The honest answer: it depends on what’s being tracked
We’ve watched dozens of CE operators specify the wrong category for the job — wired telematics on a parked trailer, a battery tracker on a tractor that needed CAN-bus data. The decision is not “which technology is better.” It’s “which technology fits the asset class and the data you actually need.”
The decision matrix
| Asset class | Ping frequency | Power available | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tractor / rigid truck | Live | Yes (12/24V) | Telematics Pro — CAN-bus, tachograph, dual SIM |
| Trailer (powered yard) | Live during ops | Sometimes | Telematics Pro if powered, else Asset Tracker Lite |
| Trailer (drop-and-go) | Daily / on-event | No | Asset Tracker Lite — 7-year battery |
| Swap body | Daily | No | Asset Tracker Lite |
| High-value cargo | Live during transit | No | Asset Tracker Lite in live mode |
| Generator / asset on site | Weekly | No | Asset Tracker Lite |
The real decision criteria
- Do you need CAN-bus data? Engine load, AdBlue, fuel, fault codes — these only come from a wired unit reading the bus. No battery tracker can give you this.
- Do you need tachograph compliance? Then you need a wired unit with D8 protocol support.
- Is the asset stationary 80% of the time? Battery tracker. Live telematics on a parked trailer just burns money.
- Is install time more expensive than the unit? Battery tracker. Asset Tracker Lite is a five-minute magnetic mount; Telematics Pro needs a workshop session.
Total cost of ownership, three-year view
For a 200-vehicle fleet with 350 trailers, the TCO maths typically land at:
- Telematics Pro on all 200 vehicles (hardware + monthly): the data pays for itself in fuel and route optimisation within ~14 months.
- Asset Tracker Lite on 280 of the 350 trailers (the high-utilisation ones): the recovery rate on stolen / strayed assets pays for itself on the first incident.
- The remaining 70 trailers stay un-tracked. The marginal cost of tracking the last 20% rarely pays back in three years.
The lesson: don’t try to track everything to the same standard. Tier your fleet, match the hardware to the asset class.