Not quite finished yet – trip prep cont.

While I have the important tasks for out upcoming trip all sorted, there is always something that comes up last minute. The biggest change: my wife insists on keeping the rear bench in for our trip. As our kids come and visit us in Italy – is does make sense to have a rear bench in a four seated Morgan I suppose. But this comes at a cost: very limited space for luggage!! I worked on an insert that replaces the bench and grants better storage. With this we would not have to worry about a constraint when it comes to luggage.

Now we have to figure out which suitcases available to use fit best. The largest one fills the entire rear bench. A handbag might fit in the remaining space but that’s it. A better option was to settle for an old midsized suitcase. This allows fitting a standard cabin trolley upright next to it. As it is also kind of slim – two more small cabin sized suitcases can be stored on top. A small backpack still fits behind the seat. This should work out for a three-week trip.

This leaves the entire space behind the rear bench for weather gear, tools and some spare parts. Speaking of which – I decided to exchange the ignition cables with the new set from Bosch. A new NGK coil will also be onboard. Some other items will be added to the list before I head off with the Morgan to Munich on Sunday.

What I also doubled-checked is the inexpensive Sinotrack GPS tracker. I hope I will never need it, but it gives a bit piece of mind. Geo-fence alerting works well. When the device calls me – I know the car has been moved outside a small radius I set as current location on activation. This is a simple click in the app – or an SMS message. I tested both in case I do not have internet availability. The shake alarm setting needs to be at least on medium – I will activate it on high with a short duration.

Disabling the car works as well – it takes a few moments before the engine dies. The by far best decision was to follow the Discotel prepaid car recommendation. I ordered the SIM card for free with 10€ credits. It has been active non-stop in the Morgan now for 4 month and 4000km and I still have 8,50€ left as credits. The App interface might not be the fanciest in the world – but it works. I also don’t care that the server is hosted in China – not a single personal information has to be entered – just the ID of the device is needed – so who cares. The server connection can also be switched off. I highly recommend this if you are looking for a budget GPS tracking solution.