Truck gps

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by Lonewolf2000, Jan 13, 2018.

  1. Lonewolf2000

    Lonewolf2000 Medium Load Member

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    What is a really good truck based gps to use. I was looking at randmcnally units but on amazon one had a review that stated it sent him down a road with a 12ft bridge. He said he was in his pickup so no harm done. I have a truck atlas handy but I want a gps that won’t fail me. Would prefer to not find myself up s—t creek without a paddle if I can help it, no low bridges/weight restricted roads dead end streets etc.
     
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  3. DUNE-T

    DUNE-T Road Train Member

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    If you type truck gps in the search box, you will find a bazillion threads about it
     
  4. tinytim

    tinytim Road Train Member

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    No such thing. That's why you have eyes and a brain.

    The rand is good but not perfect.
     
  5. Pedigreed Bulldog

    Pedigreed Bulldog Road Train Member

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    I like Garmins, myself. Had a 465T from when they came out until about a year or so ago when it finally quit. Replaced that with a dezl570.

    I've never used any of the others, so I can't offer any comparisons. What I CAN say, though, is that a lot of those reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt. The quality of route which ANY truck spec'd GPS is going to spit out will depend upon what you have programmed in. If you tell it that your truck is 9' tall, it could very easily send you down a road with a 9'4" overpass. Tell it you aren't hauling hazmat and it won't route you around hazmat restricted routes. Tell it you're only 30,000 pounds, and it won't tell you about the 25 ton weight restriction on the bridge. If you're in car mode, it won't give any truck-specific warnings.
     
  6. TaterFox

    TaterFox Medium Load Member

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    I've used both Rand and Garmin GPS for trucks, and to be honest, the Garmin is better all around, but the Rand, to me at least, seemed to do road structures a bit better when you were looking zoomed in further, but the menu's, man, you gotta dig sometimes when you don't wanna just to change simple things.
     
  7. A Bug

    A Bug Heavy Load Member

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    Rand Mcnally units will warn you about low bridges on all the state and us highways. It does not know anything about smaller road hight clearance. So if you rely on the gps to check all bridge heights then you are going to get stuck sooner or later. That goes the same for all truck gps units.

    I use the garmin dezlcam. I have been slowly building up a library of incidents on the road that I have recorded with that thing. If you aint living pay check to pay check then it is the best that money can buy for you.
     
  8. Justrucking2

    Justrucking2 Road Train Member

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    Go with a Garmin 770 and don't look back. I have yet to figure out a Rand unit. I had some European guy grab me at a dock last week, he had one, wanted me to show him how to get to FoMoCo on Fern Valley in Louisville. I tried to figure it out, and not my first time with these Rand units. I told him to use his Atlas, as that POS Rand unit was just that, a POS.

    And, my buddy has one, same thing... I will not bore you, get a Garmin and back it up with Google Maps and a Rand McNally ATLAS. Just do that, and do not look back.

    And to the naysayers, I started when pay phones were in vogue, and we carried a pen and a small tablet in our front pockets with the Camels. Get a Garmin, leave the drama for others.
     
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  9. TaterFox

    TaterFox Medium Load Member

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    I have to pry, but how do you like that Dezlcam? Pretty easy to use, input hazmat/change hazardous status? I'm intrigued.
     
  10. tinytim

    tinytim Road Train Member

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    Oh come on. If you can post on this site you can figure out how to enter a destination into a rand.
     
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  11. Justrucking2

    Justrucking2 Road Train Member

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    Dude, I have tried, multiple times with other drivers. Seriously, I can set up an advanced internet protocol at the house, upload to my truck's ECM, change parameters, etc, but that Rand unit? May as well be a brick. I would not give you a plug nickel for one.
     
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