Gadgets to have on the truck...

Only if you are going to be driving in New York City.

 

who you talkin' to?

IF you were talking to me...continue reading....if not.....continue anyway.

The Microsoft Streets and Trips costs (WITH the GPS sensor) about $80. The "super truckers" GPS you buy in truck stops can run on average about $600 for a GOOD one. But here is what i've been told. Say you got the trucker one....and have all the good buddy trucker stuff turned on, weight, length of trailer, etc....once in a blue moon, even the trucker GPS will lead you down a weight restricted road or low clearance bridge. So now guess what, you can't trust it (as much as you SHOULD trust one). And now it is no better than getting on Mapquest.com. So if you've coughed up the $500-700 for a Billy-Big-Rig-Trucker GPS, you could have saved most of it by buying a Streets & Trips GPS for your lappy, and had money left over for groceries for your family for a month.

 

I have a 7700 Cobra. It is just as bad as the Garmin 465T. hide my inverters when I go to a shop. And my GPS goes on the floor when I exit and smile for the camera.

No Dick not talking to you. The OP.

 

I agree. They are handy when weather conditions are crazy. 440Dodgetruck got a call on the CB that prevented him from rear ending another truck in white out conditions.

One of those hook handle things to pull the latch on the 5th wheel is nice when things are wet or snowy. Didn't use it in dry weather, I use it now.

 

Then you would need a quality patch kit.

 

Does your Microsoft Streets and Maps show you where all the truck stops are along your route? How about truck scales Cat or otherwise? Can it track driver 1 and driver 2 miles separately? Can it tell you remaining time to target? Time of arrival? Current time? Yard time? Can you touch the screen and drag your finger across moving the map around to see around the bend? When you stop does it tell you the city and state you're in so you can log it? What I'm getting at is that for $400 bucks the GPS delivers a grand value.

 

with a few clicks of the mouse, i can tell where i'm at. I still have to switch applications to my DDL.com and make the entry on my logbook. Can it track driver 1 and 2....no...but one could do it with pen and paper pretty easily. It does tell me estimated driving time to the final stop, miles left, etc. Time of arrivial? no...but thats why i got a brain, and can do simple math. Why are you touching your tiny screen GPS to 'see around the bend' with the truck in motion anyway?? Yard time? You really need this? You know where my yard time goes? line 4....since i'm not on a public road....and i log just 15 minutes, if i log it at all. Driving around the yard, on a non public road, dont get logged. Least the DOT woudln't give you a ticket for it, i dont think.

go ahead and spend $400-500 for your fancy GPS. Good luck squinting to see that tiny screen, while i'll just take a quick glance over at my 17" screen.

honestly, if you're (the general 'you're'...not YOU YOU) that lazy that you cant take a couple clicks of the mouse, or do simple math in your head and telling us you need a GPS to do it for ya......you got serious problems.....


oh..p.s.....yes, i do have a seperate map within S&T that allows me to see where the weigh stations are, wal-marts, truck stops (not just your major ones but the mom and pop ones too) and rest areas. also shows low clearance bridges, but most of those are on non-truck roads anyway, and you shouldn't be on them in the first place...

 

I would love to have a laptop stand in the truck. Swift would shat a brick! Sometimes Mapquest or Yahoo maps is better than a GPS to get to the final.