Understanding onboard hardware: trackers, cameras and tachographs in 2026

Established fleet management providers often showcase an impressive technological arsenal. Their brochures promise to turn every company van into a highly connected vehicle. But do you really need that much equipment to manage field teams effectively? For many SMEs, extensive hardware is a significant financial and technical obstacle.

The fully equipped illusion and its hidden costs

Searches for a Webfleet truck GPS tracker or truck-mounted camera generally relate to specific uses: transporting high-value goods, video evidence after a serious accident, or complex international logistics.

Installing this physical equipment involves major hidden costs:

• Vehicle downtime: fitting requires keeping vans in a workshop for hours or even days with a specialist technician.
• Hardware maintenance: devices can fail, cables wear out and cameras lose their settings, leading to further service costs.
• Rigid subscriptions: each installed device is usually tied to a 24- or 36-month contract that cannot be cancelled even if the vehicle is sold or taken off the road.

The same applies to integrating Webfleet digital tachographs. While this technology is a strict legal requirement for heavy goods vehicles, it is unnecessary for a fleet of tradespeople, maintenance technicians or sales representatives driving light commercial vehicles.

Back to essentials with a software-only approach

If your main goal is to simplify vehicle assignments, digitise condition reports, track maintenance schedules and monitor mileage costs, you do not need proprietary hardware. A standard smartphone is enough.

The Tuloss Fleet driver web interface lets drivers view missions and submit mileage readings, receipts or incidents. An internet connection is required to send data. Offline mode and local synchronisation are not available.

How Tuloss Fleet works online

The Tuloss Fleet driver web interface lets drivers view missions and submit mileage readings, receipts or incidents. An internet connection is required to send data. Offline mode and local synchronisation are not available.

Tuloss Fleet offers monthly or annual subscriptions according to the selected plan and currency. Modules and quotas depend on the displayed plan. Credit- or token-based billing is not available.