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Fleet Trailer Theft Prevention: GPS Trackers and Trailer Theft

Trailers are indispensable for many industries but vulnerable to theft, causing financial loss and business disruption. GPS tracking is a cost-effective way to protect trailers by providing real-time location updates, aiding in rapid recovery. Features like geofencing and notifications allow businesses to track assets continuously, enhancing security. Advanced trackers can help companies prevent theft and support insurance claims with accurate location data.

Trailers are an essential aspect of many corporate fleets. From vehicle haulers to lowboys, trailers have many uses in agriculture, construction, and other industries. That’s why when trailers are stolen or go missing, it can cause significant financial losses — not just because of the loss of the asset, but because of how seriously this can disrupt business operations.

One of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to protect your trailer is using a GPS tracker that attaches directly to the vehicle. With the latest real-time location insights, you can immediately act if someone tries to steal any trailer or other business vehicle.

Why is Trailer Theft a Problem for Businesses?

Crime trends worldwide are rising, and criminals are finding ways to interrupt business continuity with equipment theft. While the media tends to focus on cyberattacks like ransomware and phishing, many industries still endure physical thefts that are coordinated to cause problems for businesses. Trailer theft is one such possible coordinated attack. After all, trailers are cumbersome attachments not usually targeted by opportunistic thieves. A casual vehicle thief may jimmy a car door or steal a bike. However, it takes planning and coordination to steal a trailer.

With that in mind, businesses should invest in higher security protocols to protect trailers and prevent theft. With the right tracking technologies, companies can also locate and recover their stolen vehicles — and any equipment or cargo those trailers hold.

Risk analysts recently noted that all types of theft rose in the United States in 2023. Thefts of cargo — such as goods that may be carried in a trailer — in North America (United States and Canada) were up 59% compared to the previous year. Businesses that need to protect their bottom line against rising costs must invest in technologies that can prevent these thefts and even help them retrieve their valuable assets.

GPS and Trailer Theft: How to Protect Your Trailers from Theft

There are many ways to try and prevent trailer theft before it occurs. Some of these actions involve driver education. You need to make sure your drivers always:

  • Avoid leaving trailers unattended where possible.
  • Park vehicles towing trailers in secure parking areas, ideally with CCTV or other security services that deter thieves.
  • Check that GPS trackers are in place, switched on, and transmit location information.

Drivers should be encouraged to report new data about routes, traffic incidents, or any other information to their HQ that can help with accurate tracking. Combining this first-hand data with real-time tracking information from a GPS device helps give fleet managers the full picture of what’s happening on the road. A pickup truck towing a trailer that goes off route will be picked up by a GPS tracking system. However, if drivers are proactively contacting their managers to let them know they’ve had to re-route and why, that removes a lot of stress from any journeys or deliveries involving trailers.

With thefts on the rise, GPS tracking devices are essential for protecting all types of assets in your business. GPS trackers attach directly to the trailer and continuously transmit real-time location information to help fleet managers assess the status of drivers, vehicles, and goods.

The Benefits of Using GPS For Trailer Theft Prevention

There are various advantages of using trailer GPS devices to prevent theft. All of these benefits are available with devices provided by LandAirSea Technologies.

Receive Notifications When Your Trailer Leaves Your Premises

GPS devices use a technology called geofencing, which lets you create a virtual boundary around a real-world location. When an item attached to a GPS unit leaves that boundary, you can receive an instant notification alerting you to its whereabouts.

Fleet managers could discretely attach a GPS device to the base of a trailer, where it is unlikely to be noticed by a thief. You can create a geofence around the location where your business stores trailers and receive notifications whenever a trailer leaves that area.

Identify The Exact Location of Your Stolen Trailer

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a network of more than 30 navigational satellites that orbit the planet. These satellites continuously send out signals to receivers in GPS devices, allowing you to pinpoint the exact location of whatever item the device is attached to within several inches. GPS trackers like those manufactured by LandAirSea technologies help you accurately identify your trailer’s whereabouts, no matter how far it has traveled.

Recover Your Trailer

In the event of theft, you can monitor your stolen trailer as it moves from one location to another and work with law enforcement and other authorities to try to recover it. You can view the trailer’s whereabouts in real-time or historical location data that reveals its final destination. Pass real-time or historical location data to law enforcement professionals who can try to recover your trailer and find out who took it. LandAirSea Technologies devices with ShareSpot technology let you share location information with invested parties via a simple link, helping you recover your asset quickly.

Support Insurance Claims

If you can’t recover your trailer, you can submit location information generated by your GPS tracker to your insurance company. This evidence will support your claim and prove that someone stole your valuables from their original locations, helping you complete business vehicle insurance claims successfully.

GPS trackers for trailers are also useful for situations other than theft. For example, you can place trackers in all your trailers and monitor employees who use them for moving goods or making deliveries. As long as the trailer is attached to a motor vehicle, you can learn how long it takes drivers to reach their destination, how many stops they take on the route, and whether they violate speed limits. Effective GPS devices provide speed alerts that you can use to improve driver safety and training.

GPS And Trailer Theft: Where To Place A Tracker

You can place a GPS tracker in a trailer in various locations. You’ll want to conceal your device as much as possible so thieves can’t find it. Here are some places to hide your tracker:

  • Under the trailer
  • On the base
  • On the rear bumper

Recovery of trailers is the top priority for businesses wanting to protect their assets and their bottom line. Conceal trackers as much as possible and test them regularly to help prevent theft and optimize the chances of recovery.

One of the best locations to discretely install a GPS tracking device is to embed it directly into the trailer at the time of manufacturing. Cutting-edge trailer manufacturers are embracing GPS technology and providing this value-added benefit to their customers, many complete with free or trial subscriptions to tracking platforms such as the SilverCloud platform.

What Are the Best Devices for GPS and Trailer Theft?

Tracking Technologies knows that our clients have different needs, so we don’t offer a one-size-fits-all solution. Talk to our approachable team about the type of materials you transport, their value, and the best ways to protect those and your trailers against theft. Here are some of the most popular GPS tracking devices we offer to help prevent theft and retrieve stolen trailers.

LandAirSea 54

The LandAirSea 54 with ShareSpot is waterproof, dustproof, and small enough to hide in any trailer. It comes with industrial-strength magnets that attach to various trailer components, helping you track your vehicle and share location information with fleet administrators, colleagues, law enforcement professionals, and insurance companies. Other features include speed alerts, battery alerts, InstaFence, and a dark mode.

Sync

The Sync tracker connects directly to the OBD II port in any business vehicle, helping you keep track of any trailer attached to that vehicle. Using geofencing and notifications, you get instant alerts when your fleet vehicles go off-route, allowing you to investigate immediately.

Sync charges directly from the vehicle because it attaches directly to an OBD II port, so there are no concerns about the device running out of power during a long delivery route. Other features of Sync include speed alerts plus arrival and departure notifications.

Overdrive

Overdrive offers similar features to the 54 but with a battery that lasts up to four times longer than the 54, making it the ideal choice for long-haul logistics and other long-distance trailer tracking needs. Attach this waterproof and dustproof device to the outside or inside of your trailer with its internal magnet, and it will generate real-time location information. Other features of Overdrive include battery alerts, geofence alerts, speed alerts (if your trailer is attached to a motor vehicle), and a dark mode.

Contact Tracking Technologies to learn more about GPS and trailer theft, particularly how we can help you cut costs by protecting valuable assets. The faster you know that something has gone awry with a delivery or transportation exercise, the quicker you can address it. GPS tracking technologies empower fleet managers to take back control of the security of their vehicles and attachments like trailers.

Final Word About GPS And Trailer Theft Prevention for Businesses

According to trusted logistic source CargoNet, $31 million in shipments were stolen in Q3 of 2023, and those numbers are on the rise. Smaller businesses with unpowered trailers are often targeted because thieves view these as easier to access and quicker to steal. Multiple locations, including storage sites, are at risk, so the only way to monitor cargo and trailers right across their routes is with reliable, effective GPS tracking technologies.