7 Must-Have GPS Apps for Truckers in 2024

It is the duty of fleet owners to help truck drivers easily navigate their trip routes and record mileage accurately. Read this blog to make the right choice among the top 7  GPS Apps for Truckers.

Access to efficient and truck-specific routes is crucial for truck drivers to meet deliveries securely and on time. GPS trucker tracking apps are invaluable for easy navigation of the roads assigned, traffic updates, and hazard alerts.

Life on the road is challenging, with stress and unpredictable circumstances. Heavy traffic, restricted routes, toll roads, wrong directions, and accidents can cause delays without proper navigation. According to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), around 510,000 crashes involve large trucks, which includes 57% of fatal crashes occurring in rural areas and 25% on rural interstates.

Advanced GPS apps help avoid these issues, keep drivers on schedule, and reduce costs.

We have compared the best GPS for truck drivers. Before exploring the top apps, let’s explore the benefits and key features to look for when choosing the right one.

7 Best GPS Apps for Truckers – Helping in Truck-Specific Routing

1. TrackoBit

TrackoBit offers the best GPS app for truckers—the Driver app—as it clearly understands the needs and challenges drivers have or face during their trips. As a vehicle tracking software provider, TrackoBit has every possible data fleet managers and drivers require to optimize fleet operation.

Its GPS app for truckers has all the possible features that will assist truckers in navigating routes, deliveries, and every transit requirement. On it, the fleet managers can share the trip details, routes to be undertaken, delivery schedules, and halts for rest and refueling. Furthermore, drivers can even mark their attendance, maintain expense records by uploading receipts for faster reimbursement, and fill out DVIR reports.

If we are talking about Mileage, then yes, TrackoBit does log-in mileage, which makes it easy to pay drivers. Additionally, TrackoBit tracks the fleet offline, informs of parking, and displays a driver scorecard.

2. Sygic Truck GPS Navigation

Sygic Truck and Caravan GPS Navigation offers tailored navigation for large vehicles, eliminating the need for outdated devices. It ensures compliance, efficiency, and safety with features like offline maps, custom routing for commercial vehicles, and real-time traffic updates. Sygic even offers 3D GPS maps, voice-guided navigation, truck parking support, and fuel pricing guidance. Available on Apple and Android, it’s designed for trucks, buses, RVs, and vans.

While the app provides efficient route planning, traffic data, and fuel station and parking spot information, it requires downloading large regional map files, which can be challenging with poor internet, which is often for truckers. Additionally, Sygic lacks a mileage tracker, though it excels in avoiding unsuitable roads and restrictions. Even without a Wi-Fi connection, the app accurately tracks location, making it a reliable GPS apps for truckers.

3. SmartTruckRoute

SmartTruckRoute, a GPS trucker tracking app offers truck drivers essential features for safe and efficient navigation. The app creates truck-specific routes with live map updates, helping to avoid low bridges, sharp turns, parkways, and residential areas.

Drivers can customize the app by inputting their truck’s type, size, weight, and hazmat level for tailored navigation instructions. Users can speak or type their destination to receive truck-specific routes with turn-by-turn directions and Points of Interest (POIs) using truck-friendly roads. The app also allows switching between regular street map views and satellite images.

However, while SmartTruckRoute claims to track mileage, testing showed inaccuracies, which may hinder truckers in tracking travel expenses and computing IRS tax deductions. Despite this, the app’s navigation and safety features make it a valuable tool for truck drivers.

4. MapQuest

MapQuest provides essential navigational tools with an intuitive layering system, effective voice commands, and a reliable auto-rerouting feature. It offers voice navigation, accident routing, multi-stop directions, bookmarking, and a cheap gas station finder, though these features are mostly limited to the US.

The GPS app’s easy-to-use layers icon lets you add layers for hotels, parking, gas, hospitals, airports, postal services, etc., avoiding cluttered icons. The navigation window includes a progress bar with an estimated time of arrival and a compass, which is useful for long drives. Directions are clear and precise, ensuring timely arrivals.

However, MapQuest lacks offline maps and customization. It requires a GPS/Internet connection at all times, thus reducing its efficacy. Despite this, its clean interface and efficient layering system make it a reliable trucker navigation tool.

5. Route4Me Truck Routing software

Route4Me offers seamless truck routing and navigation, covering route planning, optimization, and tracking. It features a cloud-based route optimization platform, and iOS and Android route planner apps. Users can add or import multiple locations to optimize routes for the fastest and shortest paths. The GPS navigation feature provides real-time tracking of traffic, road deviations, fuel prices, and weather conditions.

Fleet owners can monitor logistics metrics, generate performance reports, replay drivers’ routes, and receive alerts for route deviations. Route4Me uses advanced technologies and algorithms for planning multi-stop routes and offers tools for scheduling visits to multiple destinations within different time frames.

However, Route4Me does not calculate mileage for the distance covered. Despite this, it allows monitoring of truckers’ GPS locations, breadcrumb tracking, creating geofences, and using a route simulation tool. The trucker tracking system app ensures efficient route management and driver performance tracking, making it a valuable tool for fleet operations.

6. PTV Navigator

PTV Navigator provides custom truck routing for truck drivers, considering truck-restricted roads, truck-friendly parking, gas stations, etc. The app is powered by TomTom GPS navigation and monitors live traffic so users can plan truck routes that avoid traffic jams.

PTV Navigator also lets truck drivers avoid toll roads, residential areas, and low-emission zones, consider truck restrictions while they travel through the country, and find truck stops to ensure safe driving. At the moment, it is available only on Android, but you can find more info at their website or the Google Play Store.

7. Waze

Waze is a navigation app that crowdsources truck drivers’ feedback to provide them with updated information on traffic, routes, gas prices, accidents, and road closures. It’s easy to use and accessible. Based on driver feedback, Waze’s GPS trucker tracking system offers real-time updates on road conditions, construction, speed traps, and accidents.

However, Waze lacks truck-specific features like height and weight restrictions and does not allow routing around truck-prohibited areas. Truck drivers receive live updates on estimated arrival times and potential road hazards. Still, the app does not include a mileage tracker, making it difficult to track travel expenses or compute tax deductions.

Waze’s primary focus is identifying upcoming road hazards, such as traffic and roadblocks. Consider using a specialized app for robust navigation capabilities tailored to large trucks. Despite its limitations, Waze remains useful for general real-time road information.

Benefits of GPS App for Truckers

‍A GPS app has become essential for most, if not all, truck drivers. Some of the benefits of using a trucker app include the following:

• Speed: GPS apps create efficient truck routes, helping drivers reach their destinations in a short time frame.
• Driver Accountability: These apps allow truck drivers to take ownership of their tasks, providing clarity on job responsibilities and results, which fosters improvement without the need for micromanagement.
• Time Savings: GPS Apps for truckers help identify truck-friendly routes by providing truck-specific information and updates, leading to more timely, successful, and cost-effective deliveries.
• Fuel Optimization: The app optimizes fuel costs by providing the shortest and quickest routes available, reducing unnecessary fuel consumption.
• Safety Information: Access to critical safety information such as speed limits, weight limits, and height restrictions ensures that drivers can navigate their routes safely and avoid potential hazards.

With these benefits, getting the right GPS app for truck drivers is an investment you want to pay attention to.

What Makes The Best GPS Tracking Apps For Truckers

If you’re looking for the best GPS tracking apps for truck drivers, there are many features to consider. However, we have narrowed it down to key features to help you find the right app for your business.

1. Speed Monitoring And Mileage Capabilities

The top GPS apps for truck drivers should track every driver’s performance. This can be used to detect irresponsible or poor driving behaviors. This benefits large truck fleet owners since it makes it simple to keep an eye on drivers’ actions, including other things like leaving the engine running which can help save gasoline.

2. Truck Route GPS Routing Features

Truck drivers have particular demands when driving. Additionally, the best truck GPS software should make it easy for them to maneuver through residential neighborhoods, construction zones, and heavy traffic. The software needs to offer the quickest path to a particular location. In order to help drivers select which route is the best and ultimately save time and money, the routing tool should compare the shortest route with the actual one. This would allow drivers to observe the mileage difference quickly.

3. Updated Navigation Maps

Reliable, up-to-date maps are essential for organizing truck routes and efficiently navigating them. To further prevent stressful travel, truckers could search for GPS apps that offer up-to-date information on traffic, road closures, changes to the road infrastructure, road works, and more.

Seek for smartphone applications that offer the ability to zoom in and out of photographs and down to street level, along with the use of 3D maps for roads and streets.

4. Road Restriction Monitoring Features

The best GPS software for truckers also considers any road limits that truck drivers may run into when traveling their assigned routes, which is another feature that makes it stand out from the competition. Choose an app that provides features like commercially permitted highways, weight limitations for trucks, and height limits for bridges and tunnels, among other things.

5. Live Traffic Updates

Real-time traffic reports in the trucker GPS app enable drivers to avoid traffic jams during rush hours, avoid excess truck idling, and reduce time and money expenses related to road construction or other traffic incidents.

Pick The Right GPS Truck Tracker App

‍Selecting the best truck navigation app makes all the difference for truck drivers. Ensure you choose an app with reliable GPS tracking, routing, and mileage tracking.

‍TrackoBit offers an all-around driver app that lets you get the best real-time route to help drivers and managers navigate their journey faster. The trucking company can see the path the driver took using the route replay feature and even set geofencing to track the driver’s location.

Drivers can also track mileage using the mobile app for accurate reimbursement and tax deductions.

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