Advantages of a Telematics Device for Your RVs

Recreational vehicle (RV) fleet and asset managers have a critical job in maintaining and protecting the merchandise owned by an RV rental company. If a vehicle is damaged or stolen, it could cost the company thousands of dollars to repair and replace. The impact to a business’ bottom line also extends to the loss of revenue and business opportunities that result from a missing asset.

An RV rental company needs ultimate transparency with their assets to ensure the safety and satisfaction of their customers, as well as to help monitor the vehicles should any problems arise that require immediate attention. One solution RV rental companies are implementing is equipping each vehicle with a GPS tracking telematics device.

Why GPS Tracking is Useful for Business

GPS tracking uses orbiting satellites to triangulate the location of a tagged asset anywhere in the world. This method of tracking has been increasing in usage among fleet managers and is extremely cost-effective as a preventative maintenance strategy for RV security. With the advancements in GPS technology, GPS vehicle tracking devices have been modified for a number of different tracking modes for remote monitoring, including:

• Live Tracking — This capability offers real-time information regarding asset locations, asset movements, mileage, and travel speeds.
• Passive Tracking — This type of tracking is an affordable option for fleet managers who want follow-ups on the vehicle but don’t need the live data. Passive tracking allows for hourly or daily updates once the tracker is turned on.
• Satellite Tracking — This form of tracking is highly utilized for theft prevention and provides the location data of all assets and sends constant updates daily.

Other Advantages of Using a Telematics Device for RVs

RV rental companies who aren’t incorporating GPS tracking in their business strategies are at a huge disadvantage. A telematics device may be small enough to fit in your hand, but its small size belies its wide range of uses. In addition to protecting your RV assets, telematics can resolve other issues not considered by RV fleet management, such as:

• Fuel Savings — The use of telematic devices is an effective way to help manage fleet carbon emissions. GPS tracking can allow for fuel costs to be reduced by 20-25%. With this type of GPS tracking solution, fleet operations and RV rental companies will be able to:
  • View idle time and idle time averages per vehicle;
  • Receive comprehensive reports detailing fuel consumption by gallons or dollars; and
  • Plan more efficient routes with map access to locations and final destination.
• Helps to Manage a Maintenance Schedule — One of the most important aspects of a fleet or asset manager’s job is to ensure proper maintenance of a vehicle or RV rental. A GPS tracking system can be used to automate reminders for tune-ups and oil changes, as well as integrate a vehicle’s service records to allow for easy tracking of maintenance histories and schedules.
• Extra Security Features — As previously mentioned above, the remote monitoring capabilities of a telematics device are the perfect solution for security and theft prevention of RV rentals. Some additions to these GPS tracking features include:
  • Zone alerts that notify when an item has left or entered a specified area;
  • Ignition alerts for when the ignition is turned on or off;
  • Panic alerts, which allow drivers to hit a panic button in an emergency situation; and
  • Route alerts that notify fleet managers when a driver deviates from their initial course.

Since 1993, Rastrac has helped fleet managers and companies protect their assets with quality resources and products fit for any business need. To learn more about Rastrac’s GPS tracking systems, contact our team of project consultants today.