How to Plan Your Route for Your Next Haul
One thing that every truck driver should learn is the value of good planning.
One thing that every truck driver should learn is the value of good planning. Traffic can be brutal. It’s incredibly frustrating and it can really damage your fuel economy. Planning your route can help you to circumvent traffic and keep you on schedule.
Trip Planning 101
Weather– Check the weather reports for where you need to travel. If there will be bad weather along your route, do whatever you can to avoid those areas. Installing a weather application on your smartphone will show you the forecast and give you alerts if there is something that you need to worry about.
Time– The terrain of your route makes a big difference. If you’re travelling in an area where there are a lot of hills and mountains, you will need to slow down. Take this into account when figuring out how much time to allot for your trip. If you will be crossing the border into Canada or Mexico on your trip, take border crossing delays into account as well. And always give yourself more time than you think you will need.
Pit Stops– There is a great deal of variation in fuel prices from one state to the next. Sometimes just going a couple of miles could save you several cents per gallon. When you’ve got a rig with a high capacity tank, that’s a significant savings!
Meals– While stopping at the nearest truck stop for some fast food will probably save you a couple of minutes here and there, these habits will affect your health in the long run. Every once in a while is fine, but you should try to be as healthy as possible on (and off) the road. Planning meals ahead and packing a cooler can not only save you money, it can also save your health.
Maps– A GPS is a fantastic tool for someone who drives for a living. Unfortunately, technology is not infallible. Your GPS won’t be able to get you out of every single spot you find yourself in. Keeping some good old fashioned low-tech paper maps in your truck can help you if you happen to get lost and not even the GPS knows how to find you.
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