One of the benefits of using the Truckit Provider app is that you can share your location with customers, allowing them to keep up to date with their delivery.

How to enable tracking for the first time

The first time you login to the app you will be shown a popup with a brief overview of Truckit's location tracking. You will then be prompted to set your Location Settings to 'Always'.

In order for the tracking to function properly you will need to select 'Always Allow' when prompted. This is a technical requirement to ensure a good tracking experience for your customer, otherwise the tracking will not function. But don't worry, you will have full control over when you wish to be tracked, as you will read below. 

How to change your tracking setting to 'Always'

Starting a Job

Before you leave to go and collect a job, make sure you go into the job screen and click 'Start Job'. When starting the job you will also be given the options to:

Turn all tracking on or off  with the Online switch

With Truckit tracking you are in full control, to turn tracking on or off for all customers, simply use the 'Online' switch on the home screen (see below).

What does Online and Offline mean?

When you are Online, customers who have a job in progress will be able to see your current location on a map as well as an estimate of the distance to the collection or delivery (example below). 

When you are Offline, nobody will be able to see your location, only your last known location from when you were last online.

What your customer can see

Customers can view your location on a map when their job has been started and you are set to Online. If both of these conditions are met, then the customer will be able to see a map on their listing page that looks something like the below.

Good to know tip: To maintain a level of privacy, there is a zoom limitation on the customer map which means they can not zoom all the way in to see your exact position on the map.

We hope that this assists in your queries about our tracking options! As always, if you have any further questions or queries, please reach out to us on 1800 859 850 or support@truckit.net.

Although it is not recommended, car transport businesses may allow you to transport personal items with your car whilst it is in transit. If you choose to transport personal items with your car, we have collated some tips and to-do’s to make sure you have packaged all of your items appropriately according to the guidelines.

Items must be under the windows

There are two main reasons why the personal items you pack need to be under the height of the car windows.

  1. The transporter’s safety: the driver who is transporting your items needs to be able to see clearly out of all windows so they can drive your vehicle on and off the truck. 
  2. To prevent theft: Car shipping truckers don’t just go straight through from one destination to another, they make frequent stops at rest areas. If your vehicle is full to the brim with items, it produces a huge risk of theft. There may be some opportunistic thieves that see your car is full, and whether the items are of value or not, may try and take anything they can if they get into your vehicle. Packing the items below the window line drastically reduces the visibility, therefore lessening the chance of theft.

If your transporter shows up and your vehicle is packed to the brim with personal items that are beyond the window line, they may refuse to take your vehicle for liability and safety reasons. They most likely will charge you additional fees if this is a breach of any contracts you signed regarding the transport of personal items within your vehicle. 

Think about any potential damages

A car sitting potentially upon another car on a transport truck isn’t the most smooth ride and there will be lots of vibrations and shifting, so you need to make sure that all of the items that are in your car are packed securely and safely. If items are not secure, there is a high risk of them shifting around and causing internal damage to your vehicle. Additionally, any damage that is caused by your items or the extra weight they add is not insured. Packing these items in your car is at your own risk, not the transport provider.

When shipping personal items in your vehicle, use common sense and pack non-valuable items. If the items in the car are easily replaced, then go for it. If they are highly valuable or sentimental and will not be easily replaced if damaged or stolen, it is HIGHLY recommended that you do not ship them with your vehicle.

A recommended way of making sure all personal items are secure and not going to cause internal damage to your car is by packing all of the items in suitcases, duffle bags, or boxes.

Limitations

While it is understood that sometimes there is no choice but to ship personal items with your vehicle, it is important to know why it is discouraged by many companies, and the risks involved.

Where were you born? Palmerston North, New Zealand


Favourite Hobby? Horse Riding, Gardening, Cooking.


Favourite Quote? Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! – Dr Seuss


Favourite Band? Crowded House


Favourite Food? Thai, Indian, BBQ


Post-pandemic - Where Do You Want To Travel First?
Home to NZ.  It has been 3 years since I have been able to see my folks and sister.


What's a fun fact people may not know? When I was in labour with my second son I drove myself to the hospital but had to stop to get petrol on the way!!


What’s your favorite part about your job at Truckit? I get to talk to some wonderful people and help to get their goods moved across Australia - I love being able to make someone’s day with a phone call.

If you need assistance with your listings or bookings – call our amazing customer service team today on 1300 859 850

If you don’t have that one mate who knows everything about cars, keep reading to find out what to look for when buying a second-hand vehicle!

Confirm that the seller is the person who owns the car

You won’t be charged for unknowingly buying a stolen car, but the car may be repossessed and returned to its owner. You can confirm this with a Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) search (previously known as a VIN check). It costs just $2 and is well worth it for the peace of mind. You can compare the information that this check provides with the seller’s current registration papers.

Check for accident damage

First and foremost, you’ll want to find out whether the car has been in an accident and, if so, how severe it was. The above PPSR check won’t reveal every accident the car has been in, however it will tell you if the car has been previously written off. Some repairable write-offs are fixable, and are fixed. They are also then inspected and reregistered, but the standard of repairs may be poor, putting you at risk, so it is best to conduct through checks in this process.

Many road accidents are minor, and the damage repair is to a high standard, so don’t rule out all cars that have been involved in accidents. At the very least the seller should produce a valid road-worthy (safety) certificate.

Under the bonnet check

This may seem like something you shouldn’t have to check if the car has a valid road worthy certificate or if its PPSR check came back clean, however, any build-up of dirt and road grime that appears caked on is often a sign of fluid leaks. As well as the engine, check underneath the car as fluids tend to also leak beneath the car, which is another tell-tale sign!

Used car buyers should expect signs of wear and tear, which typically reflect the age of the vehicle. Excessive wear and tear may warrant a price decrease, assuming you don’t simply walk away because the wear and tear is too extreme.

Inspect the Panels and Paint

In an ideal world, body panels should be free of dents, dings, rust, chips and oxidation. However, like we said above, used car buyers should expect signs of wear and tear in second-hand vehicles. 

If you look closely at the car upon further inspection, you might be able to pick-up that the car has other/more previous damage than the seller is letting on. Maybe there are wider than normal gaps between body panels, or some slightly bubbled paint. The bubbled paint may suggest that it hasn’t had sufficient coverage from weather elements, and that unseen rust that the car might have, has spread from the inside panels. Another cause for this is that the car has not been washed regularly enough.

Another aspect of the car to check is that the doors are swinging properly, that they close with ease, and that the seals are still waterproof. If the door sags on its hinges when opened, there is a likely chance of poorly repaired accident damage.

Inside the Car

A quick inside checklist:

Examine the Tyres

The legal minimum tread for car wheels is 1.5mm across the face of the contact surface.

What to look out for:

Excessive Wear: this may indicate poor driving practices and potentially warrants another closer look at the other car’s components like mentioned above.

Uneven Wear on Front Tyres: may indicate that the wheels are misaligned.

Uneven Wear on Rear Tyres: may indicate irreparably bent or warped chassis.

Tread Crowning & Cupping: is not as common as other tyre wear and tear, but it is when the wear is heavier on the outside & inside edges of the tyres. This indicates that the wheels have been driven on in both under-inflated conditions and over-inflated conditions.

Many may hope that sellers are responsible enough to replace these tyres before selling their car to up its market value.

Testing the Transmission

If the transmission isn’t working, the car isn’t going anywhere! Here’s what to check:

Auto Vehicles

When checking for leaks under the bonnet and beneath the car, check for a reddish coloured fluid, this is your transmission fluid. Excessive dirty fluid may be caused by poor vehicle maintenance and can cause automatic vehicles especially to perform poorly.

Additionally, if there is a lapse between the shift of gears when moving the gear selector and the transmission engaging, there is a likely problem. When driving automatic, gears should change smoothly, and jerky shifts are a sign of a weakening transmission.

Manual Vehicles

In a manual vehicle, when you press down on the clutch, you should feel consistent pressure through the full length of the pedal. If it's a soft or ‘spongy’ feeling, this is due to potential damage or leaking fluid lines. To test the clutch, put the car in neutral with the handbrake on and press the clutch pedal down, holding it for a couple of seconds before releasing. You will want to do this two or three times. If there is any squeaking or similar sounds when you engage the clutch, you will want to inspect the transmission more carefully.

If you believe there are issues with the car’s transmission, and are still interested in the vehicle, getting a qualified mechanic to inspect it will minimise the likelihood you end up with a poorly working vehicle. 

What to look for when driving

When you are buying a second-hand car, it is most ideal if you can get the chance to test-drive it. Preferably you would want to test drive it on quieter roads so you concentrate more on the sounds of the car than the outside traffic noise. Take your time with this step, don’t just take it for one spin around the block; test the speeds, test the turning, accelerating and decelerating both on flat roads and uphill, and reversing… you might pick up on more than you realise. 

When driving, also look out for any warning lights and keep an eye on the temperature gauge. Listen for any rattling or other body noises - driving over speed bumps is a good check for this. On a straight road, ease your grip on the steering wheel and see if the car pulls to one side, which can indicate work suspension or misaligned steering.

The car is in another state... don't fret!

If your car is in another state, make sure you ask for as many photos as you need so you can make the best informed decision you can make. Check to see if you have any friends or family in the state where the car is located, see if they can go and make any further checks & test drive the car for you!

If everything ticks these boxes (at least for the most part), you’re ready to go!

And, if you need your car transported interstate, list your car on Truckit.net here: https://www.truckit.net/get-a-quote/cars

Have you ever wondered why your freight and shipping costs cost you so much? Now you don’t have to. We researched some of the most common reasons as to why your freight shipping is costing you an arm and a leg. Keep in mind that these costs also fluctuate depending on dynamic costs associated with freight delivery.

Fuel

Regardless of the type of delivery service a retailer chooses for their operation, all modes of transportation rely on fuel. As the price of fuel fluctuates, it is common for shipping costs to fluctuate alongside this. Therefore, if fuel prices fall, trucks become cheaper to operate and the price of transport goes down. These savings or losses are passed on to consumers either indirectly or through a fuel cost component that is built into a carrier’s pricing model or invoice.

Fuel costs will be based on the distance that must be covered from the sender of the consignment or the package to the person receiving it at the end. Unfortunately, just like the rest of the markets around the world, retailers can’t do much to keep fuel prices down.

Demand of Freight

Some freight shipping will depend on the demand for products. This depends on the volume of products being shipped by operators and if capacity is limited, operators may be induced to sell limited space at a premium.

Giant retailers like Amazon, for example, offer 2-day shipping. As Amazon is an eCommerce giant, they can easily handle these delivery costs and timeframes, however, this isn’t the case for all retailers. Same-day or overnight shipping options are possible, but come at a higher cost to the consumer.

Labour Market

As the demand for freight recently reached a new high, increasing wages and competition among carriers for truck drivers has had an upward impact on transportation costs. As the trucking industry is typically an older demographic with older drivers retiring, carriers may struggle to find operators for their vehicles. Recruiting new drivers is not easy; it is a tough gig and typically requires a different class of driver license. Additionally, some of the courses to certify new drivers can take anywhere between weeks or months to complete!

Vehicle Capacity

Some trucking companies operate an older, smaller fleet. While these trucks are entirely adequate, newer trucks are designed to maximise storage space, allowing a truck to split space even further. To determine the weight class of your delivery, the service provider will ask for the weight of your shipment, the size of the package and then come to a conclusion on the difficulty of shipping your item. With this comes considerations to see whether or not loading equipment or additional loaders are needed to load or unload the cargo, and also if the products that are being shipped are labelled as fragile. If your package falls under any of these considerations, the freight cost may increase.

All of this is significant as the weight and size are fundamental to knowing how much space is required in the vehicle that is transporting your goods. In the case that your shipment is larger in scale and requires a fleet of trucks, the charges will obviously increase for more drivers and the more space you need. 

To combat the high pricing, retailers can be smart with their packaging and branding, which can cut significant costs. Perfectly fitted packaging materials are not only cost-effective, but can also keep your product more safe!

Government Regulation

Some governments may regulate the amount of emissions that their drivers emit every day by reducing their driving hours. For example, New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme has been estimated to increase freight costs by several dollars for every thousand kilometers travelled.

Weather

Contrary to popular belief, the weather does affect shipping costs and logistics. Either at the pick-up or drop-off location, incoming weather can cause significant delays and other unforeseen issues with orders. This is because ports and transportation hubs will still charge the retailer regardless of the delay due to unforeseen weather circumstances. This is the same for airlines, container ships, and trucking services.

Distance

Distance is one of the most important factors affecting a retailer’s shipping costs. The farther away the product’s origin is from the destination, the more expensive it is to ship a package.

Delivery Surcharges

The most challenging costs to account for are miscellaneous delivery surcharges. These surcharges come in many forms with the most common being:

- Area specific charges for rural, hard-to-access, or remote locations not included in your carrier’s range

- Handling fees for shipments above a set weight, size, or dimensions

- Residential surcharges for any businesses using a home address

- Fuel surcharges

- Weekend or Saturday surcharges for overtime shipping

Consumer Product Insurance

Merchants are not required to purchase shipping insurance, however, offering insurance is a great way to entice consumers to purchase their products. Insurance costs are typically used for items that are of high-value and one-of-a-kind. This is so it provides a level of security to the customers.

Have you ever thought of these reasons behind why your shipping costs are so high? Let us know your thoughts below!

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Where were you born? Durban, South Africa


Favourite Hobby? Music Production


Favourite Quote? "I can’t quote the equations of General Relativity from memory, but nonetheless if I walk off a cliff, I’ll fall." - Eliezer Yudkowsky


Favourite Band? The Brian Blade Fellowship

Favourite Food? King Fish Sashimi


Post-pandemic - Where Do You Want To Travel First? Iceland - some of my favorite sci-fi movies were filmed in Iceland plus I'm a fan of a few musicians from there

What's a fun fact people may not know? I can ride a unicycle at a skatepark
What’s your favorite part about your job at Truckit? Building features that use geo data

Almost every truck driver has an idea on the best way to conserve fuel. Some methods are tried and true, others work for some and not for others. Nevertheless, saving fuel is an important part of being a driver or business owner. It is no secret that fuel is the No. 1 expense when driving a truck. 

We’ve compiled 6 of the most common tried and true ways that drivers have improved their fuel economy so you don’t have to.

  1. Stop Speeding & Slow Down

More than any other habit, excessive speeding burns the most fuel, and also causes more significant wear and tear. This is because when a driver is following the vehicle in front of them at an unsafe distance, they brake and accelerate excessively to avoid tailgating and collisions. Increasing speed from 90km/h to 105km/h can raise fuel consumption by as much as 15%. Additionally, watch your driving style and reduce speed changes as regular speed changes cause the engine to switch gears inefficiently, resulting in a spike in RPM and a surge in fuel consumption.

If you don’t trust yourself in picking up on these habits, there are cameras you can purchase and install in your truck that track these habits for you, identifies them, and notifies you so you can work on them. One example of this camera would be Driver Risk’s Lytx DriveCam vehicle tracking device.

2. Tracking your Fuel Consumption

There are many great apps on the market to assist you in managing your vehicle's fuel economy. We recently wrote a blog: Useful apps for Truckers, where we mention an app called Fuelly. Fuelly is a great app if you are a driver who avidly check’s the vehicle's performance and maintenance. This app tracks your petrol use and compares results over time to show you whether or not your vehicle is performing at its best, and if your fuel consumption has changed. To read more about this app and its other features, check out the blog here.

3. Reduce your Idle Time

There is a common misconception that idling is more fuel-efficient than restarting the engine. In fact, idling a truck for just 10 seconds requires more fuel than starting the engine. Reducing your idling also saves unnecessary carbon dioxide emissions as well as reducing your fuel costs.

4. Tyres

Under inflated tyres can exert a serious impact on fuel consumption. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a 10% reduction in recommended tyre pressure can reduce fuel efficiency by 2%.

5. Use the Most Efficient Routes

We think this goes without saying, but ensuring you’re taking the most efficient routes is essential to improving the average fuel economy of your fleet. Pre-plan your route, plan where you are stopping and where the cheapest fuel is will assist you in cutting your costs.

6. Maintenance

Regular maintenance is essential for ensuring the longevity of your vehicle and making sure it is operating at maximum efficiency. If you don’t stay on top of maintenance, the excessive wear of your vehicle can produce more expensive costs than the price for a tank of fuel.

Make this a priority!

If you have any other tips we have missed, comment them below!

Find your next job here, with Truckit: https://www.truckit.net/search-for-jobs

Living on the road can be tough for truck drivers. Luckily, there are many trucker apps that are designed to support truck drivers. There are so many different apps out there, so we took it upon ourselves to find you the best and most reputable apps that navigate, manage your fuel, find you rest stops, manage fatigue & find a good feed!

Apps to make your trips easier

Toilet Finder

Toilet Finder is an international community group who together have found over 150,000 toilets around Australia and the rest of the world. The app is completely free to use, and you can add to the list of undiscovered toilets, including being able to rate them. Now you can find a clean toilet stop with ease with the help of fellow truckers!

Sygic Truck & Caravan

Sygic Truck and Caravan is a high quality GPS navigation app that is designed for professional drivers and their larger vehicles. It is trusted by 2 million drivers of trucks, lorries, LGV’s, HGV’s, RVs, Caravans, Campers, Vans, Buses, Cars & many more of the world’s leading delivery fleets. What makes it stand out from the others is it has 3D offline maps meaning you can access the app and its features without the use of internet or mobile data. The maps they use are also updated throughout the year so they can make sure they are providing you with the most up-to-date road conditions.

Sygic also offers special routing for Trucks/Lorries/LGV’s/HGV’s and delivery vans that are specifically calculated for the vehicle and it’s load. With this, when you search for your destination, it will present you with 3 alternative routes that display the total driving time, distance, and elevation of the route. Along these routes it also includes petrol stations, weight stations and rest areas that are best suited for your journey.

If you weren’t already sold on this basically ‘all inclusive’ app, their advanced route planning includes avoiding tolls, U-turns, hazards such as low bridges, narrow roads, or restricted areas such as emission zones and school zones. Also included in the advanced route planning is the curated planning and optimisation for multi-stop routes. You can add up to 150 waypoints and they will be rearranged for you, to achieve the best efficiency.

To make sure it is safe for truckers to use whilst driving, the maps have spoken voice instructions with road indication, speed limits and speed camera warnings. Their live map services include real-time traffic information, mobile speed camera databases, fuel pricing and parking places.

The best part is that the app is extremely affordable. Whilst some aspects of the app are free, the premium features are an affordable $28.99 for an entire year, which is less than $2.50 per month!

Apps to save you fuel

MotorMouth

MotorMouth identifies your location and finds the cheapest fuel closest to you. It tracks trends and creates forecasts to notify you when fuel will be cheapest and whether it is at your local petrol stations, or at another nearby location. This app is great as it utilises a rewards system. If you record the price of petrol when you fill up on the app, you can earn 5 fuel credit points, and an extra 5 if you confirm the price with a photo!

Fuelly

Fuelly is a great app if you are a driver who avidly check’s the vehicle's performance and maintenance. This app tracks your petrol use and compares results over time to show you whether or not your vehicle is performing at its best, and if your fuel consumption has changed. This data also then becomes a part of a community database where other drivers can compare their fuel consumption. Additionally, you can set up the app to send you reminders to keep on tip of maintenance tasks such as oil changes and tyre rotations.

Fuelly also provides a premium service which removes ads, adds photos and PDFs to personal app records and provides priority support within app messaging.

The app starts at 0.99 cents per month and $6.99 annually. All in all, a very affordable app.

Apps to help with fatigue management

Logbook Checker

Logbook Checker app, is in fact, a log book checker. It makes note of your logbook and warns you about your rest breaks and how much driving time you have remaining in your work day. It simultaneously handles different types of fatigue management systems (basic fatigue management, advanced fatigue management, standard hours and WA rulesets).

Best part of the app - it’s free!

Test Your Tired Self

Fatigue management is an important part of long haul drives. This app has games dedicated to truckers fatigue management which include reaction times, sleeping patterns, focus & memory testing. Inclusive of this, during the games, fatigue facts pop up to make sure you are informed of all things fatigue management.

Need a feed?

TheFork

TheFork is a renowned restaurant bookings app. They are partnered with over 4,500 restaurants across Australia and commonly have discounts of up to 50% off. It is a great app for someone who eats out a lot and loves a free meal. Using TheFork, you can accumulate ‘Yums’ points: 1 app booking is equal to 150 Yums and 1 desktop or mobile website booking is equal to 50 Yums. 1000 Yums gets you a $20 discount on your next meal, and 2000 Yums will get you a $50 discount! 

Where were you born? Brisbane, Queensland

What are your favourite hobbies? Playing video games, reading, live music & seeing friends!

In a post-pandemic world, where do you want to travel first? France, maybe the Netherlands. I want to see all of the art galleries and see the pretty buildings

What is your favourite food? Cheese Pizza

Do you have a favourite band? Tool

What is a quote that means most to you? Change your thoughts, change the world

Do you have any fun facts that people may not know about you? I am a crazy cat lady but only have ONE cat, I have 24 tattoos & I have met John Jarratt

What's your favourite part about your job at Truckit? Being able to resolve issues for our customers & providers, alongside the cool people I work with

If you need assistance with your listings or bookings - call our amazing customer service team today on 1300 859 850