The entire trucking industry has been transformed by new technology. In recent years, trucking companies, shippers, manufacturers and even truck drivers themselves have been able to benefit from the continued development of mobile devices such as tablets and cellphones.
Today, truck drivers can take advantage of these relatively inexpensive devices to not only stay connected while they're on the road, but help make their job significantly easier.
In fact, there are many apps that have been designed and developed specifically for the industry. Below is a list of some of the best apps for truck drivers, as well as an explanation on what each of them does.

It can be challenging when you're out on the road to find appropriate places to stop, rest and refresh. Only certain rest stops along the way can handle tractor trailers, and many of those stops don't provide everything a truck driver might need.
Trucker Tools is a free app that can help you plan stops along your route for whatever you might need -- rest areas, full-service truck stops, weigh stations, places to park, places to wash your truck and locations of Walmart stores.
Trucker Tools helps truck drivers find the places they need to stop to fuel up, grab food and refreshments, and catch some rest along their route.

Waze is a popular GPS app that many everyday drivers use, and it can come in handy for truck drivers, too. This app helps you avoid traffic jams, road construction, accidents and other traffic issues -- all of which could cause you to fall behind schedule.
This free app provides real-time traffic updates while you're on your route, alerting you any time there has been a report of upcoming police, traffic and many other hazards. This allows you to either prepare for them or to find an alternative route.
Waze will update your expected time of arrival as you travel so that you can know approximately when you might arrive at the destination.

One of the most popular free apps that truck drivers use is called Trucker Path. It's a mapping and trip planning app that allows you to see reviews from other truck drivers on more than 40,000 truck stops throughout the U.S. and Canada.
By knowing which truck stops you want to include along your route, you can plan your entire trip in advance. Then, while you're on the road, you can get real-time updates on the availability of parking as well as weigh stations. This can help you optimize your trip and not waste time pulling into a close weigh station or a truck stop where the lot is full.
You can even see customized routes that are created specifically for the type of truck you are driving as well as its weight. This can help you easily avoid any low bridges or overpasses.

The CAT Scale Company has created this free app that can help you weigh your truck automatically. The app will locate the CAT scale where you're at.
Perhaps the most impressive part of the app is you can pay directly from the app. Once you're done paying, you can receive a receipt in PDF format of your weigh information and ticket directly to an email.
Truck drivers don't even have to get out of their truck to perform the routine weighing.

Fueling up is one of the most expensive parts of driving a truck. Gas Buddy is a database that includes 150,000 fuel stations in North America, allowing you to see which stations have the best prices for fuel.
This free app is a great way to save some money on your trip, which is crucial especially for owner-operators or independent contractors. What's more, Gas Buddy will alert you if the price of diesel gas is going to increase in the near future so that you can top off the tank in advance of that happening.
Gas Buddy also allows you to monitor your own driving habits, informing you in the process if you're wasting gas and, as a result, precious money.

Drivewyze is a convenient app that can save you a lot of time and money. The app will automatically detect inspection sites and weigh stations in North America, and potentially allow you to bypass them.
How it works is that when you're two miles out from any of these stops, you'll receive an automatic alert. It will also send a bypass request to the station. After the request has been sent, the app will notify you whether you need to stop at the station, or if you can keep on driving by.
It's a great app to save you a lot of time, and it can easily justify its monthly cost of $17.99. Drivewyze does also come with a free 30-day trial.

Scanning radio stations to keep you entertained while you're on the road can be tricky. That's why many truck drivers today are opting for streaming entertainment apps such as Spotify.
Through this app -- which has both a free version and a paid version -- you can listen to music and podcasts while you drive. Create a playlist on your own, or listen to any of the playlists that Spotify has curated based around moods, genres or artists.
Spotify will even build you a daily personalized mix based on what you've listened to in the past.

Weather can have a huge effect on how safely you can drive. It can also dramatically affect your estimated time of arrival. Being able to get accurate and real-time updates on weather conditions is great for any truck drive, and The Weather Channel's free app is one of the best ones out there.
The app can be used to plan ahead for any potential severe weather. You can view forecasts and radars for where you are and where you're going, allowing you to be as prepared as you can for the time on the road.