Beta. Our team helps set up direct ELD connections during early access. Samsara and Motive connections are independent integrations, not official partnerships or endorsements.
Start with the access your carrier can give you
A truck may have an ELD, but that does not mean your team has access to its data. The fleet needs to authorize a connection or provide a supported sharing link. LoadSignal cannot obtain a truck's position from its carrier name or DOT number alone.
There are two workflows. An account connection is for a fleet you run: a carrier, or a 3PL with its own trucks, connects its own Samsara or Motive account once and every mapped truck reports. A carrier share link is for trucks you do not run: the carrier sends a live-sharing link for one truck and you attach it to the load. The link gives you the narrower information the carrier chose to share, so the two should not be treated as interchangeable.
Swipe or scroll sideways to compare all columns.
| Compare | Account connection | Carrier share link |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Authorized API credentials and provider permissions | A supported live-sharing URL from the carrier |
| Data | Vehicle positions; hours-of-service data when available and properly linked | The position information exposed by the shared view |
| Setup | Assisted onboarding, then match the vehicle to the load | Attach the supported link to the load |
| Failure to watch | Revoked credentials, missing permissions, or stale provider data | Expired or revoked link, or a shared view that stops updating |
Which ELDs work today
Account connection: Samsara and Motive, for your own fleet.
Carrier share links: Samsara, Motive, EVA ELD, PTI ELD, ELD Rider, Sparkle ELD, Optima ELD, Fort Knox ELD, Hive ELD, ELD Peak, Stellar ELD, Factor ELD, Loop ELD, Mr.ELD, Nomad ELD, OZTP ELD, ProLogs. A link from one of these is read on its own once it is attached to the load.
GPS trackers with share links: Zaphira GPS, WhatsGPS, GPSNow, JusTrack. These carry the truck's position only, nothing about the driver or hours of service.
Not yet supported: Geotab, Verizon Connect, Omnitracs, EROAD and TT ELD, among others. If your carriers use an ELD that is not listed, send us one real share link from it and we will check whether its shared view can be read. Until then, a browser tracking link covers the load.
What to ask the carrier for
For a truck you do not run, ask for a share link, not for log-in details or an API key. Most carriers can make one in a minute and many already send them unprompted. A useful request names three things:
- The truck, not the company. A link for the assigned unit, so the position you see is the load's truck.
- The whole run. Many ELDs let the carrier set how long a link lasts. Ask for one that covers pickup through delivery, plus a margin for delays.
- A name to call. The person who can send a new link if this one expires or the truck is swapped.
Attach the link to the load, then confirm a fresh position arrives before you rely on it. Putting the request in the tracking clause of your rate confirmation gets it agreed before the load moves.
Match the feed to the truck hauling the load
A working connection is only the first check. The vehicle identity and load assignment need to agree. During onboarding, verify a recent position for the assigned truck and check its timestamp. A response from an API can still contain an old fix.
Hours-of-service availability depends on what the provider exposes and whether the relevant driver is linked. A sharing URL is not permission to read a driver's full ELD record. We do not claim HOS-aware planning from a share link alone.
Freshness matters more than the source label
Supported share links are polled on a one-minute schedule. That is the retrieval cadence, not a promise that the provider produces a new position every minute. Network delays, provider availability, and the carrier's sharing settings affect what arrives.
As positions arrive, they feed the load's visibility and exception workflows. An ELD connection does not replace monitoring for stale data, route deviation, or appointment risk. An ETA remains a planning estimate, not a guarantee.
Have a fallback before the first gap
Agree on who at the carrier can renew access, confirm the assigned vehicle, and respond when a feed stops. If an account connection is unavailable, the carrier may be able to supply a sharing link. A participating driver can also use a browser tracking link or the native app.
For the link-specific steps and limitations, read tracking a load from a Samsara or Motive share link. For the follow-up process, see exception management.