A new telematics system for its service trucks was unveiled at the Maintainer Corporation of Iowa booth at the Work Truck Show this March in Indianapolis.
Called Maintainer Connect, the system can be added “to any vehicles manufactured with the CAN wiring system,” said a news release from Maintainer.
“Telematics is pretty new to the industry,” Shawn Hamilton, business development manager for Maintainer, said at the Work Truck Show. What’s unique about Maintainer Connect is that it integrates with existing chassis telematics platforms like Samsara, Verizon Connect, and Geotab. “Our customers are already using those products and we can tie it in and give them the real data that they need without having to find another platform,” Hamilton said.
While a mobile mechanic will rarely use the telematics system, it is would be useful for a fleet manager or business owner, “especially if he’s got a dispersed fleet of mechanics trucks across an area,” Hamilton said.
“He would be able in real time to see if a guy is using his crane properly,” Hamilton said. “Or if a component like an air compressor needs to be serviced, he can get that in real time.”
The system can use GPS to monitor location and monitor many other truck functions, including power take-off hours.
“A subscription to access the data will be free for the first year and a minimal monthly charge after that,” Nathan Schiermeyer, Maintainer’s director of product development and reliability, said in the news release.
The company, based in Sheldon, Iowa, also demonstrated the new system at ConExpo-Con/Agg the following week in Las Vegas.
Among the trucks on display at Maintainer’s Work Truck Show booth was a black beauty the company put together for S St. George Enterprises Inc., a site and utility contractor based in Fredonia, N.Y.
Shawn Hamilton of Maintainer Corporation of Iowa checks out a truck the company put together for a customer in New York state.Photo: Keith Norbury
“We brought it straight from the factory,” Hamilton said. “We asked them at one point if we could put it in show and they said yes.” In fact, the first time the new owners laid eyes on the truck was at the show.
For more information about Maintainer, visit www.maintainer.com.