Is a backup GPS essential

It comes in real handy when the q-com gps/ company says you have to go only on their route thingy goes blank.
Writing down the co. route and checking against a map is good, but driving thru cities in the middle of the night..the paper is hard to read in the dark.
Even harder is a dark q-com.
I ve only been out with a trainer for 2 weeks, but getting lost in the dark is not my favorite sport. Glad my driver trainer had a gps backup.
Good luck
Mary

 

My two trainers didn't use GPS (combined 6 million miles experience) so I never did when I got my own truck. I always found good conversation in discussing routes with other drivers and the mental stimulation of using a map...large print. I found comfort in always knowing where I was. Now I did have many adventures but that only helped me in being able to identify a bad situation before I put myself in it eventually. Had a buddy I went to school with who used two GPS's and he went on as many adventures as I did.

 

if you have to have a backup gps ur in the wrong business why would you even need a gps to begin with

 

Frankgh....used gps in my personal vehicle never got to where i was going correctly. I use a map with dorections feom my company and i have yet to get lost....not a slave to maps just works better and on monday, while routing around a wreck on bad roads i would have gotten stuck at low bridge but using my atlas i didnt. Just my own taste. Btw im not an old man either....just 32 so cant say im just an old man lamenting the ways of the past. I was raised on how to read a map.

 

I don't know about a back up GPS. I like my Rand McNally 720 I used it everyday even on trips I have done before. It tracks my hours, my miles, eta and lots of info. I have an atlas as well and usually pick up the free state maps at welcome centers and rest areas. If it breaks, you are just a truck stop away from a new one. I have the lifetime updates and update mine every week to be current.

I also carry a laptop and use Google maps for new places. The GPS will get you there, but it is nice to look at the area and street view to find the receiving or shipping entrance. That saved me many trips around the block and it helps with the detective work when you get misspelled or wrong addresses that the GPS can't figure out.

Just always remember garbage in, garbage out when using electronics.

 

Primary GPS R/M 520, backup Laptop w/ MS Streets, backup road atlas, Google earth, last ditch: QUALCOMM. And I'm not shy about calling the dock to verify directions.

There is nothing wrong with using modern tools. They can be quite handy. One fine trick is look up the site on Google Earth, put a pushpin over the truck entrance and type that lat/long into the GPS. Helps eliminate those "run around the block" moments.

 

You can use a smartphone with many different apps as a backup. I had problems with google navigation working when I was out far and had no data connection.

Mikeeee

 

90% of any route is, for me, on familiar roads, the final few miles of new road are checked on the map and finally Google Maps on my phone. Then the address goes into the GPS which is used for my ETA. NOW if your running down some dark windy two lane US highway and you need to find Industrial Blvd, which has no sign, Your GPS will tell you were to turn. It's simply a tool that can be used to more efficiently perform your job. The trouble with GPS is some people just blindly follow it without any thought or common sense.

 

Exactly! It tells you where the road is.

Mikeeee

 

I just don't understand all the mad crazy drivers who use cellular phones...people should only use payphones or phones at customers..like GPS its a recipe for disaster...lol