Myth-busting: How GPS tracking HELPS Truckers

Have you ever heard that putting the tailgate down in a pickup truck improves fuel economy? As the story goes, air pushes against the closed tailgate and drags the truck down, and by opening the tailgate you’re letting that air flow through. It turns out, that’s just not true. 

Keeping stuff from flying out of the bed is not the only reason trucks were designed to travel with their tailgates up. A “bubble” of slow-moving air forms in the bed when driving with the tailgate up, a. Air rushing over the hood and up over the cab deflects off this bubble and slips over top of the truck bed. If you open the tailgate, that bubble is gone, and air drops into the bed and creates drag – which increases fuel consumption. And now you know!

How does this relate to dump trucks? It turns out there are a few myths about GPS tracking for dump truck work as well. If dump truck operators stick to these myths, they could miss out on many of the benefits that GPS tracking has to offer.

In this article we’re going to bust three common myths about GPS tracking and then dive into how GPS tracking is a tool that can help truckers operate more efficiently and even get more work than they would otherwise without it.

Myth #1 GPS tracking meanS an extra device that costs me money.

Now this could be true if you’re talking about some of the telematic products in the market. Those can be expensive and must be installed on or placed in the vehicle. Some municipalities even make YOU - the hauler - purchase a device in order to take snow and salt work, for example. What we’re referring to is the type of GPS location services that are built into something you most likely already have - your iPhone or Android smartphone. This means that there’s no additional hardware that you or the business you haul for has to purchase, affix to your dump truck or maintain.

Myth #2 My cellular/data plan will be over-utilized.

Using up too much of your cellular plan is something that some haulers worry about. The good news is you really don’t need to give it a second thought. Drivers use an average of only about 3MB of data per hour of active driving when using the Trux Drive app. To put this in perspective, when you’re streaming a movie or TV show in standard definition, your mobile device will use about 1GB of data per hour and up to 3GB of data per hour if you stream in high definition.

Myth #3 GPS tracker for dump trucks monitors at all times.

The GPS tracking through Trux Drive is only activated from the time you punch-in until the time you punch-out or at the conclusion of the last load of your last assignment. Your loads won’t be tracked when you’re not actively working  and are “off the clock.”

Now that you have a better understanding of what GPS tracking doesn’t entail, let’s take a look at the many positive truths about GPS tracking as an effective tool for dump truck operators. Haulers stand to benefit in a number of ways.

Truth #1 navigate to start/end locations WITH A SINGLE TAP.

While Trux Drive doesn’t offer native turn-by-turn directions, it does make using your favorite navigation app easier. When on the Locations tab of the Job Details screen, you can tap Open in maps to launch your favorite GPS navigation app with the address pre-populated. No more toggling back and forth between screens to copy and paste, or worse, typing in the address ! So if you like Waze, go for it. If you prefer Google Maps, that’s fine, too. Just tap Open in maps, and you are on your way!

1-tap navigation makes getting to the plant/job site easier

Truth #2  Identify when you’re at or near the job site or plant.

Have you ever been stuck waiting at the plant or the job site wondering where to go to pick up or deliver your payload? Or even if they knew you were there at all? This costs YOU money! With GPS tracking via Trux Drive, the plant and job site will be ready for you as soon as you arrive so that you’re in and out as quickly as possible. Your progress is communicated to the job site via the Trux Delivery Tracker - a tool that allows customers to keep tabs on every load throughout the day. By using trucking GPS tracking, they will know your ETA to make sure the area is ready, and they will know when you’ve arrived in order to direct you to the right location.

Every minute you’re making forward progress eliminates wasted time, increases your efficiency, and makes you more money! Shaving minutes off each leg of the delivery cycle more time to deliver more dump truck loads for you and your customers.

Trux Delivery Tracker lets the job site know when you'll arrive

Truth #3 Verify your delivery time and location in case of a dispute.

No one likes it when there’s a disagreement over critical details about the delivery of a load. Not only can it cause ill feelings and the possibility of ending a good working relationship, it can sometimes result in you not getting paid what you are owed. GPS tracking for truckers enables verifiable and accurate data regarding each and every delivery. Everyone will know the time of pickup, the time of delivery, the wait time, and the location of the delivery. This replaces subjective disagreements with objective facts to effectively eliminate disputes (or at least resolve them more quickly).

Confirm the location and time of all deliveries

Dump Truck Work Improves With GPS Tracking 

For haulers, there’s really nothing to fear when it comes to GPS tracking. Tracking won’t require an extra device to be installed on your dump truck, it won’t take up as much data on your mobile device as you think, and it won’t track you when you are off the clock.

GPS tracking with Trux Drive makes everyone–at the plant, at the job site, and en route–more efficient.

Trux and GPS Tracking Make Moving Material More Efficient 

As the nation’s largest and oldest marketplace and logistics software provider for dump truck users, Trux has helped more haulers, material producers and contractors streamline their operations and move higher volumes of material than any other provider of trucking logistics software. Unlike many other products on the market that were originally designed for the trucking industry, from day one, our solutions were built specifically for dump truck work. 

It’s the one app haulers can depend on to make their jobs a whole lot easier and more profitable.

Download our hauler benefits guide to share with your haulers.