What Is the Best Truck GPS App?

Driving a truck or semi-truck requires your full attention. You also need to pay attention to what’s on the road. Besides this, you need to know well what’s your destination and how you’ll get there. For that reason, you should have the best truck GPS app for when you get on the road.https://www.canva.com/photos/MAAQUb6nYKc-vehicle-with-gps/

Unlike regular vehicles, driving a large truck means you have to plan for fuel and rest stops in advance. Also, you must know which roads to take and avoid.

Truck drivers truly benefit from GPS apps, which is why today, we’ll provide you with the 8 best options to consider. Some of them are free, while some require a monthly subscription.

Having the right app will make such a difference when you’re on the road. So, let’s dive into these apps!

Is a Truck GPS the Same as a Car GPS?

The short answer is no. A truck GPS is not the same as a car GPS.

You may think that a regular car GPS will work for truck drivers. But, this is false. When you’re driving a truck, you have additional needs that standard GPS apps won’t provide.

For example, when driving a regular car, you don’t have to worry if you’ll fit under a bridge. But, truck drivers do have to consider this, which is why they need a specific route.

Some of the other features that a truck GPS will provide over a regular GPS are:

• Points of interest for truck drivers
• Real-time traffic and weather updates
• Speed limit alerts
• Fuel prices
• Truck parking areas
• Truck routes and map updates

Having this in mind, let’s continue learning about the top apps for truck drivers.

These Are the Top Truck GPS Apps

In our earlier blog post titled  “truck driver essentials,” we stated that a cell phone is a must-own item if you wish to stay updated with the latest GPS apps from either the App Store or Google’s Play Store.

Make sure that you choose the app that provides the features you need for your trip. You can choose among one of these eight truck GPS app options:

• CoPilot GPS
• PTV Navigator
• Trucker Path
• Sygic
• DAT Trucker
• Truckbook
• Google Maps
• Waze

Now, let’s talk about each one in detail:

CoPilot GPS

CoPilot GPS or CoPilot Mobile Navigation is a comprehensive app for truck drivers. It has various features that allow drivers to have a safe and effortless trip.

Before starting a trip, the app asks for your truck’s dimensions and weight. It also shows points of interest such as rest stops, weight stations, or CAT scales. The app provides specific truck routes so that you don’t have any obstacles on the road.

You can download CoPilot from the Play Store or App Store. When you download it, you get a 14-day free trial, but you have to pay a monthly subscription of $9.99 to keep using it. Users enjoy using this app as it is user-friendly and is not distracting.

PTV Navigator

With PTV Navigator, you get specific route suggestions and updates based on your destination. It also takes into account your truck’s size, weight, and restrictions.

This app also shows you rest areas, truck stops, and truck parking. When you use PTV Navigator, you can avoid heavy traffic because of its HD traffic information updates. Where possible, you can avoid toll stations as well.

The only drawback is that this app is only available on the Play Store. It costs $26.99, but you also get a 14-day free trial when you start using it.

Trucker Path

When it comes to trucker apps, one of the most popular is Trucker Path because of its user-friendly interface and its many benefits. It has more than 7,000 truck stops around North America.

Some features that Trucker Path includes are:

• Find rest areas and parking lots (including Walmart truck parking)
• Information on weigh stations, truck washes, and scales
• It shows where you can find the best fuel prices
• Apply for truck driving jobs
• Search for trucks on sale

You can download this trucker GPS app for free with in-app purchases from the App Store and Play Store. However, the truck routes are not as precise as other specialized GPS units.

Sygic

Sygic is another app that is very popular among truck drivers because it offers the feature to choose routes in advance. As a result, you can pick the course that works best for you.

With this app, you can also find points of interest, such as fuel stations. You can also look at live traffic updates and avoid routes that are not suitable for your truck’s size and weight.

This app is available on both the App Store and Play Store. When you download it, you get a 14-day free trial but then have to pay a monthly subscription.

DAT Trucker

DAT Trucker is another free app available on the App Store and Google Play Store.

It provides an accurate map that helps locate truck stops and weight scales. You can also check fuel price comparisons. Besides this, the app offers hotels and restaurants that are truck-friendly.

Truckbook

One of the main benefits that Truckbook offers is that it has precise GPS navigation without connecting to the Internet. With this app, you can also get roadside assistance for any emergency.

Other features include:

• Real-time navigation updates
• Find truck parking
• Information on truck repair services
• Find weighing and toll stations

Google Maps

Now, we’ll discuss two apps that are not specific for truck drivers but offer excellent benefits. We’ll start discussing Google Maps.

This app is top-rated because of its satellite and street view features. In other words, this allows you to see precisely how your destination will look before you even arrive.

It also allows you to activate voice assistance and find points of interest, such as hotels or restaurants. You can download it on iOS or Android.

However, since Google Maps is not an app for truck drivers, it doesn’t focus on truck routes. So, you would have to use this app along with another trucker GPS.

Waze

Waze is another app that it’s not specifically for truck drivers but that you can use as a complementary tool. It is because it offers useful features such as:

• Calculate arrival time
• Get real-time road conditions (police stops, traffic jams, constructions)
• Learn about updated routes

Now that you know the different options, it’s time for you to choose the truck GPS app that will work better for you.

Make sure that you take into account all the features that each one offers.

If you’re using Google Maps or Waze, make sure that you also have a complementary trucker app with you.