BEST GPS & TRIP PLANNING

That's great.

 

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If it's Rand. Good point though. The atlas isn't going to show me a low clearance or restriction that my GPS won't also know about.

GPS is an amazing tool and the problems 'it causes' are usually operator error. People rely on it to the point they think they don't have to read signs anymore or have a mental image of where they're going.

I had a good laugh a while back at a buddy of mine. Southbound on I 41 in Green Bay WI. A lot has changed there in the last few years and the exit for I 43 is now a left lane exit. Buddy missed it because his GPS told him it was a right lane exit.

How he could miss the signs is beyond me. And this is an area he passed through often, just doesn't usually want to get onto 43.

 

You ask a good question.

I've used the Garmin truck GPS, but maybe I didn't know it well enough to work with it well. Since then I switched to a RM 740, then my company had us install the RM 760 (which also logs HOS). I like the interface with the RM products.

Yes indeed ANY truck specific GPS will be out of date for speed limits, finished construction zones (which might now have a left lane exit instead of a right lane exit), etc. The trick is to update your unit often. When I ran with the 740 I downloaded software to my computer from their website and updated the unit about twice a month. It's easy to do.

Now, beyond which truck specific GPS to use, you want to know the overall big picture of trip planning. I strongly recommend you have a current RM trucker's atlas in your truck, especially when you are new to OTR. Get a sense of the big picture with the USA map for long hauls, then look at each state map if you have further questions. Consult the front of the atlas about low bridge clearances and other important information.

Now I rarely use my laminated paper atlas, although I still have it. Now I use apps on my phone. Here are the most important apps I use:

1. MyRadar - I consult this many times a day. Download it, turn on the wind layer, and use it for big picture route planning. Taking a load from Columbus, OH to LA in the middle of winter and you see a monster blizzard developing across Kansas? Duck down below it and take I-40 or even I-10. Taking that same run during tornado season, but you see a developing line of super cells on I-44 (aka Tornado Alley)? Stay up on I-70 or I-80 and catch I-15 down through Las Vegas.

2. Google Maps - I frequently run BOTH the RM and Google Maps at the same time. It's common to have the outdated RM thinking I need to exit right, when Google knows I should exit left. Sometimes both are wrong. YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO ROAD SIGNS AT ALL TIMES. Google also provides up to the moment traffic information and may suggest alternative routes to avoid a 30 minute delay due to an accident. Be careful about those detours, they may not be truck friendly.

3. Trucker's Path - this app will let you know if a scale is open or how much parking is available at a rest area or truck stop. I use it on the fly when making choices about where to stop for a 10. Many truck stops aren't in RM and it's a bit difficult to be typing a request for truck stops in Google Maps while driving.

4. Google Street View - when faced with going to a new shipper or receiver I always use Street View to look at the situation. Often the address will be to the office instead of the truck entrance, in Street View you can read that big sign that says, "NO TRUCKS!!! TRUCK ENTRANCE IS ON 3RD STREET!!!" You can also see the damage from drivers that tried to pull into the office parking lot.

5. Fuelbook - since I buy my own fuel, this app is solid gold. I enter a code for the company I am leased to and the app will search for the cheapest fuel after discount nearby, by state and interstate, or along my route. This app has saved me thousands of dollars. I often plan my route according to least expensive fuel, if taking a little longer means I save a few hundred dollars, that's often the route I take.

Hope this helps.

 

No buddy i don't have a clue. Thank you for your intellect

 

I haven't owned a paper atlas in years. I never used it when I had it.

The newer rand GPS units have the atlas built in. Many elogs have a truck GPS built in. I carry 2 stand alone units and my phone.

I call customers for directions when I need to. I use satellite view on Google maps to look at sites.

I have seen many people say "what will you do if all the tech fails?". If all the GPS satellites fail and there's an emp blast we are probably under attack and delivering freight is no longer a concern.

 

Exactly

 

These are the tools I use. My Atlas, Rand McNally TND 740, Google Maps to look at my 01/90 and I use trucker path/truck stop apps. Some other things I use to keep up with road conditions, weather, etc.

As always these are tools and are not always correct except an Atlas so gotta make sure you are checking everything, I've been put into a ####ty situation because of a GPS once but that was a QC GPS and now I'm more careful.

 

I have a RandMcNally 530. I've had a few of them actually. The software is great, the hardware is sh8t. It'll probably die on you within 6-15 months...won't run with the charger plugged in. Plugging them in crashes them. Then you've got to buy a new one, put the old one in the new box and return it. Which is getting harder now because they look at the serial numbers. So many of these dogs have come back to them that they're catching on. If I had it to do over again I would probably go with Garmin over any Rand McProduct even though I know nothing about them.
Anyway...about 'trusting the GPS'. I have found that mine has only prompted me to take bad turns or make dumb moves once I have already missed a turn or otherwise gone off route. And then with experience you can tell...nope, not doing that. You never want to go blindly into a small street anyway, of course.

But I'll trust a GPS over Joe Blow's directions any day of the week.

I have an atlas but I almost never use it. It's not going to give you local streets anyway obviously, and I pretty much know where I-35 goes. I used google maps as a backup GPS when I was starting out...rarely if ever use it now. That will routinely prompt you to take non truck routes or small streets...it's only useful to me to find 'house number' on a street I'm on if my GPS is wrong. Or on the blink.

 

Google Maps app is best for quick planning on gathering overland distances and planning cross country trips.

On Google with my phone sitting in a diner booth, I can get the distances of 8 different legs while you’re struggling trying to get 1 leg’s distance on your RM or Garmin device.

But I recognize that trip planning and live navigation are two different things that can both benefit from two different tools.