GPS Poll

I used a Garmin for a few weeks while joining my current company. I've been using a RM 740 for the last few months. I have reached the conclusion that if you haven't been using a GPS either brand will do fine for you. You will learn their way of doing things. If you switch you will be a little frustrated trying to make the new GPS do what your old GPS did.

One thing I am certain of now, the price difference between a 7 inch and a 5 inch GPS is too much. I have a 7 inch RM740. At the time the 740 was brand new so the price was $400 everywhere while the 5 inch version of the 730 was $229 in some places. Now that the new 5 inch GPS are out they all seem to be $300. The 5 inch is easier to squeeze into a crowded truck and presents the same info as the 7 inch. You can zoom in as much as you need. I wish I had saved the $170 in reward points and gone with a 5 inch.

BTW the secret to the RM740 not falling off of the magnetic mount is to have the GPS sitting on something AND attached to the magnetic mount. I have the base of the magnetic mount stuck to the windshield and the GPS, when attached to it, is sitting on the dashboard. I haven't had it bounce off or fall off the mount.

 

I started running GPS with RM about 6 years ago. Ran it 6 months and decided I didn't like it. Bought a Garmin ran it a month. I then threw away the RM. I upgraded to the larger unit about 4 years ago and it's still serving me well.

That said, they both have their strengths and weaknesses and personal preferences regarding UI and overall functionality play into it as well. For me? I prefer Garmin.

But Garmin is useless to keep the truck stops database current and also has a handful of erroneous bridge, size, and weight entries. which is my chief complaint about Garmin but as long as you do your due diligence, it's not a problem.

 

AZ 93- used to have several Non-STAA sections that if your truck settings were set to 53'/102" you would not get routed on it. Now those sections have a bypass and for the last several years you will be routed on AZ-93. So, seems you have older maps.

As for truck stops, nothing in the Map data to specify which exit is a truck exit. All exits are deemed the same in the Map Data base. Garmin also uses HERE as does RM.

So, the driver has to be aware of their placement in the truck stop. HERE is simply not set up for truck exits in a POI.

 

I use the Garmin 74Dv. I like the chart display and the compatibility to radar overlay.
Plus the ease of loading and finding waypoints. Not to mention the rhum line deviation reading.
And a good tide data interface.

 

RM has prettier graphics but Garmin has free traffic alerts. Saved me from a couple major delays. RM traffic alerts cost $20/mo. Get the 7" Garmin and mount it on your driver door window, not your windshield. Don't think of it as two extra inches. Think of it as twice the screen surface area. Got mine off ebay, $285 factory refurbished with mfr warranty, when they were selling for $379 retail. I put a little piece of paper in the mount socket to keep it from wiggling and sagging face down over time.

 

RM does weird #### sometimes, but so does garmin. Neither one is perfect.

I prefer using the garmin because I mostly rely on my eyes for TS and places to park and what not, which RM is better at imo. But the garmin is better for me functionally.

I currently use a combo of an atlas, garmin, and waze.

 

I voted before I read this, but I like Garmin so much that I have never used any other brand.