Placement

A tracker needs two signals: GPS from the sky and the mobile network. Metal blocks both. Placement is the difference between a clean route on the map and a vehicle that jumps around or goes silent in the depot.

Good places

1. Behind the dashboard, under plastic. The most common spot: hidden, dry, close to the power and ignition wires.
2. Under the windscreen trim, at the top or the corner of the dashboard. The best GPS view, still out of sight.

Places to avoid

3. The engine bay: heat, water and vibration kill trackers.
4. Under metal, under the floor, inside metal toolboxes: the GPS and mobile signals do not get through.
5. Near airbags, or anywhere the driver can reach it: a driver who can reach the tracker can unplug it, and anything near an airbag is a safety risk.

Rules

• Antenna side up. Most trackers mark the side that must face the sky (a logo, a label, or "this side up"). It must face up toward the sky, not the floor.
• Plastic and glass are fine; metal is not. The dashboard plastic and the windscreen let the signal through.
• Fix it firmly with zip ties so it does not rattle or move. A loose tracker reports false harsh-driving events.
• Keep it away from heat: heater ducts, the back of the instrument cluster, direct sun on the top of the dashboard.
• Keep the LEDs where you can see them with a panel removed, so the next technician can check it without hunting.
• Hidden, not unreachable. Photograph the location, so it can be found again for service.

Trucks, buses and machines

• Trucks: behind the dashboard works the same way. Avoid the area behind the cab: it is metal.
• Buses: behind the dashboard or in the driver's console; keep it out of passengers' reach.
• Machines (excavators, loaders): inside the cab, under the plastic of the console. The cab roof is usually metal: check the signal in the handover test.