Best GPS to get?

copilot, hand downs.

i had rand. won't use it again.

never tried garmin. but obviously there are complaints.

haven't seen any complaints about copilot. the darn thing just works.

you can buy the pcmiler truck unit. or download the app and maps on your phone or tablet.

as for all the other features. there's an app for that. for free. making copilot, the best working gps, also the cheapest gps.

just make sure you have your parameters set appropriately, or you will end up with problems like everyone else.

rand only uses staa routes. that's a lot of miles added on to trips. copilot will use any road a truck is allowed on. but if you make your own decision. you could be in trouble.

i'm not spending ANY time trip planning and looking at the atlas. i also don't argue with my gps. cuz it knows the streets better then me. although, i did go against it's wishes 2 days ago. thanks to 20 miles of red on the freeway. and pressed against time. good thing there were no cops around. my choices were FORWARDand risk an accident, or risk an accident trying to back up to a spot i could turn around. and for that particular road, neither choice was pleasant.

 

There is no "best" consumer/motorist grade GPS unit, and if there was it wouldn't be best for long. All manufacturers buy their data from other sources. One month Garmin might have the most recent update, next month it might be Magellan.

Garmin has captured the aircraft market, and many make much of that, which would make sense if you were a pilot. I think it boils down to personal preference.

I used a Magellan GPS315 plugged into my laptop running MS Streets & Trips, but newer SiRFstarIII GPS chips are far more sensitive, accurate and less prone to error.

 

I totally Agree with this one, i use Copilot on my Galaxy Note 10.1 velcroed to my dash, its got plenty of features customizable routes, i can ignore restrictions and set as many via points as i want which is especially handy when i haul Oversized, and you can even Save Trips like if i had to put 20 via points to make it follow the exact O/S route and i knew i was doing that load again i saved it and next time just had to load the trip and go.

the 1 negative thing i have to say about Copilot, is they have horrible catagories, when you set it up to announce points of intrest, you cant just pick weight stations, because weight stations fall under the "Truck Services" catagory, which include Truck Stops, Exit Numbers, Truck Repair, Weigh Stations, and 1 or 2 other things, so when you set it to announce your points of interest it never shuts up.

the most IMPORTANT thing of all and everyone seems to agree.. A GPS DOES NOT REPLACE PHYSICAL ROAD MAPS OR CALLING THE CUSTOMER FOR DIRECTIONS. always make sure when you get off the big road and heading to delivery use the gps as a aid to the customer directions, or what i do because it gives me a route list i add via points if the final bit of directions doesn't match what the customer said

Another Life tip that has helped me countless times put in the customer address in google maps, in satellite mode and look at where your going to be going to give you an ideal of what the area looks like looks like

 

GPS is a tool, Whatever model. Don't ever forget that. Situational Awareness and some common sense ( resources ) will help you also

 

The garmins default setting is to search nearby. You can make it search for along route, or near destination, but you have to manually set it on every search. It should let you set the default to "along route". My biggest problem with the Garmin diesel is, it is constantly telling me I am not allowed on roads, that I know I am allowed, like I-80 all the way through Nebraska. The Garmin is also horrible at finding smaller truckstops. It will only find the big name brands. It also gets confused with intersections. It will try to make you turn right, drive five or 10 miles down at 2-lane, then make you do a U-turn, when you can just make a left turn.

 

I used the Magellan for years, it was a car version but truck GPS weren't invented yet, used streets and trips for a while also, just bought the Cobra gps 5550 used my loves points , so far so good, but like every one else said it's a tool use your atlas first, call receiver second, and plan accordingly

 

Awareness and common sense ? Why that little black box on my dash never leaves me a stray . It gets me there every time with no issues what so ever.

Oh , by the way I have ocean front property in Arizona for sale . Anyone interested ?

 

i haven't done anything with POI's. never needed to. so how do i set it up for the weigh stations alert. (announcement).

i see the poi listed.

and while i'm askoing questions. how do i shut the TRAFFIC INCIDENT REPORTED alert off. all i want is the colors. i could care less for the voice.

in los angeles county, every darn mile is a TRAFFIC INCIDENT ALERT REPORTED.

 

you cant do the Weight Station Announcement I've written to copilot a few times asking them to make weight stations their own category instead of being under Truck Services if you select truck services wanting to get weigh station announcements it will announce every truck stop every exit and weight station, i really wish they would fix that, the only announcement i have is to announce Rest Areas 3 miles away...

as for the Traffic Incident Report, i don't pay for the Traffic feature on copilot so i dont know and if your referring to using the Google Maps Navigation lol i don't know how to shut off the traffic incident report either, lol sorry i couldn't be more help on that issue,

As For Copilot when you have time go to their website and ask them to break up the Truck Services category too many things listed or let us be able to pick and choose what we want announced inside that category i do miss having weigh stations alerts

 

As you are getting plenty of advice you should know that we all have different ideas of what is best. The fact of the matter is that any gps is better then nothing. However, let me throw this out. I have noticed that the GPS is keeping me from getting to know the road. I have entered the same address on multiple occasions and did not notice that I was going to a place I had been before. I didn't notice until I pulled into the lot. I am not sure that is the best way to be. I use a Garmin Dezl 760 LMT. I have co pilot on my laptop with a gps receiver. My tablet gives me a satellite view with Big Road. But there is a point of information overload.

I am a pilot. Air Force Academy and all that. When I fly my own plane or my dad's KA, I like to know where I am outside of the electronics. Engine quits, I know which way to turn without relying on the Garmin 530s in the Dakota.

My first job out of CDL school was a team run from Kansas City to Houston. One stop roundtrip. I did this for 3 years. I could not tell you how to get to the place in Houston I went to. I could probably drive it but as far as knowing the route, I didn't have to learn it because Judy Garmin told me where to turn.

I got use to using the Garmin and feel a since of brand name loyalty to the company. I have owned stock in them for years. I know what buttons to push without thinking about it. I also know when the information is less then reliable. New roads open up before it gets an update are very interesting.

The extra features on the truck specific GPS are nice but add to the cost. Bottom line, if you are going to lots of different addresses in different cities then a GPS is a must. If your trainer says Garmin, use his and see if you like how it works. Look at the displays in truck stops and see how the others work. Remember they wear out and become obsolete over time while knowledge last well into your 60s.