Best GPS?

I use Streets & Trips on my laptop. It's not marketed as truck specific, but it does some things that so-called truck specific GPS units can't do. It lets you manipulate the routes it generates in any kind of way so desired. Hence, you can input your company supplied fuel routes, which are legal truck routes, and 99 percent of the time the routes Streets & Trips generates will match the company supplied fuel routes exactly, and on those few rare occasions when it doesn't match, you can simply drag and drop the segment of the route that doesn't match to the correct road or street to make the route match exactly. Then once everything matches 100 percent exactly, you can save that route. I use the load assignment number and the cities involved to name the trip files that I save. You can also call them up anytime in the future to review them.

In addition, I also use Google Earth (which is a free download) to pushpin the driver entranceways of my shippers and receivers. Then I copy from the properties of those pushpins in Google Earth the GPS coordinates into Streets & Trips and then save them. This way Streets & Trips gives me turn-by-turn directions directly into my shipper and receiver entranceways, and when I go back to them again in the future, all I have to do is right click them and add as stop. I've also added all my company terminals and drop lots in this way too.

For truck specific POIs, I added the Truck Stops Plus add-on Template that provides over 15,000 truck specific POIs. All of this together cost only a fraction of what one of those so-called truck specific GPS units costs. Learned all of this from my trainer who has been using this system for years.

 

Easy. Most gps will let you add a waypoint by scanning to the area on the map and selecting a point with a tap. Just scan to a point on the desired route that would basically force it, then add a fake waypoint.

One particular route that's tough to do that is across US-60 in lower Missery. I think my Garmins believe it is still a 45 mph 2 lane. It takes 2-3 fake waypoints to force a route that doesn't include going via St. Louis.

Edit to add: Sometimes it's just easier to mute the gps and go the way you want and let it recalculate until you merge back to the route it likes.

 

Most (not all) will suggest the one they bought. I had a Garmin 465T (Truck specific) and I paid a ton for it (it was new at the time) it was great until it died and Garmin wouldn't stand behind it. It was only JUST over a year old. I purchased a Rand McNally 720 and so far (six months) I'm happy with it. I would suggest you take these two things into your consideration. We have a Man here who will help you with your Rand unit. I mean REALLY help you. Also I have to suggest Don @ www.dieselboss.com Don is a class act Man and his business is the kind this Country needs more of. There's my .02

 

For anyone using the tom tom, you can go to plan new rt, avoid part of rt, and it gives you a list of all the roads it has you going down with the distance for each one, and you can select one for it to reroute and avoid.

 

Hi I'am a trucker and looking at the Garmin465 LMT. Wal Mart selling it for 249.00 is this a good one for trucking. Thanks

 

The nüvi 465LMT is at the bottom of Garmin's trucking line. Personally, though, I'd spend the extra $50 and get the dēzl 560LMT if for no other reason than the larger screen.

Comparing the two on the Garmin site, it looks like the dēzl software is a lot better; the nüvi is missing a lot of features.

Definitely go with the dēzl 560LMT.

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/compare.do?cID=275&compareProduct=93853&compareProduct=93838

 

Better yet go with the Dezl 760 LMT.....I believe it is the new version of the truck GPS for 2013.

 

+1 on that, EZ... the 760 is on the top of my (very) short list once I get rolling and some $$$ coming in...

$249 to $399 is quite a jump, though; I didn't want to scare him off!

Just remember, Frosty, that you will be using your GPS for probably 3-5 years. Six months after you buy it, you won't even remember what you paid for it... unless you keep saying how you should have spent the extra money for the one you REALLY wanted!

 

Public service message: BACK UP YOUR WAYPOINTS!

Garmin owners: Garmin's BaseCamp software (free!) will do that for you, among other things.
http://www.garmin.com/en-US/shop/downloads/basecamp

Other GPS owners: Check with your GPS manufacturer.