I finally bought a TND 510, wish me luck!

Well I finally broke down and bought a Rand McNally TND 510. I researched and researched until I was researched out. What finally made me go with the TND 510 was having an on site customer support rep here on TTR.

Here's a little insight about me and my previous GPS units. I have been driving OTR for 30+ years. Old school? Absolutely, but not close minded to the point of not wanting or having a little help with me. At the end of the day I still have my atlas. I run dedicated freight every week and run the same routes all the time. I like anything that can make my job a little easier and because I'm on E-Logs trip planning is essential. My first GPS was a Garmin. I bought it for my bike 4 years ago. I put it on the bike and rode from Florida to Alaska and back with it. I then put it in my truck and used it for 2 years, watching it bounce around until it finally crapped out on me last year. I ran into a Walmart and bought the same Garmin my wife has in her car. The difference being the one I bought for her car was $350 when it first came out and the same one I bought last year was now $89. So I have only bought and owned Garmin, and for what it offered me I was very pleased with the product.

I have been researching all the available truck specific GPS's for the last 2 months. I looked at the side by side comparisons on Dieselboss's website and finally decided on the TND 510. Why? Because I don't need a mini flat screen TV on my dash staring at me all day long. I bought it today and it's still in the box. I will be home tomorrow and get it set up at the house then put it in the truck after Thanksgiving to really see what it can do. I am not going to compare it to the Garmin's I've had, that would be like comparing Apples to Oranges. I will write my report solely based on what this unit does for me. Stay tuned!

Side note: When I told my wife what GPS I had decided on, she asked me with all honesty and sincereness,
"What, you don't know how to get home?"

 

Welcome to the 21st century!





American Trucker

 

I have the 510 and I'm very happy with it. It does some odd things at times, so do the others.

 

I have a 510....It's a fine tool and I particularly enjoy it when I confuse it and it goes a little crazy while it tries to calculate what the hell I'm doing.
But it alway eventually catches up with me and figures it out....Real knowledge is way better than a GPS but the GPS is as I said before...A good tool to add into the mix.

 

I agree 100% Must be nice to try and confuse a GPS. I've used one for years, but as far as one for the truck I agree, it's just one of many tools at our disposal. With my job the last 2 years I happen to go to the same customers quite a lot so this is really being used for trip planning more than to find an address.

 

I like to believe that I'm old school. All that I've bothered to learn and retain through the years seems so small with the advent of e-logs. Now, a wrong turn is not an option.No more just getting back on track to where I need to be and fixing it later. Gotta be right the first time.

The thing I like most with the GPS ( I have a 510) is being able to look at my day while I have my morning coffee. Plan it out to the very most I can legally do with my day, get it right down to the 5 minute mark many times. Also can look to have a plan "B" as far as a spot for a 10 is concerned.

It isn't the end all to end all though. It does get confused. It doesn't always know the shortest route. That's what knowledge gained is for. It's a tool, like always, if used correctly it's a good thing.

 

Well time for a status report on my TND 510. I've used it now for the last week since I left the house last Monday. Going from the house back to the terminal was just for the learning aspect of it. I knew I was going west so I wanted to fully understand this unit before I headed that way.

I thought I was big time with my little Garmin car GPS, then I got this unit, my God what a great tool to add to my everyday driving. I'm still not up to speed on all the features, but from what I've used so far this is absolutely a great addition for any driver that likes to trip plan like I do.

I updated it right out of the box. I played with it enough to know that this little tool has made my life just a little more stress free. The only question that I have about it is do I need to unplug it when it's not in use, say while I'm taking my 10 hour break. The rest of the learning curve I am finding out myself.

What a great tool! I'll post again when I get back home, by then I would have used it for about 9000 miles. Then I will have a more detailed report.

 

Thanks,
Mark

 

No, you do not need to unplug it. But you should hold down the power button for 3 seconds until the screen says "power off" when you stop for the 10-hour break. When your break is done, hold down for 3 seconds again and it will boot back up and ask you if you want to "accept the previous route and continue" because it won't forget where you were going when you powered it down.

The reason that you want to shut it down is because these devices run on Windows CE, and just like any operating system they like to periodically to clear out the memory and "line all the bits back up" so to speak. I have done some testing on letting various brands (including the Rand) run until they started burping and have seen them go for over a week - but eventually they freeze, or slow down - so the 24-hour reboot is just good practice.

 

Microsoft........now that explains the odd things that happen to mine. Now I have the answer. Why in the world would they use this OS?