Feb 24, 2016

Get Bottom Dollar Diesel with Trucker Path

Diesel is expensive. Buy it where you know it’s cheap. We’ve gathered up a few tips to keep in mind next time you’re nearing empty.

Using the Fuel View

You don’t have to waste time searching for low fuel prices anymore. Trucker Path Pro makes it fast, simple, and clear. Our new Fuel View lets you see fuel prices near you, directly from the map. Download the latest version of Trucker Path Pro to start using the Fuel View now.

To use the Fuel View, just tap the Map Views button. Then, tap Fuel. All the other pins disappear, leaving only fuel prices. That way you can quickly find the bottom dollar.

The Fuel View also works great when you’re planning a trip. All you’ve got to do is enter your trip info in the Trip Planner like usual. Then, tap Map Views > Fuel. All the fuel prices along your route are instantly displayed, and you can figure out where you want to fill up before you even hit the road.

If you’re on a fuel card program or have a favorite truck stop brand, use the location filter to choose which stops you want to see on the map.

Plan Ahead

Some truckers take it even further than that. We talked to driver Stacy Hill a while back, and he knows a thing or two about saving money. Before he was a trucker, Hill was a financial advisor. He made an Excel spreadsheet that lists and subtracts fuel taxes for each state he drives through.

“When I’m planning my day, I use Trucker Path to look up fuel prices at the truck stops in the states I’ll pass through,” Hill said. “Then, I’ll calculate my real fuel cost at every stop and plan where to refuel accordingly.”

Hill said he saves hundreds of dollars in fuel costs every month using his spreadsheet with Trucker Path Pro.

If there’s anything the past several years have taught us, it’s that diesel prices change. What’s down today can be through the roof tomorrow, and it’s good to be prepared. In the trucking industry more than any other, every dollar counts. That’s why we’re committed to saving you money wherever we can. If you know of an improvement we can make to our apps that would help truckers out, let us know. For now, keep on truckin, and make sure you’re getting the best price on fuel by downloading the latest version of Trucker Path Pro.

An Owner Operator's Best Friend - Trucker Path Pro [p]Owner operator team Tracy and Sharon Wilson discovered the advantages of Trucker Path Pro after their GPS led them on a less than ideal route. Now, it's their favorite trucking app.[/p] [h2]Tracy & Sharon Wilson’s indirect route to their favorite app[/h2] [p]Not long ago, Tracy and Sharon Wilson – an owner operator team based in Lexington, NC – were headed to Denver from Kentucky, and programmed their GPS for directions. “We didn’t even think about the route it recommended,” Sharon remembers, “but it sent us down to Nashville and then up through Nebraska – when it should’ve taken us straight across on 70.[/p] [p]“So the very next load we got, we decided to use Trucker Path to plan our route, and we did just what it said – no matter [i]what[/i] our GPS told us. Now, we always check our GPS against Trucker Path. It’s that good.” [i](Editor’s note: Please always use your best judgment as a professional driver. Pay attention to the roads you are on and the dangers they may have).[/i][/p] [img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2016/01/wilson1e.png" alt=""] [h2]It must be a sign![/h2] [p]Sharon will tell you she and Tracy were a bit wary about downloading Trucker Path in the first place. “We already had the Pilot app on our phone, but it only tells you where Pilots are located. So I started Googling truck stop apps, and that’s where I learned about Trucker Path.” She and Tracy being cautious types, “we weren’t sure it was safe. But one day we were in a truck stop, and we saw this big sign for Trucker Path. That’s when we figured maybe it [i]is[/i] safe.” Now, they’ll tell you Trucker Path is their favorite app.[/p] [img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2016/01/wilson3e.png" alt=""] [p]“We use it for so many different things, but our favorite thing is the weigh station information. Before, we never knew whether they were open or not, and it’s saved us so much time and trouble.”[/p] [p]Tracy and Sharon, an auto hauler team operating under the name [a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/T-S-Transit-Inc/939171309458058"]T & S Transit[/a], have been on the road together since October – when Sharon decided it was time for a change. “Tracy was a semi driver for 28 years, and after both our kids were grown and married, I was ready to get out of the house myself.” It’s one of the best decisions she’s ever made.[/p] [p]Childhood sweethearts, the couple have been married 35 years – since the two were just 18 years old. Like any marriage, Sharon says, “we’ve had our ups and downs, but we’re closer now than we’ve ever been.” She also reports another unexpected benefit to being auto haulers: “I’ve lost 20 pounds since I started doing this. It’s a lot of work.” And that’s a good thing, she’ll tell you, because “to tell you the truth, we don’t eat very healthy. Lots of burgers and pizzas for us!"[/p] [p]“That’s another place we get a lot of help from Trucker Path: Finding places to eat where I can use my coupons. I’m big on using my coupons."[/p] [h2]See what’s ahead[/h2] [p]Like most Trucker Path users, the couple also appreciates its available parking feature. “People are really good about reporting on available spaces. And we always do the same ourselves. Lots of times, we’ll just check Trucker Path for the total number of parking spaces at a truck stop. If there’s just, say, 45, we know that isn’t a good bet – but if they have upwards of 150, you can almost always find a space. It’s such a great time saver.”[/p] [p]And time is one of those luxuries the couple doesn’t have much of, these days. “We’re already busy enough with our RAM 5500 hauling three cars at a time, but Tracy says he just can’t accept not being in a semi. We’ll see!” Whichever road life takes them down next, they know one thing they can trust. “Like I said, just do what Trucker Path says!”[/p]

Jan 05, 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

Feb 24, 2016