Best GPS

i love my 7 inch rand mcnally, but i will never buy another rand mcnally gps until they change the power input. its that usb port, im on my third one in less than two years. first one just flat out broke, it loosend up, second one the cable has to sit just right for it to power the unit,it cant go in all the way,just sort of loose. third one lasted like 3 weeks, vibrations i guess just wrecked the port, im using the second one, i didnt even want the warranty replacement, they said it still uses the usb. i also know at my old company they had one sitting on a table, i said "let me guess,power port problems" they said yep.

 

I really like the TND 510 from McNally. But as others have said, you can't rely solely on the GPS. Even a "truckers" GPS. The 510 does some stupid routing sometimes. I don't know how anyone could get by without an atlas. I can't. I refer to it alot if I'm going to an area for the first time.

You can always go to Mapquest or Rand McNally's site and get a route. I'll do that sometimes if my 510 is giving me something I'm unsure about.

But all of the features are pretty sweet, though.

 

DriverTech had Rand McNally installed on it and I never had problems with it when it came to actually getting to the receiver/shipper. Sometimes it would want to take weird routes going across the country but you just use your brain and follow the route you want. If you need the GPS to tell you how to get from the west coast to east coast you have bigger problems than what GPS to buy. Usually the shipper/receiver's directions lined up with the Rand once it came to driving in town though. A few times it even took you right to the truck entrance rather than the office that usually an address takes you to.

 

Alright, this is what I use:

~ http://www.delorme.com/ (I have my laptop placed on a mounting bracket attached to the passenger seat).

~ www.RandMcnaly.com for my routing information during my trip planning. I also have a deluxe road atlas.

~ http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/trafficinfo/ for enroute road closure information.

~ Qualcomm instructions

~ My GPS, which is a Garmin Nuvi 1300. Once I figured out my routing, I'll put everything in this GPS.

In essense, I have 2 GPS's going at once while I drive. I have Delorme and my standalone Garmin.

If I get lost then I'm a moron.

 

I own an old Garmin BUT when I buy a new one I'll buy the Rand McNally. I looked at them all and IMHO it's the best for trucks.

 

i use the rand 710...but i cross reference it with my rand atlas and my Pc Miler software...if they all match up I'm good to go!....if they dont....I'm good to go!

 

Excuse me? Since when are retailers not allowed to say what unit they would use or do use themselves? Retailers do that all the time. Sometimes they even tell the truth. However its been my experience that more often than not, when a retailer recommends a certain product, its because that retailer makes more money selling that particular product. I'm in no way saying this diesel boss guy is doing that. But I always treat any recommendations from retailers with a suspicious eye.

 

Not to pick nits but....

Your experience with salesmen is very different from mine. You show me a salesman who says he's interested first in foremost in getting the customer the right product for that particular customer and I'll show you a salesman who is either lying through his teeth or isn't going to be a very successful salesman. I wish the world were as rosey as you paint it to be, but that simply hasn't been the case in my experience.

Least likely to malfunction or break down? Is this scientifically proven fact or just your opinion? You say it like its fact but I'd be willing to bet there are no scientific studies to support this claim.

You can report bad roads with any of the units. And again the fact vs opinion. That Pcmiler does updates every 90 days is fact. That this automatically means a bad report will get fixed faster is opinion. It might get fixed faster. But there is no guarantee that a bad road report will be fixed by the next update cycle or even the update after that. And now for some opinion of my own. I've been using GPS for many years. For most of that time I used units that couldn't be updated at all (or I was just too cheap to do it). Being able to update helps, but its not a deal breaker for me. Once every two years or so would be plenty for me. That all of the big 3 do it more often than that simply means all three get a tick in the 'updates often enough for my liking' box. Again that's my opinion only. You may feel updates are more critical than I do. Once in a while is fine for me and I really don't want to have to bother with updates more often than that.

Like I said above, there are more types of trucking than just OTR. I get paid by the hour. Does that mean I should buy a GPS made by timex?

 

So like I said, its an opinion. Nothing wrong with opinion. But when you state it as fact, you mislead those you claim to want to help.

You are not my father so please the save the son crap for your kids. I have shown you nothing but respect. I expect the same in return sir.

Again, I'll thank you to regard me with the same respect I've shown you sir. Please save the boy comments for your own offspring. I am not here to argue. But I am here to help others same as you. And when I see someone making inaccurate statements, I identify them as such because if I don't then those looking for advice end up being mislead.

LIke I said earlier, there is nothing wrong with opinion. If you personally feel that one unit offers better routing than others fine, say that. Its good information. If you personally feel one unit is more durable than the others, by all means say that too. Again, its good information. But don't label those statements as proven fact when they're not because that misleads people.

 

I have stated my opinion. I've also stated which trucking unit I currently use and I've given my reasoning for choosing that unit over the other choices. Maybe if you learned to be a little less defensive and insulting, you would've known that.