Testing and Hosting Traccar for the Teltonika FTxxxx family GPS Tracker!

After getting the basic SMS alerts working on the Teltonika FTC134, the next step was to test full live tracking. Before setting up my own permanent server, I wanted a quick way to verify that the tracker actually sends TCP telemetry over cellular.

Here is how I went from testing on Traccar’s public demo server to deploying a local self-hosted Traccar instance on Proxmox with port forwarding.

Initial Test with Traccar Demo Server

To verify telemetry without worrying about router rules or local firewall setups, I started with Traccar's public demo platform.

• Created an account on Demo Server 3 (demo3.traccar.org / IP: 188.245.151.94).
• Added the FTC134 device inside the web interface using its unique IMEI.
• Configured the FTC134 tracker via TCT or SMS to point to the demo server:
• Domain / IP: 188.245.151.94
• Port: 5027 (Standard port for Teltonika protocol)
• Data Protocol: TCP
• Encryption: None

(Note: Teltonika devices use port 5027 on Traccar servers. If you use a different tracker model, double-check the required port on Traccar's device list).

Deploying Traccar on Proxmox VE

Once position updates started flowing into the demo web app, it was time to host everything locally.

Using the fantastic community scripts from community-scripts.org, spinning up a dedicated Traccar LXC container in Proxmox VE took only a couple of minutes.

Once installed, the web UI was accessible at "http://your_ip:8082"

Tip: The very first account registered on a fresh Traccar installation automatically becomes the Admin user, so make sure to create your master admin account right away.

Network & Port Forwarding

To allow the FTC134 tracker to send data to your local Proxmox instance from anywhere over 4G, you need to open port 5027 through your router. In my case I'm using a TP-Link Deco but the setup is similar in any router.

Dynamic DNS (DDNS): Set up DDNS on the Deco router "yourhost.tplinkdns.com" so the tracker can always find your home IP address.

• Port Forwarding (NAT Rules):
• Service Name: Traccar
• Internal IP: 192.168.nnn.nnn (Proxmox LXC IP)
• Internal Port: 5027
• External Port: 5027
• Protocol: TCP & UDP

Testing Open Ports: You can quickly verify that your external WAN IP address has port 5027 properly forwarded by using online tools like YouGetSignal Open Port Checker or PortChecker.co.

Check in Traccar that it's working !

Optimizing FTC134 Tracking Parameters

To keep data usage and battery consumption reasonable while keeping accurate track of the boat, I tweaked the tracker's Movement Profile settings in TCT:

• Moving State: Send updates every 120–300 seconds.
• Stop / Parked State: Reduce send frequency to 3600 seconds (1 hour) when stationary.

Commands & Webhooks via Node-RED

Having a live map is great, but real control comes from automation. By leveraging Node-RED and Traccar’s REST API, you can send custom GPRS commands directly to the tracker over GPRS without needing SMS!

Here is how the automation loop works:

1. Outbound Command: An "inject" node sends a command payload, "getstatus" or "getparam 1039100" to a Function node. This builds a POST request targeting "http://YOUR_TRACCAR_IP:8082/api/commands/send" using a Bearer token authorization header. Token retrieved from "Settings => Preferences => Token"

2. Inbound Webhook Listener: Traccar forwards incoming event replies back to Node-RED via an "http in" endpoint listening on "/traccar-events"

3. Filtering & Response Handling: Node-RED filters for incoming "commandResult" events matching deviceId: 1, extracts the raw response text string from the tracker, and evaluates conditions (e.g., matching Data Link: 1 vs Data Link: 0 via Regex) to trigger follow-up actions or alerts.

Importable Node-RED Flow JSON

You can copy and import this ready-to-use flow directly into Node-RED (just remember to fill in your own Traccar Bearer Token and IP address in the "Build API-Request" node):