This Overdrive Radio podcast edition drops into our talk with Charlotte, N.C.-based owner-operator Deron Salmon about his brand-new Truck Networking application for iPhone and Android devices -- Truck’N for short. It's available now for a 14-day free trial with monthly subscription thereafter.

Iphone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/truck-networking/id1606433569

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.semnexus.apps.truckn.truckn

The app’s origin story stems from a void Salmon felt like he saw in broker-lookup and review tools for owner-operators. There are some out there, for sure -- the big load boards are principal there -- yet Salmon wanted to take the concept further to allow for quicker, more inclusive ways to rate and review experiences. His thoughts on the matter stemmed from a brokered run some years ago with an appointment time that, nonetheless, had him facing the prospect of waiting quite literally all day for the pickup.

The broker offered nothing in the way of support in that regard, and after he canceled the load, driving back north toward home he wondered which of the southbound truckers across the median was about to get themselves into a situation on this load and with this broker they might do best to avoid.

What's the first thing a broker does when you call on a load? "They ask for your MC number," he said. "Why aren't we doing the same thing" for them.

They’re asking for your MC, of course, to validate that you have authority -- but also to access via third-party vendors other brokers' reviews and ratings of your service. With enough owner-operator uptake of Salmon’s Truck Networking app, owner-ops will be able to read such reviews about brokers as well, he envisions, and share their own experiences, as you’ll hear in the podcast.

That’s not all there is to the app, though. It’s got robust accounting and IFTA functionality, premium truck-specific navigation, and is all in all significantly aided by the reality that owner-operator Salmon has been behind the development of a lot of the tools himself.

With its release last month, owner-operator Salmon’s slowly transitioning away from the road himself, also training in aviation as a commercial pilot, but he’s still the proud owner of his last rig after a couple decades in the business -- a 2000 Kenworth W900 he told us more about as we spoke at MATS.

Read more about Truck Networking via this link: https://www.overdriveonline.com/business/article/15382605/new-broker-authority-lookupreview-tool-two-trucknav-platforms