Creating and navigating routes for trucks is much more complex than conventional GPS navigation for passenger cars. One of the reasons is that trucks have restrictions on height, weight and acceptable road types. GPS applications developed specifically for truck driving, which are often called semi GPS apps, consider all restrictions associated with this vehicle type and perfectly build truck GPS routes based on the inputs provided by the driver.
That is why Google Maps or similar services intended for personal use are definitely not the best truck GPS apps and are rarely used by truckers. Special GPS applications for truck driving are more preferable, as they provide services designed specifically for truckers. Truck drivers can benefit from using these applications for the following reasons:
- routes consider the truck specifications,
- excludes roads where truck traffic is not allowed,
- it is easy to locate the nearest truck stops or rest areas,
- speed camera alerts are available even when driving offline,
- truck driver community support and advice is available 24/7,
- gas station locations and gas prices are updated in real time,
- turn-by-turn directions and built-in-lane navigation assist truck drivers on every route.
Contents:
- What Are Trucking GPS Apps?
- Why Are Trucking GPS Apps Useful?
- Best Free Trucker GPS Apps
- Best Paid Trucker GPS Apps
- Conclusion
What Are Trucking GPS Apps?
The navigation system that determines the location of your device. The GPS (Global Positioning System) helps to build routes and allows you to find the desired object on the map — essentially it helps you get to where you want to go.
All smartphones and other modern mobile devices have a built-in GPS receiver module. This is an antenna tuned to the signal of GPS satellites. It was originally developed by the United States for military use, but the signal was later made available to the general public. A device’s internal GPS module is a receiving antenna with an amplifier, but it cannot transmit. Gadgets determine their geolocation by receiving signals from satellites.
Why Are Trucking GPS Apps Useful?
Dedicated trucking GPS apps are more useful and provide more value than just navigation. An efficient trucking GPS application offers both navigation for trucks, and helps to reduce fuel costs and save time, as the routes it creates are typically the most optimal available.
GPS applications consider road restrictions for trucks when creating turn-by-turn driving instructions. Special regulations, like those of FMCSA, and compliance with traffic rules ensure the safety of truck drivers, their vehicles and cargo. Truck drivers can even find weather updates and predictions for their locations when using a trucking GPS app. Most applications published today support WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, and provide voice control features, so they can be used while driving.
Best Free Trucker GPS Apps
Best Truck GPS Apps for iPhone, Distributed Free of Charge
TruckMap is a best-in-class free trucking GPS app. It creates routes and provides turn-by-turn navigation. Truck drivers can use a special map of gas and weigh stations. The app makes it easy to find the nearest free overnight parking. Shops and rest areas can be filtered by availability of laundry services, sleeping accommodations, shower stalls, certain stores or truck stops chains.
Directions provided by the app consider the vehicle’s specifications, ground clearance and HAZMAT restrictions. Importantly, you can use TruckMap to avoid toll roads.
This free truck GPS app provides drivers with real-time navigation and turn-by-turn directions. The application also warns about traffic incidents, radars, traffic jams, accidents and blocked sections of the road.
What makes Waze special is that it relies on both data from GPS trackers with real-time updates contributed by the community, i.e. other drivers like yourself. This means the app can generate the most up-to-date road and traffic information.
Waze stores information it receives on speed, accidents and traffic to use later for building the fastest and most accurate routes feasible: any time of day and any day of the week. Many truck drivers agree that Waze offers the most convenient and accurate routes every time they use it.
Further information available in Waze includes fuel prices, dangers on the road, police patrols and checkpoints, and the weather, all contributed by fellow drivers. Users can leave comments on a public map.
Hammer is a free truck GPS app for iPhone. Its primary difference from other free trucking apps is that there are no ads. Developers guarantee that there will be no distracting advertisements during the ride. No additional payment is required to unlock any special features, either: everything is free.
Hammer App provides the truck driver with turn-by-turn navigation along customized routes that consider the truck's specifications, along with any ongoing road construction, accidents and blocks. You can enter data on the size, weight, load and trailer right in the app. The features include searching for truck stops, rest areas and gas stations. Voice guidance makes driving easier, and the dark mode keeps distractions to a minimum at night.
One of Hammer App’s most helpful features is its offline maps, which require no Internet connection to operate.
Sygic, one of the most downloaded GPS applications for truck drivers, also includes offline navigation as one of its features.
The easy-to-navigate interface has every feature for convenient truck driving: 3D maps with turn-by-turn navigation, speed limit alerts, dashcam support, augmented-reality RealView navigation, Dynamic Lane Assistant for safe driving, and support for heads-up displays (HUDs) that project the screen onto the windshield of the truck.
The application processes the specifications of your truck to build a customized route for you. Right in the application menu, the driver can select the size and type of the truck, and enter its weight, height, length, number of axles, and maximum speed. In the app settings, you can also apply your driving preferences: for example, a preference for right turns.
Best Truck GPS Apps for Android — Distributed Free of Charge
PTV Navigator is one of the best truck GPS apps around. When it maps out a route that will take you to your destination, it uses only roads suitable for trucks.
The app considers real-time updates and the truck's specifications when suggesting routes. It provides driving guidance wherever you are in the country. Maps and navigation are available offline, so you don’t always need a stable Internet connection.
PTV Navigator has one of the largest databases of truck stops and it can easily suggest rest options along the route. And, with the Truck Parking Assistant at your fingertips, finding a parking spot along the route has never been easier.
PTV Navigator offers a user-friendly interface with twenty languages to choose from.
This is one of the most popular truck GPS apps and has a reputation of being one of the best truck maps out there. Trucker Path comes with unique security and performance benefits. Navigation in the app is always safe: the navigator keeps the driver away from sharp turns, low overpasses and poor road surfaces.
The maps contain thousands of truck stops, rest areas and Walmart stores. It is easy to find the nearest convenient free parking right in the app. The parking map is updated in real time and shows how busy the truck parking lot is: full, partially occupied or empty — saving the driver’s time and enhancing their performance.
The truck driver is offered a filterable list of more than 300,000 points of interest: weigh stations, truck stops (Pilot Flying J, Love's Travel Center, Petro TA, Blue Beacon, Roady's, KwikTrip), rest areas, and gas stations, along with ratings and reviews by fellow truckers. Weather and traffic conditions can be monitored in real time.
The application creates the most efficient, fastest, and safest routes from anywhere in the country. With this app, truckers can optimize their fuel costs by comparing fuel prices at multiple gas stations. Trucker Path preselects fuel stops (the best and the cheapest) and fuel levels along the route based on the truck's MPG and the initial tank volume entered in the operator's portal. This helps truckers avoid unnecessarily high fuel costs.
Road Hunter is a truck navigation app that helps you make your cargo deliveries safer, faster and more efficient. The map shows all rest and truck stops (Pilot, Loves, Travel America, Petro, AmBest, etc.) with detailed information, showers, restaurants, diesel prices and parking availability.
Road Hunter’s voice directions assist you when driving, and the suggested routes consider your truck’s height and weight. For higher safety, the routes avoid low-clearance bridges.
Severe weather conditions should not affect cargo delivery times, so the truck driver can monitor the weather along the route using Road Hunter and plan the trip in advance.
Best Paid Trucker GPS Apps
Best Truck GPS Apps for iPhone — Distributed on Paid Basis
This commercial truck GPS app helps drivers to achieve more efficiency and consistency.
The app helps measure driver performance with post-trip analysis that compares the actual route with the one that was originally planned. Trips can be optimized for any truck depending on its load, weight and height, as well as the number of stops along the way. This helps the truck driver to avoid out-of-route miles with their associated money, time and fuel costs.
Fuel expenses can be reduced by pre-planning refuelings and truck stops along the route.
The navigation is based on real-time road conditions and traffic, and provides turn-by-turn navigation directions. For instance, low bridges and truck-restricted roads are always avoided when building a route.
The application's user interface is designed to avoid distracting the driver.
This name is familiar to truck drivers who use TomTom GPS devices. It is produced by the Dutch online mapping company, known for its car-based GPS systems, which sold its telematics world-wide.
This truck GPS app for Iphone provides offline maps and online turn-by-turn navigation with maps updated weekly.
This ensures that the truck driver gets real-time alerts about live traffic, blocked roads, speed cameras and accidents. You can use offline maps and navigation, and lane and turn-in-turn guidance. The application is compatible with Apple CarPlay. You can search for destinations, truck stops and rest areas, and plan your parking and fuel stops.
TomTom provides each driver with essential information on local laws, regulations and restrictions.
The app has a free trial period. The paid subscription plans are:
- 1 month – $4.99;
- 6 months – $17.99;
- 12 months – $24.99.
Best Truck GPS Apps for Android — Distributed on Paid Basis
One more useful truck navigation app is DAT Load Board, although it does not provide driving directions, it is still a handy app.
The interactive map in DAT Load Board includes truck stops, parking, weigh stations, rest stops and fuel stations. The key features of this app are trip planning and optimization, load finding and booking, quick payments, and a truck services locator.
This is one of the biggest load board networks and a great tool for truck drivers to plan their work efficiently. It ensures the highest level of information security by hardening the authentication system and blocking bad accounts, thus providing complete safety for both customers and carriers.
The application is free to download, so each truck driver can benefit from using the DAT Load Board. Paid subscribers enjoy the complete extent of the capabilities offered by the app, unlocking full access to the load-finding tools and end-to-end solutions, and get the best loads using the largest network of load boards.
Conclusion
Today’s GPS trucking applications are every truck driver’s go-to tool, helping to plan trips, reduce unnecessary costs, and find the most efficient routes and stops.
These applications build custom routes that consider the truck’s specifications and road restrictions for commercial vehicles. Turn-by-turn directions and driving instructions are informed by local restrictions, required CMV parameters, rules for ensuring the safety of truck drivers and their cargo, and compliance with traffic rules.
Many applications have a real-time mode with traffic display, alerts and navigation updates. If needed, you can go offline and follow the route by GPS alone. Many of these provide unique services, such as trucking databases.
With so much to choose from out there, it is quite hard to say which of the GPS tools in the market is the best truck map app, as each has its unique features, pros, and cons. This review was designed to help you navigate the world of mobile apps more competently to choose the one app that suits your daily needs — and we hope you’ve found one that works for you.
To discover which truck GPS device is the perfect fit for your needs, check out our in-depth article on the best truck GPS devices. We've done the research so you can make an informed decision and stay on the right path during your journeys.
So, while you let the GPS apps help you to navigate the roads, navigating the routes of your career and the truck driver job market can be even harder — and no app can help you to make the right choice in this domain. However, there is a solution! We advise you to study our article with a list of the best apps for truck drivers.
Working with HMD, you will get access to routing solutions, such as TruckMap, installed on our tablets. We offer a Copilot license as well!
Anyway, our dispatchers are so good that you are sure to avoid difficult areas. Go ahead and join our team now, and never look back!
Did you like the article? Then read our article on semi truck sleeper storage ideas.
