US Fleet Tracking Review: Is it Right for Your Business?

Top tech and great customer care make US Fleet Tracking a winner

US Fleet Tracking: Background

Oklahoma City-based US Fleet Tracking (USFT) bills itself as “the No. 1 manufacturer and provider of live vehicle tracking systems in the world.” It was founded in 2005. Founder and CEO Jerry Hunter has shepherded this small company through several years of nearly exponential growth that saw USFT listed in the INC. 500, a list of the nation's fastest-growing companies.

Its product line includes the first real-time GPS tracking system, asset and vehicle tracking, and vehicle location systems. US Fleet Tracking’s granular tracking (capable of tracking vehicles at one-second intervals in real time with some models) is a justifiable point of pride for the company.

USFT's equipment is affordable, with a marked emphasis on ease of use. That formula would appear to have contributed greatly to the company's popularity among those looking for fleet tracking, while USFT equipment has eased logistical issues at every Super Bowl since Super Bowl XLI, the 2010 Winter and 2012 Summer Olympic Games, the 2012 Republican National Convention, and the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon has raised the brand's visibility and public awareness.

The company touts near-global coverage, guaranteeing service in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Australia and Africa, with a dealer network to match.

US Fleet Tracking Testimonial

Products

US Fleet Tracking offers several live GPS solutions for tracking, dispatch, and other applications. Units can be self-sufficient or can work in conjunction with certain Garmin GPS systems. Depending on the unit type, they will be either battery powered or hard-wired into the vehicle, with a handful of models featuring additional battery backup. The company also offers accessories and peripherals, including wiring harnesses, USB cigarette lighter adapters, USF replacement antennas, interface cables, cases, and wall chargers.

Each model is capable of sending text and email alerts to the driver. All units will send speeding, aggressive driving and geofencing warnings, in addition to routing updates. Some units will also send idling advisories, and/or include a panic feature.

All models also include a Group Vehicle Feature, 90-Day Historical Playback, live traffic and weather overlays, multiple map views, one-way messaging, map searching, unlimited address markers, and full reporting capability. To this already robust feature set, some models add portability, vehicle maintenance modules, dispatch, ERP integration, and battery backups. The cost per unit ranges from $199.00 for the entry-level OBD-V3 GPS Tracker, to $378.00 for the portable, battery-backup capable PT-V3 Pro (which comes in its own Pelican case).

Service Cost Plans

USFT's tracking service is three-tiered:

Prospective customers should be aware that not all devices offered will support all of the plans offered. Also worthy of note is that all plans, on all devices, follow the same month-to-month fee structure, with no contracts involved.

Support

In addition to its robust dealer network, US Fleet Tracking offers full technical support for its products. This includes live phone support that is based in the United States, and extends to product manuals, training via live and archived how-to videos, and a web-based Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page.

Case Study

WaterTrac

US Fleet Tracking can point to several examples of its product streamlining business processes by eliminating onerous paperwork while still maintaining regulatory compliance. One example is the company's work with WaterTrac, a company specialized in regulatory reporting for the oil and gas industry.

USFT's live vehicle tracking system is integrated with proprietary WaterTrac data, decreasing compliancy paperwork by an estimated 40 to 50 hours per well site. Less time spent on paperwork translates to more time spent servicing clients. Charles Keith, WaterTrac's president and General Manager, cites the company's ten-second updates, calling them “the best feature we’ve seen at no huge additional cost,” adding that, “the Weather Overlay feature lets us know the current weather conditions of the immediate areas employees are located.”

Our Verdict

US Fleet Tracking prides itself on a tradition of innovation that isn't encumbered by contracts. This, in turn, allows their clients to reorient their focus to other mission-critical segments of their businesses, while turning a small short-term investment into a significant long-term savings in man hours, fuel consumption and — crucially — time.