CoPilot Truck GPS

raceman · Apr 23, 2005

I got home last night from my run and there on the porch was my CoPilot Truck GPS. Man I am like a kid with a new Big Wheel. I can not wait to use it in the truck. I installed it this morning but without a signal here in the house have not done much with it yet. It is very cool though. I will update you after I use it a few times.

I also went and looked at my other truck which has been being cleaned up and detailed after my driver turned it into a crack house. It looks very good now. I am going to need to put a new driver seat in and a new main mattres and some other things like somehow patch the hole he drilled in the roof. It is now to a point that people can look at it as I am selling it.

I would just like to say a few things about this. I have had a number of drivers in my trucks but this is the only one that has done this kind of thing to me. The others have been problems of their own but never just destroyed the inside like this.

This truck was dropped off at 3:30 in the morning. I know why. He had no plans of being there when I saw it. It was just unreal. I see many notes on here about owners screwing drivers. Well here is an example of where a decent owner that tries his best to treat drivers like good honest people, will no longer be able to trust a driver. I am so disgusted by this I am getting out. I can not even dream of going through this again. Each person I have employed with the exception of one has done something simply stupid when they have moved on and this guy just put me over the edge. I honestly do not have the mental capacity to go through this with someone else.

I am betting that if you go back to all the POSTS about owners screwing over the driver and not giving him or her their last paycheck you can find a story like mine. I did in fact give this driver $500 of his last due pay but he will not see the remainder of it because of what it has cost and continues to cost to clean up and fix that truck. If I would have seen that truck before sending his pay. He would not have gotten a dime and you can bet he would be off bad mouthing me. I only hope he does not do this to the next truck he gets in. I can not even put in this note some of the things that where done and left in that truck. It is disgusting.

The bottom line is people that do this are the reason so many people think poorly of truck drivers.

Raceman
OTR O/O

davekc · Apr 23, 2005

This truck was dropped off at 3:30 in the morning. I know why. He had no plans of being there when I saw it. It was just unreal. I see many notes on here about owners screwing drivers. Well here is an example of where a decent owner that tries his best to treat drivers like good honest people, will no longer be able to trust a driver. I am so disgusted by this I am getting out. I can not even dream of going through this again. Each person I have employed with the exception of one has done something simply stupid when they have moved on and this guy just put me over the edge. I honestly do not have the mental capacity to go through this with someone else.

I am betting that if you go back to all the POSTS about owners screwing over the driver and not giving him or her their last paycheck you can find a story like mine. I did in fact give this driver $500 of his last due pay but he will not see the remainder of it because of what it has cost and continues to cost to clean up and fix that truck. If I would have seen that truck before sending his pay. He would not have gotten a dime and you can bet he would be off bad mouthing me. I only hope he does not do this to the next truck he gets in. I can not even put in this note some of the things that where done and left in that truck. It is disgusting.

The bottom line is people that do this are the reason so many people think poorly of truck drivers.

Raceman

Your story is often told too often.
The sad part is that it hurts many of the entry level people.
As an owner, we are sometimes questioned why we have a drivers escrow.
We also use a third party to determine repairs, cleaning, and driver inflicted damage.

We have found we get better qualified people when we do a extensive background check.
Employment checks.....actually call and verify there experience and how they performed.
What is there house like? Is it kept up, or a total dump. It will speak volumes as to what your truck will look like. There are numerous ways to get photos of where someone lives.
When doing a background check, you can run a credit check to see if there is a recent history of problems.

All of those doesn't guarantee a perfect driver, but they do minumize some of the risks. Like anyone, we think some deserve second chances ect if they have fallen on bad times, but if they live in a unkept neglected house, we can't consider them.
If you start with this practice, eventually your good drivers will tell only the people they think would be decent. Most of the people we have hired are referred to us by a current driver.

Just a few things we have picked up along the way, that may or may not help some.
Davekc
owner
20 years

Broompilot · Apr 23, 2005

Use to be a Landlord, lesson to carry into this business for you owners....

Always pay what is owed, but not until you have checked all equipment over with them present. Dont show than no pay until we both sign that we are both satisfied with the equipment and pay has been resolved.

You may need to get a third party involved as I did once because I knew punches were only a cuss word away.

This is actually why I have choosen this industry, NO MORE EMPLOYEES, I can make enough $ to support myself and the truck. I make my own decisions and decide when I want to go home (I am at home right now).

I have written a soon to be best seller on How to get screwed by hirring employees. No I think I will let the next person with a big heart, honest business plan, finish it for me instead.

Dreamer · Apr 23, 2005

Raceman,
What a mess... one statement there made me curious... he drilled a hole in the roof???????

What was THAT for?

Dreamer

davekc · Apr 23, 2005

What a mess... one statement there made me curious... he drilled a hole in the roof???????
What was THAT for?

A personalized weather channel.

How would you know if it was day or night, or if it was raining?

I am warming my cordless drill up now:7

Davekc

LDB · Apr 23, 2005

>I got home last night from my run and there on the porch was
>my CoPilot Truck GPS. Man I am like a kid with a new Big
>Wheel. I can not wait to use it in the truck. I installed it
>this morning but without a signal here in the house have not
>done much with it yet. It is very cool though. I will update
>you after I use it a few times.
>
>Raceman
>OTR O/O

Good luck and enjoy however I will tell you you've bought an unfinished product that we are all paying big money to beta test. There are numerous locations that won't be in there by address. There are several places it will tell you take I-xx east when you need north or I-xx south when you need west. Three of them are the loops around Atlanta, St. Louis, and Indy. It will also direct you around Louisville rather than straight through which is the shorter and usually better route.

It also has a VERY annoying "feature" called snap to. It is what brings the pointer into the display area and is needed when the map position is way outside the screen display area. The problem is when you don't want it to move the map around. Let's say you are going east on 94 and stop at the J on Grant Rd in Gary to fuel. You adjust the screen just right with the pointer at the far left to show the maximum amount of your upcoming drive. You pull away from the fuel island and because you are pointing west the STUPID snap to is going to move the pointer to the far right of the screen showing nothing in the direction you are going and everything in the direction you just came from.

It will have about 95% of the addresses you need in it and will give you correct directions most of the time. Just be sure to have an idea of where you are going so you can correct the errors it is going to make the rest of the time.

Leo
truck 4958

Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

Loose_Cannon47 · Apr 23, 2005

Raceman, sorry to hear about your truck...I think escrow is fair if you're using someone elses equipment...kind of like first, last, damage deposit when you rent a dwelling...the owner should expect his property back in pretty much the original shape, minus allowable wear and tear, etc...I hope this doesn't turn you off to hired drivers completely...though I have heard my share of horror stories...

Loose

raceman · Apr 24, 2005

To the best of my knowledge, the hole he drilled in the roof is for his coax for CB. Just Stupid. Downright Stupid.

As for Truck CoPilot. LDB, it took me one ride around town in my personal vehicle to decide it is not very good. I decided in a 15 minute trip around town that I was much happier with Microsoft Streets and Trips.

I guess I own it now but I doubt it will be used much. Microsoft streets and trips was very good for me. I will give CPT a fair chance but my little test did not impress me at all. At this moment I would tell people not to waste the money.

DaveKC, The weather channel! That cracked me up! You may be right. That seems to be the way his brain worked

Raceman
OTR O/O

LDB · Apr 24, 2005

I have MS S&T also but no GPS unit for it. One thing I will say for CPT is that you can set the 53' flag and it won't take you on any low clearance roads and avoids areas that are too tight for big trucks. That part of it is good and I use it all the time just to see the moving map as I go along. It is better than nothing at all but needs some improvements, especially with adjusting the screen as it chooses rather than as the user chooses.

Leo
truck 4958

Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

raceman · Apr 24, 2005

I will give it a chance out in the truck next week but so far I like the MicroSoft Streets and Trips much better. It shows you on the screen as you move a long and it also has written directions. Never got me lost once. CoPilot got me lost in my home town on first test.

Oh well I will see what it does out there on the road.

Raceman
OTR O/O

rode2rouen · Apr 24, 2005

Having used CoPilotTruck for a couple of months now, I find it to be a very cool tool.

I have found a couple of "dead spots" where it has no clue (Earth City, MO comes immediately to mind), but overall it gets me where I want to be in a most efficient manner. I send an e-mail to ALK with the address and other info when I run into a "dead spot".

I have the map set to display in the 3D mode with the view of the map showing the direction of travel "up" (as opposed to North always being "up") , since this gives a map image that matches what I'm looking at out of the windshield.

Usually I will input the destination address, click on the GO button and then shut the lid on the laptop until I get ready to exit the freeway. When I get close to the destination I open the lid and follow the directions. I don't see much point in watching the screen for 300 miles of Interstate driving (although I did for the first few times I used it).

As Leo stated, having the 53' trailer enabled will keep you from getting into "sticky" situations.

I also like the Detour function. I've used this feature due to construction/accidents a couple of times and it is quite handy.

I am quite satisfied with the program. I still carry and use my Motor Carrier Atlas for the rough routing on the Interstate system, but CoPilot handles the detail work.

My $.02, YMMV

Rex

raceman · Apr 24, 2005

I hear you I guess I am being a bit rough on CoPilot. I just think that after using Microsoft Streets and trips for a number of months, this seems almost hard to use. MS&T is so simple. I read the directions take off and look down at my position when I need to and I can see right where I am and where I am going. COP does not seem to be as accurate and it speaks a bit too late. I mean there is the turn and it says turn now. If you arew in the wrong lane or something it can be tough. It does give you the one mile notice but the next notice is Turn Now. I am sure it is great. I just expected a lot more out of it for that price. My MS&T was no where near that price and I feel it is as good if not better.

I will not make a final decision until I take it out in the truck. Never have I had a MS&T problem so I will wait and see what happens in the dark of night when I have no idea where I am going. That is the true test.

Raceman
OTR O/O

rode2rouen · Apr 24, 2005

Raceman,

From the main GPS screen, click on "Options" and then click on "Guidance", there is a menu for "Turn Instruction Timing" that lets you set up how you are alerted to an upcoming turn. There's lots of other things that you can customize under the "Options" menu as well.

Rex

truckerbuddy · Apr 24, 2005

man you really know how to wine like a little kid

rode2rouen · Apr 24, 2005

truckerbuddy,

I was giving raceman a couple of tips on his new GPS program, I hardly think that constitutes WHINING.

I'll be happy to give you some tips on spelling if you'd like.

If you have nothing constructive to add to a thread, STFU!

Sincerely,

Rex

raceman · Apr 25, 2005

R2R, Thanks. I did that and changed a few things. I will be working with it this week. I do like how well it shows up at night. It is great in that respect.

Does that other guy ever say anything other than "Man you like to Whine" ?Seems that everytime you and I share a few notes he jumps in with that comment.

Raceman
OTR O/O

davekc · Apr 25, 2005

My experience with all the different map programs is they take alittle finesse to get them just perfect.
Raceman; let us know what you think after you have it mastered a little.
Davekc

LDB · Apr 25, 2005

Another example today coming through Louisville on 71 from Akron going to Texas. Against my better judgement I decided to follow the CPT exactly rather than stick to the interstates. It looked like just about 4 or 5 miles off the interstate to save over a dozen miles so I went with it. As I figured it took me back through the country and although a dozen or so miles shorter it would have been quicker to do the miles on the interstate. It also wants to route you around Louisville and Cincinnati on the loops even though it's miles shorter to go straight through. There are numerous other issues, the worst being the snap to function, but I'll end this critique here.

Leo
truck 4958

Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

raceman · Apr 26, 2005

I used CoPilot all day yesterday. I had three picks in Cincinnati and then had to drop in two locations in Sidney, one in Findlay, and then pick up in Toledo and drop that in Grove City, OHIO. Used it for all.

It works. It is just slow. I am on or past whatever I need before I can see or hear it. With Microsoft S&T you can see yourself and about a quartermile all the way around you. I think I just like it better.

I think CoP is great at helping you get around things and it is helpful to me once I screw up because it continues to tell you how to get back to whatever you just missed. Even if you just missed it because it updates slower than I drive.

I think this is a personal preference kind of thing. I am glad I have both systems but I really tend to like Microsoft S&T better. Just my preference.

Raceman
OTR O/O

yoyotrucker · Apr 26, 2005

hey thanks theree raceman. But i dont want them to have sex with. Hope that is not what u meant. LOL. n hopefully I qqont get burned on it. Just a way fer dirveres to get what they deserve fer their hard an honest work. we all know they dont get enough of it. There is another place like I want to get started up in Ill. but they want folks to donate. Thaht would be ok but not necassary. It would be like a truckers appreciation all year round. But like u guys say it would b dangerous. But isnt verything dangerous in a way?
But thanks anyway. feel free to chat with me anytime.
Dan