Tow Truck GPS Tracker
Key Takeaways
5 things a towing operator should settle before buying trackers
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01
Only a hardwired unit can tell you when the winch was running.
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02
Plug-in OBD2 is faster to fit but a driver can unplug it.
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03
Accurate arrival times are worth more to a towing business than fuel savings.
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04
A starter disable needs a written policy before it goes in the truck.
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05
Every plan carries a monthly or annual data cost. Budget for it.
Tracking a towing fleet?
Plug-in and hardwired units with free lifetime support.
Shop fleet trackersTowing has a tracking problem nobody else has. You need to know where the truck is, and you need to know whether it is actually working.
I'm Ryan Horban, and I've spent the last 15 years working with GPS vehicle trackers, fleet tracking devices, and commercial GPS tracking systems across real-world fleets. Towing operators ask a question no other trade asks.
They want to know when the winch ran. That single requirement decides which tracker you can buy, and most guides on this topic never mention it.
The short answer
If you want winch monitoring, you need a hardwired unit with a PTO connection. Plug-in OBD2 cannot do it, at any price. Everything else, location, speed, geofences and arrival times, both types handle.
Why the Winch Is the Deciding Feature
Location alone tells you a truck is at an address. Whether the driver is hooking a car or sitting in a drive-thru stays a mystery.
A power take-off connection closes that gap. Wire the tracker to the PTO circuit and the system logs when hydraulics engage, and when they stop.
That turns a dot on a map into a job record. You see which trucks are working and which are free. You also see how long a recovery actually took.
Dispatch is where this pays. A truck showing as stationary with the winch running is busy. A truck stationary with the winch idle is available, and you can send it.
The wiring is not optional or a software setting. PTO monitoring needs a physical connection to the hydraulic circuit. A plug-in unit can never offer it.
Hardwired or Plug-In
Both give you live location. The differences are in what happens when the engine is off and what a driver can do about it.
| Question | Plug-in OBD2 | Hardwired |
|---|---|---|
| Winch and PTO monitoring | Not possible | Yes, via the hydraulic circuit |
| Install | Under two minutes, no tools | 30 to 45 minutes, professional |
| Reports with engine off | Usually not | Yes, continuously |
| Can a driver remove it | Yes, in seconds | Not without tools |
| Starter disable | No | Available on some units |
| Moves between trucks | Freely | Needs reinstalling |
Go hardwired when
- Winch or PTO logging is the reason you are buying
- Trucks stay assigned to one driver
- You want overnight reporting on a yard full of equipment
- Tamper resistance matters more than portability
Go plug-in when
- You are piloting before committing the whole fleet
- Light-duty trucks rotate between drivers
- Nobody needs the unit hidden
- You want it working this afternoon
The one that suits towing
Hardwired GPS Tracker with Kill Switch
Wired to the loom and tied to a starter relay. Live location as often as every 3 seconds, with geofence, overspeed and unauthorized-use alerts. A backup cell reports if the feed is cut. The starter disable lets you immobilize a stolen truck remotely.
Write the starter-disable policy before the first install. Cutting the starter on a moving truck is a liability. Make the rule stationary vehicles only, and tell the drivers it exists.
Related reading
Our guide to plug-in versus hardwired GPS tracking devices compares the two install types in depth.
What Tracking Actually Changes in a Towing Business
Four things, roughly in the order operators notice them.
- Honest arrival times. A customer stranded on a shoulder wants a number, not a shrug. Live position turns that into a real estimate. Nothing else improves how the call sounds as much.
- Better dispatch. Send the nearest free truck rather than the one you happened to think of. With PTO data you also know which trucks are genuinely free.
- Fuel and idling. Idling is the big one in towing, because trucks sit running while crews work. Speed and idle reports show where the money goes.
- Theft and recovery. A tow truck is a high-value asset that spends nights in a yard. Overnight reporting and a starter disable change what happens when one moves.
16%
Average fuel cost saving reported by businesses running a GPS fleet tracking system. Most of it comes from speed and idling rather than routing.
2025 Fleet Technology Trends Report, via Verizon Business
Treat that as an industry average from a vendor survey rather than a promise. Towing runs a different duty cycle to delivery, with more idling and less mileage. Your own numbers are the ones that matter.
Setting It Up Across a Fleet
Four steps, and the order matters more than the speed.
- Pilot two or three trucks. Cover your real variety, one light-duty and one heavy. Check coverage on the routes you actually run before ordering for everything.
- Decide what the PTO feed connects to. This is the install detail that gets missed. Your installer needs to know which circuit signals hydraulics on each truck model.
- Set three alerts, not thirty. Geofence on the yard, overspeed, and unauthorized movement outside hours. Add more only once those are being acted on.
- Write the driver policy. What is recorded, who sees it, when monitoring runs, and what the starter disable is for. Get it signed before the first unit goes in.
Drivers object less to tracking than to being surprised by it. Telling them what the system does, before it goes in, is the whole of the difficulty.
Compliance Notes Worth Checking
Two things come up on every towing rollout. Both depend on how you operate rather than on the tracker.
The first is fuel tax reporting. Operators crossing state lines with qualifying vehicles report under the International Fuel Tax Agreement. Trip and mileage data makes those returns far less painful.
The second is electronic logging. ELD requirements turn on vehicle weight, interstate operation, and which short-haul exemptions apply. Plenty of towing outfits sit outside the requirement, and plenty do not.
A GPS tracker is not an ELD. If the rule applies to you, a registered ELD device is required. A tracker sits alongside it rather than replacing it.
Hardwired units with starter disable, plus plug-in trackers for the trucks that rotate. Both on one platform.
Compare fleet trackersWhat It Costs
Two numbers decide the budget, and drafts on this topic routinely quote only one.
- Hardware. Paid once per truck. A hardwired unit with starter disable costs more than a plug-in, and professional installation is on top.
- The data plan. Paid monthly or annually, per unit, for as long as the tracker reports. Annual prepay is normally cheaper than month to month.
Be careful with "no monthly fee" claims, including on our own listings. That usually means the first year is prepaid inside the purchase price, not that data is free forever.
Current pricing on both units is on the product pages, since plans and promotions change. Ask for the year-two figure before committing a whole fleet. That is the number you will live with.
Towing is the one trade where knowing the truck is stationary tells you nothing. You need to know whether the hydraulics are moving.
Ryan Horban
GPS Tracking Expert
Trailers and Recovered Vehicles
Neither tracker on this page works on an unpowered asset, which catches operators out.
A car trailer, a dolly, or a recovered vehicle in the impound yard has no twelve-volt feed. Those need a magnetic battery unit or a solar tracker instead.
Related reading
Choosing across a mixed fleet is covered in our guide to picking a GPS tracker for your fleet. Driver notice rules are in GPS tracking laws by state.
Sources
- 2025 Fleet Technology Trends Report, fuel saving figure, via Verizon Business
Know which trucks are working
Hardwired trackers with PTO and starter disable, plus plug-in units for the rest of the fleet.
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