SmartTruckRoute Truck GPS Navi

Review by eFreeware

A delivery address that looks fine on a consumer map can turn into a low bridge, a parkway a tractor-trailer is not allowed on, or a residential street with a weight limit. Those surprises cost time, and sometimes a ticket. SmartTruckRoute is built for exactly that problem: navigation for commercial vehicles that routes around height, weight and access restrictions rather than treating a truck like a car.

The app comes from SmartRouting and sits in the Maps & Navigation category. It has been on Google Play since December 2012 and carries a 4.1 average from a little over 4,100 ratings, with more than 500,000 installs. The download is free and there are no ads, but the routing itself runs on a paid subscription sold inside the app.

How the routing actually works

The core promise is a route that avoids low bridges and roads where trucks are prohibited, including parkways and residential areas. According to the developer, routes are calculated on SmartTruckRoute's servers, where many candidate routes are compared before one is presented, and the map and routing data are refreshed daily at no extra cost. Permanent and temporary truck restrictions are part of that data, along with current traffic.

You configure the app around your vehicle rather than accepting a generic profile. The default settings describe an 18-wheeler at 80,000 lbs, 53 feet long, 13 feet 6 inches tall and 8 feet 6 inches wide, and you can raise or lower those figures to match your own rig or Hazmat level. Motor coaches are supported too. That configuration is what makes the restriction avoidance meaningful: a route that is legal for one truck may be illegal for a taller or heavier one.

The developer also describes a feedback loop in which drivers report real-world mapping and routing problems, and says the system is supported by verified feedback from more than 500,000 truck drivers. That kind of loop is the feature I would weigh most heavily when comparing this with a general-purpose navigation app.

What else is in the cab with you

Navigation is voice-guided and turn by turn, with warnings along the route, and the app supports hands-free operation: you can speak a destination or give a command instead of typing. You can also keep talking on the phone while navigating. Satellite imagery is available at the destination, which helps when the last turn is into a yard or an unfamiliar dock.

For trip planning, the app accepts up to 10 via points, and routes can be sent to the phone from a browser using the developer's dispatch site. Driving assists cover traffic and weather display, lane assist, speed limits, state border crossing warnings and mile markers, and a route can be exported. The odometer can be exported as well, which the developer presents as help with IFTA filing.

Truck-specific points of interest include truck stops, rest areas, repair facilities and weigh scales, and recent updates added the ability to see POIs along the route. Favorites can be stored in the cloud, you can send your current position from the map, and incidents can be reported by pressing the screen. There is also an option to avoid an area entirely, which is useful when a shipper or a local contact tells you to stay out of a particular neighborhood.

What it costs and what it asks of you

SmartTruckRoute is a paid subscription, purchased inside the app. One month costs $15.95, a year costs $59 and three years cost $129, with a 48-hour money back guarantee on a first order. Downloading costs nothing and you pay when you decide to subscribe. A 2-day demo is mentioned in the app description, and there is a free full-use window every day between 1 pm and 2 pm and again between 1 am and 2 am EST, which is enough to see how the routing behaves on roads you know.

Coverage is limited to the United States and Canada. UK and Australia versions exist as separate apps, so this one is not the right purchase for driving outside North America. A newer SmartTruckRoute 2 release on Google Play has additional features, and a comparison document between the two versions is worth checking before committing to a multi-year plan.

The app uses cellular data efficiently, with typical consumption of around 1 GB per month and guidance in the help section for using even less. Installation of the complete system with maps is described as taking about three minutes.

Getting the most from the demo window

The free hour at 1 pm and the free hour at 1 am EST are the most useful part of the trial structure. I would use the afternoon slot to run a route you already drive and watch whether the app avoids the restrictions you know about, and the overnight slot to test a long haul or a route through a city where you have been burned before. That gives you two genuinely different traffic conditions before you spend anything.

Set your vehicle profile before you judge the routing. The defaults describe a full-size 18-wheeler, so a straight truck or a motor coach that is shorter or lighter than those figures may be sent around restrictions it could legally pass. Adjusting height, weight, length and width first means the routes you see in the demo reflect your actual vehicle.

It is also worth building the habit of using via points on multi-stop days. With up to 10 of them, you can lay out a run in the order you intend to drive it rather than navigating stop by stop, and sending the plan from the browser-based dispatch tool saves re-entering addresses on the phone. Reporting an incident when you hit a problem is a small effort that feeds the same feedback loop the developer credits for keeping the maps current.

Where the value sits for a working driver

The case for SmartTruckRoute rests on restriction data and vehicle-specific routing rather than on polish. Daily map refreshes, temporary restrictions, driver reports and configurable dimensions are the features that separate it from a consumer navigation app, and they are the ones that matter when a wrong turn means a bridge strike or a fine. The supporting layer of truck stops, weigh scales, rest areas and repair shops rounds out a day's work rather than being decoration.

The trade-offs are straightforward. It is a subscription, and the pricing is aimed at people who drive for a living. Coverage stops at the US and Canadian borders, and a newer version of the app exists on the same store.

The 4.1 average from more than 4,100 ratings suggests a base of users who mostly get what they expect, though I would treat any navigation app's rating as a starting point rather than a verdict. The free daily window and the 48-hour refund window on a first order lower the risk of finding out for yourself.

A routing tool for drivers paid by the mile

SmartTruckRoute is for people whose livelihood depends on getting a commercial vehicle to a dock without hitting a restriction: owner-operators, company drivers, and anyone running a motor coach or a hazmat load through the US or Canada. If you drive a truck for a living and you have ever had to back out of a street you should never have entered, the restriction-aware routing and the vehicle profile are the reasons to look at it.

I would start with the free hour, set the vehicle dimensions properly, and run a route you know well. If the app avoids the obstacles you already know about, the subscription math is easy to justify against a single ticket or a missed appointment. If your driving stays inside one city or you are not in North America, the paid plans and the regional coverage make this a harder sell.

What's new in version 2.2.101.1

New Reroute options POIs updated Customized speed limits Send your current position from the map Show VIA route in different colors Use www.smarttruckdispatch.com Improve app transfer between phones POIs visible along the route Press screen to report incident Option to Avoid an area Multiple Via Points in route Mile Markers Weather Store Favorites on a Cloud State border crossing warnings Show Speed Limit in route Allows export a route Demo 1 to 2 pm and 1 to 2 am EST