How Truck Tracking Caught a Thief Stealing Landscaping Assets

What’s the worst that could happen over a quick lunch break? 

It depends, of course, but for one Houston-area landscaping team whose truck and trailer were towing $30,000 of equipment, the stakes were about as high as their hunger levels. Unfortunately for the crew, while they were placing their to-go orders, a thief made off with their truck, trailer, and valuable tools. 

(Don’t worry; this story has a happy ending.) 

Hearts pounding, the crew quickly called their boss and delivered the bad news. 

The business owner seemed remarkably calm. He was.

All he had to do was open his truck GPS app. 

Earlier, the business owner had installed web-based truck tracking devices throughout his fleet. With his new truck tracking system enabled, he knew he had up-to-the-second real-time location data about his truck and assets.

With this information, he quickly called the police, clued them in to the truck’s location, and kept the police apprised of the thief’s route in real time. It took a highway chase scene straight out of a movie (with a helicopter assist!), but, in the end, the business owner got his equipment back—and everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief. 

It’s a dramatic story, but it makes you think: What would the ability to track trucks do for you, your business, and your bottom line? 

Would you see reduced costs and increased driver safety? Would you see that and so much more after installing GPS tracking devices across your fleet? 

Truck tracking can save your business (and turn around seriously bad days). 

Let’s play devil’s advocate here and think for one minute about what would have happened if our forward-thinking GPS vehicle tracking client hadn’t had an easy way to assist the police and recover his property. 

It isn’t a pretty picture: 

• He would have lost his truck, assets, and tools.

• His crew would have been devastated.

• They would have had to reschedule at least a few days’ worth of work (and potentially lose those contracts). 

• The business’s reputation would have taken a hit as a result. 

• Because of lost work, the business owner might have had to make some hard decisions about staff and pay.
• Everyone at the company would suffer a hit to their morale. 

When a small business loses a big asset, it’s a big deal. There are far-flung consequences. And this happens more frequently than you think. According to reports from the National Equipment Register, millions of dollars in equipment theft occurred between the Thursday before Labor Day 2022 and the Wednesday after alone. 

As the truck GPS tracking client we mentioned above knows all too well, theft can happen in the amount of time it takes you to order a couple of tacos. 

Equipment theft can also be far more costly than you might think; we’ve seen $180K in stolen assets recovered due to our savvy GPS fleet tracking solution! 

Interested in learning more about a truck tracker and the life-changing magic of GPS tracking solutions? We thought you might be! Read on. 

Truck tracking is a necessary precaution for your business. It’s also a superpower.

For small businesses that operate seasonally, ensuring that you have all your assets protected is crucial. Let’s forget for a moment that truck and equipment theft is on the rise; vehicle tracking devices and truck tracking can help you and your business in many ways, including: 

• Helping you improve customer service 

• Helping you optimize routes and figure out where to fit in new gigs
• Helping reduce fleet theft and boost your team’s efficiency, putting an effective end to time card padding and other “leaky” practices
• Helping reduce fuel costs and vehicle maintenance over time

It’s worth emphasizing, though, that truck tracking can help you keep tabs on your essential gear, come what may. This can do everything from protecting your peace of mind to protecting your profits and strategic partnerships. 

As our client noted: “If not for the GPS tracker, I might have lost that truck, not to mention a trailer that cost several thousand dollars and equipment that cost me more than $30 [thousand]. We would’ve had to go out right away and buy a used truck and a bunch of expensive equipment, or else we’d be losing revenue and even putting some of our customer relationships in jeopardy.”

Ready to support your business with track trucking? 

Want to track a truck? Serious about reducing fuel costs? Real-time tracking can get you where you want to be—and our team is serious about helping you make that magic happen. 

However, in order to realize the benefits of properly preparing for the worst, you need to take action before something bad happens. (That’s right now!) Avoid equipment theft, protect your most valuable assets, and safeguard your business’s success with GPS tracking software from ClearPathGPS. 

We help businesses improve their operations and boost their bottom lines through tracked truck services. Whether you’re protecting your landscaping equipment or other essential assets, you stand to benefit big time from a high-quality GPS tracking system. Learn more about how you can protect your company’s vehicles by requesting a free demo of our fleet management software today!