diff --git a/dashboard_api_rev.py b/dashboard_api_rev.py
index 92985c4..98530e1 100644
--- a/dashboard_api_rev.py
+++ b/dashboard_api_rev.py
@@ -31,12 +31,15 @@ is the base URL (the `N8N_BASE` constant in each dashboard SPA):
 
 from __future__ import annotations
 
+import asyncio
 import json
 import os
+import time
 from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
 from datetime import date, datetime, timedelta, timezone
 from urllib.parse import parse_qs
 
+import psycopg2
 import psycopg2.extras
 from fastapi import FastAPI, Request
 from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
@@ -57,10 +60,76 @@ _ALLOWED_ORIGINS = [
 ]
 
 
+# ── v_trips materialized-view refresher ─────────────────────────────────────
+# The Fleet Trips dashboard reads reporting.v_trips (a materialized view). Its
+# refresh used to be a scheduled n8n workflow; when n8n was retired the matview
+# went stale (data froze). We now keep it fresh in-process: a background loop
+# refreshes it on an interval. A Postgres advisory lock makes this safe across
+# uvicorn workers (only one worker refreshes per tick); the work runs in a
+# thread so the async event loop never blocks on the ~9s REFRESH.
+_DATABASE_URL = os.environ["DATABASE_URL"]
+_REFRESH_INTERVAL_S = int(os.getenv("VTRIPS_REFRESH_INTERVAL_S", "300"))
+_REFRESH_LOCK_KEY = 920_145  # arbitrary, stable advisory-lock key for this job
+
+
+def _refresh_v_trips_once() -> str:
+    """Refresh reporting.v_trips. Blocking — call via asyncio.to_thread.
+
+    Uses a dedicated autocommit connection: REFRESH ... CONCURRENTLY cannot run
+    inside a transaction block (so the pooled get_conn, which wraps a txn, won't
+    do). DATABASE_URL connects as a superuser, which may REFRESH the matview
+    even though reporting_refresher owns it.
+    """
+    conn = psycopg2.connect(_DATABASE_URL, connect_timeout=10)
+    try:
+        conn.autocommit = True
+        with conn.cursor() as cur:
+            cur.execute("SELECT pg_try_advisory_lock(%s)", (_REFRESH_LOCK_KEY,))
+            if not cur.fetchone()[0]:
+                return "skipped (another worker holds the lock)"
+            try:
+                t0 = time.monotonic()
+                cur.execute("REFRESH MATERIALIZED VIEW CONCURRENTLY reporting.v_trips")
+                dur_ms = int((time.monotonic() - t0) * 1000)
+                cur.execute(
+                    "INSERT INTO reporting.refresh_log"
+                    "(refreshed_at, source, duration_ms, row_count, notes) "
+                    "VALUES (now(), 'dashboard_api', %s,"
+                    " (SELECT count(*) FROM reporting.v_trips), 'scheduled')",
+                    (dur_ms,),
+                )
+                return f"refreshed in {dur_ms}ms"
+            finally:
+                cur.execute("SELECT pg_advisory_unlock(%s)", (_REFRESH_LOCK_KEY,))
+    finally:
+        conn.close()
+
+
+async def _refresh_loop():
+    # Brief startup delay so the first refresh doesn't race container init.
+    await asyncio.sleep(15)
+    while True:
+        try:
+            result = await asyncio.to_thread(_refresh_v_trips_once)
+            log.info("v_trips refresh: %s", result)
+        except Exception:
+            log.exception("v_trips refresh failed (will retry next interval)")
+        await asyncio.sleep(_REFRESH_INTERVAL_S)
+
+
 @asynccontextmanager
 async def lifespan(app: FastAPI):
-    log.info("Dashboard API starting (v1.0). Origins=%s", _ALLOWED_ORIGINS)
+    log.info(
+        "Dashboard API starting (v1.1). Origins=%s. v_trips refresh every %ss.",
+        _ALLOWED_ORIGINS, _REFRESH_INTERVAL_S,
+    )
+    refresher = asyncio.create_task(_refresh_loop())
     yield
+    refresher.cancel()
+    try:
+        await refresher
+    except asyncio.CancelledError:
+        pass
     close_pool()