GPS for Truckers

I just bought the garmin c330 on sale at radio shack for $229.00. It has truck route on it. I got the voice prompted one and on the way home to try it out I made several wrong turns and it said recalculating and brought me right back on track. Hmmm, I think I am going to like this new toy! So simple a knight driver could even not get lost!!! Hear that Jam?

 

Mine has the truck route feature on it also. However, I did find it routed under a low overpass.

I have had it since April. I would hate to run without it now.

 

update on CoPilot truck laptop 9.... Well I did download it and tried using it..... what a joke.... could not enter my own address or my brothers... used it to nav to a shipper and it got me lost.... my VZ-navigator took me right to the door..... I am sending it back.... not only where the tech support and sales team totally incompetent and inept but the product is inferior during my evaluation of it. Yes I do double check what my VZ-nav unit says but it was more accurate to the point to point direction... Now I have heard garmins 7500 is quite good, pricey but good.... but will work with my VZ-nav for now

 

They are trying to unload ver 9 at truckstops for $50. Not sure if the new ver 10 is any better. Supposed to have live traffic at least. If you have Vista, ver 9 is supposed to have all kinds of issues from what I hear of other users.

 

I have read reviews that the interface is crappy. Anyone have a Garmin StreetPilot C550?

 

I just bought one at Cabela's in Rogers MN. Paid $300 for it usually sells for 500. It might be a Garmin 540, not sure. It is a better model than the Garmins they sell in truck stops for $300. It has a truck setting on it. So far it works great and very easy to use. I have not had it long enough to see if it sends me down a road with a low clearance.

 

On a laptop with MS Streets and Trips installed, you simply buy a GPS receiver and plug it into your USB port(There may or may not be a little program you have to install with the receiver). You then start the program (Streets and Trips) and tell it to search for the receiver. But like somebody else just said, Streets and Trips updates it's construction information over the net so you'd have to do that part of it at a truck stop with a wi-fi connection. But once you do that it should be good for months or at least several weeks.

 

That's good since I think I'm settled on the C550. I've been searching for reviews and the main gripe with the Garmins is that they either die unexpectedly or the displays go extremely dim or get grey stripes in them. But I knew someone with a C530 and he has had it for a year and just swears by it.

The only problem I have heard of with the Truck setting is it will put you down a street with a low bridge occasionally.

BTW there is no C540 the next model up is the C580 and the next down is the C530, so you probably have the C550.

 

Why would you need customer service if you never even tried the product?

 

I have this same unit, I paid about the same for it online back in July but they have come down in price considerbly since then. So far I haven't had any major problems with it. It isn't 100% accurate, but it is very close. Like all things it just a tool, you as a driver have final say whether you make that turn or not down the street.