A Georgia-based veteran truck driver has launched a free online resource designed to simplify life on the road by bringing parking information, diesel prices, roadside assistance and trucking education tools together on a single platform.
Shawn Gresham, a commercial driver with 17 years of experience and founder of Trucking Life Academy in Dalton, Georgia, created Trucking Life With Shawn to help professional drivers access essential information without paying for multiple subscriptions. The website currently lists 2,031 truck parking locations across 45 states, according to Gresham.
The directory includes 1,882 truck stops, 78 dedicated truck parking lots and 71 hotels that accommodate commercial vehicles. It also features 259 listings for truck repair shops, tire services, roadside assistance providers and heavy-duty towing companies.
Gresham said the project responds to the growing number of digital tools drivers must use to manage their daily operations. Parking searches, fuel price comparisons, hours-of-service calculations and commercial driver’s license (CDL) study resources are often spread across separate applications and websites.
His objective is to bring those services together in one place, developed by someone who understands the practical challenges of trucking firsthand.
A digital alternative to the traditional truck stop guide
The platform’s origins date back to Gresham’s own experience behind the wheel. During his 17 years on the road, he relied on a paper truck stop directory kept on his dashboard, adding handwritten notes to make it more useful for his routes.
The new website recreates that familiar approach in a digital format, allowing drivers to access information from their smartphones without downloading an application or creating an account.
Development began in July, and the directory has now opened to the public. Gresham said 80 additional listings were added during the 30 days preceding his announcement.
Drivers can search by state, interstate and exit number, making it easier to identify parking facilities along a planned journey. During a demonstration for FreightWaves, Gresham showed how users could select their state, interstate and direction of travel to locate truck stops and parking options along their route.
However, the directory does not provide real-time information about available spaces. Instead, it identifies locations where truck parking may be possible. Listings distinguish between facilities where overnight parking has been confirmed and those where that information remains unverified.
This distinction is important for drivers who need reliable stopping options but must still confirm availability before arriving.
Directory of Repair Shops and Tow Information
Besides parking, Trucking Life With Shawn has it’s own directory of repair and roadside service companies.
Drivers can use it to find towing companies, tire specialists and other repair businesses at interstate exits. The feature was born out of Gresham’s own difficulties in getting help after a car breakdown.
Instead of surfing through different websites and contacting companies that could be located dozens of miles away, drivers can locate local service providers and contact them directly through the directory.
The goal is to cut down on time and uncertainty for getting roadside assistance, especially when a truck breaks down far from a known service location.
The directory’s value will depend on the accuracy and extent of its listings, and Gresham is inviting working drivers to contribute additional locations and corrections. We review submissions prior to publication.
Compare daily diesel prices for drivers & fleets
The website also includes a diesel price board, which Gresham says is updated daily. Users can compare estimated fuel prices by state, region and city while a calculator helps them evaluate potential fuel expenses.
Gresham also works in the fuel operations at Rosedale Transport. Diesel pricing data provided by Love’s Travel Stops help fill the platform, he said.
The figures do not necessarily represent a perfectly calculated average for every market, but Gresham believes they are a useful indication of the prevailing prices in a given state on a given day.
This information could assist independent truckers and fleet operators in making decisions on where to refuel along a route. Comparing prices may help them manage operating costs, although actual costs will vary by location and price at time of purchase.
GPS navigation and trip planning are in development
Gresham is also developing a dedicated truck navigation system and trip planner, which he expects to make publicly available on New Year’s Eve.
According to Gresham, 87 active truck drivers are currently testing the GPS system. The pilot program is intended to identify navigation problems before the tool is released to a wider audience.
One issue identified during early testing involved turn notifications arriving too late. Gresham said the problem has since been addressed.
The accompanying trip planner is being designed to help drivers identify potential stopping locations according to their routes, weather conditions, traffic and remaining available driving hours.
Drivers must enter their available hours of service manually. Gresham stressed that the tool is not an electronic logging device (ELD) and does not replace federally required hours-of-service records.
Instead, its purpose is to help drivers anticipate where they can stop before exhausting their available driving time, potentially reducing the difficulty of finding parking at the end of a permitted driving period.
Gresham has deliberately restricted access to the GPS pilot while testing continues. He said he did not want inexperienced drivers relying on a newly developed system before its reliability had been sufficiently established.
Drivers interested in joining the test program can contact him through the website.
A free service supported by several revenue streams
Although the platform’s driver-facing tools are free, the website generates revenue through several commercial activities.
These include sales of Gresham’s trucking books and guides, affiliate commissions from Truck Parking Club and paid featured listings for businesses, including repair shops.
Truck Parking Club is working to integrate its reservable parking locations into the directory. This arrangement is intended to give drivers access to paid parking options directly through the platform, while allowing Gresham to receive affiliate compensation when users complete qualifying reservations through his referrals.
The distinction is that drivers can continue using the free parking directory without purchasing a reservation.
The website also provides CDL practice tests, educational articles, study guides and a split sleeper berth calculator designed to help drivers understand hours-of-service calculations.
By consolidating these resources, Gresham hopes to reduce the need for truckers to navigate multiple websites or pay for separate digital services.
Expanding a wider effort to improve truck driver training
The online platform builds on Gresham’s work to establish Trucking Life Academy, a CDL training school in Dalton, Georgia.
The academy, developed with equipment and other contributions from drivers and businesses, is scheduled to open this month, subject to final state approval.
Gresham previously explained that he established the school in response to concerns about the quality of commercial driver training and whether new drivers receive adequate preparation before entering the industry.
The school plans to limit classes to six students and initially deliver its training over eight weekends.
While the academy focuses on prospective commercial drivers, the digital platform extends his efforts to people already working in trucking. Its services are intended to address everyday operational challenges, from locating overnight parking to finding roadside assistance and understanding driving-hour calculations.
Drivers invited to contribute as the platform grows
Trucking Life With Shawn is now publicly accessible, although Gresham said it is too early to provide meaningful usage figures because the service has only recently launched.
He is encouraging professional drivers to submit new parking locations and corrections to existing entries, which he reviews before adding them to the directory.
The platform’s long-term value will depend in part on maintaining accurate information and expanding coverage as more drivers contribute their experience.
Parking remains one of the industry’s persistent operational challenges, and Gresham hopes the free directory will become a practical resource for drivers looking for places to stop without having to pay for access to basic information.
For now, the service offers a growing database of parking locations, repair providers and fuel prices, while its GPS navigation and trip-planning functions remain under development.
The central promise is straightforward: provide drivers with useful trucking resources at no charge, while supporting the service through commercial partnerships and other revenue sources rather than subscriptions for drivers.
