Best Truck Navigation Apps for iPad

iPad works as a great travel companion by providing you with turn-by-turn navigation updates. But how is this possible?

You see, as a frequent truck driver, it’s really embarrassing to keep stopping on the way just to ask for directions. You not only waste your precious time but you also risk a lot as some people may mislead you.

Now, to avoid going through such painful experiences, there are lots of great navigation apps you can download or purchase for your iPad to make your trucking experience more entertaining and fun-filled.

Whether you wish to get weather updates, traffic updates, road changes, hotel bookings or any information that’s relevant for your trucking endeavor, these truck navigation apps for iPad will be worth investing in.

What to look for when choosing an iPad truck navigation app

Besides messaging and social media apps, navigation apps are among the most downloaded apps in most iPads today.

For instance, Google Maps was one of the most downloaded apps in the iOS platform from over 57% of iPad and iPhone users.

Although Snapchat, Instagram, and Gmail are all smart apps that top in the list of the most downloaded apps, what else could be more useful than a navigation app on your iPad?

Now, with a plethora of options already available in the market, this section will highlight some key pointers you need to consider when looking for the best truck navigation apps for the iPad.

Affordability

In today’s phone market, virtually all Smartphones come with a navigation app already preinstalled in the system.

In case you need something more exclusive, make sure that the app you install is either free or cheap. But if you want a professional application, then you have to pay a little more.

Basic features

The best navigation app should offer basic features that will make your trucking experience even more fun-filled.

Always check for exclusive features such as route options, traffic notifications, estimated time of arrival, information about basic amenities along the route and finally, text-to-speech functions.

Offline use

As a truck driver, you’ll be expected to drive along remote routes with limited or even with no internet connection.

With this fact in mind, it’s wise that you download navigation apps that provide offline maps and routes. Such apps use only your iPad’s GPS connection to give you precise route information without using your data bundles.

Benefits of truck navigation app

The smartphone era has indeed revolutionized the navigation industry in a major way.

Unlike the past where people relied heavily on old-school paper maps, this new era has been revamped with newer and smarter downloadable navigation apps.

Instead of just listening to cool music, browsing the web or chatting with your friends, iPads can now function as handheld GPS systems providing you with routes and other critical route information when trucking.

With that said, let’s take a look at some of the key benefits of owning a truck navigation app for your iPad.

Convenience

This is the major selling point of most navigation apps. You see, instead of carrying a GPS system always, why not use your iPad’s preinstalled navigation app?

Apart from just giving you the direction, these apps provide you with more information such as alternative routes, weather conditions, traffic information as well as information about basic amenities along the route.

Connectivity

Another major benefit of navigation apps for iPad is providing you with connectivity.

Networking such as location sharing is very important for any truck driver as it provides your family, truck’s owner or other drivers with key information about your whereabouts when driving.

Availability

Your iPad is always within your reach any time of the day right? With such an advantage, getting route information when driving is pretty easy as compared to GPS devices.

Secondly, navigation apps for iPads are always available in the app store for free or at a small fee.

A roundup review of three of the best truck navigation apps for iPad

TruckMap – Truck GPS Routes

Are you looking for a navigation app that will give you detailed, customized, safe and reliable truck routes throughout your journey? Well, the TruckMap is exactly what you need to invest in.

Unlike most navigation apps in the app store, the TruckMap comes with precisely calculated truck-legal routes that will give you instant access to a wide range of amenities depending on your truck’s physical characteristics.

For instance, this navigation app has truck optimized GPS routes that let you customize your truck’s weight and height to help you avoid driving on truck forbidden routes and roads.

In addition to that, this app allows you to filter your locations to give you explicit access to weighing stations, diesel stations, overnight parking areas, rest areas, and Walmart.

Features of the TruckMap-Truck GPS Routes

• Over 14,000 locations: depending on your trucking itinerary, the TruckMap app gives you an overwhelming 14,000+ locations customized depending on your truck’s characteristics. There are over 1,000 truck stops with laundry and shower services, over 1,000 weight stations and over 1,000 truck parking spots.
• Option to filter locations: depending on exactly what you’re looking for, this app allows you to filter/narrow your options to avoid wasting time when traveling. Whether you wish to access a grocery store, a WI-FI spot, parking area, restrooms, shower spots, diesel station, ATM or air hoses, this app will let you do exactly that with just a simple procedure.
• Truck services: are you driving on a new route and you’re wondering where to find authentic truck services? Well, the TruckMap app gives you access to a wide range of truck services such as truck mechanics, oil changes, truck washes, tire services and roadside assistance all at a glance.

Pros

• This app has a simplified user interface.
• There are thousands of route options.
• Customers will enjoy a wide range of customized amenities depending on their trucks.
• Drivers have a chance to filter their locations to access basic truck services such as fuel stations, air hoses and truck mechanics among others.
• This app is available for free.

Cons

• This app is slow and lags behind your actual location.
• Sometimes freezes a lot and needs to be restarted to keep up.
• Not so accurate restrictions.

Sygic Truck GPS Navigation

First, we had the TruckMap which according to many was an accurate and authentic navigation map. This time round, we have the Sygic Truck GPS Navigation which again has received positive criticism from most truck drivers.

 

How did this navigation app manage to outperform most of its closest rivals?

I believe this is one question most truck drivers must be asking themselves. Well, the Sygic Truck GPS Navigation is designed to eliminate the guesswork out of your trucking endeavors.

With its first-class routing and accurate maps, truck drivers are able to get up-to-date route notifications depending on their trucks’ physical characteristics.

When it comes to the app’s functionality, truckers will enjoy the offline feature that allows the app to connect with the main GPS signal to give you real-time route notification without using any of your cellular data.

In addition to that, the offline feature lets you enjoy real-time maps even in areas with limited internet connectivity.

Moving on, the Sygic Truck GPS Navigation comes with a voice instruction feature that gives you turn-by-turn speech commands letting you concentrate more on the wheel.

It’s capable of displaying 3D and 2D cities and landscapes for easy orientation while still offering relevant information regarding your specific vehicle regardless of whether it’s a truck, RV, Car, Bus, Caravan or Camper.

Features of the Sygic Truck GPS Navigation

• Available for free the first time:  one feature that has truly impressed most truck drivers is the fact that this app is available for free. However, if you’re a truck driver who enjoys regular add-ons, then this app will give you additional features with an auto-renewable subscription fee.
• A wide range of route notifications: apart from just giving you regular free maps, the Sygic Truck GPS Navigation is also able to give you real-time traffic information, speed cameras database, specific route restrictions and POI (Point Of Interest) which might be relevant to your truck’s physical characteristics.
• All-in-one app: finally, regardless of whether you’re driving a truck, a car, RV, bus, camper or caravan, the Sygic Truck GPS Navigation will offer you all the required information depending on your driving needs such as parking areas, petrol stations, campsites, weigh stations and more.

Pros

• Available for free.
• Able to connect with GPS signals for offline operation.
• Designed to offer specific routing for trucks, cars, buses, caravan, campers, and RVs.
• Programmed to offer voice instructions to avoid any accidents when operating the iPad.
• It offers a wide range of POI options depending on your truck’s characteristics.

Cons

• The maps are only limited to North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand routes.
• The maps on this app miss key locations.
• The app is very difficult to sign in and complete registration.

SmartTruckRoute

Last but not least, we have the SmartTruckRoute. Quite similar to the rest of the app we’ve reviewed in this guide; this navigation app is also available to download for free though you’ll have to pay a subscription fee to access real-time truck routing and navigation services.

Designed with a capacity of just 105.3 MB, this app is compatible with iPads running the latest iOS 10.0 or later.

By downloading the app on your iPad, truck drivers will have a chance to merge with other truck drivers who are already using this app to find their way through the available pre-installed routes.

This app offers you a wide range of routes to choose from as well as customized route information depending on your truck’s physical characteristics.

Whether you’re looking to avoid low bridges, keep off roads with weight limitations, restricted routes or routes with costly tickets, this app will be your perfect companion as it will accomplish this either through displaying the routes or by voice interaction.

In addition to that, if you’re a trucker looking to enjoy the best out of your trip, the SmartTruckRoute will let you filter your options to only remain with your preferred POI spots.

With such a feature, you can easily find WI-FI hotspots, diesel spots, truck mechanics, resting areas, truck spots or truck washes without any hassles.

Features of SmartTruckRoute

• Wide truck routing option: are you a regional, local or over the road truck driver? Well, the SmartTruckRoute gives you a wide range of routing options provided you’re traversing within U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia or UK.
• Route notifications: with this app already pre-installed in your iPad, commercial drivers will have a chance to navigate with confidence as the app will give you detailed real-time information such as low bridges, restricted roads and roads with weight limitations among others.
• Voice guidance: to avoid any accidents, the SmartTruckRoute eliminates the hassle of having to check for route information on your iPad by providing you with a smart voice guidance alternative that gives you turn-by-turn instructions.

Pros

• Available to download for free.
• This app offers a wide range of route options.
• This app offers turn-by-turn instructions via voice interaction.
• There’s an in-built Odometer to help track state mileage.
• This app doesn’t interrupt with your iPad’s functionality.
• This app offers an unlimited number of routes.

Cons

• With a capacity of 105.3MB, this app is considered to be huge.
• This app sometimes fails to disclose important addresses.
• You must pay a premium to get route updates.

Conclusion

That’s it for now. If you’re an enthusiast truck driver or a professional regional driver for that matter, each of these navigation apps will do a superb job of giving you turn-by-turn route notifications that will get you to your preferred destination.

You see, one of the greatest pains most truck drivers go through is dealing with unexpected delays, traffic, road closures, and road restrictions especially if there are weight restrictions.

However, with these apps at the disposal, getting route information is quite easy as you only need to key in relevant information depending on your truck’s physical characteristics.

With that being said, I believe this guide has offered you the relevant information.

However, if you feel like there’s anything we’ve left behind or maybe you’d like to add a point or two to what we’ve already said, please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comments section below.