Five Apps for That: Take the guesswork out of parking

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The major truck stop chains have apps that can direct you to their nearest location, and those that allow parking reservations will allow you to do so through the app. TA-Petro’s TruckSmart app updates the number of available spaces every two hours at most locations.

Other apps focus solely or partly on parking. All five of these apps are free and available in the Apple App Store and the Google Play store.

parkmytruckPark My Truck

This initiative of the National Association of Truck Stop Operators and others allows you to view nearby parking locations at ranges from 50 to 250 miles away. It shows your current distance from the parking locations, the total number of spaces at the location and the number of open parking spaces.

The open spaces are updated by the operators of the truck stop or parking location, so the accuracy varies.

truckerpathTrucker Path

Trucker Path’s parking data is crowdsourced, so its accuracy is based on the information provided by drivers. It can show truck stops, rest areas and more. When you select a location, it will show you the most recent parking updates, which can be either “lots of spots,” “some spots” or “lot is full.”

Trucker Path also provides a full history of a selected location to get an idea of the hours when the parking lot tends to be full or open.

roadbreakersRoad Breakers

When you open your phone in an area with cell service, the Road Breakers app stores the data to your phone so that you can use it later even if service is unavailable.

If you input your destination, you can see the parking locations around that area. The app can tell you the amenities of each location and the parking lot’s general size.

truckbubbaTruckbubba

Truckbubba allows you to input your destination for the day to see what you can expect when you arrive, based on information provided by drivers using the app. Truckbubba also routes your trip and shows parking locations along the way.

The map feature can show current traffic conditions along a selected route, as well as parking, fuel and weigh station locations.

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dattruckerDAT Trucker

While this app includes DAT’s load board functionality, it also features parking information and other locators. For any truck stop on its map, the app has the number of parking spaces, whether pay-to-park is an option and other amenities.

You can filter by break locations, which include truck stops, Walmarts and rest areas; truck stops only; truck-friendly hotels; weigh stations; fueling locations; and service locations.

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