7 Efficient Trucker Trip Planners to Consider for Drivers

Are you a trucker struggling to plan the most efficient multi-stop routes using Google Maps?

Are poorly planned routes piling up delayed or missed deliveries? 

If so, it is time to reevaluate your truck trip planning. 

This is because trip planning for truck drivers goes beyond plotting the shortest or fastest route. It rather includes planning routes considering several variables, such as construction, traffic patterns, road closures, and sudden changes in order priority.

This is where trucker trip planners come in handy. They pave the way to creating optimal truck-specific routes that enable efficient and timely deliveries while minimizing unwanted miles and fuel consumption.

This blog covers the most popular truck driver route planning apps and explains why truck driver trip planning is important. It also enumerates the repercussions of poorly planned truck routes and offers tips for planning routes efficiently.

7 Trucker Trip Planners to Find the Best Routes

While several drivers may still rely on using Google Maps for trucks, they may not be able to plan routes with over 10 stops and optimize them.  

Therefore, we have listed the 8 best trucker trip planner apps based on ease of use, trucker-specific features, user interface, and routing capabilities for you to consider and make your truck journeys easier. 

The listed apps will reduce the workload of businesses by providing route planning, GPS navigation, driver alerts, and stops for rest, saving you from extra work.

1. Upper Solo

Best for: Individual or Solo Truck Drivers

Upper Solo is an ideal truck routing app, empowering solo truck drivers to plan multi-stop routes seamlessly. 

Our app’s USP lies in its sophisticated routing algorithms. It lets you plan unlimited routes with up to 500 stops based on multiple constraints, including delivery time windows, traffic, working hours, and vehicle specifics. 

Not all trips go as planned due to unavoidable reasons, like emergencies, unfavorable weather conditions, last-minute orders, or vehicle breakdowns. Upper lets you add/remove stops or shuffle the sequence to handle all these unprecedented run-time issues and keep your journey on track. 

Another standout feature is in-app navigation. It allows you to navigate your routes from within the app without switching between routing and navigation apps. 

If you prefer navigating routes with your preferred navigation system, you have that freedom as our app allows integration with popular GPS apps like Google Maps, Waze, and Apple Maps.

Features

• Import Spreadsheet with address validation: This feature lets you quickly import many delivery addresses from XLS or CSV spreadsheets, making route planning and optimization faster and easier. It also provides address validation capabilities to flag typing mistakes and duplication and ensure imported addresses are error-free. 
• Route visualization: This functionality lets you customize the colors of stops based on whether they are pickups or deliveries. This allows you to distinguish between different types of addresses and plan routes accordingly. 
• Proof of Delivery: This feature lets you capture photos of delivered items and customers’ e-signatures within the app to record successful deliveries for future reference.
• Route summary reports: They provide real-time insights into your routes, including successful deliveries, exceptions, total distance, and the time spent along each route to spot operational inefficiencies and make informed decisions to eliminate them. 

2. Waze

Best for: Truck drivers seeking real-time traffic information

Waze is a navigation software that helps you find your way. It is a famous GPS because it solves common issues, such as heavy traffic, estimated arrival time, and fuel efficiency. 

It also helps truckers to know nearby rest areas and gas stations. Waze is a great app that accepts real-time user input.

This opens up a variety of advantages to help truck drivers save money, including the ability to drive like a local even in a place they have never been.

Waze features 

• Waze determines speed limits and considers vehicle weight to ensure compliance.
• Real-time traffic reports to avoid congestion and improve customer service with timely deliveries.
• Updated gas prices help truckers find affordable fuel stops, while toll road avoidance saves money on toll fees.
• Toll road avoidance features to save money on toll fees by guiding you through alternative routes.

3. TransFlo

Best For: Drivers to Store & Access Docs

Developed by Pegasus Transtech, Transflo Mobile+ is trusted by over 3.2 million drivers worldwide. Transflo Mobile+ provides a dashboard that you can customize to fit your specific business needs.  

You can configure its dials and menu items to quickly access critical information like Hours of Service, weather conditions, and truck routing. 

It also lets you capture and store any document, such as an electronic Bill of Lading or Proof of Delivery, offline, so a lack of cellular connection doesn’t disrupt your daily schedule. 

Truck-specific navigation is another highlight as Transflo supports turn-by-turn routing directions and bypassing weigh-stations to get loads to destinations faster.

TransFlo Features

• Ability to view your address pins on the map and truck stops along your route to visualize your journey and plan your trip better. 
• Real-time requests on transportation of new loads that you can accept or reject on the go.
• The Hours of Service feature lets you track your hours of service based on your driving pattern, get rest break reminders, and log your Driver’s Vehicle Inspection Reporting at the end of your day for safety compliance.

4. Trucker Path

Best For: Truck Drivers To Find Discounted Fuel, Truck Stops, & More

TruckerPath claims to be better and faster than Garmin and Rand McNally and is a popular trucker trip planner in the US. 

It gives truckers access to petrol outlets, truck stops, weigh stations, and parking spaces appropriate for trucks. It also incorporates GPS to help you track your drivers in real-time.Using the best truck GPS app mapping and navigation system can save you additional money by avoiding unpaved roads, erroneous turns, and unnecessary tolls.

Trucker Path features

• Head-up Display (HUD) projects navigation onto the windshield of your car, making driving at night safer.
• Warnings about speed limits and cameras.
• Real-time traffic updates enable rerouting to avoid congestion and delays.
• Weather conditions alert truckers to potential hazards and enable safe driving.

5. Sygic

Best For: Large Truck Drivers For Offline Maps and Precise Live Traffic Updates

With over 200 million drivers using it worldwide, Sygic is suitable for large truck drivers. It has several useful features, including speed limit and camera alerts, emission zone routings, truck stops, extra mileage tracking, police stations, and speed zones.

The offline map can also consider the characteristics of your particular truck, which you can import from Google Maps.

Finally, it interfaces well with the most important fleet management tools.

Sygic Features

• Head-up Display (HUD) projects navigation onto the windshield of your car, making driving at night safer
• Warnings about speed limits and speed cameras
• Truck stops and checkpoints
• Routing emissions zones
• Import Google Maps; key fleet management systems are integrated

6. SmartTruck Route

Best For: Finding Popular Truck Routes

The trucking business has software called SmartTruck Route. The app allows you to rapidly find truck routes by entering your destination or using the voice prompt.

It enables you to recognize low bridges, stay away from neighborhoods, and avoid taking the wrong path, preventing stress and unnecessary miles.

You can optionally provide precise truck specifications for the most accurate route planning. Both iOS and Android users can download this app. It aids trucks in avoiding tight curves, one-way streets, and congested areas.

SmartTruck Route features

• Voice navigation provides hands-free guidance for drivers on their routes.
• Speed limit warning alerts truckers when they exceed the legal speed limit.
• Weight scale information helps drivers locate nearby weigh stations for compliance.
• Alternative route options enable truckers to choose the most suitable paths based on their preferences and road conditions.

7. Garmin

Best For: Finding Perfect Truck Hardware

Garmin is a leading name in GPS navigation and wearable technology, with over 19,000 associates in 35 countries worldwide. 

It manufactures various trucker products, including navigators, dash cams, and trucking apps, packed with time—and money-saving capabilities. 

You can search for your desired products by your truck brand or feature and compare them against each other to pick the one that best suits your business.

One of their popular products is the dēzl app, which provides live traffic, weather, and fuel prices.

Garmin Features

• Text messages and alerts from your smartphone are displayed on your navigation screen with real-time sync to minimize distractions while driving
• On-device notifications about nearby weigh stations and bypass suggestions
• Specific truck routing considers vehicle dimensions and restrictions for optimized routes
• Real-time driver warnings offer alerts for upcoming hazards and road conditions

Why is Trucker Route Planning Important?

It is crucial to understand why effective trip planning for truck drivers is crucial before going into the specifics. Both truck drivers and business owners can benefit from a variety of resources to complete deliveries on time and at the correct destination. 

Planning is essential since it affects your delivery business, the time, money, resources, and the reputation of your drivers for delivering at a certain time. Here’s the importance of trucker route planning.

1. Efficiency

Effective route planning reduces needless side trips and guarantees that trucks follow the shortest and fastest routes to their destinations. This shortens the distance to be traveled, saves fuel, and keeps the car in better condition. As a result, truckers may go farther in less time, increasing their output and income.

2. Compliance

Regulations controlling truck size, weight restrictions, and the transportation of hazardous products vary between states and regions. Truck routing software considers these factors and directs truckers away from roads that might contravene these laws. By following these regulations, drivers may keep their cars in good condition and avoid expensive penalties, legal issues, and other problems.

3. Safety

Trucker route planners consider safety factors, including low bridges, routes with weight restrictions, and potentially dangerous situations like abrupt turns or steep inclines. With this proactive strategy, drivers are guided away from routes that can endanger the structural integrity of their vehicles or the safety of other road users.

4. Time management

Truckers can modify their routes as necessary thanks to accurate route planning that considers real-time traffic statistics and information about road closures. Drivers may keep to their timetables and make deliveries on time by avoiding crowded regions and choosing alternate routes.

5. Cost reduction

Opting for more fuel-efficient routes and avoiding toll roads can both dramatically lower operational costs. A trucking dispatch software is a technological solution that helps a trucking company reduce their business operational costs. Furthermore, route planners with up-to-date fuel prices assist truckers in locating the most cost-effective filling stations, resulting in immediate cost savings.

9 Handy Tips for Truckers to Efficiently Plan Routes

1. Know your vehicle

Recognize your truck’s dimensions, weight, and cargo capacity. This knowledge is essential for choosing paths that adhere to rules and avoid barriers.

2. Check traffic and road conditions

Before you get on the road, examine the current traffic situation and the state of the roads. By doing this, you can avoid traffic jams, collisions, and road closures that might cause delays.

3. Avoid rush hours

Plan your route to avoid congested times if you can. This lessens the stress and delays brought on by dense traffic.

4. Study delivery and pickup locations

Become familiar with the delivery and pickup areas. It is time and effort-saving to be aware of information like entry points, parking options, and load-to-dock directions.

5. Keep up with regulations

Research the trucking laws in the states and regions you’ll be passing through. This guarantees observance and averts legal problems.

6. Plan for breaks

Keep primary locations in mind for long stopovers, especially at night. Be ready with alternative places if you don’t find shelter there. For 30-minute breaks, you can find safe and comfortable spots to park your trucks while complying with legal regulations. 

7. Check the weather forecast

Use a weather forecast app to view the weather in your area and where you are heading. Visiting your state’s DOT website can also help determine the impact of weather on road conditions. Accordingly, you can plan your routes and take early breaks or end your journey in severely inclement weather conditions. 

8. Plot places of interest

Plot places of interest, such as repair shops, fuel stations, parking spots, and weigh stations along your trip beforehand. This will save you time when finding where to go if you run out of fuel or face a mechanical issue. 

9. Be mindful of possible obstacles

To plan your routes accordingly, check for tolls, street closures, border crossings, bridges, or construction activities. Ensure you carry enough money to cover tolls and adhere to bridge weight limits. You can also make real-time adjustments to routes as required to stay on track.

Optimize Your Trucking Routes Using Upper Solo

Upper Solo is the all-in-one trucker trip planner app you’ve been waiting for. This truck routing app lets you plan your multi-stop routes, considering traffic, working hours, and delivery time windows.

You can also use it to add or remove stops or change their sequence to handle unforeseen situations, such as extreme weather, accidents, last-minute orders, or priority service requests. 

Upper can also help you collect photos of delivered packages and customers’ digital signatures for delivery validation. It makes a perfect truck-routing app for solo drivers looking to plan their delivery routes and make adjustments on the go.