Garmin or Rand Mcnally ?

Neither. Google maps. It’s free. You’ve got street view and satellite view. Want to know any clearance issues that’s what the MAP is for!

 

Many times when you are in cities, on highways with intersections instead of off ramps, the street names are easier to see than the often tiny or hidden or sometimes non existent signs marking the cross street as a highway.

 

So you're going to spend two hours looking up this road and that road in the atlas checking a 2,500-mile Google Maps route for low bridges? Good luck with that. Only thing I use Google Maps for is sat view to determine the best direction for approach of receiver/shipper.

 

I have found the opposite is more often true. Every city has different color and shape street signs, and they also place the signs in different places. Sometimes they are in stupid places where they can be easily blocked by other high profile vehicles.

Highway number signs, on the other hand, are far more uniform everywhere in the US, nearly always on the right side of the road, and typically there are obvious signs both at the intersection, AND several hundred feet before the intersection.

 

If anyone wants a 740 I can make you a deal

 

Considering that there has not been a map update for my 720 in nearly 2 years, (as of about a month ago, last time I checked) despite the box saying lifetime map upgrades, I hesitate to take another Rand unit. Even if it were free.

 

It's not much better with Garmin at this point. Updates are available, but as of 2 months ago, all new updates will apparently be going by E-911 names instead of highway numbers (US-25, etc).

 

I love my good old Rand McNally. It once told me to make a uturn at an abandoned cemetery 2:30am, somewhere in PA. I once forgot to switch back to truck mode after having it in car mode, and it told me to take a boat across the river. Memorable adventures

 

And mine told me to go under a 12' 9" bridge that it didn't know was there, later tried to take me under a 13' 2" bridge, then to top it all off, warned repeatedly of an upcoming 13' 8" when I was 13' 6". It continually got slower and slower, freezing up at times, and no amount of updates would fix it. I bought a nice new Garmin dezl 770LMTHD and NEVER looked back.

 

I would like to report something firsthand.

Rand McNally has chosen to stop supporting map updates for the TND720.

I used another driver's TND740 device to check routing to a location that I knew to be FUBAR on my old TND720 immediately after verifying that there were no updates for the TND720.

The TND740 had accurate routing, the TND720 had the same routing it has had for more than 2 years, which I have personally reported at least twice.

The routing was to the Romark Facility at 1 Commerce Drive (or street?) in Pittston, PA. The old, bad map data that has never been updated on the TND 720 does not account for the new exit road configuration by the Scranton Petro.

The TND740 does, so I bought one.

Therefore, it is clear that Rand McNally has failed to live up to the promises on the box of the TND720, where they indicate that there will be lifetime map updates. They are offering map updates only for their new units, not the old ones.

I don't much care for doing business with liars, but sometimes you just hold your nose and deal with it.