Coach Tracking Page

[turbopilot]

For the last six years my RV's have been fully equipped to provide live tracking for friends and family. Prior to my New Aire my previous coaches have been provisioned with a dedicated private web page showing a coach mounted web camera current image and a live map update of the coach position.

Over the years I have used a variety of web cameras of increasing resolution and low light capability. Web cameras updated the front view from the coach on a schedule that made sense to conserve bandwidth on cellular connections: typically every 5 to 10 minutes. Until 2013 I used Google Latitude for live position reporting. Unfortunately, Google discontinued Latitude and there really has not been anything as good since then. I now use a paid service ($17/year) on Followme.com to generate live moving maps of the coach's position.

I equipped the New Aire with the Ambient Weather WS-2902A internet weather station so now I have added live weather reporting from the coach that updates every minute.

Obviously no one wants live position reporting, in the clear, on the public web. So I caution my family and friends not to share the URL on any public web site. I generally change the URL with every trip just to make sure only my family and friends are keeping an eye on our movements. It is possible to just password protect the web page for additional security but that gets complicated. So for now I just change the URL for each major trip then send the link to anyone who might be interested.

It is entertaining to follow the feedback from friends and family as they watch progress of a trip. I often get messages along the way giving additional guidance about local conditions or suggestions about places to visit near my route. Many of my friends are pilots so when the weather is an issue I get lots of feedback on hazards or traffic conditions along the way. So for those long trips it is almost like taking the journey with a bunch of friends. Crowd sourced travel. And, if something bad happens along the way, friends and family know exactly where you are.

Here is a semi live demo of my New Aire Tracking page. The position reporting map is a dummy otherwise you could drill down to the current exact position of the coach within +/- 1 or 2 feet. The front web cam view is the last image uploaded when the coach battery switch was turned off. Obviously you can see the coach is in storage at the current time. The camera is only powered when the battery switch is on to conserve bandwidth on my cellular router/modem in the coach. The weather on the page is live. It is updated every minute. Since the weather update uses very little bandwidth I leave the weather station on hooked up to the WiFi Ranger Pro, so it continues to update 24x7 along with SilverLeaf MyRozie.

http://turbopilot.com/newaire/demo/

If others are interested in doing the same kind of private web page for your coach let me know and I will provide the details about how to make this all work.

[willipaul]

good stuff......like all your posts....

let me know when you have perfected the crowd sourced fuel deliveries.......

["007"]

Another add to your master list, thanks for the work I need it.

[turbopilot]

Originally Posted by willipaul

good stuff......like all your posts....

let me know when you have perfected the crowd sourced fuel deliveries.......

That is called a pit stop. I would definitely pay for a service like that.

[turbopilot]

Originally Posted by "007"

Another add to your master list, thanks for the work I need it.

Next trip I will post web camera and weather live and let folks try to guess where I am.

[Groceryguy]

Originally Posted by turbopilot

For the last six years my RV's have been fully equipped to provide live tracking for friends and family. Prior to my New Aire my previous coaches have been provisioned with a dedicated private web page showing a coach mounted web camera current image and a live map update of the coach position.

Over the years I have used a variety of web cameras of increasing resolution and low light capability. Web cameras updated the front view from the coach on a schedule that made sense to conserve bandwidth on cellular connections: typically every 5 to 10 minutes. Until 2013 I used Google Latitude for live position reporting. Unfortunately, Google discontinued Latitude and there really has not been anything as good since then. I now use a paid service ($17/year) on Followme.com to generate live moving maps of the coach's position.

I equipped the New Aire with the Ambient Weather WS-2902A internet weather station so now I have added live weather reporting from the coach that updates every minute.

Obviously no one wants live position reporting, in the clear, on the public web. So I caution my family and friends not to share the URL on any public web site. I generally change the URL with every trip just to make sure only my family and friends are keeping an eye on our movements. It is possible to just password protect the web page for additional security but that gets complicated. So for now I just change the URL for each major trip then send the link to anyone who might be interested.

It is entertaining to follow the feedback from friends and family as they watch progress of a trip. I often get messages along the way giving additional guidance about local conditions or suggestions about places to visit near my route. Many of my friends are pilots so when the weather is an issue I get lots of feedback on hazards or traffic conditions along the way. So for those long trips it is almost like taking the journey with a bunch of friends. Crowd sourced travel. And, if something bad happens along the way, friends and family know exactly where you are.

Here is a semi live demo of my New Aire Tracking page. The position reporting map is a dummy otherwise you could drill down to the current exact position of the coach within +/- 1 or 2 feet. The front web cam view is the last image uploaded when the coach battery switch was turned off. Obviously you can see the coach is in storage at the current time. The camera is only powered when the battery switch is on to conserve bandwidth on my cellular router/modem in the coach. The weather on the page is live. It is updated every minute. Since the weather update uses very little bandwidth I leave the weather station on hooked up to the WiFi Ranger Pro, so it continues to update 24x7 along with SilverLeaf MyRozie.

http://turbopilot.com/newaire/demo/

If others are interested in doing the same kind of private web page for your coach let me know and I will provide the details about how to make this all work.

Do you have a web page set up for your family? Also you purchased another camera for the front of your MH, correct?
I have been trying to find someway for my children to track our travels. Any advice or further information would be great.
Thanks,
Renie

[turbopilot]

Originally Posted by Groceryguy

Do you have a web page set up for your family? Also you purchased another camera for the front of your MH, correct?
I have been trying to find someway for my children to track our travels. Any advice or further information would be great.
Thanks,
Renie

I have received several PM's from folks wanting to know how to set up a coach position tracking page. Please ask questions here and I will be glad to answer.

If you want to set up a page like mine you will need the following items:

1. An LTE modem/router in the coach:

I use the Pepwave MAX BR1 MK2 Router with Cat 6 LTE Advanced Modem. Not cheap at $700 but the best on the market with new LTE-A functionality.

2. An outdoor web camera capable uploading an image to a server via FTP on a periodic basis.

I use the SV3C WIFI Outdoor Camera. $60 on Amazon



3. An IOS/Android device running the Followme app to upload current location data.

I use an iPhone X

4. Access to a web server.

I use shared hosting on a2 Hosting. Very cheap starting a $3.92/mo

5. Basic knowledge of HTML page editing.

Not hard. I can post the HTML code to make it work if someone has an interest.



OR, if you want to keep it simple for location sharing only then use

Google Location Sharing avialable on Google Maps.

[ghaynes754]

Turbo an easier way, and how I have kept track of your travels, is using some of the systems from the NSA. No need for special equipment as they always know where you are at.

[Skyjockey67]

Turbo, where did you mount the router in your Newaire, what exterior antenna(s) are you using, and how did you route the cables?

[RickyR]

Been watching this thread for a while. Now that I have "My Rozie" I am looking for an inexpensive camera to plug into the back of one of my silverleaf screens.
Since my RV is a little older (2012), the cameras do not interface with the silverleaf system, hence the need for one camera. The camera will need an RCA jack to plug into the the system... Any suggestions? I plan to mount it inside looking rearward, so no need for waterproof, just prefer a 1080p.
Thanks..

[turbopilot]

Originally Posted by Skyjockey67

Turbo, where did you mount the router in your Newaire, what exterior antenna(s) are you using, and how did you route the cables?

Router is mounted next to WiFi Ranger using same power source. Antenna cables routed to roof via existing conduit to satellite prewire.

Antenna

[Dav L]

For sharing your current location, speed, direction there is a free app called Glympse.
Good if you are meeting another vehicle at a common destination and want to see each other's progress.

[cinergi]

Originally Posted by Dav L

For sharing your current location, speed, direction there is a free app called Glympse.
Good if you are meeting another vehicle at a common destination and want to see each other's progress.

I’ve used Glympse to share with family while driving works well.

[turbopilot]

Motion X HD is a great location sharing app if you are traveling in a rally or a group of coaches. We used this app off road during EarthRoamer rallies. Tracks multiple targets all on the same map. You can share one of 99,999 different channels with friends so only your group shows up on the map. So it is semi secure.