Two lists become one, joined by VIN. Trailers known to both systems are counted once.
| — | in Element only — not in RIM | |
| — | in both systems — matched by VIN | |
| — | in RIM with a VIN — but not in Element | |
| — | in RIM, no VIN recorded — can't be matched | |
| — | unique trailer records |
Each trailer is counted once. Element — the system of record — lists —. Because up to — of the no-VIN records may duplicate an Element trailer, the true fleet size is between roughly — and —. That gap is the fleet's own record-keeping gap, made visible by joining the two systems.
Every record is built from up to two independent sources:
Element Fleet System — the official ARC fleet database: VIN, unit number, plate, registration, driver, in-service date, location on file. Element Only trailers are in Element but were not captured in RIM.
RIM — physical records entered by chapter teams during inspections: condition, hitch, tire size, measurements, on-the-ground location. RIM Only trailers were found in the field but have no matching VIN in Element.
Both Sources trailers (— of —) are the highest-confidence records — verified by both systems.
Many states issue permanent trailer plates that never expire (IL, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, OH, WI, and others). Element requires a date in the expiration field and uses 2049-12-31 as a sentinel for "permanent." These carry a Permanent badge and are excluded from expiration alerts.
— trailers carry permanent plates.
When the "Missing or Stolen" query shows trailers with Unit Status = ACTIVE, that is a data-quality gap, not an error. Unit Status comes from Element; Missing/Stolen flags are extracted from free-text Notes, which Element's status does not auto-sync with. These need follow-up: locate the trailer, or update Element.
— trailers could not be decoded by the NHTSA database — their VINs are not the required 17 characters (transcription errors at entry). NHTSA spec columns (make, model, year, body type, axles) are blank for these.
Locations are geocoded from the address on file in Element — mostly rooftop/parcel accuracy. A few were corrected when the geocoder matched a city to the wrong state; those are marked zip_centroid_corrected. Map location reflects the address on file, not necessarily where the trailer is today.
The "Decommission" flag is extracted from free-text Notes ("decommissioned," "retired," "surplused," "sold," "scrapped"). Element's unit status may not reflect this if it was never formally updated; confirmed units should be removed from the active fleet in Element.
Expired — expiration date is in the past (— trailers). Expiring soon — within 90 days (— trailers). Permanent plates are excluded. Expiration data is only as current as Element's last update.
The database contains — RIM trailers with no VIN recorded. Of these, — sit within 0.1 mile of an Element-only trailer — plausibly the same physical trailer entered without its VIN, and so counted twice.
This cannot be resolved automatically: VIN-less RIM records rarely include make or year to compare, and some sites legitimately hold multiple trailers. Affected records carry a Possible Element Match field in the detail panel.
Bottom line: the true fleet size is between — and —. Resolving the rest requires field verification.
This dataset reflects Element and RIM data generated —. It is refreshed weekly from the latest field file; acquisitions, disposals, reassignments, and plate renewals appear at the next refresh.
| VIN | Chapter | Region | City / ST | Status | Plate Exp | Condition | Year | Len |
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