Standalone Truck GPS units that are NOT Rand McNally?

Yes just put in size and weight restrictions, it is a gps for trucks. Free map updates. Take a bit of getting use too but easy to use

 

If u use the my drive app you can send addresses from your phone straight to the gps and you can modify route on your phone thru the app

 

Garmin 770 (7 inch). Or Garmin 570 (5 inch). These are standalone GPS units. You can spend more and get the tablet that does GPS, dashcam, and many other things. I agree with you about a dedicated GPS box versus a magic box with multiple functions.

Garmin also uses FM sub-carrier to send traffic and weather to the unit. So it doesn't have to have wifi or your phone data to give WX & traffic. The drawback is not every FM radio station provides sub-carrier data so you need to be near middle sized cities, IIRC. I don't know if it uses FM to do map and OS updates

I also have the RM 740 for almost 3 years. WHEN it fails I'll be getting a Garmin. The RM has been reliable and I've learned most of it, but no updates is starting to frustrate me.

 

The RM without recent updates sucks going from Barstow to Tehachipi on CA-58 and nearing Henderson, NV from Kingman, AZ on the new interstate. I always forget if that's I-17 or I-11.

 

Funny, I think that TomTom is a complete junk. I have two of them, if you miss a turn, it takes forever for it to recalculate. Simply inputting an address over 1000 miles would take it forever to calculate the route.
Unless something has changed in the last couple of updates

 

I don’t know for me it works, but I still do things the old way with my road atlas and call customers. So yeah, I guess what ever works.

 

I recently upgraded from a 13 year old teletype world nav gps to a garmin dezl 580. $299. Was like going from the early motorla cell phones of the late 90’s to a modern 20’s $1,000 flagship phone. And...yes, I still use a trucker atlas as well. Upgrade that every 13 years too. Lol.

 

The primary thing I notice is in dallas, tx where I30 and I30E intersect with each other. What ussually happens is the Rand goes crazy, starts showing weight violation warnings, and might even self cancel the route.