Mar 03, 2016

5 Things to Know About the New Trucker Path Pro

If you haven’t gotten the latest Trucker Path Pro update, you’re missing out on some cool new stuff. And if you have downloaded the update, there are some new things you may not know about. Here are some of the big changes worth checking out.

1. We didn’t take away the weigh stations

They’ve been there all along. We just added a bunch of different Quick Views to the map, and weigh stations went under the Quick Views menu:

All Places – displays all types of locations from truck stops to weigh stations to Walmart stores and more.
Weigh Stations – takes all pins off the map except weigh stations so you can quickly see which ones are open or closed nearby.
Parking Availability – takes all pins off the map except parking areas.
Fuel – takes all pins off the map except places with fuel and displays the price per gallon of diesel (if we know). These prices are provided by the stops themselves, not by truckers.

2. You choose what appears on the map

No matter what Quick View you’re using, you select what location types appear on the map. Tap the button with the pin on it, and a menu appears. Select each location type you want to see. Then, tap anywhere on the map to close the menu. A notification will appear that tells you your pin selections have been saved for the view you’re using.

So let’s say you’re on a fuel plan and only want to see a certain brand of fuel stops. Make sure you’re in the Fuel View, tap that pin button, and select the brand you want. Then, remove all the other types of fuel places. Once you’ve done that, only your selected fuel brand will appear in the Fuel View.

3. Gray pins need updates

Have you seen gray pins on the map? That means no one has updated the parking status in 24 hours. Help your fellow truckers out – let them know if the parking lot is full or empty.

4. We’re adding new places with every release

We get tons of requests to change and add info to the app. We’re keeping up as fast as we can. To let us know about a new place, open the menu, tap Feedback, and then tap Add new places. Complete the e-mail form, and hit Send. We’ll get it in the app as quickly as possible and you will start seeing them when you update the app.

5. We’re here to help

If there’s something you don’t understand about the new version, let us know. Drop us a Facebook message or email us at support@truckerpath.com. We’d be glad to help you get the most out of Trucker Path Pro.

Feb 24, 2016

Truck Stops to Family Values: Choosing the Right Path [p]Whether he's driving a big rig or raising his kids, father of 7 Ed Brooks knows just where to look for guidance.[/p] [p]Ed Brooks found the Trucker Path app the same way a lot of our users do (searching for a smarter way to get from the proverbial Point A to Point B),but the feature he’s used most often lately is a favorite of his son – Ed’s on-the-road companion for the past five months. “When you travel with an 11-year-old,” he says with a smile, “you need to know where the bathrooms are.”[/p] [p]And not just any roadside truck stop will do, mind you. “We always check user ratings to see if the bathrooms are clean, and the atmosphere is family-friendly. Most times, we try to shoot for full-service truck stops. After all, if you have to stop, you might as well make it a good one.”[/p] [h2]Not your typical driving experience[/h2] [p]Ed’s been driving OTR since April – delivering RVs, buses and box trucks across the country. Before that, the Ann Arbor native drove several years locally for Uber and Lift – two jobs which offered a bit more, let’s say, ‘adventure’ than the average 62-year-old wants in life. “I drove a lot of students from club to club at nights, and it just got too wild. I wouldn’t even take rides after 11:00. By then, a lot of them could barely walk or talk.”[/p] [p]Which, in a roundabout way, raises a couple of questions: Where does a 62-year-old get the energy to raise an 11-year-old son, and how’d that happen in the first place? “Oh, we’re joined at the hip,” says Ed. “We’ve been on the road together nearly full time since I took this job. My wife and I adopted Roman when he was 11 months old.”[/p] [h2]Answering the call[/h2] [p]Ed admits that, at the time, he and Linda weren’t exactly looking for number seven (of whom, three others are also adopted),“but the Lord intervened. Roman had suffered a brain injury as a baby, and we just felt like he needed us.”[/p] [p]The injury led to early comprehension challenges, especially during pre-school and kindergarten. Roman’s going into fifth grade this year, and, Ed’s proud to say, “he’s doing well and making his grades. We home-schooled him last year,” which is how he was able to spend so much time on the road during April and May, “and now he’s all caught-up, and he’ll be going back to school this year.”[/p] [h2]A message of hope[/h2] [p]Although the next nine months on the road are likely to be a bit lonely for Ed, he’ll still have plenty of opportunities to make a difference when he’s home. A chaplain at the Washtenaw County jail for seven years before he began his driving career, Ed’s a member of Bethesda Bible Church in East Lansing – and still maintains an active ministry counseling recently-released inmates.[/p] [h2]Making good choices[/h2] [p]There is one upside to traveling solo for Ed: “Roman mostly liked eating at McDonald’s, whereas I do my best to stay away from carbs and starches.” Yet another area where his favorite driving app comes in handy every time he hits the road. “If a place ain’t on Trucker Path,” Ed says flatly, “I won’t go there.” Words of wisdom from a man who knows a little something about keeping it on the Straight and Narrow.[/p]

Dec 03, 2015

New Feature: Trucker Path Pro Views [p]When it’s time to find parking in Trucker Path Pro, the number of options can be overwhelming. It’s easy to end up hunting and pecking among several different pins on the map before you find what you need. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just glance at the map and quickly see all the available parking in your area, all the open and closed weigh stations, and even all the fuel prices at nearby pumps? Good news: Now you can.[/p] [p]We're thrilled to introduce our newest [a href="http://go.onelink.me/1362444146?pid=Blog&c=website"]Trucker Path Pro[/a] feature. We call it [b]Views[/b], and we think you're going to love it.[/p] [h2]Trucker Path Pro Views[/h2] [p]The [b]Views[/b] feature gives you four different ways to see what’s around you in Trucker Path Pro:[/p] [ul] [li]All Places View[/li] [li]Weigh Stations View[/li] [li]Parking View[/li] [li]Diesel Prices View[/li] [/ul] [p]There’s a new [b]Views button[/b] located at the bottom left of the map screen, and it has an icon on it that looks like planet earth. Go on, give that button a tap and check out what’s near you.[/p] [p]Once you tap the Views button, you'll see a menu containing several options that will help you based on where you are and what you are looking for.[/p] [h2]All Places View[/h2] [p]The first view should look pretty familiar. It's the default view in the app, but we've given it a name so you can tell it apart from the new views. It's called [b]All Places View[/b], and as the name implies, it displays all the places you regularly see on the map. Anytime you want to see the regular map, just tap All Places and you're set.[/p] [android-img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2016/02/allplaces-e.png" alt=""] [h2]Weigh Stations View[/h2] [p]If you want to quickly see all the open and closed weigh stations on your route, the Trucker Path Pro [b]Weigh Stations View [/b] is the tool for you. Just tap that [b]Views[/b] button, and then tap [b]Weigh Stations[/b]. All the pins you don't need disappear, leaving only weigh station pins on the map. The best part? You can see whether a weigh station is open or closed without even tapping it – the status is written right there on the pin.[/p] [android-img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2016/02/weighstations-ed.png" alt=""] [h2]Parking View[/h2] [p]Picture this: your HOS minutes are ticking down, and your e-log knows it. Problem is, you're on an unfamiliar road in a town you've never heard of. You've got to find a place to stop, and quick. Enter Trucker Path Pro's [b]Parking View[/b]. Tap the [b]Views[/b] button. Then, tap [b]Parking Availability[/b], and boom – you can instantly see everywhere there's available parking. You beat your HOS clock, while finding a safe place to park that has a restaurant nearby.[/p] [android-img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2016/02/parking-e.png" alt=""] [h2]Fuel Prices View[/h2] [p]Nothing eats profit like high diesel prices. Even when fuel prices are low, it’s still the one of the biggest operational costs. Make sure you're getting the most for your money with the Trucker Path Pro [b]Fuel Prices View[/b]. When you tap the [b]Views[/b] button and then tap Fuel, you immediately see where the nearest stations are and how much they're charging per gallon. No more searching through place details. It's all right there on the map so you can make a quick decision and get where you need to go.[/p] [ios-img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2016/02/fuel2.jpg" alt=""] [h2]Keep your filters in mind[/h2] [p]Filters are a great way to make sure you are viewing location types that you are most interested in. Make sure you have your favorite brands selected. If we know the price of fuel, it will be displayed on the map.[/p] [h2]Good things take time[/h2] [p]All this new stuff is super exciting, but our top priority is making sure it works well for you. In order to assure the switch from the old map to the new views goes smoothly for everyone, we're doing what's called a “controlled rollout”. That means we release the feature to a few small groups of users at a time. By doing a controlled rollout, we're better able to answer your questions and make sure it's easy for you to use the views. Some of you might not see the [b]Views[/b] feature yet, but rest assured – it will be available to everyone soon.[/p] [p]Oh, and one more thing about new stuff. You know when you get a new pair of shoes and you have to walk around in them a bit to break them in? That's kind of how this feature might feel for the first couple times you use it. Once you get comfortable with it, though, you'll be off and running. If you have any questions or feedback in the meantime, let us know.[/p]

Feb 14, 2016