We own both Delorme Street Atlas USA and the ALK Technologies (PC Miler) product Co-Pilot Truck Laptop 3. To use Co-Pilot, you'll need a laptop computer, the Co-Pilot Truck Laptop 3 software, and a GPS receiver. The GPS receiver can be ordered with the software.
As a former software instructor, I have computer skills. Because I have yet to put in the time required, I have yet to master either one of these programs. It's relatively easy to get started with the basic functions, and that may be all that's needed for most drivers. But these programs are feature laden. There are all sorts of pleasant surprises as you dig deeper into the products.
If you are new to computers and/or to mapping software, you will be wise to set aside a few hours of quiet time to study and play with the product. You won't have to do it all in one sitting, but it will help if you can be patient with yourself and your new software.
I've heard good things about the Magellan product too but have not previewed it myself. It's more expensive than Street Atlas USA or Co-Pilot Truck, but it does not require a laptop (a multi-function product) to run. Magellan is a single-function product. It's a hand-held unit, all self-contained.
Navigation to pickups and deliveries got way easier for us once we started using mapping software. So did life on the road. We spent a day waiting for a load today in El Paso. Without leaving the truck or using the phone, I was able to use our mapping software to locate a nearby post office and library. On Sundays we can use it to find a church. We can even zoom in on church neighborhoods to get an idea of what else is nearby, which tells us if parking a truck is likely to be easy or hard.
New York City driving became easier too. If we get lost inside the city, we need only zoom out a couple of clicks to find the streets that will get us back on track. The software tells us many blocks ahead of time when our next turn will be and which streets are one-way.
When hauling HAZMAT loads, these programs can give you notice of upcoming rail road crossings. That enables you to prepare for a highway stop sooner than the crossing signs do.
Co-Pilot truck is truck-oriented. Delorme is not. Delorme would happily send a big truck down a New York City parkway (illegal). Co-Pilot Truck won't. Both products have toll avoidance features that can help you navigate around toll roads. Co-Pilot Truck gets the bonus points when trying to avoid tolls, because it won't send a truck down a truck-prohibited route.
I don't know the products well enough yet to do a feature-by-feature comparison. I can say we wouldn't want to be without these resources. We use them every day we're moving on the road, and often when we're just sitting too.
They offered to pay me to go back to school 