Waze Not Planning Support for Trucks and RVs

Both applications lack support for large vehicles, such as trucks and RVs, offering navigation instructions for passenger cars.

The routing engine doesn't consider the vehicle's dimensions, so the suggested routes are only suitable for small cars.

Using Google Maps and Waze for turn-by-turn guidance in a large vehicle is dangerous and not recommended, as the two applications can send the driver to roads where the truck or the RV doesn't fit. Eventually, such a vehicle might get stuck on a narrow road or a sharp corner, causing massive traffic disruption.

Dedicated truck and RV navigation software already exists, but many hope Google Maps and Waze will eventually support this feature.

Waze will stick with passenger car navigation, as the company has no intention to support large vehicles for turn-by-turn instructions. A member of the Waze team confirmed in a June post on the Waze suggestion box page that support for large vehicles "doesn't fit our roadmap, but we'll keep it in mind for future product planning."

Adding truck support to a navigation solution is a massive effort, especially as the mapping service must be aware of the width and restrictions of every road sector. The application must then compare this data with the vehicle's dimensions, looking for routes that fit the configured profile. In theory, Google Maps and Waze already own such data, but the search giant prefers to focus on passenger cars for now.

In the meantime, if you're looking for advanced navigation in a truck or RV, several dedicated solutions are specifically aimed at this niche. Sygic's navigation software considers your vehicle's dimensions when generating routes. TomTom has recently updated GO Navigation with support for truck guidance on iPhone, so the feature is now available cross-platform. Drivers can also get a dedicated truck GPS navigator, including the ones from Garmin, and receive custom directions based on a configured profile. This device allows them to navigate a suggested route without relying on mobile phones.

Google has remained tight-lipped on its plans for truck navigation in Google Maps, but the company is likely embracing a similar strategy to Waze. Sticking with passenger cars makes more sense in the long term, as they make for the largest user base share. Apple Maps also lacks truck guidance, so the world's most popular apps in the navigation space are all focused on standard passenger cars without plans to expand to large vehicles in the near future.