Is a GPS a good investment?

It is..HOWEVER..it is just a Tool, therefore you can not rely 100% on it. Always verify the suggested route with your Atlas...for restrictions, etc etc

 

Any of the (newer) truck specific GPS will serve you well. Each has its own specific quirks and issues.

I am personally using the Garmin 570. There is. 770 with larger screen if thats your thing. It does what I need it to do. As mentioned.. you can not blindly trust or follow any GPS. You have to use some common sense and check your route manually.

Google maps satellite view has served me well for last mile routing and verifying that a shipper has room or access to after hours parking etc.

Hurst

 

I guess depends if you haul New York /Chicago places known for low bridges a RM trucks specific gps will do you good. It'll also remind you of state lines and speed limits. Which is a plus.

Other than that I use my phone probably more than the gps device, Google maps app seems to be faster and I can satellite view everything and know exactly what to expect as I'm getting off of the highways. Everybody has a different opinion but yes you should get one

When I didn't have one I was somewhere in Colorado I was washing my windshield jumped off the tire phone fell out of my pocket and screen shattered phone shut off....... You can say the next 24 hours on the drive home were sketchy and didn't have an atlas... So hence why I picked up a gps

 

The only thing I like about them is the "Miles To Destination" (you can set it to time or ETA too) read-out....less math to do while planning your day/route. Nothing beats an Atlas, phone call, and common sense though.

 

I've been using a cheap $99 car gps from Wal Mart for years and never had any issues. Of course there were years before that when I learned/knew the difference between a parkway and a freeway and we actually planned trips with a road atlas and calculator. It was funny back then how friends and family would call on a Friday asking me when I'd be home and I could tell them exactly when whether I was 1,000 miles from home or 387 - without a gps. You learned the timing from certain points. Other times you would just do the math in your head real quick like based off what you knew about mile markers 323 miles on 81 in VA, etc, etc. Hard to imagine now. #### i'm not even that old lol.

 

Then use your phone.

 

I paid like a hundred bucks for mine way back when, doubt I could get $20 for it today.
So as an investment? I'd say there are better things to invest in.