Evaluating or expanding smart trailer technology and integrations? The right smart trailer capabilities, integrated into your fleet operations platform, will help improve visibility, reduce downtime, and improve efficiency.
In today’s market, a trailer can’t just be a box on wheels. It needs to be a trackable, connected asset that’s fully embedded into your fleet technology. See why the six smart trailer capabilities below make this vision possible.
- Real-time location tracking
- Precise utilization analytics
- Tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) integration
- Advanced theft recovery
- Smart reefer monitoring
- Maintenance scheduling
Read on to learn about each of these smart trailer capabilities.
1. Real-time location tracking
There’s a simple value to knowing where your trailers are: You can’t manage what you can’t find. With smart trailer technology, keep your assets accounted for and ready to be used, moved, or rented out.
With Motive asset tracking, fleet-based organizations gain these capabilities:
- Complete visibility. The Motive Asset Gateway Mini is the only solution that automatically matches trailers to their driver and vehicle. With it, you can see who is hauling what and where — on one live map.
- Proactive rerouting. Dispatchers can spot trailers that are mismatched with the wrong vehicle or driver at a glance and quickly reach out to drivers to correct the mistake.
- Customer assurance. Generate reliable ETAs and share a live link with customers to prove their load is really on the way.
- Audit trail. Validate deliveries and confirm which tractor, driver, and trailer were involved in any disputed load.
JMS Transportation operates more than 100 trucks and about 800 trailers. Keeping track of that many trailers was a major drag on efficiency. JMS deployed Motive Asset Gateways on their trailer fleet to determine:
- Where each trailer was located
- How long each trailer had been sitting idle
With this data, JMS could see which assets were being underutilized and redirect them to sites where they could be productive. After making this move, JMS Safety Director Heather Walerius said the company’s asset utilization improved by at least 30%. “We’re able to track our trailers and get an accurate report when they’re sitting somewhere too long,” she explained.
That’s the kind of impact location tracking should have when smart trailers are fully integrated into operations.
2. Precise utilization analytics
Smart trailer capabilities should include easy-to-access utilization data so organizations can get the most from existing assets. Motive provides rich insights to:
- Increase utilization. Use dormancy metrics and time-on-site data to see which trailers are sitting unused, then redeploy under-used assets.
- Grow revenue. Track engine hours for powered trailers and rental-style assets so you can bill on actual usage rather than assumptions.
Agmark, a bulk liquids carrier, faced a chassis shortage during the pandemic. New chassis were backordered for months, but they still had to keep freight moving. They used Motive Asset Gateways to investigate how their current inventory was being used.
By tracking where each chassis sat and for how long, Agmark could:
- Identify equipment that hadn’t moved in 180 days.
- Reposition idle chassis from low-demand locations to high-demand markets.
- Eliminate chronic underutilization they previously couldn’t see.
With this data, they were ultimately able to reduce their chassis count by 11%.
We’ve been able to decrease the size of our fleet and still operate effectively, because we’re able to get better visibility of the chassis that are sitting for a long time and utilize them so much better.
3. Tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) integration
For U.S. fleet-based organizations, tire health is a safety, cost, and uptime problem. Smart trailer capabilities should monitor tire pressure and temperature to avoid dangerous tire blowouts.
Motive integrates with PressurePro to provide tire pressure and temperature data directly in the Motive Dashboard. Both drivers and fleet managers see the same data, allowing for immediate corrective action. With this data, you can:
- Prevent downtime. Tire health alerts to pressure and temperature issues early, reducing unscheduled roadside calls and keeping trucks and trailers in service.
- Improve safety, compliance, and visibility. View TPMS data in the same platform where you manage other fleet operations.
4. Advanced theft recovery
A loaded trailer can be a high-value target for thieves. Smart trailers should send alerts the moment a trailer moves without authorization.
Motive uses on-demand pings and cell triangulation to ensure security even in GPS-challenged areas. Keep cargo protected with these features:
- Geofence alerts. Receive instant notifications when equipment leaves a designated perimeter.
- Locate My Asset. Request on-demand location pings from the Asset Gateway Mini operating on battery mode that bypasses the normal check-in interval to quickly find missing or at-risk trailers.
- Unauthorized use detection. Automatic vehicle-trailer-driver pairing helps you see when a trailer is being pulled by an unauthorized tractor.
- Delivery verification. Set up specific geofence triggers to confirm exactly when a load reaches its destination.
- Surveillance. Motive’s 360° camera provides complete visibility around every vehicle, every second of the day — and provides valuable video evidence in the event of a crime.
5. Smart reefer monitoring
For temperature-sensitive cargo, a few degrees of deviation can make a shipment unusable; for food, it can significantly cut shelf life or result in food spoilage and loss. Smart controls in reefer trailers prevent unwanted temperature and humidity shifts during food transport.
Motive’s integrations with reefer OEMs such as Thermo King and Carrier enable advanced protection for sensitive cargo. If a reefer’s temperature starts to rise, Motive lets you see it in real time and adjust temperature remotely.
The integrations include capabilities like these:
- Remote two-way control. Operations can adjust set points and modes via API without relying on the driver to stop and check the unit.
- Environmental sensors. High-frequency temperature and humidity logging at one-minute intervals for precise cold-chain proof.
- Fault code alerts. Get notified of reefer engine issues before the temperature starts to climb.
6. Maintenance scheduling
Smart trailer maintenance monitoring can create a competitive advantage for your fleet-based organization. Instead of discovering mechanical problems after they’ve created a breakdown or delay, you can address problems early.
Motive brings trailers into the same fleet maintenance ecosystem as other fleet vehicles. These capabilities help you stay ahead of breakdowns:
- Preventive maintenance. Instead of relying on the calendar, trigger automatic maintenance reminders based on actual mileage, engine hours (for reefers), or time.
- Streamlined digital inspections. Drivers use the Motive Driver App to complete custom inspection forms. They can add defect photos and notes that go immediately to maintenance.
Standalone tools vs. integrated products for smart trailers
You can buy single-use products that track trailer location, another that handles TPMS, and still another that monitors reefers. But every new login makes work less efficient. With the Motive Integrated Operations Platform, you’re gaining a smooth flow of data from the trailer directly into the Motive Dashboard.
The whole package came together for us with Motive.
Turn trailers into fully connected, revenue-driving investments with Motive asset tracking.
