From mini excavators that fit on a small trailer to full size machines that need a lowboy, excavators are some of the hardest working and most valuable machines a contractor owns. We install GPS trackers and telematics gateways on excavators of every size and brand across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi, on site where they dig.
Mini excavators share the same theft problem as skid steers. They are valuable, light enough for a small trailer and in demand on the resale market, and equipment theft reports regularly list excavators among the machines thieves go after. A tracker that alerts on after-hours movement gives the owner a chance to act while the machine is still close.
Full size excavators are tracked mostly for hours, utilization and location. They are serviced by engine hours, they are often billed or rented by the hour, and on a large site or across several jobs the owner needs to know which machine is working and which one has been sitting for a week.
An excavator is two machines joined together. The undercarriage carries the tracks, and the upper structure, with the cab, engine, battery and hydraulic pumps, swings a full circle on top of it. Everything the tracker needs is in the upper structure, so that is where it goes.
We never run new wiring through the swing joint between the upper and the undercarriage. Inside the upper, we look for a protected spot behind a cab panel or under a cover that is away from engine heat and hydraulic lines and can still see the sky. Excavator cabs with steel roofs, or guarding for demolition and forestry work, may need an external antenna to get a clean position.
Wire colors and pinouts are in our Vehicle Wiring Database.
On many tracking platforms, an auxiliary input on the device can report when a circuit is switched on. On an excavator, that can be used to log when an auxiliary hydraulic circuit is active, which helps owners see hours on a breaker hammer or other powered attachment. Whether it is possible depends on the machine, the device and the platform, so we confirm it before quoting.
Buckets, thumbs and other unpowered attachments can carry their own battery-powered asset tracker, which is worth doing on attachments that travel between machines and job sites.
See how our installs on working job sites go on our fleet install stories page.
We install trackers on every kind of machine on a job site. See heavy equipment GPS tracking for the full list, or go straight to a machine: skid steers · dozers · wheel loaders · backhoes · cranes.
Pinouts, port locations and wire colors are in our Vehicle Wiring Database.
Need heavy duty trackers for your equipment? Every brand below makes them, so pick yours and we install it on your machines.
Common questions
Yes. Mini excavators are one of the most important machines to track because they are easy to load and steal. The install follows the same rules as a full size machine: everything in the upper structure, hidden, fused and on a true key-on circuit.
Because the power, the cab and the ignition are all in the upper structure, and running wiring through the swing joint is a failure waiting to happen.
Yes, across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.
Yes. Unpowered attachments get a battery-powered asset tracker, and on some platforms an auxiliary input can log when a powered attachment is running.
Every major brand, including Geotab, Samsara, Motive, Verizon Connect, Azuga and Zonar. Pick the platform your fleet uses and we install it on your machines.
We install across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi, on site where the machines work. Call or text 803-513-1009.
Constant. Ignition. Ground.
API Signal