GPS or good old maps?

I used GPS exactly twice in 12 years driving. Aside from it talking all the time, and it getting me lost, I guess it was OK. Funny thing was when I ran otr all I used was am atlas and always found my way, and on time too! But now I don't need either as I run to all the same places.....

 

don't need our hands held. we just know how to use newer technology that makes the trip faster. when i get loaded. i want to be on the highway. heading out of town. not asking the shipper for directions to the highway. then looking at the map to see which way i want to go. then sitting at the receiving town waiting for someone to return my voicemail i left to give me directions. CROSSING FINGERS THEY SPEAK ENGLISH. cuz sometimes. that wait for the phone call can be 1/2 day.

atlas's don't have directions for getting out of town or parks. and it also takes common sense. if the TRUCK gps is programmed correctly. it won't steer you on 8 ft or 65 feet roads. but if people are too dumb to use commen sense in NOT going where gps tells them. that's their fault.

drive off a cliff becuase gps told you to take the dirt road. maybe you shoudln't be driving a car at all.

don't blame the new age trucker becuase the old age trucker don't understand technology. trucker A gets his load delivered and is on his way to the next load. while trucker B is looking at the maps and calling the receiver.

 

I've been at this for a little while and I'll use every tool available to make the job easier.

Is GPS foolproof? Heck no, but neither are shipper or receiver directions. I was trying to deliver a pipe insulation load somewhere in Massachusetts, don't remember where now and I had directions from the receiver. They told me to turn left on XYZ street and they would be 3 miles on the left. Well, what they didn't tell me was that XYZ street where I was supposed to turn left was actually ABC street because where I had to turn left was in the neighboring town and as such had a different street name (ABC) that changed 500 feet after the turn to the XYZ street that was on my directions. Of course there were no signs indicating this change other than a town limit sign. Would a GPS have caught that change? I don't know because this happened long before GPS and cell phones.

I prefer to look at the atlas, decide what route I think will be best, look at google maps & earth to get an idea what the place looks like and what I may encounter, then feed the info into the GPS and keep an eye on if it's taking where I need to go.

 

A gps and atlas would both be beneficial.Type in your destination on the gps then compare it with the atlas.Choose the one that's the shortest route.Then when you get close to the city call customer for directions..Ive never had a truckers gps but they can be spendy and heard they're not 100% accurate.

 

And back when I was really poor, I used to swap engines with a box end wrench set and a block and tackle.... that socket set and cherry picker sure do speed things up....

 

Compass and sextant is all you really need. Christopher Columbus didn't need no fancy road atlas.

 

Maps are known to be correct. GPS are known to have few mistakes. Calling the customer usually provides accurate local directions.

Learn to use the three hand in hand and alter the GPS to match known directions when need be and you have an invaluable tool.

If you don't know how to change the GPS then I guess you can hate it!

You don't straight out rely on it.

 

GPS is a tool, not your boss. If you refuse to try it while still retaining your own common sense, you're just handicapping yourself. An Atlas isn't going to help you in many towns anyway. Finding the right state or US highway to get to your destination is the easy part, and your GPS is going to near instantly calculate the best roads to take to get to the town your destination is in, versus you and your ruler checking the measurements in the Atlas, lol.

Besides, if you want to take an alternate route, just put the destination in your GPS anyway. It will most likely conform to your new route soon after, unless it's very suboptimal, then you get to have a constantly updated ETA with info on stops and whatnot along the way.

 

A GPS designed for truckers maps get outdated to quick and you need to many of them And I used maps for years