GPS units, which is the best for over the road driving???
- Thread starter Greg336
- Start date
I want to thank you all for your input, there is one thing I forgot to mention about Garmins tech support. I got tired of talking to the regular people and asked to talk to a manager, after speaking with him for a few minutes and explaining to him what I do for a living and how I need a good GPS he told me to send in the unit so they can look it over and fix it. The only problem with that was he said that they needed it for at least a MONTH to fix it right. I can't be with out a GPS for a day let alone a month and NO my father never lived in the city that was mentioned and he passed away some time ago.
If that's true, then you need a spare GPS unit. Or a smartphone with Google Navigator or something else as a backup.
Thanks Turtle.
I've never used GPS, We use my wife's I-Phone and Google Maps with satellite viewing. Can't say if GPS has anything over Google maps since I've never had GPS but it would be hard for me to imagine. I'm not really into gadgets and don't want a lot of clutter on the dash and we already have the I-Phone with internet which is great for a lot of uses.
What I like most about Google maps is it gives you two to three options and you can easily compare the best route right on the screen by touching the route you want then you can go back to the one you want. Then when we get close to the consignee we can use the satellite view to see if there is room to park at the consignee, where the entrance is, if there is a gate, guardshack, where the dock are etc... Great stuff!
We also have a laptop with a aircard and used it for years before the I-Phone and at that time I considered a GPS because of the trouble of keeping the laptop up and running but never did, we just planned ahead. One thing I will say though is between my wife and I we don't have much trouble with directions and finding places, spent a very large part of my life giving a crew direction and training on routes.
I would be interested in hearing about what a GPS unit can do for me that would be better though, I'm always game to learn.
What I like most about Google maps is it gives you two to three options and you can easily compare the best route right on the screen by touching the route you want then you can go back to the one you want. Then when we get close to the consignee we can use the satellite view to see if there is room to park at the consignee, where the entrance is, if there is a gate, guardshack, where the dock are etc... Great stuff!
We also have a laptop with a aircard and used it for years before the I-Phone and at that time I considered a GPS because of the trouble of keeping the laptop up and running but never did, we just planned ahead. One thing I will say though is between my wife and I we don't have much trouble with directions and finding places, spent a very large part of my life giving a crew direction and training on routes.
I would be interested in hearing about what a GPS unit can do for me that would be better though, I'm always game to learn.
sirgregory46
Expert Expediter
The Garmin 465t is good for big trucks and you can get it cheaper now tha the Dezl came out. You can go to garmin and get life time maps foe 65$ But if you are in a van any Garmin product will work. Just mak sure it says life time maps and traffic
I've never used GPS, We use my wife's I-Phone and Google Maps with satellite viewing. Can't say if GPS has anything over Google maps since I've never had GPS but it would be hard for me to imagine. I'm not really into gadgets and don't want a lot of clutter on the dash and we already have the I-Phone with internet which is great for a lot of uses.
What I like most about Google maps is it gives you two to three options and you can easily compare the best route right on the screen by touching the route you want then you can go back to the one you want. Then when we get close to the consignee we can use the satellite view to see if there is room to park at the consignee, where the entrance is, if there is a gate, guardshack, where the dock are etc... Great stuff!
We also have a laptop with a aircard and used it for years before the I-Phone and at that time I considered a GPS because of the trouble of keeping the laptop up and running but never did, we just planned ahead. One thing I will say though is between my wife and I we don't have much trouble with directions and finding places, spent a very large part of my life giving a crew direction and training on routes.
I would be interested in hearing about what a GPS unit can do for me that would be better though, I'm always game to learn.
I've never used a smartphone to navigate, but I don't think it can do one of my favorite things: direct you to the nearest WalMart, Meijer, etc. Yes, there are apps that can, but the GPS does it without using cellphone time or bandwidth, and shows your ETA too. It tracks average moving speed, time stopped enroute, max speed, miles traveled and left to go - all kinds of data. And you can save your favorite places, so you don't need to input the address again.
I don't get Southpark voices, but the Australian ones are pretty cool, lol.
It really depends, normally I just use my phone for driving. With google maps I'm really satisfied and can find all my ways to the places I want to go. Sometimes I use a rental gps, most of the time for longer trips, but it's more an exception! But it really depends on your needs.
zorry
Veteran Expediter
My wife is always telling me where to go....
I've used most Trucker GPS specific GPS's in the past. Or at least the ones labeled as such, usually they were just more expensive, difficult to use and non-intuitive.
I switched to a Rand McNally trucker specific 710 a while back. I love the **** thing. Set it and forget it, most of the time anyway. Still gotta use that gray matter between your ears for something other than keeping your head from caving in.
I'd recommend it for those of us getting up there, my eyes don't work quite how they used to and the larger screen allows for larger text making it easier to read.
I switched to a Rand McNally trucker specific 710 a while back. I love the **** thing. Set it and forget it, most of the time anyway. Still gotta use that gray matter between your ears for something other than keeping your head from caving in.
I'd recommend it for those of us getting up there, my eyes don't work quite how they used to and the larger screen allows for larger text making it easier to read.
The differences between a dedicated GPS device and a smartphone are, the GPS is easier to use, mainly because it requires less attention less often. It also doesn't use data bandwidth like a smartphone does, and if you are out of range of a cell tower the GPS still works because all of the maps are already in the device and you aren't dependent on a signal to download maps on the fly as you move. It also doesn't wear out the battery of a smartphone, which puts a tremendous strain on the battery even when plugged into a charger while you're using it.
On the other hand, smarphone maps like Google Navigator (not the new and improved Apple Maps that are horrendously bad) are updated daily, so they can be more accurate. Google satellite view and Street View can be extremely helpful at time. Google maps can also find many businesses by name that the Garmin (or other brand) cannot find. Manufacturing facilities is one of the more common that isn't in the Garmin database, for example.
I use my Garmin more than 95% of the time, and on those occasions where I cannot find a location on the Garmin I supplement the Garmin with the Droid. If I had to give up one or the other, I'd give up maps on the phone before I gave up the Garmin.
On the other hand, smarphone maps like Google Navigator (not the new and improved Apple Maps that are horrendously bad) are updated daily, so they can be more accurate. Google satellite view and Street View can be extremely helpful at time. Google maps can also find many businesses by name that the Garmin (or other brand) cannot find. Manufacturing facilities is one of the more common that isn't in the Garmin database, for example.
I use my Garmin more than 95% of the time, and on those occasions where I cannot find a location on the Garmin I supplement the Garmin with the Droid. If I had to give up one or the other, I'd give up maps on the phone before I gave up the Garmin.
bobwg
Expert Expediter
I use Rand Mcnally 710 mounted to the Dash big screen and is easy to use my hands are free to hold the steering wheel and pay attention to driving IF i use the phone you have to sit there holding it pulling up to where you can see the screen to see the map and then look back out at the road put the phone down or maybe you sit there with just one hand on the wheel and the other constantly holding the phone. safer to use mounted gps
Well, they have mounting docks for phones that essentially turn them into mounted GPS units. If I were to rely solely on my phone for GPS I'd certainly have one of those. Many or maybe all of the docks let you plug in the charger while the phone is docked.
ccouch
Active Expediter
My wife and I have tried the Garmin, Cobra and Rand McNalley. All for trucks. The cobra is junk. It constantly got us lost and didn't give the best routing. what we do now is use the best of the other two. We put routing in both the Garmin and the Rand McNalley and then follow the best of the two. Usually it is the RM but occasionally the Garmin comes through for us. Anyway, hopes this helps.
How do you determine which unit provides the best routing?
If the routing doesn't cause me to destroy a historic wooden covered bridge, I figure it's good.
Oh no....did I miss a phone call?
The one that matches up with the trucking atlas and the routing that WE input. I don't let any unit I have used be the sole determination of my routing. No unit is 100%
danthewolf00
Veteran Expediter
I just got my rm 720 and so far like the weather down load opp but now you can track fuel use as well as mileage and export it to a file.
zorry
Veteran Expediter
Is there a trucking version that easily lets you input the basic routing
?
I did a radioactive load. The 465t wanted to take me nowhere near my required route. I put in a rt to pt A,then a rt to pt B,and so fourth to make it easier for my co-driver to get to our switch point error free. The 90 mile haz-mat re-route only complicated matters .