it inside and see if anyone notices. If wing says something, just tell them you were confidence checking the GPS tracker

I like where you're at on this.

[etodd]

Park it inside and see if anyone notices. If wing says something, just tell them you were confidence checking the GPS tracker

I like where you're at on this.

I would definitely do it for sure ... but its not my sandbox. The parties at play here will not disobey a Wing order.  LOL

[PHall]

Another LARGE reason they didn't want you to park it in the hanger with the airplane.
They don't want any more van vs airplane "accidents". This is a sore spot with National.

[etodd]

Another LARGE reason they didn't want you to park it in the hanger with the airplane.
They don't want any more van vs airplane "accidents". This is a sore spot with National.

Yep.  Like many other situations, only takes one or two idiots to spoil it for the rest.

[Eclipse]

Another LARGE reason they didn't want you to park it in the hanger with the airplane.
They don't want any more van vs airplane "accidents". This is a sore spot with National.

Hangar rash is a legit problem, parking a van inside with the plane is not, nor is it prohibited.

What the heck kind of "GPS Tracker" does this thing have one year free ONSTAR?

[etodd]

OK, its a month old post, but now that I have more info, I'll correct it. The main problem it seems is that the gps tracker (whatever it is) apparently will run hard and "hunt" for satellites if inside a metal building, and will run the van battery down over a few days.

(Wondering if its hard wired direct to the battery? We could splice in an inline power switch. Nah, forget I said that. LOL)

[Eclipse]

Shades of EFJ Mobile radios with jumped out sense pins that killed more then their fair share of batteries.

It's probably a cheap device plugged into the ODB connector under the dash.
They are notorious for killing batteries.

Plug the van into a Battery Tender.

[JohhnyD]

(Wondering if its hard wired direct to the battery? We could splice in an inline power switch. Nah, forget I said that. LOL)

IIRC we did exactly that. We have a "kill switch" that does the job. We also have trickle chargers on all three ground vehicles and engine warmers on both a/c.

[GroundHawg]

Shades of EFJ Mobile radios with jumped out sense pins that killed more then their fair share of batteries.

It's probably a cheap device plugged into the ODB connector under the dash.
They are notorious for killing batteries.

Plug the van into a Battery Tender.

I bought a solar tender and have zero issues with drain ever since

[Fubar]

(Wondering if its hard wired direct to the battery? We could splice in an inline power switch. Nah, forget I said that. LOL)

IIRC we did exactly that. We have a "kill switch" that does the job. We also have trickle chargers on all three ground vehicles and engine warmers on both a/c.

Problem with the switch is it requires someone to remember to flip the switch as part of the vehicle's preflight. You'll end up looking for a van that has a GPS tracker on board that's dutifully doing nothing because the driver forgot to turn it on.

[JohhnyD]

(Wondering if its hard wired direct to the battery? We could splice in an inline power switch. Nah, forget I said that. LOL)

IIRC we did exactly that. We have a "kill switch" that does the job. We also have trickle chargers on all three ground vehicles and engine warmers on both a/c.

Problem with the switch is it requires someone to remember to flip the switch as part of the vehicle's preflight. You'll end up looking for a van that has a GPS tracker on board that's dutifully doing nothing because the driver forgot to turn it on.

I am not sure, but I think our kill-switch has to be flipped in order to even start the vehicle.

[etodd]

Problem with the switch is it requires someone to remember to flip the switch as part of the vehicle's preflight. You'll end up looking for a van that has a GPS tracker on board that's dutifully doing nothing because the driver forgot to turn it on.

I'm still waiting for the practical use example.  Cadets in a van traveling to an event, and people at Mission Base seeing the van stop for 10 minutes and everyone starts calling cell phones to find out what the problem is. "Bathroom break!"  LOL

Or .... the driver has his own favorite roads to travel on, and Mission Base folks think he should take other roads, and calls to ask if he is lost. LOL  (I will for sure take some back roads next time just for fun.)

If a driver needs help, he or someone else in the van will call. I don't see the need to track.

Maybe its for theft?  How many CAP vans have been stolen over the years?