Rollbacks and car carriers

Rollback Tow Truck Monitoring: See Every Load and Unload

A rollback's GPS tracker shows the drive. Monitoring the bed and winch shows the work: every time the bed tilted, a car was pulled on, and where it came off again. We set it up on rollbacks and car carriers across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.

Get a Quote Call or text 803-513-1009

Illustration of a rollback tow truck with its bed tilted while a gray car is pulled up onto it — Illustration, not a customer photo: a rollback tow truck loading a car onto its tilted bed.

How can I see when and where my rollback picked up a car?

Every tow has two moments that matter: the car going on and the car coming off. On a plain GPS map they are just stops. Monitoring the bed and winch marks each one, with the time it started, how long it took and the exact location. A dispatcher can see a truck is loading right now, and the office has a record of each pickup and drop-off without waiting on paperwork.

What is PTO monitoring on a rollback?

The bed on a rollback tilts and slides back on hydraulic cylinders, and the winch that pulls the car up is often hydraulic too. The hydraulic pump is driven by the truck's engine through a power take-off, or PTO. The driver engages the PTO to run the bed and winch. PTO monitoring wires that engaged signal into the tracker, so every time the bed or winch works, the platform records it.

What does the owner see once the rollback is monitored?

Each load and unload, with time and location, to check against tickets and invoices.
How long each pickup took at the scene.
Hours on the hydraulics, for servicing the pump, cylinders and winch by use.
Bed use away from a dispatched call, which shows work that wasn't on the books.

How is rollback monitoring hooked up?

There are a few ways to give the tracking device a reliable on and off signal, and the right one depends on the truck:

The PTO engaged signal. Most PTOs have an indicator light or switch circuit that shows when the PTO is engaged. That signal is wired into an input on the tracking device.
Engine data. Some trucks report PTO status over the diagnostic port, and some tracking devices can read it without extra wiring.
A pressure or position switch. A switch on the hydraulic line, or one that closes when a boom, bed or blade moves, shows the equipment itself working, not just the PTO being switched on.

On rollbacks, a bed stowed switch is a useful addition: it shows when the truck drives with the bed not fully down and locked. We meter every signal before wiring it, and truck-side wire colors are in our Vehicle Wiring Database.

How do you know the monitoring is right?

We engage the PTO, run the bed back and forth and work the winch, then confirm the platform shows each event correctly before the truck goes back out. For wreckers and other towing setups, and the other trucks we wire this way, see PTO and equipment integration.

Common questions

Questions We Get Asked

Can a GPS tracker show when a rollback loads a car?

Yes, once the PTO or a bed switch is wired into the tracker. Each load and unload then shows with a time and location.

Can it alert me if the bed isn't down while driving?

Yes, with a bed stowed switch wired into the tracker.

Does this work on wreckers too?

Yes. Any tow truck whose bed, boom or winch runs off a PTO can be monitored the same way.

Do you do this outside South Carolina?

Yes. We install across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi, at your yard or shop.

Want this on your trucks?

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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