Who here has a good GPS?

It’s very simple Mark…I was interested in buying a truck specific GPS unit, but I found out from you personally that the TND 500 doesn’t do truck routing nearly good enough to be relied upon, and that is also the reason why you personally recommend that the TND 500 be used together with a MCRA and exactly, by the way, like you should do also when you use a car GPS device.

Thus, no matter what Rand McNally or any other manufacturer claims for that matter, if it can’t do truck specific routing good enough to be relied upon, then those so-called truck specific GPS devices for all intents and purposes are in reality still car GPS devices enhanced with truck specific features, and in the case of the TND 500 at least this time, those truck specific features are still very buggy to say least.

Mark…the amount of time and research that has gone into these higher priced navigation units is absolutely immaterial as for as I’m concerned. If they can’t do what they claim and advertise they do, then they are simply not worth the exorbitant price they are charging, and the amount of time and research is completely irrelevant if they can’t perform. Indeed, the amount of time and research Rand McNally invested indicates that either Rand McNally’s executives are incompetent or otherwise they didn’t do their homework beforehand and never considered the limitations of technology, which would also point back to them being incompetent.

If you were on the road for three years then you should know that most WIFI service at the majority truck stops suck. Not only that but it is very expensive to say the least to pay for WIFI service just to check for updates that may or may not be available. Nevertheless, if I am going to pay $500 for a GPS unit, then it better work as advertised right out of the box, and the TND 500 miserably fails in that regard.

I don’t know about you Mark, but most drivers are consumers too and most consumers would appreciate it much more if the products they purchased worked as advertised right out of the box and also were capable of doing what they claim and advertise they do right out of the box, especially when a premium price is being charged for the product based on particular unique capabilities, and in that regard the TND 500 miserably fails on all accounts, as not only can it not do out of the box what it spuriously claims and fallaciously advertises, but it also is plagued with a ton of bugs and issues and so many of them, by the way, that you can come here to learn about the steadily growing list of bugs and issues.

 

I hate to rain on your parade but the TND 500 unit does not do truck specific routing nearly good enough to be relied upon and hence is a car GPS unit enhanced with truck specific features, and on top of it the truck specific features at this time are still very buggy.

Sure most routes that it will generate will be okay and legal for trucks, but so will most of the routes that most car GPS units will generate too, and that is because the overwhelming majority of the roads in the USA are legal for both 18-wheelers and 4-wheelers cars. Nevertheless, if you don’t use the TND 500 together with an MCRA you are a disaster waiting to happen.

Not only that, but because the TND 500 will reroute you every time you enter a truck stop, rest area, weigh station, etc., the routes will get recalculated and depending upon where you are relative to your final destination, the recalculated routes may or may not change, making it impossible for you to verify and confirm your routes are legal for 18-wheelers even with a MCRA beforehand.

Think about it, the routes will inevitably be recalculated several times each day and each time the routes get recalculated, the routes it generates could change, which significantly increases the odds over time that it could possibly route you down a route illegal for 18-wheelers. Nevertheless, I guess you can always cross your fingers, hope, and pray that you never get into trouble. Good luck.

 

What else would you expect him to say? I mean he is on Rand McNally’s payroll.

 

Are you speaking from hands on experience with the TND 500, or are you just spreading FUD, from what I have read of your posts it seems to be the later. I have used the TND 500 in NYC, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Long Island. This unit has done a marvelous job at routing me through one of the hardest areas in the USA to drive a 18-wheeler in. It has always kept me on truck routes throughout these areas, gotten me to my stops on time and safely. I do not travel main highways all the time also, I am right in the thick of the city and boroughs.
So unless you have this kind of hands on experience, I think you should take your FUD and spread it elsewhere.

 

I agree and have used mine for few months now also in downtown Boston and NYC and has not put me on a non-truck route yet unlike the Garmin 465t i had before that tried putting me under a few low bridges! im happy that when there is an issue they work on it and fix it with free updates. besides what gps doesn't need internet to upgrade??

 

I would have to agree on the 465T, total nightmare for me, enough said. So between you and I, we both drive in some tough areas and have used the TND 500 with good results. I would have to say experience vs. conjecture leaves Mr. Karl Rove without a leg to stand on. Seems to me he must have some other kind of hidden agenda since he cant base his case upon experience.

 

Wait, wait...let me guess. Don't tell me. You must be another Rand McNally beta tester. Man...you guys are climbing out of the woodwork.

 

So how useful are any of these units in places like NJ? I have found the local garbage truck driver to be invaluable for getting back to where I was going, but I can't rely on that. Especially important, is after missing a turn or making the wrong turn, how well do they help you get back where you need to be?

 

I used the TND 500 to pick up a load in Fairfield, NJ and Newark, NJ..........got to right where I needed to go, and then got me out again.