Best Truck GPS to Buy?

Rand McNally road atlas sorry I couldn't resist

 

I Have, "Rand McNally road atlas". That is not a "GPS"... sorry, couldn't resist.

 

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i don't know why everyone puts so much praise in the atlas.

it's not that hard to drive cross country. once your in town. the atlas is basically USELESS.

 

First understand that all the GPS receivers use the same GPS satellites. To understand how GPS actually works visit http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/travel/gps.htm

With that being said the best Truck GPS I have found is the Magellan Roadmate Commercial 5370T-LMB. Their customer support is top notch. Also you have a content manager you can download to your computer desktop to save all your addresses, add more and update the maps. It also has all the compliance information you need for IFTA tax reporting etc.

This GPS also has a really cool point of interest feature where you can find truck stops, rest areas, bars, hotels restaurants, hospitals etc etc. The GPS switches to street view temporarily to show what lane to be in when on the interstate or major arteries. It also will show you the next turn and the turn after that so you are not caught off guard. I will also give you the choice to take different routes (Fastest route, No Tolls, Mostly Highway and Shortest Milage). It will also compare tell you how long the trip will take depending on how you want to route yourself!

This GPS also uses land marks to help you along when navigating. So far this unit has operated great and very accurate. It is very user friendly and has free lifetime map updates. I have tried the RandMcnalley......the Magellan is so much better and has better features.

HOWEVER (And listen to this) after putting an address into any GPS unit be sure to double check the routes and where you are going. Call the customer to verify the route. Also Google map is great because you can look at the route, and the satellite/road images (this is great for doing a quick recon before you get there). GPS receivers WILL sometimes give you bad routes, illegal routes or even routes that are just plain nonsense and make no sense. It will happen with all Truck GPS units. The truck GPS units will do a decent job routing you. However, sometimes they are dead wrong and will get you in trouble if you follow them blindly. Understand the GPS is a tool...do not solely rely on it. I have had a few friends follow a truck GPS (top of the line Rand McNally) and wound up on a non- truck route and got a nasty ticket. I am not downgrading the RandMcnally Truck GPS. This can happen with any GPS. Point being is DOUBLE CHECK THE ROUTING!

When using a GPS device in conjunction with Google Map, the motor carrier atlas and customer directions.....it will be a breeze once you verify the GPS information is correct to where you are going

 

i don't know why you all say how important it is to call customer service.

most of them dont speak english. the rest are lousy with directions. don't answer the phone. might not even be open. or whatever the case may be.

i've only had one person that knew how to give directions. but her place was ez pz anyways. i've had to call maybe 10 times for directions as gps didn't have it right. the other 500 times. gps had no problems.

 

Well yes. How ever there two different systems now GPS and glonass. What you truely want is a device that will work with both of these at once.

 

only thing i want, is the darn thing to get me there. i don't care how it does it, as long as it does it.

after all, that IS it's job. isn't it????

 

You will still have to double check your routes. Trust me on this. Currently I am at the Council Bluffs T/A and I have to deliver to Omaha in the morning. The GPS gave me a real retarded route (it was a legal route). None the less it was not the best route. Checked the Google map and routed myself.

Sometimes the GPS is right on the money....sometimes it gives some pretty silly routing.

 

I have garmin 7" screen and it has never let me down.