When I was out with my trainer we use to use macro 23 to get directions and they seem to be pretty good directions. Now that Swift has decided for some odd reason to do away with 23 would it be worth it to get a truckers GPS? Every time we used the macro 12 we got lost as they directions seem to suck. I know that you can call the shipper or receiver but most of the time I get a recording or something like that. I hate to spend $400 if the GPS will just cause issues. I do not need it to go from point A to B just to actually get directions to where I will be picking up or dropping off. Is it worth the money or should I just find another way and spend my money on something else.
send a free-form to your dm asking for the mac 23 directions. i do for every load, even if just to make a point. the pod has been good to humor me every time. the "trucker" gps is not worth the extra $200 over a good non-"trucker" gps. besides, if you are bent on spending that much, you could get a netbook and m$ streets&trips for about as much money and be leagues ahead of a dedicated gps.
I find the GPS is a good cross check against the macro12. If they match up I can go with a confidence. Also, on more than one occasion macro 12 wasn't even in the ballpark and GPS got me there. I have the Garmin, it has couple of feature I like. One is the trip data. I set it every day. Gives me my miles that I have run, rolling time = 11 hour clock and total time = 14 hour clock. I like having that info right at my finger tips and allowing me to adjust my trip plan schedule on the fly. Another feature is traffic info and real time update on your ETA accordingly. Plus the abilty to look at alternate routes around the traffic.
I believe it (GPS) is worth it. Some of Swift's customers are located at the end of dirt roads and others are in the center of industrial parks. The GPS can give you an overhead picture of where you are compared to the little checkered flag of where you want to be. I also don't need it for the most part for the point A to point B but it's nice to see the miles ticking off, direction of travel,remaining time and time to target etc. The thing is a tool that will make you money in the long run.
I have the cheapest GPS walmart sells....it and an atlas are must have items....anyone not using a gps is a freakin caveman...or woman. They probably also prefer a cb to a cell phone....lol
I agree with the idea of getting a cheap GPS. As Scottied67 said the idea of having a gadget that can tell you(within reason) how much time you have left and miles left to destination can be a very good thing. How many times have you been held up in traffic and then found out too late that you would be running late? Having the gps can also save your ### when dispatch calls and they ask where are you, how long will you be to get to destination, how many miles left. I always had that safety net available so that I could call dispatch saying that I might have trouble making it on time. The earlier dispatch knows that there may be an issue, the better it is for you. Plus dispatch always liked to call me when I was driving. I would answer using bluetooth and be able to give them the info from the gps very easily. As we all know, directions from your company usually stink. Being able to cross reference their directions with your gps, or computer is also very nice. The carrier atlases that most drivers have only tell so much. Having the gps as a backup is a good thing.
got a message today that we get macro 23 back for 60 days. but what i dont like about macro 12 is when you get on the street where the customer is it doesnt say if its on the right or left. maybe when i get the new qualcomm the macro 12 will make more sense. just a thought
Smacro 12 ...Smacro 23...GPS.....Slackaroo sitting here telling me which way to turn.......I still make wrong turns and get lost....some folk are just directionally challenged....So...i should be able to park in the handicap parking slots at the truckstops?
Hammy, are you saying you'd get lost stepping out of a refrigerator box with two hounds and a compass to guide the way? Get thee to your sawbones and procure that wheelchair placard! While you're at it, get those hounds certified as Assistance Dogs...then you'll be able to take them with you. Reasonable accomodations, you know....Americans with Disabilities Act will cover you.
I'm getting two good questions from your post. 1. How good am I at getting myself out of bad situations? It doesn't matter what you buy, how much you spend or how good your training was, sooner or later, you're going to make the one wrong turn that will convince you that you'll be fired . . unless you can get yourself out of it. So, how well prepared are you to get yourself out of it? Wits and wisdom aside, I have an atlas, I have macs 12 + 23 (Lookout ol' mackie's back!). I have a laptop with DeLorme Street Atlas with a GPS and I have a smart phone with wifi and a GPS nav feature. I can see the big picture on my little and bigger picture screens. If out can be gotten, I can get it. More importantly, though, is that I can also be better prepared before I roll and avoid that one wrong turn altogether. I met a Hartt driver at a shipper for whom we both had horrible directions. I got there in one piece. He got there by taking a residential short cut that required damage to his truck, private property and municipal property plus a handful of tickets. I left to deliver my load, he left (with my directions) to "swing it by the yard so we can check for damage". His driving days are over and I still have some left. It's not because I'm a better driver or person, for that matter. It's because I have better tools and I've learned how to use them. Work smarter, not harder. There is an extraordinary amount of turnover in this business and not all of it is voluntary . . or necessary. 2. Is training without technology still good training? It can be but it's prehistoric at best and incomplete, period. It isn't necessarily the trainer's fault. That Swift can deploy the finest technology money can buy in every aspect of it's business EXCEPT when it comes to getting the job done is astonishing. They can ask us (still?) for a $75 deposit for locks, why not ask for a $_________ deposit and equip the driver with the kind of technology that I'll wager 75% of management uses in their own cars? Probably provided by Swift as a perq, no less. Astonishing.
