August 24, 2014
Smartphones and tablets are incredibly powerful, giving you the flexibility you need to connect with customers, shippers, carriers, and family no matter where you are. And when combined with the astonishing range of mobile apps for truck drivers and fleet managers now on the market, you can be more efficient, connected, and profitable than ever before.
Everything From This 1991 Radio Shack Ad You Can Now Do With Your Phone
We’ve come a long way. Remember all those trips to the local Radio Shack? No longer.
Look at all of the items your mobile device and apps have replaced:
- Alarm clock
- Flashlight
- Calendar
- Contact book
- Camera
- Video camera
- Fax machine
- Laptop
- Personal navigation device
- CB radio
- Paper logbook
It’s extraordinary, really—all that power in the palm of your hand.
Let’s take a look at a few trucking industry-specific mobile apps we think will give you a helping hand:
1. Trucking Based Navigation with CoPilot Truck
CoPilot Truck is a rock solid GPS navigation app—and you won’t have to worry about getting lost if you run into wireless connectivity issues; it’s fully offline.
How does CoPilot Truck excel?
- Roads that are prohibited to big rigs are flagged in the system, so your routes won’t land you in hot water; you’ll be legal from start to finish.
- You can enter information like truck height, length, width, and weight/axel weight into the app. CoPilot Truck will then spit out the most safe, efficient, and legal route for you, helping you avoid costly fines and vehicle damage.
- The app’s Text-to-Speech technology gives you turn-by-turn directions, so you can keep your eyes on the road. And those directions are crystal clear, too; CoPilot Truck pronounces full street names (turn right on Lombardi Avenue), helping eliminate any confusion.
- CoPilot Truck gives you the latest industry standard PC*MILER routing and truck-specific attributes.
2. Weigh Station Alerts & Bypass with Drivewyze
Drivewyze is an innovative, free trucking app that alerts you when you’re two miles away from one of 700 weigh stations and mobile inspection sites across the country. That way, you can make sure all your ducks are in a row and pull in feeling confident and prepared.
Drivewyze also offers an optional bypass subscription service that can save you time, money, and headaches.
This mobile app, called Drivewyze PreClear, transmits your route info and other data to the weigh station wirelessly, letting you skip the pull-in line at 378 inspection and weigh station locations in 26 states.
Not bad, right?
3. Fuel Information with GasBuddy
You’ve been there, too. You’ve filled up and just a mile down the road, diesel is 10 cents a gallon cheaper. Ugh.
With fuel prices varying by up to 20 cents per gallon, finding the best deal can help you keep your cash where it belongs—in your pocket. That’s where GasBuddy can help.
The GasBuddy app crowdsources gas prices and plots them on a map, making it simple to determine where you can land your best deal.
To encourage GasBuddy users to report fuel prices in their area, GasBuddy offers daily drawings of $100 to its community (and that winner could be you).
4. Truck Stops and Load Boards with MyDAT Trucker
Where do you plan to hang your hat tonight? MyDAT Trucker can help.
This free mobile app for truck drivers displays nearby truck stops, travel plazas, truck-friendly hotels, Walmarts, and rest stops.
Want diesel prices or CAT Scale locations? It gives you that, too.
Okay, you’re rested. So, what’s next?
The MyDat Trucker app lets you check out a subset of DAT Load Board entries, so you can find your next job.
5. Paperwork Scanning with TRANSFLO
TRANSFLO Mobile is a document-scanning app that gives you same-day document delivery capability. In short, you zap documents to carriers and brokers asap and get paid more quickly.
Who wouldn’t like that?
If you’re an O/O, TRANFLO can really help you keep tabs on settlement with easy-to-access load payout information.
6. Electronic Driver Logs from XRS
Meeting today’s Hours of Service logging requirements and getting ready for the electronic logging device mandate is one more thing you can easily manage from your mobile device.
XRS automates HOS compliance—and it allows you to edit and annotate your logs directly from your smartphone or tablet.
Managing HOS compliance with a mobile app offers some big benefits:
- Mobile apps are more affordable than fixed, proprietary hardware (which often ranges from $800 – $1600).
- You don’t have to drill holes in your dash, run wires for a dome, or add 40+ pounds of cable to your truck.
- You don’t need to take a day off of driving to install a device and get it running.
Mobile apps for truck drivers
Yep, it’s a new dawn in the trucking industry.
Mobile technology allows us to access and deliver real-time information, helps us identify and address inefficiencies, and deliver more positive customer experiences—all of which improve the bottom line.
When you think about it, it’s pretty incredible what we’re able to do with our smartphones and tablets these days.