The world of truck driving is changing at a fast pace and drivers are compelled to keep up. You don’t want to be stuck in the 20th century, do you? Even if you are an old timer, you have to admit the new technology makes life easier for truck drivers. In retrospect, the trucking industry has embraced mobile apps that help save time and improvise efficiency for CDL drivers. Although there are millions of all kinds of apps available in the market, there are a few outstanding apps that seem to be popular among truck drivers.
Trucker Tools
One of the best trucker apps, created by Overdrive, this is a free app available on Play Store and App Store. In fact, it is highly rated by truck drivers since it is an app that combines different essential features to make life on the road more convenient. Whether you want to plan a route, find the cheapest diesel price around or know the weather forecast, Trucker Tools will help you out. Additionally, it can track down the nearest weigh station, truck stops, and service centers. Even when you want to track a shipment route and acquire a real-time status update, the app will sort it out.
Drivewyze
This app allows truckers to legally bypass inspection sites and weigh stations in at least 35 states. But how is it done? Drivewyze accesses the Department of Information database whenever a truck approaches a weigh station or an inspection site. If your trucking history is on the good books, you will likely get a free pass to continue driving. The app developers seem to have a memorandum of understanding with state commercial vehicle enforcement agencies across 35 states. The subscription for the app is $15 a month but it is worth it since bypassing a single weigh station saves a trucker at least $9 in fuel costs. It is probably more suitable for interstate truck drivers.
TruckPath Pro
The unique feature of TruckPath Pro is that it lets truck drivers communicate in real-time. The purpose of TruckPath Pro is to update on how to avoid traffic jams, finding the best rest areas, truck stops, and any other relevant information through recommendation by other truck drivers. Due to its crowdsourcing technique, the information is reliable and up to date. The app developers have also included a section for carriers and brokers. A somehow similar alternative for Truckpath Pro is Waze App.
Dispatcher–The Trucker’s App / Cargomatic
Dispatcher- the Trucker’s App and Cargomatic are 2 different apps but they serve the same purpose- to solve the biggest problem among independent truck drivers. If you are independent trucker especially a newbie then you know sometimes it is not that easy to find a client. Thanks to Dispatcher and Cargomatic, which are based on the Uber-like model, it is now possible for truck drivers to find a load to haul at a push of a button. In fact, you don’t have to worry about the payment since it usually deposited 24 hours after completing the gig.
Transflo Mobile
The developers of Transflo Mobile have over 10 years experience creating the system. It simply makes your paperwork easier by offering an advanced system of backed up document access and storage. App users can choose from several modules such as data validation, indexing, retrieval, document scanning/faxing and cloud storage.
Bigroad
The Bigroad app simplifies the tedious work of writing on a log book and saves you precious time. Apart from conveniently sending documents to your company, the app also helps the user to save images of documents and logs plus locate the nearest weigh stations. The time a truck driver spends on the road is automatically calculated by the app logistics based on HOS rules.
Fuelbook
The app was created by guys from the transportation industry back in 2010 to solve the problem of saving cost on fuel prices. Fuelbook services cover fuel prices across 7,000 locations for fleets, truckers and individual drivers. In fact, since its inception, Fuelbook acknowledges it has helped drivers save fuel more than 8 million times worth $3 billion dollars. Other features of Fuelbook include GPS check in and parking status updates. The app is free to download. However, there are extra charges varying on the services or plans preferred by the user.
My Fitness Pal
Technically, My Fitness Pal is not an app for truckers but it helps solves the problem of unhealthy habits on the road. It is a fact most truck drivers spend their days on the road eating unhealthy junk foods and rarely working out. The long-term result can cause lifestyle diseases such as high blood pressure and heart complications. But with My Fitness Pal, you can track down calories, fat grams and sugar grams in your food and drinks. The app also tells the driver how to keep up a balanced diet by mixing up proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and water in a healthy manner. Of course, the app features a daily workout routine that estimates how many calories you burn when doing in-truck exercises such as crunches and sit ups.
There are many emerging apps specialized for the trucking industry trying to outdo each other. Competition is an advantage to the consumer and before you download an app, check out reviews from drivers and dispatchers. Additionally, make sure to consult your carrier company. There are companies that will recommend or supply specific best trucker apps for their drivers. Nevertheless, why not keep up with the latest technology trend in the trucking industry once in a while? You won’t even break a sweat. The tools and prices will always change but the need to deliver goods and services efficiently will remain the same. Also, check out our CDL testing app.
Finally an advice from Qwireless, please avoid getting too caught up on the trucking apps which can lead to distracted driving. Rather than checking your app while driving, it is safer to check out the apps prior to the trip or at a truck stop.