How to Hide a GPS Tracker on Your Car, Van, or Motorcycle
By Ray Barnes A tracker is only as good as its hiding spot. Here's how to think about hiding one on a car, van, or motorcycle and the mistakes that make them easy to find.
A GPS tracker is only useful if it stays hidden long enough to do its job. A thief who finds it in the first five minutes has defeated the whole point. So where you hide it matters,almost as much as having one in the first place.
I've thought about this a lot, both from fitting one myself and from thinking about how vehicle theft actually works.
Here's the practical advice I'd give anyone fitting a tracker for the first time.
Think like the person looking for it
Before you decide where to hide yours, spend a minute thinking about where a thief would look first.
The obvious spots under the seat, in the glovebox, in the boot are exactly where someone doing a quick scan would check. You want to be somewhere that requires either specific knowledge or actual dismantling to find.
The Monimoto 9 is about the size of a thick deck of cards. That size opens up a lot of options that a larger device wouldn't have. Anywhere you can fit your hand into, with a bit of thought, is a candidate. The general principle: the harder it is to access without tools, the better.
On a car
Cars have more hiding options than people think. The key is getting into spaces that aren't immediately visible and don't get regularly accessed.
Inside door panels, behind the dashboard cavity, within the spare wheel well, inside the roof lining, and tucked behind trim panels in the boot are all worth considering.
Some cars have cavities under the rear seats or inside structural pillars that are accessible if you remove the trim but invisible otherwise. Avoid anywhere that gets opened regularly the glovebox, the centre console, under the driver's seat. These are the first places anyone looks and the first places you'd accidentally disturb the device yourself.
One practical note: wherever you put it, make sure it can still get a mobile signal. Deep inside a metal structure, signal can be blocked. Test the alert function from your hiding spot before you commit to it move the vehicle without the fob and check the app responds as expected.
On a van
Vans are a strong use case for tracking they're targeted often, frequently parked in exposed locations overnight, and often contain valuable tools or equipment on top of the vehicle itself.
The load area offers good options, behind false panels, inside roof linings, within wheel arch liners, and in cavities behind the bulkhead. The cab area has similar options to a car.
Avoid anywhere that gets opened and closed as part of daily work, and anywhere visible if the rear doors are open. One thing specific to vans: if you carry tools or equipment, a thief breaking in for the contents might not be looking for a tracker at all but if the vehicle then gets moved, you want that tracker active.
Make sure the hiding spot doesn't interfere with the arming and disarming if you're regularly loading and unloading, you need the key fob process to be seamless so you don't accidentally trigger alerts during normal use.
On a motorcycle
Motorcycles are actually well suited to the Monimoto 9 specifically because of its size. Spaces inside fairing panels, within the frame cavity, behind the instrument cluster, and inside hollow sections of the subframe are all possibilities depending on the bike.
The challenge with motorcycles is that access points are smaller and more varied by model. What works on one bike might not work on another. The general principle is the same somewhere that requires tools to access, away from any area that gets regularly opened or adjusted.
One thing worth knowing: motorcycles vibrate significantly more than cars and vans. Make sure whatever you use to secure the tracker in place, zip ties, velcro, adhesive mounts is robust enough to handle that over time.
A tracker that works loose and rattles is a tracker that gets found.
The two-device approach — hiding both
If you're using a Monimoto as your primary tracker and an AirTag as a secondary backup, hide them in completely different parts of the vehicle. Different access points, different areas, ideally different methods of securing them.
The logic is simple: if one is found, the other shouldn't be. A thief who finds the Monimoto might stop looking. If the AirTag is somewhere entirely different — requiring different disassembly to access it may well survive. Don't tell anyone where either of them is. Not on social media, not in conversation.
The value of a hidden tracker depends entirely on it staying hidden.
Test it before you forget about it
Once you've hidden it, test the alert properly. Walk away from the vehicle without the key fob. Wait for the call. Check the location in the app. Make sure everything is working from that specific hiding spot. Then set a calendar reminder for a year's time to recharge it.
The Monimoto's battery lasts around 12 months. A tracker with a flat battery is just an expensive piece of plastic.
More in this series
- 1 Keyless Car Theft — How It Works and What You Can Do About It
Keyless car theft is one of the most common ways vehicles are taken right now and it happens faster than most people realise. Here's how it works and what you can do to stop it.
- 2 What to Do If Your Vehicle Is Stolen — The First Steps That Matter Most
Most people have no idea what to do in the first hour after their vehicle is stolen. Those first steps matter more than anything that comes after. Here's exactly what to do.
- 3 Monimoto vs Apple AirTag — Which One Actually Protects Your Vehicle?
I get asked this a lot AirTag or a proper GPS tracker? I've used a Monimoto on my motorcycle and now my van. Here's the honest difference between the two and which one I'd actually recommend.
- 4 Do GPS Trackers Actually Work? What the Data Says..
It's a fair question. GPS trackers cost money, need charging, need a subscription. Do they actually help get stolen vehicles back? Here's the honest answer.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does it matter where exactly I hide a GPS tracker?
Yes — significantly. A tracker found quickly by a thief is a tracker that's failed. The goal is somewhere that requires tools or specific knowledge to access, away from anything that gets opened regularly. The harder it is to find without deliberately looking for it, the better.
Can metal block a GPS or mobile signal?
It can, yes. Deep inside a metal structure — completely enclosed by bodywork, for example — signal can be reduced or blocked entirely. Always test the alert function from your chosen hiding spot before relying on it. Move the vehicle without the fob and check the app responds. If it doesn't, the hiding spot needs rethinking.
How do I secure a tracker in place so it doesn't move?
Most trackers like the Monimoto 9 come with zip ties and can be secured with adhesive velcro or mounting tape. On motorcycles especially, make sure whatever you use can handle vibration over time — a tracker that works loose is a tracker that rattles and gets found. Check it occasionally as part of your regular maintenance.
Should I tell my insurer where the tracker is hidden?
If your insurer requires details of the tracker for policy purposes, give them what they need. But beyond that, keep the location to yourself. The fewer people who know where it is, the more effective it is.
Is it worth hiding two trackers?
Yes, if you want the best coverage. A Monimoto as the primary active tracker and an AirTag somewhere completely different as a backup is the approach I'd suggest. If one is found, the other may not be. Hide them in different parts of the vehicle using different access points.