gps... how do you use it?

This is how i use my gps for long trips to unfamiliar destinations.... How do you use yours?

NOTE: I would already have phoned the customer/ read the special instructions off the sat/ collected any other useful information for best rout to customer once I've reached the destination city/town so I can correctly plan/program my route

1st I "READ THE MANUAL" I actually read an article from an "experienced" driver doing a test of the Rand 710... no names you know who you are. he didn't like all the warning pop ups... said it kept taking him on roads he didn't want to go down instead of the back roads he was familiar with... thought it was to bright at night... didn't like all the poi's clouding up the view of the map... displayed way too much information and his bashing went on and on. odd... this seems allot like the criticisms I've heard about every gps unit. all these things are correctable simply by reading the manual. it was obvious he hadn't. the biggest beef I hear about gps is that it doesn't take them on the rout they wanted. really? mine takes me exactly where I want it to every single time. ALL gps's can be programed to take you on a specific rout you've planned... some more easily than others but all of them can do it. it just takes a little effort/input from you, the programmer. other complaints I hear are..." what if it dies on you?" "what if it can't find the place?" all i have to say to that is... what if your truck brakes down? what if your kidnapped by aliens? answer... you curse and swear for a wile then figure it out the old way... until you get to the next truck stop and beg them to sell you a new one...lol it's a useful tool to get the job done... just like your road atlas, your truck, sunglasses and suspenders. I use a gps because it's available to me and more often than not it helps me do my job. I'm not proud... whatever makes things easier. I'm not into needless suffering to prove I'm worthy. plus their just cool and they keep me amused....lol

navigational equipment:

Rand tnd710(digital turn by turn note pad or as you may call it... gps)
streets and trips(digital atlas of north america and rout planner)
Rand road atlas and paper maps(paper/hard copy back up... just in case)

if you notice... I'm still using a map(digital one) to plan my trip and I'm still using a note pad(gps) to remember it.

procedure:
i punch the address/addresses into streets and trips to get a general idea of my destination/destinations. that gives me a pretty good idea of what I'm in for.

then I get it to map the rout. if there is anything I don't like about the rout it came up with on it's own, which there almost always is, I make the changes I need to(this is easy to do simply by selecting stops along the rout I want it to take) and then map it again.

I repeat this until it's the way I want it to be. I like streets and trips because it allows you to zoom in on specific roads/ramps/locations to see fine details or zoom out to get the big picture. also if I'm near an internet connection I can look at it in bing to check for bridges...etc. for quick reference I use the big rand map to make sure the bulk of the rout makes sense... if I need to. if your already familiar with the hwy/interstates you won't need to do this.

you can do the same thing with just the 710 it's just harder to see the entire rout all at once on long trips because you have to drag the map around with your finger. streets and trips does this much quicker and easier.

after I've got the rout I want in streets and trips I'll punch in the address to the 710. then I go through the turn by turn information on the 710 navigation screen to check the rout against the one I programed on streets and trips. if there are any turns/roads I don't agree with on the 710 I select them to be avoided. you can also do this by tapping the particular road and selecting to avoid it(it's in the manual). the 710 will remap and avoid that turn/road and pick the next logical turn/road. I repeat this until it's planned the same rout as streets and trips. usually only one or two corrections are necessary if at all. it's also useful to set up your particular preferences so that the gps will choose certain roads(main hwy/interstates) rather than secondary's. then the gps will only choose lesser roads if no others are available(manual).

while following the rout I planned on the 710 i keep my eyes out for no truck/low bridges/ construction... etc. I never want to be that guy that said... "the gps told me to go there" just as I would do if I were following regular maps and hand written instructions.

then once I've arrived at the customer's i save the location of the actual dock/yard in the 710 and streets and trips with all the pertinent information about that customer(best rout in, contacts...etc). this is helpful because the next time you go there, which may not be for a year or two, you have the location of the actual dock which may be different than the address location on the the gps and many times the address and/or company name isn't even on the building or it's too dark to make out. or if your a team driver and the other guy was sleeping when you got there or an owner op with a different driver, they will know where their going next time. it doesn't take allot of time or effort to build an excellent data base on all your customers. and allot of times, even when you change companies, you still go to many of the same locations... information is power.