Off-road race timing · iPhone
Time the trail.
Any trail becomes a race course. Pick a course, tap START, and drive — TrailTimer handles the timing so you can just send it and see your line, your splits, your time.
Crew invite
A rider wants you on their leaderboard
This link carries a TrailTimer follow code. Open it in the app to follow them — their shared courses and results ride along automatically.
Don't have the app yet? Install TrailTimer first, then tap the button again — or copy the code and paste it under Friends → Add.
CP 01 · Race day
Time your crew like a real race
You're the one who organizes it and the one trying to win it. One invite code gets the whole crew in — no transponders, no wristbands, no timing trailer. Line up the running order, watch riders on a live map while you wait your turn, and see times land on the leaderboard the moment they finish — hillclimbs, trail sprints, time trials on private land, whatever you and your buddies dream up.
- Every run scored automatically, to the thousandth of a second.
- The leaderboard updates before your helmet is off.
- Like-for-like class filters — a 250 two-stroke isn't racing a 450.
- Everyone's phone is the timing rig. Nothing to buy, nothing to install.
CP 02 · Setup
A course in minutes, not an afternoon
Drive the route once, slowly, and TrailTimer places the checkpoints for you. Prefer to do it by hand? Drop pins on the map. Either way, your course is ready to race the same afternoon.
- Drive-through survey auto-places gates at the slow spots.
- Import real trails from OpenStreetMap and race them.
- Checkpoints trigger themselves as you cross them.
- Loops or point-to-point, forward or reversed — the woods aren't a circuit, and that's the point.
CP 03 · Trust the number
Built for the trees
Trees, canyons, and jacket pockets eat GPS — and a timer you can't trust is a coaster. TrailTimer shows you honest signal health before you launch, and if the signal blinks mid-run it recovers the missed gates when it comes back instead of throwing the run away. Every result syncs to iCloud the moment you stop, so bragging rights don't live and die on one phone.
- An honest GPS meter before you start — no surprises at the finish line.
- Dead spot mid-run? Missed checkpoints are recovered, in order, automatically.
- Results sync to iCloud instantly — safe from cracked screens and creek crossings.
CP 04 · Telemetry
See what your machine is doing
Plug an inexpensive OBD adapter into your rig and your speed, RPM, and engine vitals show up right on the timing screen — with warnings when you're running it hard. Side-by-sides don't even need an OBD port: TrailTimer reads Polaris and other powersports machines straight off the CAN bus, automatically.
- Speed and RPM overlaid on every run.
- Brake-on zones shaded behind your speed trace.
- No OBD port on your SxS? The CAN bus is decoded for you — Polaris and more.
CP 05 · Relive it
Fly your run back in 3D
Watch a flyover of your run over real terrain, with the actual line you drove and an elevation profile of the climb. The spin at the top of this page? That's the app — the Jackson Hole Loop near Moab, from the same terrain engine.
- The exact line you drove, played back gate to gate.
- Elevation profile of every climb and drop.
- Share the flyover, not just the number.
CP 06 · Share it
Results that settle it
Leaderboards, split times, personal bests, and head-to-head comparisons. Share a clean results card to the group chat before the tailgate closes. Publish your best courses for others to run, or share them with friends by link.
CP 07 · For the builders
Optional: DIY checkpoint timing
Handy with a soldering iron? You can build a small RFID reader that rides on your machine and mark the course with cheap tags for transponder-style checkpoints — the kind of setup the big races charge hundreds a year for, from parts that cost less than a tank of race gas. It's a project, not a requirement: GPS timing needs none of it.
Questions
Do I need special hardware?
No. GPS timing works with just an iPhone — pick a course, tap START, and drive. An OBD adapter for live gauges is an easy add-on, and there's a DIY RFID option for builders.
What vehicles is it for?
UTV / side-by-side, dirt bike, ATV, and built 4x4 — hillclimbs, trail sprints, and private-land time trials for a group of 5–25.
How hard is the course setup?
Drive the route once, slowly, and TrailTimer places the checkpoints for you. Or drop pins on the map by hand. Ready to race the same afternoon.
What happens if GPS drops out mid-run?
TrailTimer is built for the trees. It shows honest signal health before you launch, and if GPS blinks mid-run it watches the gates ahead — when the signal comes back, missed checkpoints are recovered in order and the run keeps counting.
Is TrailTimer free?
Timing, group race days, and leaderboards are free. An optional Pro upgrade adds the deep stuff — your full results history and telemetry analysis.
What's the DIY RFID option?
A build-it-yourself upgrade: a small UHF RFID reader on your machine plus cheap tags on the course, for transponder-style checkpoints. Full build guide is here.
Coming soon
Time your next run
TrailTimer is in the final stretch before App Store release.