Is there professional justification for needing a laptop as a truck driver?

To make a long story short...it won't hurt yu to have a laptop on the road.....

 

Laptop with PC Miler Streets and Hazmat, for use in conjunction with Commercial Motor Carriers Atlas. Because sometimes, it really sucks trying to get turned around in 60+feet of big-arsed vehicle. Need I say more?

 

Stay away from the Alk products: CoPilot/PC Miler because they are crap.

 

Sorry to hear that. I don't use Copilot. Just the PC Miler, and I always confirm with my paper atlas. If there's a dispute between the two, which hasn't happened yet, I'll go with the atlas. Had it longer, know I can trust it. Just use PC miler to save a bit of time, and get an idea about a new route, or going somewhere I haven't been to in awhile. I consider it a tool, just like my atlas and trusty exit guide.

 

I use our laptop to pay bills, trip-plan, route, check weather and road conditions, etc. And my Sprint data card for internet use is deductible because of those things.
Being that I'm just a passenger, my laptop is also GREATLY appreciated for playing games, check emails, etc.

Also, we download movies, music, etc. and I then transfer them to disc.

Judi Kay

 

I have a question about the people that use there lap top for gps. How good is it. Is it better then using a gps from lets say. tom tom or garmin. I was thinking if you use a lap top then you need an internet card. And how good does that card work on the road bouncing between towers. Does it ever cut out. Just wondering cuz I am in the market for a trucking gps unit.

kkburr73

 

I don't use the laptop for GPS, as my hubby has a GPS unit.
And, yes, it does require in internet data card. We have Sprint, and it DOES cut out sometimes, especially in Wyoming.
But for the most part, I keep a pretty good signal.

Judi Kay

 

My verizon card cuts out when switching towers or speeds. It only affects something that requires a constant connection, like games. I don't know how a gps program would react to it. I don't use my laptop for gps because it'd have to be in front of me to read it.

 

Yeah im thinking the best way to go is with a gps unit. They have a nice refurished one on a websit for $329. Marked down from $599. Its a truckers gps.

kkburr73

 

As for as I'm concerned, using a laptop to do your trip planning and GPS navigation is far better than using a standalone GPS unit because with a laptop you get a panoramic view for trip planning and also for navigation. A standalone unit is good enough for 4 wheelers, but for trucks you need the much larger view, especially for trip planning.

Plus you can multitask by opening several instances of your software simultaneously, leave the ones you aren't using minimized, and then use them to accomplish several different tasks during the course of a day without interfering with the current trip you are driving. There is no way to multitask with a standalone unit.

In addition with a laptop you can play games, watch movies, send and receive emails, send and received faxes, do instant messaging, cruise the Internet, etc.

Finally, if you already have a laptop, it is much cheaper just to buy the software to do GPS navigation than to buy a standalone GPS unit, and a lot of people I know that use standalone GPS units, also have laptops with navigation software loaded on it that they use for trip planning.

Well you don't need an aircard to trip plan and do GPS navigation, but I highly recommend an aircard for accessing the Internet anytime you need to. I've been using a Verizon Aircard for years and can count only 3 times where I couldn't get on the Internet.

Well normally since I'm a solo driver I don't run my aircard when the truck is moving, so that hasn't been a problem with me.