Trucks & Fleet · updated 2026-08-08

How to see your trucks on the live map in Dumpster Controls

Truck positions come from your drivers' phones, so the fleet shows up on the map with zero hardware. Here is how to read it as the owner.

Before you start

Drivers signed in to the Dumpster Controls mobile app with location sharing allowed on their phones.

## Open the dashboard map
The dashboard map carries a "Live Fleet View" badge with a pulsing green dot. Make sure the "Drivers" layer is on, using the "Layers" button or the layer chips along the bottom; the chip also shows how many drivers are live right now.
## Read the truck pins
Each driver appears as a truck-shaped pin with their initials. A green dot on the pin means the position is live (reported within the last 5 minutes). A gray pin means the driver was seen recently but not in the last 5 minutes.
## Click a pin
The popup shows the driver's name and their status: "Online" with live tracking, or "Seen {x}m ago" for a stale position. Drivers with no position in the last 30 minutes leave the map until their phone reports again.
## Let it refresh
Driver positions poll about every 30 seconds, so the pins move on their own while the map is open. No manual refresh is needed.
## Follow one truck on its route
For a single driver's day, use Dispatch: click "View route" on the driver's lane and the live truck marker rides along the numbered stops. If the position is old, the marker grays out with the note "Last position over 5 min ago".

What happens next

Office teammates using the mobile app appear too, as person-shaped pins in blue, so you can tell trucks from staff at a glance.

Troubleshooting

A driver never appears on the map.

The map only plots positions reported by the mobile app. Check that the driver installed the app, is signed in, and allowed location sharing on the phone.

A pin is gray even though the driver is working.

The phone has not reported a fresh position in the last 5 minutes; poor signal or a paused phone can cause it. The pin stays visible for up to 30 minutes and turns live again on the next report.

Related guides

Frequently asked questions

Is Dumpster Controls really free?

Yes. The entire app is free for any company at any fleet size: dispatch, online booking, the driver app, invoicing, the Tresha AI assistant and every other feature, with no monthly fee, no trial period and no credit card to sign up. The only cost on the free plan is optional card processing when a customer pays by card through the platform: 2.99% plus $3.99 per transaction on the free plan. The entire app is free; an optional $169 per month plan lowers that to 2.99% plus $0.30 and adds a Sponsored spotlight in the public company directory. Prices as published on dumpstercontrols.io/pricing on 2026-09-23.

Do you charge per driver, per truck or per order?

No. There is no per-driver, per-truck, per-user or per-order fee, and no order limit. A company with one truck and a company with twenty pay the same for the software: nothing.

Is there a contract?

No. There is no contract, no minimum term and no setup fee. You create the account yourself, and on the free plan there is nothing to cancel because nothing is billed. The optional $169 lower card rate plan is billed month to month.

Which countries and languages are supported?

Dumpster Controls serves hauling companies in the United States and Canada. The app interface and the Tresha AI assistant are available in English, Spanish and Portuguese. The public pages, such as the blog, the help center and the landfill finder, are in English.

How do I switch from another dumpster software?

Create a free account at dumpstercontrols.io/login, with no sales call and no credit card. Then import your customers from a CSV file using the template provided in the app; past orders can also be imported from a CSV. Container sizes and pricing are set up in Settings. The landfill database, with 1,750 active US and Canadian landfills as counted on 2026-10-01, is already loaded, so disposal sites do not need to be typed in. Step-by-step guides are at dumpstercontrols.io/help.