5 Efficient Trucker Trip Planners to Consider for Drivers

A truck driver has many roles and responsibilities, such as delivering orders safely on time, and to the right person. But, do you think it is possible to achieve when they are confused about what to do and when to do it?

Especially, in this growing delivery industry where every order and parcel matters. So, how can the companies support the truckers to avoid long-haul trips? It is by planning the entire trip efficiently. Don’t believe us; let’s find out that in the blog.

We have covered everything you should know about the trucker trip- from truck driver trip planner apps for planning and dispatching delivery to tips for truckers. So, let’s drive your journey easier with trucker trip planners.

5 Trucker Trip Planner Apps to Find Best Routes

To make your trucker work easier and more efficient using trucker trip planner apps is an ideal choice. The app reduces the workload of the business owner and trucker by providing route planning, GPS navigation, driver alerts, and stops for rest. 

Hence the apps are there to save you from extra work. We have listed out the 5 best trucker trip planner apps that will help truckers to streamline their driving journey.

1. Waze 

Waze is a navigation software that helps to navigate directions. It is a famous GPS because it solves common issues such as heavy traffic, estimated time of arrival, and fuel efficiency. Also, it helps truckers to know nearby rest areas and gas stations.

Moreover, it allows you to share and report accidents; so other drivers do not face the same obstacles. Also, it will help other truckers to change routes, and no driver’s journey is delayed.

Waze features 

• Speed limit and overweight
• Real-time traffic reports
• Updated gas price
• Toll road avoidance

2. TransFlo

TransFlo is a trucking app that helps truckers to handle their workload every single day. It is available on Android and iOS. TransFlo allows you to have quick access to vital information such as weather conditions, hours of service, and truck navigation on their dashboard. 

The app helps to manage and improve load visibility. So, the trucker knows when the load is getting overweight and fuel efficiency. 

TransFlo features

• Hours of service integration
• Overweight load visibility 
• Instant notification 
• Load tracking

3. Trucker Path

​​Another famous trucker trip-planning app is Trucker Path. It is popular in the USA and known for order dispatching. The app allows truckers to find the closest truck stop, fuel stations, route planning, and available parking.

The trucker planner allows you to find carriers and move freight. It helps truckers avoid unpaved roads, wrong turns, and unnecessary tolls. 

TruckerPath features

• Weight station
• Mapping and navigation system
• Real-time traffic updates
• Weather conditions

4. Sygi​​c

Sygic is an offline navigation app that helps truckers to find routes. It has more than 200 million users worldwide. The app has innovative features such as 3D maps, head-up display navigation, and sign recognition.

If the trucker is overspeeding, the app will warn them and show them a speed limit warning that helps them to slow down.

Sygic features

• Avoid unnecessary tolls and highway
• Speed camera warning
• Fuel and truck stops
• Lane assistant

5. SmartTruck Route

Last on the list of trucker trip planners is SmartTruckRoute. As the name suggested, it helps you to create a truck-specific route with real-time map locations. It is designed for truckers to plan their driving safely and guide them to their destination fastest.

The app is available on Android and iOS. It helps truckers avoid sharp turns, one-way roads, and heavy traffic. 

SmartTruck Route features

• Voice navigation
• Speed limit warning
• Weight scales
• Alternative routes

Now, you know the 5 best trucker trip planners for drivers, it is time to understand why trucker route planning is important.

Why Trucker Route Planning is Important?

Before diving into tips for efficient truck driver trip planning, it is essential to know why it is important. There are numerous things that help both truckers and business owners to do delivery on time at the right address. 

It is crucial to plan because it impacts your delivery business, driver’s time, money, resources, and reputation for delivering on a specific time.

The following are the factors of the importance of trucker route planning:

Less fuel consumption

With trucker route planning, you do not have to worry about consuming more fuel. The logic is pretty simple, the less you drive, the less you consume fuel. Route planning helps to know the direction, so before the trip starts you know where to go.

Moreover, you do not run extra miles and have a clear idea about the route you need to follow. With planned routes, you can avoid peak hour traffic jams. 

Reduced carbon emission

Another advantage of trucker route planning is sustainable logistics. As the vehicle would not run more, it will help to cut CO2 emissions. An efficient trucking route indicates fuel efficiency and fewer unnecessary journey.

By avoiding unnecessary journeys, a trucker will save time and can be more productive in some other tasks. With trucker route planning, you enhance green transportation and make the environment better. 

Punctuality  

The plus point with trucker route planning is that you can cut down on unnecessary delays. For instance, truckers take the wrong route and consume more delay than usual. Due to that, there will be delays in deliveries and affect your business.

With a planned route, your truckers will be able to navigate properly and save their efforts. In addition, you can decrease vehicle maintenance costs.

No extra efforts 

If you are using a trucker route planning app for optimizing routes, you reduce your workload. You are saving truckers time spent on the road and increasing delivery operations. With trucker route planning, you will be able to achieve the maximum target in less time.

Also, you do not have to worry about drivers going in the wrong direction, as you have to optimize routes. It will increase driver safety by not letting them drive on unfamiliar roads. 

Handy Tips for Truckers to Efficiently Plan Routes  

In no particular order, doing these things right will elevate you as an elite trucker trip planner and make your trip planning as professional as it can be: 

1. Calculate the total distance

The distance of the trip is more than just the number of miles between truck stops. The driver must consider so many things that will not only add more miles but time. 

Factors for truck drivers to consider include 

• Rest breaks
• Meals
• Find rest areas
• Deliveries
• Sleeping
• Finding parking
• Road closures
• Fueling
• Border crossings.

Every trucker should look at the entire route of the trip before even driving the first mile. If a trucker knows the entire route before these things happen, it’ll be much easier to work around them.

Truck drivers can look at each detour and consider the distance between each planned stop. Then, anticipate the things that might slow you down further, such as bad weather, traffic, construction, etc.

2. Set a daily quota for stops

Making multiple stops is unavoidable, and this is more than just the addresses you need to deliver to. Each truck driver needs to eat every day, use the washroom, rest for some time, and do other basic things. 

Of course, you can’t plan for every emergency, but try to limit the number of stops you make. 

Taking all the deliveries and the distance into consideration, decide on the maximum number of stops you’ll make each day and do your best to stick to it. This helps the trucker stay on track and not waste any time. 

3. Locate all essential services 

There is another check the truck driver will want to do before leaving. That check is to locate all the essential services for all the trucks driving off the trip. To miss a single service can be costly to the trip planner. 

The most important service for the truck driver to identify is the mechanics and repair shops & tire shops. If truck drivers run into any mechanical issues at any point, they need to know exactly where to go, regardless of where they are. The trip planner must account for these.

To ensure a safe ride for truck drivers, a good trip planner will find truck stops, rest stops, bus stops, meal breaks, and even hospitals, just in case. 

Lastly, it’s good for the trip planner to locate the cheapest places to buy gas, and plan to refuel there as much as possible.  

4. Grocery shopping

Simple but crucial – it’s good for drivers to plan stops and breaks around grocery shopping. Buying groceries regularly will save the trucker money on fast food, and searching for restaurants when hungry.

In some cases, a restaurant containing a menu of a reasonable price point is a good solution. It’s also important to check the hours of service for these stores. Often a trip planning app will include some of these elements to help the driver and trip planner.

5. Allow for extra time

Unexpected difficulties and delays are inevitable to an extent. The trucker trip planner will use a planning app to determine an estimate of how long the trip will take them. After the trip planning is done, we suggest adding some more time. 

If the trucker allows for extra time before the start, they won’t be as stressed or frustrated when something happens. This extra time also allows the truck drivers to have a plan ready to go for how to deal with the issue. 

6. Avoid dangerous places

There will be places along your route that are safer than others. The trucking company and the company driver need to do some research before leaving. It’s important to plan your overnights in the safest places possible. 

Determine which cities trucker drivers need to avoid and look for overnight truck parking in the most desired primary locations. 

​​Knowing where to go and what to avoid before setting out will save a proper truck driver route. Also, it will save incredible amounts of time and prevent them from getting stuck in dangerous places overnight. 

7. Keep extra supplies on hand

Even if the trucker trip planner knows where all the shops are and where to find the best services, it’s smart to keep extra items on hand. This includes non-perishable foods, clean clothing, and other basic supplies. 

This will come in handy if ever the truck driver finds themselves driving through remote areas with limited service and availability. Especially, if the truck driver happens to get stuck there, having supplies on hand will make the situation much better. 

8. Take weather precautions 

Another reason to plan in advance is because of the weather. It is vital to avoid terrible weather during truck driving. Of course, you can’t plan for the weather two weeks in advance, but it’s smart to keep an eye on it to escape weather delays.

Because bad weather such as heavy rain or icy roads can turn into a fatal accident and slow down the driving process. If you are familiar with the city’s weather, you can plan accordingly. For instance, you can avoid routes where it rains the most.

It is helpful when you are driving intercity or state.

9. Look for the best truck routes

This may seem obvious, but the fact is, there are often many ways to get to where you’re going. The truck driver route planning has to plan the most efficient route, taking into consideration all the necessary steps. 

For trips with multiple deliveries, the truck drivers can look at the inbound and outbound rates. Every market they’ll be stopping at and putting themselves in will possibly be the most profitable position. 

10. Ensure no communication gaps

Communication is essential for every delivery business. When truck drivers receive information from the truck dispatcher, they make their plans as quickly as possible.

Also, truck drivers must be sure to provide consistent updates throughout the trip. This includes any delays, significant problems, or even if the drivers are running ahead of schedule.

Trucks arriving early without notifying the customer can cause just as much of a headache as being late. 

11. Include gas stations in your route plan 

Will you be able to drive if you are running out of fuel? Absolutely not, and if such a situation occurs, then the trucker should be aware of the nearby fuel places. Also, if any incident emerges, such as a tire puncture, a fuel place can help the trucker with it. 

If that moment, the trucker knows the gas place, they will go directly to that instead of spending hours searching for it. The trucker should not carry overweight because it will affect their vehicle and the reason for the potential delay.

Another way to make the trucker journey easier and more efficient is by optimizing routes with route planning software. Let’s learn more about it in the next section. 

Get Optimized Trucking Routes on Upper Route Planner

If you are looking for an all-in-one trucker trip planner, then Upper is for you. Upper is a route planner that helps you to add multiple stops, optimize routes, set speed limits, and curbside delivery.

Additionally, with Upper, you can adjust your stops and accept customers’ demands on priority. Also, Upper never keeps your customers waiting for so long as it allows automated notifications about delivery status to ensure their availability. Moreover, you can customize notifications whenever you want to change the default text.

Not only planning truck routes but also Upper will make sure you reach your destination without any hassles or deliver parcels with digital proof. 

Conclusion 

Planning trucker trips is a  priority for drivers as it helps them to plan route journeys smoothly. However, if you want to make the route journey smartly and efficiently, start using Upper. This is because you can’t always have poorly-planned routes to delay your trip. The route planner can be your virtual assistant in case you are associated with logistics services or delivery operations.

So, let Upper help you find the most efficient routes and keep you away from unnecessary stress. Sign up for our 7-day FREE trial and hit the road right away!