When your day is spent on the road, stay caught up on paperwork, check for traffic accidents, and track bad weather with the help of these 10 free (or nearly free) smartphone apps. We compared dozens of publications, blogs, and researched companies catering to truckers and trucking companies to compile our list of the top ten apps for truckers.
Top Apps for Truckers
(1) Trucker Path
Available on iPhone and Android, Trucker Path is a popular logistical assistant app geared toward professional truck drivers and trucking companies. This free app lists weigh stations and truck stops in any specific area. In addition, it will list open and closed DAT weigh stations in all 50 states along with a map view, address information, and phone/fax numbers. Users also get updated user reviews on truck stops and restaurants, current weather, truck wash locations, fuel prices and stations as well as driving directions.
(2) Waze
Waze is a free community-based traffic and navigation app that allows drivers to actively share accidents, police traps, and other hazards. Users can view and post new information plus see all alert locations via an interactive map. (Available for iPhone, Android and Windows.)
(3) Beat the Traffic+
For just $3.99 this app gives truckers the ability to find the fastest route by avoiding traffic problems or bad road conditions as they are posted in real time. (Available for iPhone and Android.)
(4) The Weather Channel
Truckers rely heavily on the free Weather Channel App to plan their route around the most accurate forecast available that is updated in real time. (Available for iPhone, Android and Windows.)
(5) Fuelbook for Android and iPhone is a powerful data-driven app for professional truck drivers that helps them search diesel prices at over 6,600 truck stops nationwide and across Canada. Fuel prices are updated six times each day along with a full list of truck stop services including parking status and much more.
(6) Cam Scanner
Professional truck drivers can use their smart phone as a scanner to quickly capture all of their paperwork, such as important documents or receipts for reimbursement, that they need in the course of their jobs (or even their own personal life and finances on the road). Once scanned using a smartphone, the images are uploaded to cloud storage where they can be emailed or faxed wherever they are needed. You can get this app for free with 200 Mb of cloud storage or pay a low monthly subscription for more storage space and a host of other features. (Available for iPhone, Android and Windows.)
(7) Keep Truckin
This electronic logbook app makes it easy to record driving times and rest breaks with high accuracy. (Available for iPhone and Android.)
(8) Skype
This is a very popular app among truck drivers that need an inexpensive way to keep in touch. Skype offers instant messaging and one-on-one video chat for free. (Available for iPhone, Android and Windows.)
(9) Low Clearance Locations
This app is for truck drivers or anyone with a large vehicle that needs to know where all of the low clearance bridges, overpasses, tunnels, or viaducts are located along their route. The user simply inputs a location and the app provides any low clearance locations including the clearance height, street address, latitude, longitude, weather for the location, and multiple street views.
(10) MyFitnessPal.com
It’s difficult to eat right and stay healthy on the road, so this free calorie counter & diet tracker app easily allows you to track your caloric and major nutrient intake while considering your exercise habits. (Available on iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Windows.)
