Rand-MacNally Motor Carrier’s Road Atlas

It's the "bible." Use that, mapquest or Google Earth, GPS, canned instructions from your carrier - everything you can get your hands on. But the RMCA is something you really can't do without.

 

and buy the good one with laminated pages spiral bound

 

It's one of the few things that is usually cheaper in the truckstops than in the stores.

 

Rand McNally. It's like an old shoe. You can have the most expensive top of the line GPS and smartphone and nothing comes close to opening up the Motor Carriers atlas and being able to plan your trip. For example. I have a Garmin Dezl 560. I'm in Sacramento California, I have to pick up in Tulare, CA and go to Appleton, Wisconsin. The google map and the dezl are taking me across I-70 through the high country. Knowing how heavy I'll be and the traffic going into Denver from the west on the weekends, it's going to be a slow go. Break out good old randy, route myself up through Salt Lake and through Wyoming. A difference of 38-45 miles, and no 11,000 ft elevations with the only real traffic being in Salt Lake. That atlas will be the most important tool you have in that truck.

 

I agree with all the above. Sometimes I'll even call the customer to see if they have overnight parking, along with verifying directions.

 

Ditto with the previous posters. Before you buy anything (OK....possible exception is deodorant), get a good RM atlas.

 

only sometimes?

 

another thing i can add is too learn how to use the mapbook before you buy a gps. gps should be used as a tool..not something to rely on. hope this helps

 

doubling down on what dptrucker just said. i got a rm tnd 510 because my company provided gps unit tries to kill me from time to time. BOTH nav units had a hell of a time routing me to a fuel stop in VA. Had to ignore them both and bust out the old worn out atlas. got to where i needed to be in 5 mins. GPS is a great tool but use the atlas 1st!