GPS Tracking: Equipment Rental Theft and Recovery
Many of our equipment tracking devices are installed on rented equipment. Rental companies take a great risk when sending pieces of equipment valued from $1,200 – $250,000 out with customers. The equipment could be as simple as a zero-turn lawnmower or as expensive and complex as a very large backhoe and front end loader combination. So, we have many equipment rental customers.
How does it work? There are at least 2 ways our equipment rental companies utilize GPS tracking to protect their equipment and ensure proper usage and billing. First, we have helped a Dallas-Fort Worth based equipment rental company recover multiple pieces of equipment that were simply never returned. The renter either decided he would never be found or hoped the rental company would lose track of the rental. Either way, our customers are able to login on their Android or iOS phones and track the equipment down in the field for speedy recovery.
Recently, I spoke with one of our customers at a fair in Ft Worth where they were displaying their equipment. The customer told me that he was in Arkansas when he received a call from one of his drivers attempting to recover a large tractor outside of Dallas. The driver did not find the tractor where it was supposed to be. Our customer quickly logged in on his laptop from Arkansas and obtained turn-by-turn direction for his driver and found the equipment right where the GPS tracking system indicated it would be. All of this was completed within an hour. Had GPS tracking not been on the equipment, the recovery might have taken days or possibly never have happened at all.
The other way that rental companies use the GPS tracking system for their equipment is to confirm that a 1-day rental is actually that. The scenario is that a customer rents a tractor for 1 day on a Friday. The renter claims that is the only day he will use it but that he cannot return the equipment until Monday as the rental company will be closed before he can return the equipment at the end of the day. In the past, the rental company would have to trust that the renter would honor his word and only use the equipment on Friday. Now, with the equipment tracking devices and system, the renting company can see what the actual usage of that equipment really is.
Ready to get started tracking your most valuable assets? Give us a call at 1-800-293-0420.
Now you can also track your fleet with your voice! Check out Rhino Fleet Tracking with Amazon Alexa.
