Solar-Powered Trailer Tracking Debuts

An Indiana company has introduced a solar-powered trailer-tracking unit that requires no battery or connection to a truck’s electrical system.

GPS Management Systems displayed the unit, called the MB-3000-TLU, at the Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky., last week. The flat, roof-mounted unit roughly 9 inches wide by 23 inches long, is about 2 inches deep and weighs about 12 pounds. The unit contains a GPS receiver and a transmitter that reports over the Aeris Microburst network.
According to GPS Management, the MB-3000-TLU is powered by photo-electric cells and a backup battery that will support transmission without sunlight for up to 60 days.
The unit can be configured to report its positions automatically or to report under defined conditions – such as entering or leaving a specified area. Reports can be received as e-mail, fax or as text messages on certain mobile phones and pagers.
A single MB-3000-TLU costs $595. GPS Management said it will negotiate discounts for bulk purchases.