GPS vehicle tracking systems are more affordable and more popular than ever before, but do you need one? Take this short quiz and keep track of your ‘yes’ answers. I’ll help you total your score and decide after you finish.

Step One: Take Quiz

1. Do I use vehicles in my business? Yes/No

(The definition of ‘vehicles’ includes heavy, medium and light-duty vehicles, construction equipment (dozers, graders, backhoes, etc), cars, motorcycles, RV’s, pick-up trucks, vans, tractor trailers, buses, trailers, dump trucks, snow plows, limousines, taxis, etc.)

2. Have any of my vehicles been stolen in the past? Yes/No

3. I’d like to know what is going on and where my employees/vehicles are during the day: Yes/No

4. I’d like to reduce my fuel expenses and know if any of my vehicles are wasting gas: Yes/No

5. Being able to give my customers accurate and precise arrival/delivery estimates is important to me: Yes/No

6. It is important to know if any of my vehicles are used after hours or on weekends for non-business purposes: Yes/No

7. I’d like save up to 30% on my vehicle insurance: Yes/No

8. It is important to know if my employees are speeding or otherwise abusing my vehicles: Yes/No

9. If any of my employees are using my vehicles to ‘moonlight’ or do work without my knowledge, I’d want to know: Yes/No

10. Knowing about mechanical problems before they become expensive to fix is important: Yes/No

11. If any of my vehicles are ever stolen, I’d like to locate them within minutes: Yes/No

12. I’d like to have vehicle use data to compare with overtime requests as a way to guard against errors and fraud: Yes/No

13. I’d like a reminder when it is time to do routine maintenance on my vehicles: Yes/No

14. Occasionally, customers question when we were at their location, having the exact date and time recorded in our tracking system would really help in those cases: Yes/No

15. I’d like to help my employees be more productive by seeing where they go each day: Yes/No

Step Two: Total Your ‘Yes’ Answers

Add up your ‘yes’ answers.

* Fewer than 7 ‘yes’ answers:Thanks for taking the quiz, you don’t appear to want/need a vehicle tracking system.

* 7 to 11 ‘yes’ answers: Thanks for taking the quiz. You could greatly benefit from a vehicle tracking system.

* More than 11 ‘yes’ answers: Thanks for taking the quiz. You need a vehicle tracking system.

By the way, every question above (except question 1 & 2) is answered by using GPS vehicle tracking systems.

Step Three: Cost vs. Gain

The average business owner recoups their investment in GPS vehicle tracking systems within 6 – 12 months after purchase. Of course, your ROI may vary. Recovering one stolen vehicle may pay for your entire tracking system.

Vehicle tracking helps you reduce operating costs and boosts productivity.

Tracking systems reduce vehicle costs by putting a spotlight on speeding employees, who waste fuel, cause excessive engine wear and drive up insurance rates. Vehicle tracking systems will also remind you when it’s time for preventive maintenance, like oil changes, helping you keep your vehicles on the road and making you money.

GPS vehicle tracking systems improve productivity by:

* documenting long lunch hours,

* exposing unauthorized breaks,

* comparing driver overtime requests with system reports of driver activity,

* highlighting unauthorized vehicle use after hours and on weekends,

* eliminating driver logs.

Many insurance companies offer discounts of up to 30% for vehicles protected with tracking systems.

Step Four: Due Diligence

GPS vehicle tracking systems are outstanding tools for vehicle and fleet management, but you need to find the right system for you. Take a look at the different types of GPS vehicle tracking systems.

Check a company’s hardware and software, as well as their monthly data access plan. You’ll also need to decide whether to buy or lease your GPS tracking system.

Good luck.

About the Author: Ken Sink, owner of My Vehicle WatchDog, is a veteran with 20+ years of transportation experience, including fleet management of over 800 vehicles. Visit http://www.MyVehicleWatchDog.Info for more information about GPS vehicle tracking systems from Fleet Management Solutions, Networkfleet and Sprint/Nextel.

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The rest is here: GPS Vehicle Tracking Systems: Do I Need One?

If you are renting a car or other vehicle, the process will be the easiest and smoothest if you have a credit card to use for the transaction. Some car rental companies won’t even rent you a vehicle if you don’t have a credit card for payment. If the car rental company does allow you to rent without a credit card, you may have to pay a large cash deposit to cover any potential damage to the vehicle you are renting. If you are using a travel agent and do not have a credit card, ask your agent about using pre-paid vouchers to pay for your vehicle rental. A voucher is typically easier to use than cash when renting a vehicle.

Be aware that a large part of your credit line on your credit card may be tied up while the rental vehicle is in your possession. The car rental company may place a certain amount of money on hold on your credit card for possible additional charges such as late return fees and damage fees. The charge won’t be processed unless you incur those additional expenses. But because that money is on hold you won’t have it available to you for other purchases so you may want to use for other purchases such as your hotel.

Your driving record may be a factor when you rent a vehicle. Not all car rental companies check driving records but some do. If your driving record doesn’t meet the car rental company’s standards they will not let you rent from them. To prevent this from happening check with the car rental agency to see if they check driving records and what their standards are.

Twenty five is the magic age when renting a vehicle. If you are at least twenty five years of age you will not incur additional fees to rent a vehicle. If you are between the ages of eighteen and twenty five you will likely be required to pay more money for renting your car than a twenty five or older driver. If you are under 18 years of age you will not be able to rent a vehicle in the US. Although those rules may not seem fair, it is just the way it is in the car rental industry

Rental car companies will offer you various optional insurance and waiver options, but you may already be covered. Before you go to rent a vehicle, check with both your personal auto insurance agent and with your credit card company. You may already have protection if you have an accident, lose, or damage your rental vehicle. If you do have protection, you shouldn’t need to purchase the collision damage waiver or CDW offered by the car rental company because it will be a duplication of coverage you already have.

If you do purchase a CDW, keep in mind that it is not insurance but an agreement between you and the car rental company stating that you will not be liable for loss or damage to the rental vehicle as long as you comply with conditions stated in the agreement. Those conditions are common sense ones such as not driving while under the influence of alcohol, not driving the vehicle off-road, and not allowing an unauthorized person to drive the vehicle. A CDW will almost always not cover you though for personal injuries or damage to personal property sustained while using the rental vehicle. If you are renting overseas though, you may not have a choice of whether or not or purchase a CDW. Some countries require you to purchase it.

If you are renting a vehicle overseas you may need to obtain an international driving permit. Check on this before you show up at the overseas rental car counter.

After you get to your rental vehicle walk around the outside of it and inspect it for any possible damage. If you notice damage such as a dent or noticeable scratch report it to the lot attendant right away and get it noted on your rental agreement so you won’t be liable for that damage. I learned this lesson the hard way. On one of my first rentals I noticed a dent in the vehicle, told the lot attendant about it who told me not to worry about it. I didn’t insist he write anything on my rental agreement stating the damage was already on the vehicle when I picked it up. When I returned the vehicle the rental car company wanted to charge me for that dent. I eventually got my money back but it took time me quite a bit of time and frustration to get those charges reversed.

If you find you are going to return your rental vehicle more than 4 hours late, call the rental company and arrange for an additional day’s rental. Although most companies allow you a one hour grace period before they start to charge you additional money, the hourly rates can quickly add up to more than the cost of an entire day’s rental. Usually when you get to the 4 hour mark, renting the vehicle for an additional day is cheaper than paying the hourly late fees.

About the Author: D Ruplinger is a featured writer for http://www.autorentalpro.com. For more information about vehicle rentals visit http://www.autorentalpro.com.

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More here: Don’t Rent A Vehicle Until Your Read This

The joy of recreational vehicle ownership hasn’t been dimmed by rising gas prices. As late as August of 2005 recreational vehicle sales were seeing only a very small affect of rising gas prices. Sales of recreational vehicles in 2004 were the highest see in twenty five years. The popularity of recreational vehicles doesn’t seem to be waining at all. In fact, there is an RV and MV (Manufactured Vehicle) hall of fame located in Elkhart Indiana.

Today’s motor homes or recreational vehicles have all the comforts of home, and then some. With luxury leather recliners, granite floors, washers and dryers, plasma TV’s and looks of professionally designed spaces recreational vehicles are a stylish and comfortable home away from home.

There are several different types of vehicles considered “RV’s”. The first is a truck camper which is a unit affixed to the bed or chassis of a pickup truck. Then there is the folding camping trailer, or pop-up trailer. A travel trailer is a unit that is towed by another vehicle. A fifth wheel travel trailer is designed to be towed by a pickup truck. A motor home or what is frequently called a Winnebago which resembles a bus.

The process of purchasing a new recreational vehicle is somewhat like purchasing a new car. A recreational vehicle dealer will sometimes take advantage of an uniformed customer. There are huge markups on recreational vehicles by all dealers. The only way to come out with a fair deal is to do your homework before you buy.

There are several fixed prices when you are looking at new recreational vehicles. The dealer price, the taxes and any motor vehicle fees. As with a car, the only option left for the dealer is to play with the profit margin. As recreational vehicle dealers sell way less than car dealers do they must make a much higher profit margin per vehicle. As it is widely known that used recreational vehicles have a huge depreciation you don’t want to overpay for your vehicle.

About the Author: This article courtesy of http://www.rv-home.com

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Original post: Recreational Vehicle Ownership

Vehicle tracking is not just for anti-theft purposes anymore. It used to be that vehicle tracking was mainly put into cars by the wealthy who could afford to buy such high-tech devices. However, with the increasing affordability of technology, it is possible for more people to make use of tracking devices like Lo/Jack and the Spy Matrix GPS in order to prevent long-term loss of property. Now, however, vehicle tracking is a popular thing to use when doing regular travel. With it you need never stop and ask for directions.

Vehicle tracking for use with tourist functions is fast becoming popular because it is a great way to learn an area, and a great way to quickly find destinations. Most tracking devices make use of GPS and interact with satellites in order to give you your current locations. Many of these devices can also help you find other locations in relation to where you happen to be at the moment. All you need to do is type (or sometimes even speak) an address into the car’s on board computer and a map appears to show you where to go.

The amazing thing is that vehicle tracking does not simply show you where to go. GPS systems on cars can be hooked into computers that turn the data into voice signals. It is possible for such programs to interact and for you to actually hear directions such as “turn left on First Street” or “proceed straight through the light at Main Street.” That way you do not have to be worried about looking at a computer generated map. It is still available, if you like to see where you should be going, but the audible directions can help you focus better on driving.

Vehicle tracking can help you track where you are. It can also help you figure out where you have been, so that you can find your way back. And with vehicle tracking standard on many rental cars, you can take advantage of it even when you are away from your own vehicle. When you go on a trip with a properly outfitted car, you will never need to ask for directions again, thanks to vehicle tracking.

(c) 2005 Copyright www.spyassociates.com.

About the Author: To learn more about Spy and Surveillance Products visit http://www.spyassociates.com Read other related articles at http://spyassociates.blogspot.com/

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The rest is here: Traveling With Vehicle Tracking

What in the world is a Flexible Fuel Vehicle? It’s a car or truck that is capable of burning certain alternative fuels. Now we’re not talking gasoline vs. diesel engines here, we’re talking about gasoline engines that can also burn ethanol, natural gas, propane, hydrogen, methanol, and p-series fuels. According to some chemist at the U.S. Department of Energy, p-series fuels are “a unique blend of natural gas liquids (pentanes plus), ethanol, and the biomass-derived co-solvent methyltetrahydrofuran” just in case you were wondering.

Anyway, if you own one of these flexible fuel vehicles, and you could own one without realizing it, then you might be able to save yourself a whopping amount of money now that gas is nearing the price of gold.

Although some of the more exotic alternative fuels may not be flowing out of the pumps at your neighborhood service station, there is a good chance that ethanol is.

Ethanol is alcohol-based and it’s made by fermenting and distilling corn, barley, or wheat. It can also be made from “cellulosic biomass”, which is just a fancy phrase for “chunks of trees and grass”, except that this version is called “Bioethanol” instead of plain “Ethanol”.

E85 is an Ethanol/Gasoline product that’s being sold at a lot of gas stations. It’s a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. E95 is a 95/5 blend of ethanol and gasoline. Both blends are capable of being burned by most Flexible Fuel Vehicles.

Some service stations are selling an E10 (10/90 ethanol/gasoline blend), that doesn’t really qualify as an alternative fuel. Its primary purpose is to reduce carbon monoxide levels, and it can be burned by most any engine that burns gasoline.

Unlike Hybrid Vehicles, flexible fuel vehicles are not necessarily more expensive because of the alternative fuel option, and they aren’t anywhere near as rare. In fact, there’s a chance that you’re driving one right now. If the salesperson didn’t tell you, and you’re not the kind that reads owner’s manuals, and you’re ignoring the sticker that’s probably on the inside of your gas tank cover, you could be in for a cash-saving surprise.

If you’re not sure if you own an FFV, or you’re planning on buying a new car soon, then visit the U.S. Department of Energy’s Flexible Fuel Vehicle ( http://www.eere.energy.gov/afdc/afv/models.html ) list.

If there isn’t a FFV in your life, there’s still hope. You can have an aftermarket conversion done. When you do a conversion, your gasoline-only engine ends up being able to burn some particular alternative fuel such as compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, or propane), or Ethanol. You have three conversion choices; “dedicated”, “dual-fuel”, and “bi-fuel”. Dedicated means that your engine only burns one fuel after the conversion. Dual-fuel engines can burn two different fuels, and with a bi-fuel conversion, your engine burns two different fuels at the same time.

So, if you think that you have no choice but to continue paying through the nose when you’re paying at the pump, look into getting a Flexible Fuel Vehicle or an aftermarket conversion.

About the Author: Diane Nassy is the founder of http://www.save-on-gas-prices.com. Visit her website for great tips on ways to save on rising gas prices.
Email : deeljeabiz@gmail.com

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Continue reading here: Do You Own A Flexible Fuel Vehicle (FFV)?

Can people establish an auto insurance contract on a car that they do not have title to? The answer is always ‘yes they can’. There is absolutely nothing illegal or unlawful (ie in the structure of the law, or in the state laws) that forbids insuring any automobile that you do not have possession to. The proper question, however, is if the policy contract that is insuring a vehicle which is not owned by the named insured is a valid contract- policy. The exact answer in this scenario is ‘it depends.’

One of the key principles in the insurance world is the principle of indemnity, which pronounces exactly that the objective of any insurance contract is to bring back the insured persons to their financial settings prior to the loss, and that these people can never advance monetarily from the insurance contract or claims. From this point comes the notion of insurable interest. There has to be some insurable interest among the owner of the contract and the insured subject. Insurable interest dictates that a person has to incur some financial loss as a result of destruction of a property for him or her to have insurable interest in that property. In the insurance business, insurable interest must exit at the time of the loss for property and casualty (including car insurance.) For life insurance contracts, however, the insurable interest must be existing only at the time of the ratification of the application to get the insurance policy.

The reason why insurable interest must exist at the time of the loss is to prevent insurance fraud. Imagine if someone insures his friend’s vehicle while the fiend also has his own insurance, and then later for both him and his friend collecting money for a theft loss of the vehicle. Also, in life insurance there has to be some sort of blood, business, or marriage relationship between the owner of the life insurance policy and the insured at the time of signing the life insurance application (i.e. not necessarily at the time of loss or death). This is needed to prevent wagering upon human life.

If the car in question is a car that you do not own (possess no title for it), then there seems to be no financial loss for you in the event of a loss to the vehicle, therefore you may insure it, but your insurance contract may not be valid because at the time of the loss the car was not yours. Remember that while car insurance is about insuring a car, it is classified as personal insurance, meaning it has to do with a particular person, and not the car itself.

So how do you deal with situations where a car is given to you, but the title is still in the name of a friend or relative and you are now required to have insurance? The answer is very simply: The insurance must be in the name of the titleholder and you need to be listed as an additional driver. This is the proper way of handling the situation. An exception to that is if the title is in the name of the spouse. In that case the named insured and titleholder can be used interchangeably between husbands and wives. Also, placing insurance under your name for a vehicle that is titled under your child’s name is also acceptable as long as you demonstrate some proof that you will suffer financially as a result of loss to that vehicle and you list the child on the policy as an operator. Perhaps your child lives with you and the child still relies on you financially? That is a good case of proving insurable interest.

When you call your insurance representative to get some car insurance quotes be sure to report this information to your agent. Improper disclosure of the titleholder or Named Insured on the policy is one of the main reasons why insurance companies refuse paying claims later. Certain elder and mature people (over 24 years) insure cars that are titled in the names of other youthful drivers (under age 25) who are normally charged extra by almost all insurers. It is hard to convince the insurance company that a youthful driver who owns a vehicle is not driving it, and since the company issued the policy for the other mature driver without charging the proper premium there is good ground for proving misrepresentation, where in circumstance like that a company may not pay claims. For example, if the automobile was insured full coverage and there was a total loss the insurance company will ask named insured to give up the title of the auto for them to pay you for the auto. In the event that you do not own the vehicle, you cannot legally sign to transfer the title, hence the company may find itself unable to pay you!

About the Author: Ed Sneineh, insurance professional for over 20 years, former college educator of insurance, and founder of Insurance Navy, a leader in providing auto insurance quotes, Chicago. Visit our website and get your car, SR22 insurance quotes in 5 minutes or less. Insurance Navy represents major carriers such as AAA, Travelers, Progressive, Hartford, and more than 20 other carriers.

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Read the rest here: Getting Car Insurance on a Vehicle That You Do Not Own

When should you get an oil change? How long in between service should you wait before you have your tires and wheels rotated and balanced? How much will all of this cost? How much can you expect to pay each time? These are all things to consider when thinking about vehicle maintenance. Additionally, did you know that it is actually bad to drive your vehicle when it is almost out of gasoline?

Before you purchase a car, you should really stop to think about all of the possible ways that you will have to spend money on your vehicle. For instance, with certain cars, the price tag may say one thing, but then you will later find out that it costs a significant amount of money to make any repairs to the car depending on where it was manufactured, what features your vehicle has and the number of dealerships and/or service centers that there are in the area who are capable of knowing exactly how to service your car.

My mother used to take her old Toyota Tercel to a local mechanic that she was friends with. However, when my father bought her a brand new Honda with updated electrical features in it, the next time she took it in for service to her local mechanic, he wasn’t trained in how to service an updated car like hers that had a brand new electrical system that he wasn’t used to, so he referred her to the dealership where my father purchased the car. No matter what type of vehicle you own in your life, you will inevitably have to take it in for routine maintenance. Whether it is for something as simple as an oil change or whether it is for something more serious such as a transmission check, your vehicle will more than likely have to be serviced.

When you do eventually bring your car in, you are going to have to make sure that you have enough money to cover the expenses. Additionally, before you purchase a car, you should make sure that you know what it is that you want to buy when you are looking for a vehicle. Be smart about it and make sure that you do all of the research ahead of time. For instance, if you know that you do a lot of driving, then a sport utility vehicle is probably not a wise choice. If you have children or are thinking of having children, then purchasing a sports car may not be the best idea either. The more research that you do ahead of time, the more likely it is that you will save yourself not only money and time but also the hassle of having to deal with car dealerships, unnecessary repairs or surprise costs for owning your vehicle.

There are things that every car owner has to deal with. For example, you will have to make sure that you keep up with getting your oil changed. While there has been an increase in the price of oil, it is still a relatively affordable procedure that you can keep up with when it comes to maintaining your vehicle. If you are planning on taking a long trip anywhere, always make sure that you check your tire pressure and make sure that your oil is changed. The last thing that you want is to break down on a road in the middle of nowhere!

About the Author: Car Transport Companies Auto Transport Companies

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Excerpt from: Vehicle Maintenance

There have been times lately when I have almost wished that my car would get stolen so that I would have a great excuse for needing another car. However, after toying with this delightful thought, my dreams were soon crushed by the fact that I am pretty sure that having my car stolen wouldn’t mean anything to the car insurance company as I would probably still be responsible for paying some or all of what was previously owed on the vehicle.

Having your car broken into is not a great experience at all. However, having your car stolen is even worse. I say that having your car stolen is worse because, for most people, owning a car is their first major investment. In fact, some people easily spend upwards of $30,000 on a single car! This number doesn’t even begin to include all of the extra money that you would have to factor in for things such as car repairs, oil changes and gasoline expenses. By the time that all is said and done, you have probably paid the equivalent of owning a small house except for the fact that it is on four wheel.s

When I was a police officer, one of the major patterns that I was finding with stolen vehicles was the fact that most often than not, the vehicles were being stolen from a particular area during a particular time and that criminals were targeting a certain type of vehicle. For instance, in one area where there were numerous reports of cars being stolen, criminals were only stealing older model Honda Accords. In another area where cars were being stolen, people were too trusting and friendly (or perhaps forgetful and lazy) because they weren’t locking their car doors. In a couple of cases, people had their cars stolen right out of their garages because they had left their garage doors wide open!

Even if you think that you live in the nicest neighborhood in the world, and even if you in fact live in the nicest neighborhood in the world, crime is immune to that fact. Some things that you can do in order to protect yourself from having your vehicle stolen include making sure that you try to leave your car as empty as possible at all times. For instance, some people (and I have been guilty of this before) will leave valuable such as their wallet or their iPods and GPS systems, etc. in their vehicles…IN PLAIN SIGHT! This is just begging someone to come along and with one glance, see exactly what goodies you are tempting them to take.

Always try to park your vehicle in a well-lit area, and perhaps you should also invest in a car alarm. If you own a house, this may involve installing motion censored lighting on the exterior of your home as a way to deter criminals from entering the perimeter. There are all sorts of things that you can do to safeguard yourself against crime. That being said, what are you doing to prevent your car from being stolen?

About the Author: Shipping Car Shipping Cars

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Excerpt from: When Your Vehicle is Stolen

What vehicle to use to scout or hunt is a decision largely based upon availability. Some hunter’s use elaborately set up rigs with big recreational vehicles sporting a canoe on top trailing an all-terrain two, three, four, or more wheeler to the rear. In some instances a bicycle may be just the thing to take you to the outskirts of town and stow away noiselessly where there are no places to park anything else. Of course packing your deer out may be another consideration! Most any automobile in good running condition will carry you to good deer hunting. The most popular mode for getting into the woods and getting the deer out is the four-wheel drive truck.

Maintenance and repairs should be performed on all vehicles well in advance of the hunt. An old fan belt or hose could be just the thing to foil your plans. A low battery can absolutely ruin your day. Make sure there is a good jack and spare tire. Gas and oil should be put in a day or so in advance to avoid the smell on your clothing and hunting boots. There are the rare instances of hunters having automobile trouble and having good luck hunting where their car broke down, but we choose to avoid these circumstances when possible. Remember Murphy’s Law. Murphy said: “If anything can go wrong, it will.”

Only take your vehicle to the limits of its design. Although it is a display of determination and fortitude to gun your family car as far as you can down a muddy logging or farming road until you become stuck, so you can hunt and worry about getting out later, this is simply asking for trouble for yourself as well as for those who will have to help you. This is a situation all too often encountered by hunters who find their roads blocked by someone unequipped to be in there. Farmers who live near old, muddy, rutted roads to deer woods have many encounters with bogged hunters seeking their help.

Use common sense and avoid unnecessary hardship. If you are going to travel one of these roads, get out of your vehicle and check out the pot holes and ruts before endeavoring to cross them. Don’t go in over your head. Remember that going in means you must come out. If it looks as if you may become stuck, keep moving, as this greatly decreases your chances of getting bogged down.

Keep up good speed over sand or gravel especially. You may let some air out of your tires to give yourself more traction in snow, sand, or mud. If you have extra air stored in a tank or a cigarette lighter operated air pump, you are well prepared, but if not you will just have to take it slowly to a gas station. If you get stuck and your tires are spinning, let your passenger get out and push right from the beginning instead of after the rut is deepened. Here a stitch in time saves nine. If you bury your vehicle you will have to use that shovel you thoughtfully placed in the car or jack it up to put something under the tires for traction. In these conditions you will need a good piece of wood for the jack to keep it from burying itself. When attempting to drive out, shift from drive to reverse in automatic transmissions or from second gear to reverse in manual and rock out. If you have a handy power winch attached to your vehicle that you can hook up to a tree you are in luck. A less expensive come-along tool can be very useful. Improvisations made with ingenious use of available materials have gotten many a wayfaring hunter out of a rut.

It is a good idea to carry alone some or all of these materials for getting stuck: winch or comealong, good bumper jack, block of wood, short-handled shovel, pair of grate tracks, pull chain or tug rope, tire inflation device.

If you should get stuck or have a breakdown, be patient and wait for another vehicle to assist. Don’t panic. Carefully build a fire to keep warm if necessary. Even in the most remote area someone should come around eventually. If you consider it a better move to seek help, then leave a note stating your intended direction. To avoid misunderstanding you may wish to leave a note on the windshield explaining who you are and what you are doing.

Even if you are so far out in the wilderness that you would never expect anyone else to come there, and you are not stuck, you should leave space for others to park. Be sure to park your vehicle in a way that is considerate of others. It is courteous not to block roads or take up space other drivers may need to turn around. Avoid parking in fields and crops and leaving ruts in the fields to create poor farmer relations.

Park your vehicle in a location where it could be watched. Few thieves will be foolhardy enough to risk being shot at by an armed hunter who may be watching or may be appearing at any moment. Anti-hunter fanatics have been known to slit tires and otherwise vandalize hunters’ cars. Likewise, greedy, land-dominating hunters who are unwilling to share their hunting site may seek to run you off by damaging your vehicle. It is a good idea to cover any valuable temptations visible to thieves.

An effective auto heater may be a necessity in colder areas. To be without one may be life-threatening.

Deer are not usually afraid of moving vehicles and rush off only when the vehicle stops. A deer within hearing distance is well aware of a stopped car and knows what a car door sounds like. The squeak of a car door may put the local trophy on the defensive for the rest of the day. When launching your hunt, make as few noises with your vehicle as possible, and you will enjoy increased success.

With deer poaching being such a problem in many regions, deer are wary of automobiles. Cut your headlights as you enter an area to hunt and use your parking lights to creep along the remainder of the way if this can safely be done.

Carry a basic repair kit that includes at least a crescent wrench, pliers, and a screwdriver along with standard tire changing tools. Having a screwdriver handy more than once has made the difference between a good hunt and a bad one.

We can only hope that three- and four-wheelers won’t be recreational slobs during the deer season when hunters are trying to be the least disturbing as possible.

A working horn is useful for calling other hunters and signaling for help.

Be careful when operating winches. Always be mindful of the possibility of cable break or release under stress. Stay protected from cable whiplash. The floor mat from your vehicle or your hunting jacket are handy to be placed on the tightened cable to foil the backlash.

About the Author: Albie Berk enjoys hunting and sharing what he has learned and any successful tips he can with others. He enjoys South Carolina hunting?and usually stays at Carolina Buck and Boar.

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Originally posted here: What Vehicle is Best For Hunting?

The most important part of owning a vehicle is making sure the vehicle is always secure. All newly manufactured vehicles come equipped with locks on the doors, child safety locks and a handheld security feature. The locks on the doors usually lock automatically when the car is shifted from park to either drive or reverse. They usually unlock when the car is put into park mode. Child safety locks prevent the children from opening the back door(s) when the car is in motion or even when it is standing still. The doors can only be opened from the outside when unlocked. This helps parents emotionally; knowing that their child cannot open the door if they are goofing off in the backseat.

One other security option that comes with most new and used vehicles is the handheld security device to unlock and lock the car from a distance. It is called a key fob. The key fob also has a panic button on it to set off the car alarm if someone is suspiciously near the car or if someone is following the driver and it feels suspicious or unsafe. The key fob can also have buttons on it to open a sliding door on a minivan or the trunk of the car. Some key fobs also have a remote start up button to start the engine of the vehicle without being in the car. Those are separate from normal key fobs and cost more for installation.

Not everyone who owns a car feels safe enough with the security features that come with the car so they decide to purchase security features on their own. Many drivers purchase a security feature called “The Club.” “The Club” is a metal club that hooks onto the steering wheel, making it immovable. This is in the event that a thief tries to steal the car. They won’t be able to operate the steering wheel since “The Club” has made it immovable.

Other security features are the use of On-Star, which can be installed in most new vehicles, from the General Motors family. On-Star provides directions, accident assistance and vehicle tracking features if the car is stolen. On-Star also offers a door unlocking feature for drivers that have locked themselves out of their vehicle. All On-Star call centers are open and operable 24 hours a day for all of their services.

Security features in vehicles today are also offered in the trunk. Most new vehicles have a trunk release button inside the trunk in the horrific event that someone is placed in the trunk during a carjacking or other violent attack. This enables the person to open the trunk from the inside so their air flow does not disappear and they can exit the vehicle when it comes to a stop.

All of these features are not offered on every vehicle, nor do they come standard on all vehicles. Most of them do come standard; such as the panic button on the key fob, the child safety locks and door locks. “The Club” can be purchased at any retail store and On-Star is installed in certain General Motors models.

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Source: www.isnare.com

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