After a storm the first question is always which roads got plowed and when. A GPS tracker shows where the truck drove. Monitoring the plow shows where the blade was down. We set it up on city, county and contractor plow trucks across Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.
A truck driving down a road with the blade up didn't plow it. A plain GPS trail can't tell the difference, which is exactly what a resident's complaint or a contract dispute turns on. Monitoring the plow records where the blade was down, so the map shows plowed streets in one color and travel in another, each with a time.
For a city or county, that answers the call about an unplowed street in a minute. For a contractor, it is proof of service for the lots and roads on the contract.
On larger plow trucks the plow and the spreader run on hydraulics, and the hydraulic pump is often driven by the engine through a power take-off, or PTO. PTO monitoring wires the PTO engaged signal into the tracker, which shows when the hydraulics were running. Because a PTO can be on while the blade is up, plow monitoring usually adds a position switch that shows the blade itself is down. Smaller trucks with an electric hydraulic plow pump are monitored the same way, from the blade position.
There are a few ways to give the tracking device a reliable on and off signal, and the right one depends on the truck:
For the blade, a position or tilt switch mounted on the plow frame tells the tracker when the blade is down. It has to survive salt, slush and the plow being taken on and off, so the mounting and the connector at the plow hitch matter as much as the switch. Truck-side wire colors are in our Vehicle Wiring Database.
Before the first storm, not after it. Plow trucks are busy the moment snow is forecast, so we install in the off season or early fall and test each truck with the blade raised and lowered before winter. See PTO and equipment integration for the other trucks we wire this way.
Common questions
Yes, with a plow position switch wired into the tracker. The map then shows plowed streets separately from travel.
Not on its own. The PTO can be on with the blade up, so a blade position switch is what proves the road was plowed.
Yes. The spreader can be wired into the tracker alongside the plow.
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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