Whose bright idea was it to put Zonar tablets in all of the trucks?

Discussion in 'Swift' started by Trucks66, Nov 21, 2021.

  1. Trucks66

    Trucks66 Light Load Member

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    These tablets are absolutely worthless. Don't even bother using the navigation on these pieces of crap.
     
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  3. fairshake

    fairshake Road Train Member

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    They are a joke, I just use the elog then the app on a phone which works better most times.
     
  4. feldsforever

    feldsforever Road Train Member

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  5. Six9GS

    Six9GS Road Train Member

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    I switched about 6 months ago. After getting used to it, there are some advantages over the old Qualcom, navigation NOT being one of them. With the Zonar tablet, you're able to see all your clocks instead of just the clock with the least available drive time. Also have easier access to messages.
    The navigation part is definitely inferior to the Qualcom in my opinion. It doesn't have the ability to simply input the shortcut code, such as @fuelaz435, and route you. I miss that. The routing itself is better than it was 6 months or so ago when I first changed to Zonar. But, still not a s good, in my opinion, as the Qualcom. You just can't blindly rely on it as much as your could the Qualcom. That said, ultimately it is the driver's responsibility to route yourself. It simply is a more active component now than before. I also ended up buying a Garmin, which I hadn't felt to need to do with the Qualcom. Garmin routing can be wonky too. So, I've learned, which is probably as it should be, to never rely on some computer routing system. Always scrutinize the route and adjust accordingly. As a driver, it's part of the job and responsibility. You simply have to pay more attention and exercise your own judgement more than before.
     
  6. dptrucker

    dptrucker Road Train Member

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    told my dl they made a mistake not putting a leash of some kind on the tablet.
    been wanting to throw the dang thing out the window a few times lol
     
  7. Trucks66

    Trucks66 Light Load Member

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    I feel sorry for all of the brand new solo drivers that will rely on the zonar navigation.

    There's going to be a lot of them driving through dirt gravel roads and stuck in ditches.
     
  8. VA CDL Holder

    VA CDL Holder Medium Load Member

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    Knight, a big user of the Zonar system, has owned Swift for several years now, hence the transition over to the "Knight way" of doing things. Do they have SmartDrive camera systems as well at Swift? The only problem I've had with the Zonar tablet is that I've had them quit on me while driving several times. More trouble than they are worth, I always liked the Qaullcomm that Swift used in 2013 when I was there.
     
  9. Moosetek13

    Moosetek13 Road Train Member

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    2013 was a LONG time ago, and electronics wear out.

    Swift does have SmartDrive, and that is just the latest of the drivecams we have had.
    I personally do not have a problem with it. My score has remained between 0 and 6, when the safety bonus lets me have 20.
    If I ever got up to 20+ I would really consider ending my driving career.

    The Zonar GPS is garbage, I agree.
    One of the first things I got back in early 2011 was a RM 500, and have had all of them up to the 550.

    I consider the 550 garbage as well, but for different reasons.
    The 540 was much better.
     
  10. gentleroger

    gentleroger Road Train Member

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    Something else to think about - Qualcomm tablet software was crummy when my company tested it. Their new hardware that replaced the mcp200 was overpriced and already outdated.

    Knight Swift was faced with having to upgrade their hardware and they didn't have a lot of great options to chose from.
     
  11. InTooDeep

    InTooDeep Donner party survivor

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    Plus they are 3G and that goes away so had to update to something
     
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