In the 21st century, you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t have access to a smartphone, especially for work. Smartphones have evolved quickly and have become affordable and indispensable parts of our everyday lives. As a trucker, you’ll want to make good use of all the tools you have at your disposal and that includes your phone. There are hundreds of great apps that you can download to get up-to-date information about everything from weather to gas prices, making your life on the road so much easier to manage.
So what are some of these apps? White’s International Trucks, with seven locations throughout North Carolina, is your local truck dealer. As such, we’ve rounded up some of the best apps for all the tasks you have to do as a long-distance trucker.
Weather, Navigation & Traffic Information Apps
Need to keep tabs on the weather and traffic? Of course you do! As a trucker, road safety is a major priority, as is knowing where you’re going and how to get there in an expedient yet safe manner.
- NOAA Weather Radar updates their weather map and their forecast for your location, so just put in a town or a ZIP code to learn what conditions to expect.
- Waze® provides you with both a GPS and traffic alerts in one convenient app to help you get where you’re going and avoid hazardous conditions and tedious obstacles in your path.
- CoPilot® Live Truck offers voice-guided GPS for navigation and also locates truck-legal routes so you can avoid low-clearance bridges and weight-restricted roads.
Business, Logs & Document Management Apps
There are dozens of apps designed to make paperwork easier and more digitally focused so you aren’t having to print out and keep track of lots of loose sheets of paper like you would have 30 years ago. Say goodbye to a cluttered cab and the need for snail mail to transmit your information!
- Transflo® turns your phone camera into a mobile scanner so you can email your documents to brokers, carriers and other drivers.
- CamScanner can take your glovebox receipts and store them in the cloud for your accounting later on.
- TruckLogics® isn’t free, but if you’re an owner-operator, then it’s worth the money to download this secure document storage app. You can manage your entire fleet’s invoices, payroll documents, dispatches and repair receipts.
Communication Apps
It’s important to stay in touch with your friends, family, work and other drivers when you’re out on the road, but you’ll want to be smart and safe about it.
- FleetSafer Mobile app prevents you from texting while you’re driving, which is bad enough when driving a typical car, but extremely dangerous when you’re hauling a huge trailer behind you. Texts received while the app is activated get an automatic reply of “I’m driving,” while notifications are blocked so you aren’t distracted by them.
- Skype is a great app for instant messaging, video conferencing and calling people inexpensively so you can stay in touch with everyone you need to talk to. The app gives you a free online phone number to prevent you from missing calls, and you can easily send files and texts to your superior or to other drivers as needed.
Gas & Food Money-Saving Apps
Everyone worries about saving money on fuel and food while driving long distances. Trying to locate a station that has cheap diesel fuel when your tank is running on empty is stressful so it’s smart to have apps to help you with this.
- GasBuddy® provides you with a real-time map of gas prices in your area, with the cheapest options highlighted for you.
- Fuelbook is another great app, keeping tabs on the prices at over 7,000 gas stations across the country.
- iExit® Trucks will help you locate the amenities you need at a truck-friendly stop quickly and easily.
In search of trucks for sale in North Carolina? Visit our website to see our full selection of new and used trucks for sale at our seven dealership locations throughout the state. White’s International Trucks proudly serves all of our North Carolina customers.