Who here has a good GPS?

I think my Nuvi 5000 is good. I have to tell it the route I want since it doesn't do truck routing but it has a built in audio book reader, mp3 player, FM transmitter AND doubles as a video display for my DVD player. That was a nice feature while sitting in the truck waiting.

 

I just finished doing a very thorough exercise of research because I was dead set on buying myself a new truck specific GPS for Christmas, but what I found out is none of them have perfected the truck routing yet. Thus, in reality what you are ending up getting when you buy one of those new truck specific GPS units at least as this time is a car GPS with some enhanced truck specific features.

Thus my good friend, at least at this time, they are all "non-truck" solutions until further notice. Not only that, but some of them seem to have an exorbitant number of issues that require you to have a high speed Internet connection while you are on the road because of the size of the downloads, and how many drivers on the road have access to high speed Internet connections? Thus buyers should beware before they pluck down their hard earned cash for one of these over priced car GPS units with enhanced truck specific features.

 

Please refer to the following Website for a honest review.

http://www.dieselboss.com/truck_gps_review_features.htm

What I have gathered is that you have read through two threads and based upon what you have read have come to some odd conclusions.

A lot of time and research has gone into these higher priced navigation units. They simply cannot use normal car type mapping and be an affective navigation unit. The software coding has to take a lot more into account to provide you the driver a safe legal truck route.

I posted that high speed internet on the road is needed if the user wishes to update while on the road. When was the last time you tried to download a file of about 1mb on a dial up connection? A lot more drivers have access to the internet than you think. Almost all of the major truck stops have High speed internet, McDonalds has high speed internet and they are usually found at truck stops. I was on the road for three years and I never lacked for a high speed connection.

As far as issues with the navigation unit, I am being fair to the user whom has purchased this unit so if a issue is found that will affect their driving then they can be aware of it. I think most drivers would appreciate that we are being honest with them.

Thanks,
Mark

 

Until recently, I was using an $80 TomTom. I'm not willing to spend $500, just seems crazy expensive. When truck GPS comes down to $200 I'll reconsider. The main advantage of a GPS for me is seeing the name of an upcoming road. During rain, snow or night, it's invaluable. Being able to find your current location with a simple touch of the screen, nomatter where you stop, makes breaks easier. And knowing which direction you'll be turning helps keep you in the proper lane ahead of time. Even without truck routing, you won't know how you ever lived without a GPS once you start using one.

 

This is especially true for me. Delivering gas in strange towns at night. It is awesome to see the street you need a good 1/4 mile ahead of time.

 

I also got the Rand McNally TND500 unit. True it was $500 but if you want a truck specific gps which you really need as a trucker and pretty soon from what i see in some states you can be fined for using a non-truck unit ( i heard in NJ or NY i think are gonna do this ) you are going to have to spend that. The Garmin,World Nav, Cobra are also about $500 each. PC Miler is only one cheaper and to get the one with the bigger screen not that much less. I'm very happy with my unit and hasn't let me down yet!

 

How many files have you downloaded using truckstop WiFi ? Not only is it expensive but you are likely to lose the connection before the download is complete . Signals at most truckstops are very weak .

 

I agree the wi-fi out there can be expensive and lots of times has a weak signal BUT.....i think the important issue is what gps unit out there (car or truck) can you update WITHOUT internet connection? most units you have to pay and only updated once or twice a year. if updates are free ill find internet somewhere. true some units you can get updated by sd card but theyre not cheap!

 

Hey, if I had the money in my budget I'd love to get the truck GPS. A GPS is more important than a CB. Went without a CB for quite awhile without any problems, but without a GPS, I was missing turns on a rare occasion.

 

I'll believe that when a GPS can tell of a road closure ahead and a way around it or tell a driver he has a defect with his vehicle he is unaware of or warn drivers of a DUI or somebody going the wrong way on the interstate .