Stow and Go: Prevent Asset Theft with GPS Trailer Tracking

Boost Usage and Monitor Location – Benefits of Trailer Tracking 

Keep a Keen Eye on Precious Cargo

If the merchandise needs to be shipped or hauled in a trailer, chances are it’s important and expensive. Tracking valuable assets provides an extra layer of comfort for the customer, as well as the transport company, specifically when the contents are high-priced, limited edition, or oversized. By equipping shipping containers, trailers, and haulers with GPS trackers, personal and professional assets can be monitored during their journeys or when lying dormant waiting for action. However, there are different trailers for different purposes and it’s worth researching the best use cases for specific types of trailer tracking systems and their features.

Common Types of Trailers and What They Carry

Trailers have an array of purposes and applications. Some are strictly used for transporting goods and consumer products, like fleet trailers. Enclosed trailers and utility trailers haul motorcycles, side-by-sides, and other recreational vehicles or equipment. Campers and RVs act as mobile homes for long-distance travelers and avid outdoor enthusiasts. The following provides some examples of a variety of trailers and why owners want to track them.

Fleet Trailers:

This popular trailer style includes refrigerated “reefer” units and dry van semis that are not temperature-controlled. It’s essential to know the location of refrigerated trailers because the contents inside are generally perishable and must be maintained constantly in a climate-controlled environment. Dry vans, or box trailers, often contain important parts for various industries like powdered metal, vehicle production, and other assembly line businesses that depend on steady supplies to maintain their daily quotas, making fleet tracking extremely important. 

Campers, RVs, and Travel Trailers:

While vacationing or traveling with a camper, towed trailers are often left at campsites to make shorter sightseeing and shopping trips easier to navigate. When we lose the physical visibility of assets, GPS trackers act as a security system to provide peace of mind. Protect these assets by considering a trailer with its own internal battery to power trackers that are not constantly connected to a vehicle. In the case of RVs, they have their own power source, so trackers can be easily implemented and maintained. 

Dump Trailer:

It might not seem logical to track a trailer that hauls dirt, rock, sand, wood, or aggregate but when it comes to providing customers with an ETA for their building or landscaping materials, GPS location data can quell customer stress and anxiety about the delivery. These trailers are often left on the job site, which increases the chances of theft.

Utility Trailer:

These are very prevalent in areas where residents must conduct year-round landscaping. Groundskeeping equipment like self-propelled mowers, hedge trimmers, leaf blowers, and gators need to be properly tracked as they are used in a variety of applications throughout sizeable properties and communities.

Flatbeds:

From lowboy trailers to step deck trailers, flatbeds are used to haul a variety of dimensional loads with shifting weights. With the capability to carry 40,000 – 80,000 lbs (18-36,000 kg) of equipment, these trailers are typically used for transporting heavy machinery and building materials, which if lost or stolen can cost businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Enclosed Trailers:

The perfect trailer for hauling and storing off-road sporting vehicles like ATVs, dirt bikes, and golf carts, this style of trailer often contains big-ticket items. They often have an internal battery to provide power to the tracker for more accurate, continuous location data and visibility of expensive toys. It’s not uncommon to see enclosed trailers repurposed into mobile restaurants or food trucks at festivals or events, which provides yet another industry that should consider trailer tracking systems.

After determining what trailer needs to be tracked, the next step is deciding how the tracker will be powered and where it will be located. Narrowing down an installation area shouldn’t be too difficult once a route to the power source has been determined. Remember to keep in mind where each trailer will be for the majority of the time and if it has access to a power source to charge the tracking device. 

Battery-Powered vs. Solar-Powered Trailer Trackers 

Interior Battery-Powered Trailer Tracking 

Traditional trailer trackers run off of the towing vehicle’s battery, or the trailer battery when available. To direct power from the vehicle to the trailer, connect them via a power cord with a 6-pin or 7-pin plug that provides the +12-volt power pin required to charge the tracker. Since trailers tend to get disconnected for unloading or relays, once it’s reconnected to a vehicle, it will again begin charging and continue tracking. 

If the trailer has its own power source, connect the tracking device straight to the trailer battery or the aux port. It can help to test a few different locations to see which spot provides the strongest signal for more accurate location data. 

Exterior Solar-Powered Trailer Tracking 

The most efficient trackers are able to draw power from the universe around them. Take advantage of a ruggedized protective case that protects the tracker from the elements while at the same time charging the tracker with solar energy. With solar-powered GPS tracking, the internal lithium-ion battery can be trusted to provide accurate locations for up to 10 years with over 100 reports a day. Research the IP rating to make sure the unit is at least IP67 for dust resistance and water protection.  

While battery-powered trackers always have the advantage of charging through a vehicle, trailers that need to be tracked after being detached from their power source can surely benefit from solar power. Each power source has its own benefits, but the decision should be fairly simple. Next, we’ll go over the best installation locations for trailer trackers to prevent theft and unauthorized use. 

Best Places to Install or Hide a GPS Tracker

Depending on the type of trailer and tracker being used, there are a variety of clever places to hide trailer trackers from thieves and extreme weather conditions. A great place for tracker installation on most trailer styles is within the frame rail, where it’s virtually unnoticeable, easy to access, and has a clear view of the sky for optimal signal strength. Using a strong magnetic tracker is best for mounting onto metal trailer parts and hitches, but if that’s not possible, use VHB tape or an industrial adhesive to affix. 

While it may seem logical to keep trackers within the trailer, creating a breathable atmosphere with direct access to positioning satellites is crucial. With that in mind, the specific tracker might not have an IP rating that’s dependable for exterior installation.  This also increases the chances that a tracker will get lost or stolen. Here are two ways to protect externally installed trailer trackers. 

Camouflage

Typical trailer tracking devices aren’t vibrant or eye-catching by any means, but they can stick out like rocks along a shallow riverbed. Using camouflage paint matching the color of the trailer can help to prevent curious crooks from taking trackers. Although, anyone who steals a trackable device won’t easily get away with this type of highway robbery. In any case, weatherproof housing for these trackers can also be painted for additional concealment, just be sure to check the IP ratings of the subject first and never use metal-based paint, it’ll block the signal. 

Weatherproofing

Some companies, like Polycase, provide outdoor waterproof cases that are rated up to IP68 and can be mounted for tracker protection via screws or adhesives to the outside of the trailer. Their weatherproof enclosures are also rated by The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) to protect electrical devices against water ingress, windblown dust, corrosion, external ice formation, and coolant seepage.  

Preventative measures can help to protect semi-trailers, toy haulers, shipping containers, and other towed trackables from being tampered with, but what if the entire trailer is stolen? It doesn’t take a genius to unlock a tow hitch, or even hop into the towing vehicle and drive off with everything. This is where advanced GPS trackers come in to acquire the stolen assets and hold the criminals accountable. 

Preventing Total Trailer Theft

Trailers get stolen all of the time, mainly enclosed trailers, and they are often harboring thousands of dollars of equipment, not to mention they cost thousands of dollars themselves. Career criminals know that they can offload a trailer easily for a modest discount, and they tend to do so quickly to get a speedy payout. This works as an advantage because the potential for the battery life to drain in that amount of time is limited. Instances like this express the advantages of a solar-powered trailer tracker because the sun is reloading that energy as it rises each day. 

Trailer wraps or branding can often give away the contents of the haulers, so there are a few easy ways to spot a big score. Here are some of the niches that are at a higher risk than others for theft or tampering: 

• Off-road / ATV trailers 
• Maintenance Equipment trailers 
• Musician or band gear trailers 
• Mobile Mechanic trailers 
• Party / Gaming trailers

An additional perk of using a trailer GPS tracker is the ability to create geofences around job sites or storage facilities. These virtual boundaries create a custom perimeter that will trigger real-time alerts when tracked assets enter or exit the area. Geofence alerts can be sent as push notifications to an iOS or Android app, emailed, or texted directly and locations can be viewed on Google maps.  

What’s worse than losing a personal trailer? Losing someone else’s trailer. Some companies cut up-front costs and storage fees from purchasing their own trailers by renting or leasing them from trailer rental companies. It’s good practice to track all of the important assets you are responsible for, and GPS trackers don’t need to be permanently fixed in place. They can be unscrewed, unstuck, and reinstalled on a new trailer after the current rental period is over. Couple location tracking with trailer rental insurance and double down on protection against potential loss or theft. 

Reduce Detention, Demurrage, Per Diem, and Storage Charges

Renting or leasing containers, and space to store them creates a few ancillary benefits for incorporating trailer tracking devices. These costly fees correlate with cargo being left in a shipping yard for too long or not being returned to the consignor before the end of the Last Free Day. The LFD describes the end of the grace period for removing or returning cargo before charges start to accrue. If the lessor can’t increase utilization of trailers or containers by renting them to a new lessee, they’re losing money, and thus the following fees. 

• Driver Detention:

  This fee is charged when drivers stay past the allotted time for loading and unloading, typically 2 hours. This can be even more costly if the loading time forces drivers to go over their HoS, preventing the ability to acquire their next load and limiting their pay-per-mile. 

• Demurrage:

  This fee is applied when laden containers have not been removed from the yard or port and emptied by the end of the LFD. 

• Per Diem:

  Latin for “by the day”, this charge is a late container fee that applies to both imports and exports. Per diem fees are often referred to as “detention fees” as well. 

• Storage Charges:

  These up-front charges are generally agreed-upon rental fees for storage space within the yard for containers or trailers 

Hopefully, the benefits of monitoring assets that rack up rental and storage charges are a bit more apparent with an explanation. Taking precautions by adding trackers to trailer fleets and rented equipment can save money on fees, increase driver retention, and even save lives by limiting crashes due to rushed driving.  Using an integrated ELD with GPS asset tracking can help companies mine important data like average dwell time and speeds prior to detention to protect their drivers, trucks, trailers, and cargo. 

Packing Up

Living in a society that’s constantly becoming more and more reliant on advancing technology and functionality, the ability to track our belongings in real time has become more practical and affordable. We use cell phone location data to keep tabs on our families, Bluetooth trackers to locate valuables, and mobile apps to track food deliveries and packages. Using trackers to observe cargo, shipments, or owned/rented property will increase profitability while providing the opportunity to strengthen relationships between providers and customers alike. Rise above the competition by promoting an airtight connection to personal assets and others by embracing the advantages of GPS-trailer tracking. 

Trailer Tracking FAQs