Frequently Asked Questions

Using SolarTrak helps in many ways, but can be summarized into two main benefits:

1. Enhances the use of your fleet: SolarTrak makes your job easier by giving you constant status updates on your fleet- on Location, Battery voltage and Engine-Hours.
2. Enhances revenue from your fleet: SolarTrak can boost revenue by extending the life of your equipment using Maintenance Reminders, and by ensuring that every rental dollar is collected using Engine-Hours.

Our current construction and rental house customers install trackers on all kinds of equipment, including:

• air compressors
• aerial work platforms
• backhoes
• skid steers
• boom lifts
• camera towers
• cranes
• delivery vans
• dump trucks
• excavators
• flatbeds
• forklifts
• generators
• light towers
• pickups
• rollers
• Scissor lifts
• skid steers
• shovels
• sweepers
• tele-handlers
• utility vans and trucks
• trailers
• water pumps

…any valuable piece of construction or other equipment that you’d like to track. Get creative. We have a customer that installed trackers on their zero-turn lawn mowers.

Use our Cost Calculator.  In it, we present 10 simple questions for you to consider… including the size and age of your fleet, the geographic size of your service area, and questions about your billing and repair procedures.
Its a quick way to understand all the ways you’ll save both time and money using a GPS-based fleet management solution.

• Location Status/Movement History
• Engine Hours Reports
• Maintenance Notifications
• Battery Monitoring
• Geofence Movement Alerts

One of the strengths of SolarTrak is that you can choose which notifications you receive, how often, and by what method (text or email). Notifications are available for 14 different options, including:

• Equipment Starts, Moves or Stops
• Battery Voltage
• Equipment Enters or Leaves a Geofence
• Tracker Power is Interrupted
• Engine Starts or Stops
• Maintenance Due

So far, we have not reached the outer limit number of trackers that can be used at one time. For your own ease, if you have hundreds of trackers, it may be easier for you to organize them into groups and categories, or designate them by branch offices. You can even assign other staff members to manage certain machines.

Telematics is the branch of information technology that uses long-distance transmission of computerized information. SolarTrak uses telematics in gathering, moving, and translating data from your equipment through a secure, redundant private network. Simply put, it’s gathering and moving data from an original source (your equipment) to an end-user (that’s you). Diagram here.

The GPS tracker measures 3.25” x 5.1875” x 1” – about the size of a cell phone and a bit thicker. See the Technical Specs page.

All that’s required to access the data provided by the trackers is reliable Internet access and your password. There is no software to download. All the data is fed to your desktop PC, tablet, or smartphone from our secure redundant servers, using a virtual private network and encryption.

Installing the trackers onto your equipment is simple, but the time needed depends on the number of trackers being installed, and whether you opt for the internal or external antennas option.

Trackers with an internal antenna must be installed on the top of the equipment with a clear view of the sky (for optimal GPS reception).

Trackers with an external antenna can be installed inside the cab or engine compartment, and then are connected to either a magnetic or screw-mounted antenna, which is installed on the roof, engine compartment, or top of the equipment.

Our support team can advise you on which tracker is best for you, as well as any other installation questions you might have.  Complete installation procedures are explained on the Installation page, or get detailed info on the Tech Specs page.

Your repair crew can easily install SolarTrak trackers with common tools. You will need a drill if mounting a tracker or antenna on a roof. A screwdriver and a wrench may also come in handy.

Step-by-step instructions with photos are available in our Complete Installation Guide.  See photos of installations on our Installation page.

SolarTrak trackers are made from a rugged polycarbonate and are magnetically or screw-mounted to your equipment. They are small enough to mount in small, hidden spaces.

In the event of tampering, SolarTrak trackers are built to report data back to the fleet manager even after an attempted theft. For instance, if a would-be thief tried to cut the wires on the tracker, internal batteries would continue transmitting data for up to 72 hours.

Insurance companies like when companies install a GPS fleet tracker on their equipment because they can discourage (but not prevent) thieves. Even better, they can make retrieving equipment easier. For a definite answer, contact your insurance company.