Navigation app or GPS device? Which do you recommend?

Hi there,
what is the difference between all those navigation apps for truckers? Which one do you recommend and why?
Or is it better to get the GPS device instead? (which one?)
Thanks!

 

Their is no great one. You can use your phone and save money I think. Copilot has app. They had 2 version on line last time I only see one now. You have pay $99 for a year plan or $10 by the month. You have to download the maps. Their address numbers always seem off some. You never use data after you download the maps. It has traffic info. You can see if their is a traffic backup like 60 miles ahead. It has a graph on screen. It has 14 day free trial.

Copilot had $140 paid full app but it did not include live traffic info. I think they took that app down for just the monthly or yearly subscription now but it has live traffic update

You can also get full GPs like Garmin pay $400 or something

 

Thanks!
Is there a real difference between using the GPS (like Garmin), and the navigation app? Except of the price?

 

Get a Garmin or Rand McNally Truck GPS. I use a RM 740 for almost 2 years.

Garmin and RM each have their quirks, but so does the GPS app on your phone. It's just that most people don't use the phone app long enough in enough different places to notice their quirks.

I've heard the Garmins will SOMETIMES route you off of the interstate and immediately back on to the interstate during a trip from A to B. My RM will SOMETIMES say "keep Left to ..." when the road signs all indicate I should actually keep Right to... On the RM it's not a random mistake. At the places where it's is giving me bad info it always gives that same bad info. I have 25 years experience so I learned a trick a long time ago called, look out of the window and make a decision.

95-99% of the time my GPS is something I can trust. But driving is a real-life activity so nobody should treat it like a robotic exercise. You get the ticket or the jailtime even if the GPS told you to do something. So only follow its suggestions IF THEY MAKE SENSE.

My truck GPS doesn't crash while I'm using it. In about 2 years of fulltime use I think I have seen it reboot or report an error maybe 2 times. My phone has had far more glitches in the same time.

 

I use a Garmin, but I'm also running Google maps on my phone at the same time. Garmin vs Rand McNally for GPS is like a Ford vs Chevy debate. They are both about the same, both have quirks. One is not better than the other. But running Google maps on my phone has been an amazing pairing. You can't always go where it tells you to go, of course. But, it lets me know about traffic problems MUCH further ahead than a GPS or a CB could ever hope to do. Running both has saved me more times than I can possibly count. Hope that helps. The more tools you have in your arsenal, the smoother your day will run.

 

I trust the GPS devices way more than I trust some dang app... I have ran Co Pilot side by side with my RM 740... The Co Pilot has some nice features (Drag Route)... But I think the RM chooses better routes, that make more sense to me... Especially off the interstate such as In Town (where I need the GPS the most)

 

GPS device.
You can always use Google Maps for supplementary info but I very rarely want or need to..
I have used Rand McNally 530 for 5 years.
Have frequently had to exchange them due to hardware problems
so if I ever had to shell out money for one again I would try Garmin.

 

Sygic truck
Smart truck route 2 (android is better than iOS verision)
Truck map
Copilot truck
Truckerpath now has truck Navigation
Map factor GPS you can purchase tomtom truck maps
Genius maps has here truck maps you can buy. Same maps garmin and rand mcnally use.


I've used about all. Smart truck route 2 prolly best one who also is updated few times a month. Support is top notch. Answers in no time via text.


All these should be on iOS and android.

 

I used copilot the whole 7 years I was otr.
Ran Google alongside for California.

It don't have the bells and whistles the expensive hand units have. BUT. For everything the units had. There's an app for free.