Trucker GPS App

Always better to be prepared. Good luck. I’m sure you’ll figure it out. It’s always best to have a good idea where your going as your driving. Helps when you have to watch for the bad drivers out there.

 

I've been using TruckMap recently. It's been working aside from the occasional hiccup. There was an update so that might have went away.

 

I'm checking out Hammer, Trucker Path, Sygic, SmartTruckRoute2 and Copilot. If I type in an address in these five apps, I'll get 7 different routes. like everyone says in every GPS thread, you can't follow them blindly, even Garmin and RM will steer you wrong. Google Satellite and Street View are very helpful.

My Garmin broke and I was getting increasingly annoyed with my RM so...

Copilot is $119.99 per year.
Trucker Path is $99.99 per year
Sygic is $124.99 per year but is on sale now for $74.99, $112.49 for lifetime license and 3 year map update.
SmartTruckRoute2 is $59 per year or $129 for three years
Hammer is free God bless them!
Compared to the money I've spent on Garmin and RM devices, the cost isn't that great. I got them all, because I'm the kind of guy who has to see for myself.

Copilot uses 142MB on my device
Hammer uses 8.83GB with offline maps for US and Canada
Trucker Path uses 509MB with an option for offline maps
SmartTruckRoute2 uses 87MB
Sygic uses 5.16GB with offline maps for US and Canada

Copilot and Sygic can use external storage. I think Hammer gives the option to use external storage when downloading the maps, but it doesn't work on all devices.

About Trucker Path, the only thing I need it for, and will ever need it for, is parking prediction. This driver explains how they cheated me out of 6 months of my subscription. There are only a few options for the GPS navigation compared to the others. While using it, when approaching the turn, it zooms in so much that you can't see the turn on the map anymore, I'm glancing at the GPS to see how close I am to the turn, but then the information I want/need is gone. Do you want to add a second stop to your route? No problem, $300 per year for that. It's a greedy company that has gone down the path of trying to be everything to everyone, and doing a half-donkeyed job at most of it in my opinion.

Trucker Path, Hammer, and SmartTruckRoute2 all seem to use Google Maps data. Google maps color scheme is white roads on a white background, really hard to see compared to the others. Hammer somehow changed the color scheme and looks a bit better.

If you want to preview the upcoming turns, one touch for Trucker Path, Hammer, SmartTruckRoute2 and CoPilot, two touches and a scroll for Sygic. Trucker Path only gives the next three turns. When looking at the turn list, tapping the specific turn will bring it up on the map for Hammer and SmartTruckRoute2, another two touches to see the map on Sygic, Copilot will ask you if you want to avoid the segment/turn if you tap it. Hammer's list is hard for me to read, SmartTruckRoute2's list looks glorious, with lane guidance included. (I have found that lane guidance is not always accurate in some GPSs)

Trucker Path, SmartTruckRoute2 and Sygic report the speed limit for trucks. C'mon Hammer. I doubt Sygic, like RM has the most current data, if Trucker Path and SmartTruckRoute2 are using Google Maps data, it is surely the most up to date. The current speed is displayed right next to the speed limit on Hammer and SmartTruckRoute2, but is across the screen from each other on Sygic and CoPilot. Again, hard for me to read the speed limit on Hammer, and I'm using a 10.5" tablet.

CoPilot does not have lane guidance, $120 per year and no lane guidance or truck speed limit? It will also take you off the main road and route you through downtown sometime for some reason. I can't find the post but another member mentioned if you configure it to avoid roads under a certain speed limit it will stop doing this. Also, at one point CoPilot warned me of a Rail Road crossing, with Truck Hazmat, I wonder why this isn't a feature in more GPSs.

Sygic and CoPilot look the most like traditional GPSs with the routes and roads highly contrasted on the map, I think Sygic looks best out of them all.

Trying to zoom in on the map with Sygic is hideous, much easier (pinch zooming) with the other apps.

All of them allow you to route to a specific point on the map by tapping or touching.

Trucker Path, Hammer and SmartTruckRoute2 make it real easy to route to navigate to a specific Point of Interest, like a truck stop or Cat scale. One touch to bring in the satellite map as well. Also easy to add Points of Interest to the route on Hammer and SmartTruckRoute2.

There are ways to find and navigate to Points of Interest on Sygic and CoPilot, but it's so hard compared to the others, I just can't do it. It's easier to find the address using another app and entering that address into Sygic or CoPilot.

SmartTruckRoute2 must have mobile data to calculate the route, Boo. However, this hasn't been a problem for me yet.

Hammer and SmartTruckRoute2 uses Google's voice recognition AI combined with Google Map data so I just have to speak the name of my company, for example, and the name of the city and it will come back with my terminal's address, brilliant, and quite a time saver.

Hammer and Trucker Path want to know the status of the weigh station while I'm driving. That's a no no in my book. No app should be asking me questions, or having pop ups while I'm trying to drive. Yes yes yes, but I can use the CB radio without taking my eyes off the road.

I can't, at this time, speak to the reliability of each app keeping me on a truck route, but given that we have to check all routes against the Atlas, satellite images, street view and use common sense, I would lean towards SmartTruckRoute2 simply because of the ease of use. I would keep Hammer installed, because of the offline maps.

I wish SmartTruckRoute2's map looked better.

I wish Hammer's user interface was easier to read and had truck speed limits.

I wish CoPilot had truck speed limits and lane guidance.

I wish I could pinch zoom Sygic's map without ending up in the Atlantic Ocean, and could see the upcoming turns with one touch.

I wish there were a reliable alternative to Trucker Path for getting parking predictions.

These are my first impressions, I haven't used each app extensively, so I might be wrong on some things. I am subscribed to them for a year, if you want to know something else about one of them, I'd be happy to look.

Here's an unrelated video:

 

Hammer or Trucker Path., if you could pick one which would it be?

 

Trucker path has parking prediction and truck speed limits, both are important to me as a driver, but the actual navigation part isn't that impressive to me.

As far as navigation goes, Hammer is a whole lot more functional and easier to use. Hammer is free, there's no good reason not to have it.

Sorry I can't directly answer your question. Hammer is GPS software, Trucker Path is _everything_

I wouldn't pay for Trucker Path's navigation, but I do pay for parking prediction.

 

If we compare apps with garmin dezl, which one function better?
I am a new driver, I realy need directions to avoid restricted route in both US and CA. which gps apps / devices do this better?

Thanks

 

Garmin will not send you down a street unless it knows for sure a truck is allowed, so it's usually reliable, but sometimes there's a much better way to get to someplace.

Mine had a route shaping tool which was useful it telling the GPS exactly how you want to drive to the place, but if Garmin is convinced you shouldn't go down some street, you'll waste a lot of time with the route shaping tool, because Garmin's CPU is very, very slow, Rand Mcnally's GPS devices are much faster in my experience.

Garmin has glitches where it will occasionally decide there is a low clearance where there is none, or a 10k lb weight limit on the interstate and try to route you many miles around it. Rand McNally recently sent me on a HazMat restricted interstate, so none of them will keep you out of trouble all the time. My company built a new terminal a few years ago, the road it's on still hasn't appeared on any of RM's map update.

When my Garmin died, it was the best day of my life.

The old hands will tell you to use the Atlas, which is probably the best way. GPS units are great, but if you're going to unfamiliar places, you should check your route against the atlas. And, oh yeah, while you're driving, read the signs that talk about weight limits, truck restrictions, hazmat restrictions and the like. I know it sounds stupid, but, the only real way to stay out of trouble is to pay attention.

Google satellite and street view are also really worth looking at each time. You can look at the intersection on your last turn or two to make sure there aren't any no truck signs, you can see if the road is two lane or four, you can see other trucks on the road, you can see if it is a residential neighborhood, and so forth.

Garmin, RM and TomTom are going to be easier to see in the daytime than an app on your phone. I think the apps are going to be faster, and updated more often.

One app worthy of mention is called MileOn, made by PC Miler, the same folks who make CoPilot. If you wonder why Garmin says it's 1200 miles and the company is paying you for 1050 miles, check the route on MileOn, it will probably show you a shorter truck route (but not necessarily faster). It can give you brighter ideas on how to get to places, and/or double check the Garmin. It's $2.99 USD per month, it isn't navigation software (CoPilot), it just shows you the routes on a map. If you're in a bad spot for cell phone data, the map can take a little while to load.

I know I haven't answered your question. Sorry 'bout that.

 

It helps a lot for my trip planning. Thank you very much.

My company says all mileage will be calculated from the Rand McNally practical mileage guide. What is this? I cannot find if there is a website or a book called this.

Do you know where can I find this information?

Thank you once again for all your help.

 

Practical miles are good, these might answer your question better than me:

Rand McNally | What’s the difference between HHG and Practical Route? | Support

What is Practical Mileage Pay? – Simons Trucking

There is a city to city mileage directory in the RM Atlas, I don't have it in front of me, so I don't know if it lists the practical or HHG miles.

I didn't know this existed:

Rand McNally Driving Directions and Maps

I doubt it is for truck routing though.

The only software/GPS unit I've seen that mentions "practical miles" is CoPilot. All of them calculate either the quickest or shortest route, and give options to avoid u-turns, tunnels, toll roads and ferries.