Pre-2000 Engine, how long till I have to comply?

I didn't see anyone discussing leasing on to a carrier.

 

Irregardless, the powers that be, especially insurance companies, generally have as much to say about it as any carrier might. And it will likely come to that. If the truck used in Interstate transport cannot use an ELD, they could become uninsurable in the future. That is the same thing as being with a carrier that would require the same thing. Time to think outside the box. Insurance companies have been the driving force behind this ELD thing as much or more than the carriers and trucking associations have. The mandate just made it easier for them to hike rates or disallow coverage in the future. Either way, making it prohibitive to operate without being able to use an ELD.

 

Eroad has a 3 wire system that hooks to chassis and uses GPS for logging purposes

 

Well, that's not a valid elog. They can sell it as AOBR, but come Dec 18th it's useless.
ELD's cannot use GPS for movement data, only for location data.

Will GPS-derived data for mileage be allowed as a substitute for data that cannot be readily obtained from a vehicle electronic control module (ECM)?
No, the ELD must be able to monitor engine operation to automatically capture required data. A GPS is not integrally synchronized with a vehicle’s engine, and cannot be a substitute for required ECM data to comply with the ELD rule.