New Truck GPS

I have heard more positive about Garmin but I am sure they both have their issues. I have never used Garmin personally but did have a Rand Mcnally. It was okay. Actually I had the most success with Copilot. You have that for now but don't be surprised if it gets cut off soon. You can subscribe to that yourself but can't use your Love's points for that which is why I recommend getting the Rand or Garmin. I think either one honestly would be fine.

 

Dang dude you have a lot of points!

 

I would strongly recommend you see which Garmin Dezl device is sold in most truck stops. I replaced my failing RM 740 with a Garmin Dezl OTR 720 (IIRC). They cost about the same at the time a few years ago. I preferred the RM interface over the Garmin but that could easily be be just having 3-5 years of use of it and my only using the Garmin for a couple of weeks as I was leaving the industry so I never got used to it. The Garmin screen is better and the Garmin is more durable and gets better updates than the RM.

My strongest suggestion is get a truck GPS unit and not the combination unit that does everything including satellite radio, tablet, phone calls, etc. etc. etc. Those items add complexity and cost and one of them will eventually fail and lord help you if it takes out the GPS functionality with it. I think the 7 inch units from both makers cost about $450. If you want to save some money get the 5 or 6 inch version. I found most of the info I needed while driving in traffic was being spoken over the GPS speaker. The smaller device can be mounted in more places than the larger one.

If you watch the prices at the truck stops and have the time I would just monitor the prices until I saw a good deal. IIRC, sometimes they would knock $50 off the normal price. Also, don't depend on the magnet mount. There are potholes big enough that the unit will detach from the mount and fall to the floor unless it is resting on something. Also when you stop for the night, unplug the GPS power cord and turn it off so you don't forcibly charge the battery for 10 unnecessary hours. Heat and unnecessary charging shorten battery life. Both RM & Garmin have their quirks and make their mistakes, so don't start trusting the directions and the warnings until you have enough experience with them to know what mistakes they make.

The RM would show the wrong speed limit about 20% of the time. The RM database that was NOT updated after the first year had several false HazMat routes, one on I-285 (northside) near Atlanta. And it's more rare, but repeating mistake, was a once every few months "Stay LEFT to enter I-?? in 500 feet" when you actually needed to stay RIGHT to enter that highway. Luckily it made this mistake always when the big green official road sign for that highway was in view so I could tell the spoken info was incorrect.

The main thing is have a RM road atlas for the big picture and a GPS for fine-tuning. Use the GPS as an assistant and not your boss. Have the big picture from the paper atlas in your mind when entering GPS addresses so you can spot any conflict between what you were expecting and what it said BEFORE you start moving. I promise anyone using the GPS as a brain replacement will have very big problems. I hear the Garmin had a problem with directing you off an interstate highway exit and then directing you back onto the interstate highway at the top of the ramp. I don't know if it still does that or not. You want to use it for a period with some other source of directions so you can judge how well it is doing before you start relying on it. Blindly trusting a GPS is a quick way to problems bigger than you can imagine.

Loves points are 1 point equals 1 cent. So a $450 GPS will use 45,000 points. Don't forget you will pay sales tax, except in OR. I found both units needed to be powered by their included 12 volt power cable and not through a USB cable. Also, don't expect to use the included ELD. And IIRC, the bluetooth connection is locked down a bit so it may or may not play well through the truck stereo if you connect your phone by BT for audio. IIRC, I just used the speaker in the GPS for turn-by-turn and not the stereo.

 

The above post is outstanding info -- thanks!!!!

Basically...you outdid yourself....

-- L

 

Don't ask the dinosaur nerd about dinosaurs unless you want to hear TOO DANG MUCH about dinosaurs.
I get to add my GPS data-dump to my trucking data-dump. I almost can't help it.

 

Fueling at 1 chain is how you maximize your benefits. I thought the Love's system was the best if there are plenty of Love's where you run. IIRC, you can easily buy enough fuel to trigger the daily free drink/shower benefit fir the next month. That's nice because you don't have to manage shower credits, plus free coffee. Big difference between having a shower credits & having one every day because you can give one away & help someone.

 

Love's is nice because they double, triple points for fueling once you buy 1k or 1.5k gallons. Twice I was able to save 800-ish dollars in Love's points.