A GPS tracker shows where a grapple truck went. It doesn't show when the loader was actually picking up debris. We wire the grapple truck's equipment into the tracker so you can see every stretch of work, where it happened and how long it took, across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.
Out on a debris route, the truck spends a lot of time parked with the engine running: waiting on a crew, waiting at the dump site, or sitting while the operator takes a call. On a plain GPS map all of that looks the same as working. Monitoring the grapple separates the two. The platform shows the loader running as its own event, with a start time, an end time and a location on the map.
That turns a route into a clear record: which streets were picked up, how long each stop took and how much of the day the loader actually worked.
The knuckle boom loader and grapple run on hydraulics, and on most grapple trucks the hydraulic pump is driven by the truck's engine through a power take-off, or PTO. When the operator engages the PTO, the pump runs and the loader can work. PTO monitoring means wiring that PTO engaged signal into the tracking device, so the platform records every time the PTO is on. On a grapple truck, PTO time is loader time.
There are a few ways to give the tracking device a reliable on and off signal, and the right one depends on the truck:
On grapple trucks, fleets sometimes add a boom stowed switch as well, so the platform shows when the truck drives off with the boom out of its rest. We meter every signal before we use it, and wire colors for the truck side are in our Vehicle Wiring Database.
We test with the loader running. The PTO is engaged and disengaged, the boom is worked, and we confirm the platform shows each event at the right time before the truck goes back out. A signal that comes from a dash switch can show the PTO requested even when it never engaged, which is why we test the result, not the wiring. For more on PTO monitoring across other trucks, see PTO and equipment integration.
Common questions
Yes, once the PTO or a hydraulic pressure switch is wired into the tracker. The platform then shows each stretch of loader work with a time and location.
Most fleet tracking devices have inputs for this. We check your device and platform before the install.
Yes, with a boom stowed switch wired into the tracker alongside the PTO signal.
Yes. We install across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi, at your yard or shop.
We install across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi, at your yard, on your schedule. Call or text 803-513-1009.
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