# PTO On/Off Reader: Proving the Winch Ran, for Tow Billing and Hydraulic Maintenance

A tow operator bills for a winch-out; a refuse fleet maintains its packer on hours; a vacuum truck charges by pump time. All three depend on knowing when the power take-off was engaged. The PTO On/Off Reader puts that on the GO device, so PTO time is a data stream in MyGeotab with the vehicle's location.

Source: https://www.highpointgps.com/resources/pto-on-off-reader-tow-billing
By Stefano Mazzone, IT Technical Support Specialist — published 2026-09-18, updated 2026-09-18

## What PTO Time Is Worth

The power take-off drives whatever the vocational body does: the winch on a wrecker, the packer on a refuse truck, the pump on a vacuum or water truck, the boom on a bucket truck, the mixer drum. When it is engaged the truck is doing its actual job, and when it is not the truck is driving or idling. Fleets that bill for the job — a winch-out at a rate, pump time by the hour — need the engagement record to invoice; fleets that maintain the body need PTO hours, not engine hours, to schedule service; and every vocational fleet wants to separate productive idle from waste.

## What the Reader Does

The PTO On/Off Reader connects to the PTO's engagement signal and to the GO device, and reports every change of state — on, off, with time — into MyGeotab as a data stream on the vehicle. The platform then does what it does with any stream: PTO time per trip and per day, PTO time inside a customer's geofence for billing, alerts when the PTO runs outside working hours or away from a job site, and maintenance intervals on PTO hours for the body's hydraulics.

## Who Uses It

Towing and recovery operators, where the winch record backs the invoice and the motor club or insurer's audit. Refuse and vacuum fleets, where packer and pump hours drive maintenance and idle policy. Utility and construction fleets with booms, augers and pumps. Any operation where 'was the equipment actually used' is a billing, maintenance or dispute question.

## Installation

An installer connects the reader to the PTO signal on the body and to the GO device; the data stream is named and the rules and reports configured in MyGeotab. High Point GPS installs PTO readers on tow, refuse, vacuum and utility vehicles for fleets in Quebec, Ontario and the northeastern US.

## FAQ

### What is the PTO On/Off Reader?

A sensor connected to the power take-off's engagement signal and the Geotab GO device that reports PTO on and off states, with time and location, into MyGeotab.

### How does it help tow billing?

The winch engagement record, with location and time, backs the invoice for a winch-out and answers a motor club's or insurer's audit.

### Can it drive maintenance schedules?

Yes. PTO hours can be used as the interval basis for servicing the body's hydraulics.

### Does it separate productive idle from waste?

Yes. Idle with PTO engaged is the job; idle without it is the report the fleet acts on.

### What vehicles can it go on?

Any vehicle with a PTO: wreckers, refuse trucks, vacuum and water trucks, bucket trucks, mixers.

## Sources

- [Geotab: IOX Add-Ons](https://www.geotab.com/hardware/iox-expansion/)
- [Geotab Marketplace](https://marketplace.geotab.com/)