Which GPS is better, Rand McNally 710 or Garmin Dezl 560?

Haven't tried the Garmin but have been using the Rand McNally for a year. First purchased the Cobra but returned it after it kept routing me to streets clearly posted either with weight limits or no trucks. Rand McNally works pretty well, but not perfect. Never completely trust the GPS, it is just another tool and not a substitute for good trip planning, map reading, google maps satellite view (if you have it), etc.

 

I'd go with the 510 personally. The 710 is almost too big but obviously just an opinion.

 

hey look only took one reply to get the just a tool comment.

 

Whodathunk .....

 

Everyone defines best differently. What's best for me, might not be best for you. The Rand and the Garmin are both popular and both get favorable reviews from users. So either one is probably going to work well for you.

Some people prefer the Rand because Rand has been making truckers atlas' forever. Some people prefer the Garmin because Garmin has been making GPS units forever. I'm in the second camp. Garmin's core business has always been making GPS units. It is and always has been their primary product.

Rand on the other hand is a very old and well established company. But at their core, they're a publishing company. They make books. Building GPS units is sort of a new direction for them. Its an offshoot from their core business. That doesn't give me a lot of confidence that Rand will still be building and more importantly supporting their GPS units years from now. I'm not saying its likely they'll give it up, I'm just saying they could because at their core, they're a publishing company not an electronics company.

GPS is all Garmin does and its all they've ever done. That gives me a lot more confidence that they'll offer support for their GPS units years down the road.

But like I said at the beginning, everyone has a different definition of best. Those are my priorities. Your may be different. I don't think you'll be disappointed with either unit.

 

I have the Cobra and never had a issue with bad routing. Only with me the issue is the opposite. Bchn Betty didn't like any of the roads I take, so I ended up taking it out of the truck and using it for my car. I got real tired of "Impossible bank u-turn" every 100 yards as it tried to get me off a truck restricted road.

 

I have only used a cheapo car GPS in my car before trucking and then I got the Rand 710 for my truck.

I am glad I got the 710. The screen is packed with info, most of which are touch buttons. Using the touch screen can be less than precise when bouncing down the road. Mine fits on my dash, I would not want it up in the windshield blocking a good percentage of it.

This is the tiny GPS my trainer had.



This is the 710




My review of the 710:
It has great tools.
Three view types
it gives the turn notices in plenty of time to maneuver a big truck to the correct position/lane
Routing is almost always the preferred route, whether shortest, highways etc.
You can set your truck type, size, weight, hazmat etc. (one time I could not figure out why it would not route me on the shortest highway. The highway had tunnels and I still had it set for hazmat!)
The way point searches are awesome. Find truck stops, repair shops, fuel by many different methods. At the end of your driving day, along your route, near your destination or near your current location.
It tells you of scales, tolls, state borders, speed limit decreases etc...
It has timers for driving, truck maintenance. It logs your miles driven and separates by state as well.
Data can be output to your computer for taxes, etc. Personal data as well, like our companies regular stops that I have programed.

My complaint(s)
The hardware is the bare minimum to run the software package. It takes much longer than most to plan a route or re-route. I think it takes so long because it is loading all the route info like the truck stops etc...

In my one year, one broke completely after about 50 days. TA replaced it with no receipt, that was great of them. Rand wants you to send it in for repair and "you should have it back in 6 weeks" was the reply. Unacceptable for a work tool! They should send a refurbished and when you get that, return the defective unit with a return code.

Almost once a month it would lock up. I had to do a reboot to get it working again. That is scary with that return policy.

Mikeeee

 

the rand mcnally doesnt even try lol. it basically throws its hands in the air and switches to car mode.

 

I bought the RM 510 (the smaller screen) version, and its wonderful but not 100% reliable. I love the interfaces, listing all truck stops, weigh stations, and walmarts along your route. as with any other gps, dont rely on this completely though. it has tried to route me through tight residential areas instead of staying on a main highway to get to an interstate. I keep mine on my windshield and have been down some pretty terrible roads (i65 south!) and it never seemed to want to fall. The voice in the unit is loud and clear, gives many instructions through turns, alerts for upcoming turns, etc.

Drawbacks - the unit has only two voices, one male and one female. Its a minor complaint, but a variety would be nice since this is one of the more expensive gps units on the market. When i first bought the unit i left it on for days at a time and had software issues. Turning the unit off during ten hour breaks seems to have stopped it.

Mainly I use this to navigate interstates. When it comes to driving streets for pickups and deliveries i use directions my company provides on the qualcomm, google maps, and calling the customer.