starting an app

If you really want to develop an app that all drivers need ... develop one (for fee) that is updated monthly with new truckstops added and responds to driver input to update existing truckstops that may have dropped out or have incorrect information listed. It is a database of all the major truckstops. It senses direction of travel and assumes maintaining that direction/highway. It will display 10 upcoming truckstops in order from nearest to furthest along current path and their current distance but if not moving, it searches inside a radius. It will also allow option of inputting a location manually (city/st) for future planning purposes. It does not need data access to operate. It will also provide all basic services the truckstop has if user asks for more detail. Maybe there is such an app but my search (when I considered it a year ago) yielded nothing.

Include at a minimum Flying J/Pilot, Loves, TA, Petro and other small chains where you can gather reliable information. These all keep their websites updated with new operations for you to leverage. It might also provide a user form to enter hotel names/addresses where there is truck/trailer parking (also ask for approximate number of 18 wheelers lot can accommodate) and eventually you might end up with a valuable and comprehensive database of hotels available for truckers and make this a part of the app in the future.

 

I think I should be more clear on my math. I started with the total number of tractor trailer units operating in the USA, which I got from this web page, http://www.truckinfo.net/trucking/stats.htm#Size which estimates the total number to be 2 million. I thought this was a valid starting point as I don't think very many box trucks will be hauling overweight - oversized loads. So then I made a very wild guess and decided that only maybe 1% of those trucks will be overweight or oversized and crossing state lines and staying overnight. I made that guess based on the fact that I see a hell of a lot more refers, day cabs, and general cargo trucks. So that got me down to 20,000. Next I guessed that 25% of those would have smart phones, so the 5000 figure does not mean that only 5000 truck drivers have smart phones, it means that only 5000 truckers that cross state lines hauling oversized load and stay overnight somewhere will have smart cell phones. Next I figured only about 20% of the people would actually buy an application --- that is from my personal marketing study, most people want all applications to be free. So now you are down to 1000. I then guessed based on my experience that only 10% of the people that would even think about buying a smart phone application, would even find the application and think it was worth while to buy, based on my experience their are so many apps out there that even great apps become lost if not marketed properly. So Just my experience, if you want to make money developing application the golden rule most developers use is DO NOT LIMIT YOUR TOTAL AVAILABLE MARKET. I have an application I have written for the android market and I give away, called tourmaker. Mostly I use it to prove to potential clients that I can write an application. The program is fairly good I think but I have discovered the hard way that, you got to keep the application simple (I don't think anyone can figure out how that program works or what to do with it), you got to not limit the size of the market, and nobody will buy an application. If you really start to look at the numbers, writing applications for smart phones is harder way to make money than working for CR England and leasing the tractor.

 

The thing about running an oversize load is you HAVE to get permits. And these permits are very clear to state any [current] curfews that will be in place along the prescribed route during the time window allowed (permitted for). So it would seem to me you are doing something that was already done [accurately] and running the risk of providing contradictory or inaccurate information. A OS team is always going to err on the side of the permit and if there appears to be a possible error, somebody will make a phone call to verify or clarify.

 

LOL, well that is a topic for another thread, "Are truck drivers cheap tight wads?" Well it seems you have a plan, so good luck to you driver, and I sincerley mean that.

 

That's true Stexan, most permits state the info, however some just state you must abide by all state regulations for which you must research what they are, typically by reading through page after page of info on a state dot website. If you haul oversize/overweight all the time you'll typically know most everything needed. I don't think this app would be aimed at the boys hauling wind turbines or super loads or people running for large carriers who have office people handling permitting. I would think this would be useful for the occasional oversize hauler like myself. I like to research in advance of taking a load what is involved. Sometimes I can refer to one of the truckstop books I bought but more often than not I have to spend some time looking at individual state websites (what did we ever do without the internet) to get more timely data. Unfortunately that market may be small and then we're back to Quitters observation of not limiting your market which is very sound business advise in any market.
You know if a need exists sooner or later someone will fill it. Sometimes people can re-invent something that already exists (i.e. Facebook) and make it better, or they can develop something totally new and make people wonder how they ever lived without it. The later would be nirvana, wouldn't it? I guess most of us probably won't invent that "something" or we might be "too late" to the punch. Sometimes you just gotta go after it and try. Some of the most successful people in this world have failed the most. I like the old saying "that the road to nowhere is a hundred lanes wide and everyone is going at mach speed, while the road to the top is uphill, rock strewn, and not well traveled".

 

I wouldnt pay for this ap based on the numerous spelling mistakes made by the op in each response...if you cant pfoof read a 100 character response, how am I confident you can maintain a useable ap?

 

whoa classix, I don't think I'd be calling the kettle black

 

Where is your pfoof....?

Sorry classix, had to do it