PB001 and PB002 Vehicle Trackers

What a 4G tracker does inside a wider PDS installation

Trackers and terminals answer different questions. The terminal in the cab runs guidance, dispatch and job software for the driver. The tracker answers the fleet office's simpler questions, continuously and cheaply: where is each vehicle, which route did it take, and can that history be played back after the fact. The company describes its commercial vehicle locator box as customisable to each fleet's needs, which in practice means the reporting behaviour, platform connection and fitment are agreed per fleet rather than bought as a fixed consumer gadget. PB units therefore suit the vehicles in a fleet that need visibility but not a full cab terminal.

Questions to settle before you order PB trackers

Tracker projects go wrong on details rather than headlines. Confirm with the sales team which of the two listed units fits your vehicle type, the 4G band support for your country, how position data reaches your platform (and whether the PDS platform or your own system will host it), installation wiring on 12 V and 24 V vehicles, and what happens to tracking when a vehicle is outside coverage. Confirm minimum order quantities and lead times for your configuration as well, since fleet rollouts are usually scheduled around vehicle downtime windows.

• Which unit, PB001 or PB002, fits each vehicle class in your fleet
• 4G bands for your country and platform connection route
• Position reporting, trip playback and data hosting arrangement
• Wiring on 12 V and 24 V vehicles
• Behaviour outside mobile coverage
• Minimum order quantity and lead time for your rollout

How the PB001 / PB002 fits the wider PDS system

Within the wider PDS system, the trackers are the layer that never sleeps. A mounted terminal works when the vehicle works and the driver is aboard; a tracker reports position around the clock, including for vehicles that have no driver-facing workflow at all — pool cars, equipment carriers, trailers' tractors on simple shuttle work. The company describes its locator box as customisable to each fleet's needs, which fits how trackers are actually bought: reporting intervals, platform connection and fitment agreed per fleet, then installed in volume. Planned that way, PB units fill the visibility gaps between the fleet's fully terminal-equipped vehicles and give the office one continuous map instead of two partial ones.

The commercial shape of a tracker rollout differs from a terminal rollout, and it is worth enquiring in those terms. Unit pricing, platform or data arrangements, installation time per vehicle and minimum order quantities drive the real cost, because the hardware is multiplied across the whole fleet rather than a flagship few. Ask the sales team which unit suits mixed 12 V and 24 V fleets, how installation is handled for vehicles spread across sites, and what the reporting platform arrangement is — the company's own platform, or a feed into yours. Confirm lead times against your fitment schedule, since tracker programmes are usually fitted in waves around vehicle availability.