Auxiliary Equipment | Fleet Management
Auxiliary equipment in fleet vehicle management refers to any manual, mechanical, electrical or hydraulic device mounted to a vehicle and powered by the vehicle’s engine (or its own motor) that enables the vehicle or the device to perform work beyond basic transportation duties¹. Regulatory guidance includes “the structure or fixture designed to contain or support the load” — in practice, the truck or trailer body itself — as auxiliary equipment when it is permanently installed on the chassis². Because the power to run these accessories is tapped from the driveline or electrical system, telematics providers treat devices such as power-take-offs (PTOs) as auxiliary equipment, flagging engagement hours for maintenance and fuel-use analysis³ ⁴.
Typical examples start with purpose-built truck bodies — dump, service, flat-bed or refrigerated — that transform an incomplete chassis into a task-specific platform² ⁵. Mechanically, a PTO transfers engine torque to hydraulic pumps, winches or generators, enabling functions such as raising a dump bed, operating a crane, or powering a mobile compressor without a separate engine⁶. On the lighter-duty side, ladder racks fixed to pickups or vans secure long ladders above the cargo bed, freeing load space and reducing the risk of dropped objects on the road⁷.
Managing these auxiliaries is a core fleet responsibility, as the added mass, aerodynamic drag and engine load affect fuel burn, emissions and preventive-maintenance scheduling — metrics that telematics dashboards track by logging PTO engagement alongside idling time³ ⁴. When a fleet installs or swaps a body or other equipment it becomes the “final-stage manufacturer,” legally responsible for certifying that the completed vehicle meets all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards⁸, so compliance and liability must be factored in from the outset. Accurately budgeting for acquisition, installation, certification and lifecycle upkeep of auxiliary equipment therefore feeds straight into total-cost-of-ownership calculations and determines whether the enhanced capability delivers real operational value⁵.
¹ “Vehicle auxiliary equipment” definition, Law Insider (accessed Apr 24 2025).
² Interpretation Letter “Colman,” National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (Jan 21 2002).
³ A. Bondo, “The power of PTO connections in telematics,” Geotab Blog (Feb 8 2021, upd. Dec 17 2021).
⁴ “PTO/AUX & Idle Time,” Samsara Help Center (upd. Mar 14 2025).
⁵ “Certification Responsibilities for End-Users that Mount Truck Bodies on New, Incomplete Chassis,” NTEA News (Jun 2014).
⁶ “What is Power Take-Off (PTO)?” Geotab Glossary (Nov 28 2024).
⁷ T. Goldmeyer, “How a Ladder Rack Can Benefit Service Fleets,” Work Truck Online (Jan 29 2015).
⁸ 49 CFR Part 568 §568.6 “Requirements for final-stage manufacturers,” 2024 ed.