Garmin or Rand Mcnally ?

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by tommymonza, Mar 25, 2018.

  1. RedForeman

    RedForeman Momentum Conservationist

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    You could have saved the stop and just got on 19 and asked the driver with no panties on.
     
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  3. joesmoothdog

    joesmoothdog Heavy Load Member

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    My Garmin says 476 nb from Allentown to Scranton is a 13'5" route. Rand happily took me down the road. Then Rand wanted me to take an exit that didn't allow big fatties. SMH. That's why I saved my Pilot points and use em both.
     
  4. Voyager1968

    Voyager1968 Road Train Member

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    I have a six year old Rand, and it's worked fine 100% of the time since the day I first used it.
     
  5. Studebaker Hawk

    Studebaker Hawk Road Train Member

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    I solved the problem of "tastes great" - "less calories". I use both units simultaneously.
    They both make mistakes, they both have scatterbrained routing at times. If they agree, I am pretty certain I am on the right track. I will reprogram one while the other is running. One finds the address, the other is lost. Add Google maps and I can pretty much figure out any routing situation.
     
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  6. Farmer54

    Farmer54 Heavy Load Member

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    Just my 0.05$ worth but I hate my Garmin Dezl770. It gets me in the area but first time I used it for an address in Clifton NJ, it immediately came back with a known low bridge and would not give me an option around it. Oh yeah, it routed me on the Garden State Pkwy too. Yes, i have it set up for my truck.

    I originally bought it with my Garmin experience with car/motorcycle journeys. Man, they don't know squat about trucking. Their updates are laughable at best.
     
  7. Farmerbob1

    Farmerbob1 Road Train Member

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    I have an older model TND730 from Rand, and on most days it does okay.

    However, the traffic feature is utter garbage, and a waste of code.

    Calculating alternate routes takes way too much time.

    The maps for the 730 model have not been updated recently. Last I checked was a couple months ago, roughly 2 years after the last map update for that device.

    The Rand rep here says the TND730 has a critical design failure with adding memory cards.

    The device does not allow us to add governed speeds for better ETA calculations and routing. Add this to changing speed limits, and it's easy to get routed on suboptimal routes. For instance, routing from Nogales, NM, to Denver, CO, in a 65 MPH truck will keep you on I25, rather than taking the faster route avoiding Albuquerque and going through White Sands. The GPS sees 75 MPH speed limits on I25, and the bad data of 55 MPH speeds through white sands, when it should be 65 in long stretches.

    The device, maddeningly, actually calculates fairly accurate distances along a route when it is building a list of potential points of interest (you can see it calculating distances at the top of the screen) but when it finishes calculations, the device only displays locations along the route in distances as the crow flies, which is absurd since a more accurate distance was already calculated.

    The Rand rep here will tell you that all the GPS companies use a lot of the same techniques and data. What Rand needs to realize is that if they hire a real app designer and actually listen to driver needs, they could develop a truly good GPS that would be head and shoulders above the rest.
     
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  8. SteveScott

    SteveScott Road Train Member

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    I used a Dez1770 for a month while my Rand was in for repairs. I couldn't stand it.
     
  9. AlBig

    AlBig Light Load Member

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    Garmin the Best One. Just make sure to update ones a month or so. Never ever had a problem. The only thing is gate entry may be in a different strets. So confirm with company or use Google
     
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  10. Crazytrucker77

    Crazytrucker77 Heavy Load Member

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    Now that is funny cause I have had six Rands and everyone started screwing up within eight months. I am hoping the seventh time is the charm. I keep buying them because I feel they have the best and easiest to use set up as well as the best updated maps. I rarely go down a restricted road with Rands.
     
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  11. Voyager1968

    Voyager1968 Road Train Member

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    Perhaps I got lucky with mine, I don't know.
     
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