
Use the Trucker Path Trip Planner tool to plan your route beforehand – saving truck drivers like you precious time and potential earnings.
Between HOS rules, ELDs, overcrowded truck stops, and dock time restrictions, planning ahead is a must in order for truck drivers to be successful. We’ve surveyed over 3,300 truck drivers and over 40 percent say they spend an hour or more searching for truck parking.
That’s why using Trucker Path Trip Planner feature is an essential tool to save you time and deliver you peace of mind while you deliver loads.
Steps:
1. Open the Trucker Path app
2. To plan a trip, click the diamond with the arrow on the bottom left

3. Fill out your origin and destination, then click ROUTE

4. Click the places icon on the bottom right to filter out which locations you want to appear on the map

5. Click the icons of locations to deselect them and hide them from the map

6. To Exit Trip Planner and return to the Home Map Screen, click the arrow at the top left





Celebrate National Truck Driver Appreciation Week with loads of savings and giveaways [p]National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (NTDAW) is this week! This year, the trucking industry will come together from September 9-15 to honor professional drivers nationwide. We want to thank you for all your hard work and commitment to your careers. Without you and your integral role as a truck driver, life would get tough fast for the rest of us. Many of the things we take for granted, including access to medical supplies, fuel, food and clean water, would all be gone in a matter of weeks without trucks and truck drivers. What you do matters, and we are so grateful for you.[/p]
[p]As a professional driver, there are several rewards and freebies you can take advantage of as part of NTDAW. These include:[/p]
<ul>
<li><strong>[p]Denny’s</strong> - Participating Denny’s travel center locations will offer professional drivers scratch-off cards with various diner discounts and prizes through September 30. Drivers will also receive a 10 percent discount key tag that can be used until December 31, 2019. (<a href="https://www.truckersnews.com/dennys-to-show-appreciation-to-drivers-in-september/">https://www.truckersnews.com/dennys-to-show-appreciation-to-drivers-in-september/</a>)[/p]</li>
<li><strong>[p]Pilot/Flying J</strong> - Throughout the month of September, Pilot Flying J stores will have money-saving offers and daily giveaways via the myPilot® app. Pilot Flying J Truck Care is also offering free mid-trip inspections, valued at $50, to help professional drivers and trucking companies prepare for Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s Brake Safety Week. The company is also handing out a combined 100 million myRewards® loyalty points to more than 60,000 drivers, including 2,000 daily winners. To enter, professional drivers can simply swipe their myRewards® loyalty card when purchasing diesel fuel at participating travel centers in the United States. Additional details can be found here: <a href="https://www.pilotflyingj.com/driver-appreciation/">https://www.pilotflyingj.com/driver-appreciation/</a>[/p]</li>
<li><strong>[p]Love’s Travel Centers</strong> - Love’s is celebrating NTDAW all month long with many food, drink, and merchandise deals as well as the opportunity to win 10,000 My Love Reward points. One driver will win 1 million points. Use the following link for more details: <a href="https://www.truckersnews.com/loves-appreciates-trucker-drivers-throughout-september/">https://www.truckersnews.com/loves-appreciates-trucker-drivers-throughout-september/</a>[/p]</li>
<li><strong>[p]AmBest Truck Stops</strong> - Specific AmBest members are hosting driver appreciation events. Check out the full list here to find one near you: <a href="https://am-best.com/News-Events/Driver-Appreciation-Days">https://am-best.com/News-Events/Driver-Appreciation-Days</a>[/p]</li>
<li><strong>[p]Southern Recipe</strong> - Vote for your favorite truck driver chef recipe for a chance to with $2,000 here: <a href="http://southernrecipe.com/truckdriverappreciation/">http://southernrecipe.com/truckdriverappreciation/</a>[/p]</li>
</ul>
[p]Many carriers around the country are also hosting their own driver appreciation events this week. Be sure to check out their social media pages to find out the details. Know about a NTDAW event happening that you want to share with other drivers? Leave the details in a comment below.[/p]
[p]Here’s to a great National Truck Driver Appreciation Week![p]
Trucker Spotlight - Kangaroo Trucker <em>The Trucker Spotlight series explores the lives of truckers and their journey to make a difference in their industry. We interview different truck drivers to understand some life lessons that make them who they are today. We also learn more about their motivations, and the problems that they encounter on the job. We also tackle how Trucker Path's solutions helped them with what they do. The information that they provide helps inform other people who are looking to delve into the trucking world.</em>
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<a href="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/06/Lark20200630-214612.jpeg"><img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/06/Lark20200630-214612-300x225.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="225" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-5084"></a>
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Today we are putting the spotlight on <strong>Jim</strong>, who recently picked up a vlogging hobby on Youtube. His channel, "The Adventures of Kangaroo Trucker”, is where he shares his adventures, both good and bad, while out over the road. He recently just started driving trucks and was heavily influenced by his brothers. Let's get to know more about Jim and his adventures.
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<h3><strong>How long have you been trucking?</strong></h3>
I started my trucking career in 2019. I went to a local CDL school but wasted my money so I invested again with a large carrier and went to their school and drove OTR with them for about a year to get some experience. I left them and went with a smaller trucking firm (about 300 trucks) out of Pennsylvania. I got some good experience driving in the upper north east of U.S., but the communication with their drivers and the constant sitting and driving in the worst places caused me to look elsewhere. I was referred to a medium size company (about 1600 truck fleet). It’s a much better fit for me. I go out 4-5 weeks at a time and get home time with no problem. They send me all over lower 48 states.
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<h3><strong>What made you decide to be a trucker?</strong></h3>
I got into trucking because my younger brother is a Truck Driver and my older brother, who passed in 2015, was an owner operator and owner a couple of trucks. I must have had a mid life crisis or something but I was drawn to go out to get my CDL and see what it was like to walk in his shoes. It’s been a journey. I’m glad I did it and I encourage everyone to follow their passion. It’s not just a job to me. It feeds my family, yes, but I like the daily challenges and I am amazed on how complex this logistical puzzle ever gets accomplished with the many moving parts. It is a miracle to me, at times, it all seems to work out just to get something from point A to point B. It really takes some good attitude and a great deal of patience, but working together with everyone is really what makes this whole process work.
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<h3><strong>What made you start Youtube vlogging?</strong></h3>
I was hoping create videos to either entertain seasoned truckers as they watch me struggle getting my experience or for those new to trucking eager to learn from others who have made their mistakes so that all of us can learn from it.
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<h3><strong>What's the story of you becoming "Kangaroo Trucker"? Do you also have a name for your truck?</strong></h3>
I own a gymnastics business in Atlanta area and have a competitive Trampoline and Tumbling team. The gyms logo is a Kangaroo so that’s why I call myself Kangaroo Trucker.
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<a href="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/06/kt.jpeg"><img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/06/kt-300x156.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="156" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-5090"></a>
<h3><strong>How did Trucker Path help you in your day to day trucking?</strong></h3>
I will say that early on I found the <a href="https://truckerpath.com/trucker-path-app/">Trucker Path app</a> to be a really large part of my daily arsenal to help me navigate this great country. I never realized how truckers had to constantly trip plan and we’re constantly looking for a place to shut down for their 10 hour break. TruckerPath is just one of those tools a trucker uses to help find a safe place to shut down, or see if a weigh station is open. The thing I like the most is that it is a Trucker Community driven app. It’s a good feeling to look for a truck stop and to find other truckers have updated the status so someone like me can feel safe in knowing there’s likely a good chance I’ll find a spot to shut down. Equally, I’m happy to update all locations I visit so I can return the favor. So if you use it, I encourage you to update often. If you don’t use TruckerPath app, I’d recommend giving it a try. Especially if you are new. Not all of us have the years of experience to know all the exits by memory of our favorite places like the veteran drivers out there.
<h2></h2>
<h3><strong>Where can we watch your videos?</strong></h3>
You can find me on my Youtube Channel, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9x-LgYMaepeyXCApHfCQOg">Kangaroo Trucker</a>.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v8-9EhgnlG0" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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I’ll keep on trucking as long as I can. It’s a great feeling to be contributing to America's supply chain and doing my part to help.
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Cheers!
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<h4>By Aldous Aldwin</h4>
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Trucker Terms [p] If you're going to make it in trucking these are the trucker terms you'll want to remember along with some good ole trucking slang you'll hear on the CB radio. [/p]
[h2] Trucker Terms [/h2]
[p] Being a trucker is not only a unique way of life, it also comes with a unique way of communicating that only those in the trucking industry probably can decipher and understand. [/p]
[p] <strong> 10-4 - </strong> acknowledging something
[/p]
[p] <strong> 10-6 - </strong> busy right now
[/p]
[p] <strong> 10-8 - </strong> en route
[/p]
[p] <strong> 20 -</strong> location
[/p]
[p] <strong> 4-Wheeler -</strong> automobile
[/p]
[p] <strong> APU -</strong> authorized pick-up
[/p]
[p] <strong> Backhaul -</strong> retuning load to home location
[/p]
[p] <strong> Bear Trap - </strong> speed radar trap
[/p]
[p] <strong> <a href="https://truckerpath.com/blog/freight-contracts/">Bill of Lading</a> - </strong> document that details information regarding the goods being hauled by a carrier from a shipper
[/p]
[p] <strong> <a href="https://truckerpath.com/blog/what-is-a-weigh-station/">Chicken Coop</a> - </strong> Weigh Station
[/p]
[p] <strong> Chicken Lights - </strong> Added lights on and around a truck
[/p]
[p] <strong> Chocks -</strong>blocks placed in front and behind wheels to prevent truck from rolling
[/p]
[p] <strong>Cosignee - </strong>person who receives the goods
[/p]
[p] <strong>Cosignor - </strong>person who ships the goods
[/p]
[p] <strong> County Mounty -</strong> - county sheriff
[/p]
[p] <strong> <a href="https://truckerpath.com/blog/what-is-deadhead/">Deadhead -</a></strong> miles driven with no load
[/p]
[p] <strong> Dry Van -</strong>standard enclosed truck trailer
[/p]
[p] <strong> ETA -</strong> estimated time of arrival
[/p]
[p] <strong> Freightshaker -</strong> Freightliner truck
[/p]
[p] <strong> GCW (Gross Combined Weight) - </strong> combined wieght of tractor/trailer and load
[/p]
[p] <strong> Gear Jammer -</strong>speeding driver
[/p]
[p] <strong>Hammer Down -</strong> drive faster
[/p]
[p] <strong> Hopper -</strong> truck that empties load through bottom that opens
[/p]
[p] <strong> HOS -</strong>hours of service
[/p]
[p] <strong> Intermodal -</strong> shipping container freight
[/p]
[p] <strong>Jack-Knife -</strong>when trailer is pushed to the side of the tractor
[/p]
[p] <strong> K-whopper - </strong>Kenworth truck
[/p]
[p] <strong> Kingpin - </strong> pin where the axel wheel pivots
[/p]
[p] <strong> LTL (Less Than Truckload) -</strong> load less than 10,000 lbs.
[/p]
[p] <strong> Motor Carrier -</strong> person or company that is responsible for transporting goods via a commercial motor vehicle
[/p]
[p] <strong>P&D Driver -</strong> pickup and delivery driver locally
[/p]
[p] <strong>Payload - </strong>weight of the load
[/p]
[p] <strong>Peddle Run - </strong>route with lots of deliveries
[/p]
[p] <strong>Pete - </strong> Peterbilt truck
[/p]
[p] <strong>RC (Rate Confirmation) -</strong> the rate shipper or broker agrees to pay carrier to haul a load
[/p]
[p] <strong> Reefer -</strong> refridgerated truck trailer
[/p]
[p] <strong> Shiny Side Up - </strong> top of truck; don't crash or roll over
[/p]
[p] <strong> Sliding Fifth Wheel - </strong> fifth wheel that can be slid back to redistrubute weight on the axels
[/p]
[p] <strong>Trucking Authority -</strong>FMCSA approval to haul loads
[/p]
[p] <strong>Willy Weaver - </strong>drunk driver
[/p]
[h2] Using Trucker Path Along Your Route [/h2]
[p] Now that you know the trucker terms and are talking like a real driver, it's time you use a tool that most truckers rely on to help them save time and money - the <strong>Trucker Path app. </strong> [/p]
[p] Trucker Path is free to download and helps drivers: [/p]
[ul]
[li] Find truck parking with real-time updates [/li]
[li] Browse through the list of amenities a location offers [/li]
[li] Check to see if a weigh station is open or not [/li]
[li] View Walmart locations and know if they allow truck parking [/li]
[li] Compare diesel prices to save on fuel[/li]
[li] Plan their route to show locations along their trip [/li]
[li] Read through fellow drivers reviews of a location [/li]
[li] Find restaurants near truck parking locations and much more! [/li]
[/ul]
[button-green href="https://truckerpath.com/trucker-path-app/?utm_source=blog&utm_medium=truckerterms
"]Try Trucker Path Today![/button-green]
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