Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
We were unable to send your email.
Click here to try again.
On Technology: Tattle-Trail may be boon in the long haul
By
Madhusmita Bora, Times staff writer
In print: Saturday, April 12, 2008
Tattletales are bad, but not if they can avert an impending disaster such as a towing vehicle that's about to ditch its trailer. Then they become your best friend. When Jim Aid got tired of watching over his shoulder while hauling race cars and hydroplanes cross country, he decided to get his own version of a tattletale. Along the way, he decided to make some money. The 59-year-old racing fan gathered a team, and worked on a tow monitor. He named his product and company well: Tattle-Trail. The Largo-based business is officially launching the monitoring gizmo at the end of this month. It has two parts to it, comes in a plastic portable box and runs on wireless communication. All it needs is a 12-volt DC supply and a one knob-alarm adjustment. An incessant beeping alerts the driver about trouble at the back of the trailer. The price tag: $598. The technology is similar to the Nintendo Wii, Aid said, and uses a three-axis accelerometer. It's a classic example of how entrepreneurs often mold existing technology to whip out a new application and business. He said trailer accessory producers are already lining up to buy the product. "Anybody that's towed a vehicle or trailer understands it's difficult to know what's going on behind a trailer, particularly when you are towing it behind a heavy vehicle like a motor home," Aid said. He should know. He has done 350,000 miles of towing in 35 years, averaging about 5 trips a year. At least one out of every five tows posed a glitch for him. There's no way of telling yet whether Aid's product will send him laughing to the bank. Right now he's hoping that it will create enough tattle in the marketplace. Madhusmita Bora can be reached at mbora@sptimes.com or (813) 225-3112
[Last modified: Apr 11, 2008 11:07 PM]
|
News
