Rand McNally intelliRoute TND 500

Just a question here KC.... do you not get your routing permitted like OS\OW?

Thanks,
Mark

 

One would think so, right?

Unfortunately, the law just says the driver is required to have a route plan. I drive team with my wife, and the company for which we work simply leaves it up to the driver to make up the route plan... long story...

At any rate, I try to bust my tail to keep up with the Haz-Mat regs on all levels.

For us, having a GPS would largely be for the perks of checking what's close (ie restaurants, etc) as well as traffic and weather updates.

But if I get a GPS, I want to get the one that's best - I'm not expecting perfect, mind, just best - at handling stuff like low clearances, restricted HM routes, etc. because there are always times we get bumped off our planned route due to road closures from weather, wrecks and the like.

Ultimately, it's ME who is responsible for keeping the truck out of places where it's not supposed to be, and I'm never going to blindly trust a GPS unit of any make if I have a hunch something's not right...

I just figure if I'm going to plunk down $500 for a unit, I'm going to research it thoroughly and get the best one that supplements the specific needs of the job I'm doing.

Thanks!

 

Amelia, I like that...I always thought of my Garmin as Carol for some reason. I haven't had this one long enough to call it anything.
K C , I haul the same thing and have 3 gps's on my dash. I usually go with my old and trusted garmin first because I'm used to it then I check the TND and lastly my Tom Tom. I essentially just look how the GPS's are routing me and choose which way I wanted to go in the first place and follow that one if they disagree. For the most part I use them to remind me to turn so I don't have to concentrate as hard as to where I am.

 

email me

rmleadbetatester at gmail

 

And how works the TND500 in the area of Haz-Mat routing?

 

I see your post,,, was letting actual drivers answer this...

Thanks,
Mark

 

KC - your question is formed in such a way that there is NO single truck GPS that does all of the items you mentioned at this time. So the answer needs to be broken down into parts. And to all - this answer is based on our testing and feedback throughout 2009 on 5 different brands and is certainly not the end-all definitive, all encompassing final word. These things are EVOLVING rapidly and this post could be N/A tomorrow depending on what the various players add into the products. (AND I am only comparing Garmin, PCM, and Rand in this answer.)

Traffic - only Garmin. But the truck routing is less accurate that the other two in our opinion.
Weather - None.
"What's close" - Points of interest are included in all units and are fairly accurate in all of them. The Rand has the expanded ability to see or "filter" what amenities are inside of a truck stop, where the others do not have this.
Routing - HazMat, unplanned detouring, restricted roads, etc. The Rand is doing a respectable job, but the PCM products have been evolved in this area for longer and in our opinion, make more appropriate truck routing choices more consistently at this time. The Rand unit has the ability to update it regularly from the web and this allows them to keep pushing out feature and routing tweaks WAY more rapidly than the others right now. Combined with the fact that Rand is paying remarkable attention to the evolution of their product (as can be clearly seen in this very thread in fact) we feel that it is indeed a solid choice today and going forward. But we do recommend that buyers of this version have the ability to connect to the web update system regularly at this stage.
Plunking down $500. That depends on which one you buy. The Rand contains such an expanded feature set and solid hardware design that it is indeed that price right now (and justified.) But alternatives are not if you go a different direction.

Clear as mud now?

- Don

 

Wow, that was a lot of reading. I last stopped by this thread on about page 70.
Hello Mark and all the other beta testers for the Rand McNally TND500.
I can not say thank you enough for your help. I wish I could say the same for RM's customer support.
Behind the scenes though RM has proven they are working very diligently on fixing known bug issues, mapping issues, POI issues, docking issues and so on and so forth. Features that were meant to be available with the unit and were not are also being addressed.
After much personal debate I have decided to return my TND500. The store I purchased it from offered a 45 day return. I used it for about 32 days. It was in like new condition.
The external and internal construction of the TND500 seemed to be very sturdy. The mounting bracket is probably the best one available in my opinion. The packaging, although not a necessity is very kewl, great for gift wrapping. The long power cord for the vehicle, very nice. The included vehicle cord, house charger and USB cord, very nice. Not all the units are including all this.
This thread for help with the unit, outstanding, because it's people helping people with nothing to gain personally.
I felt that because RM has already totally remade the unit my version with the SD Card would soon be obsolete.
For drivers out there looking for a GPS unit, when the RM TND500 works, it is very nice.
I have no map skills so I want a GPS unit that does it for me. Without freezing and without limiting my search options when I'm not completely sure of a location. I am not looking for perfect.
For now I don't know what I'm going to do, except to wait. I think all the truck specific GPS units are too new for the price. I think the best thing for me to do is wait until somebody gets the bugs worked out and hopefully the price will also come down. I am hoping about six months should help a lot.
Mark, something one of the competitors offered that I like is you can have multi-truck profiles. Unfortunately compared to RM's truck tool features, that was all they really offered.
A seven inch screen would also be nice but the five inch screen is definitely better than the four inch screens.
Again, Thanks Mark and all the other people out there helping people with the RM TND500.
Have a safe Holiday Season. dan

 

I am sorry you are returning your unit Dan.

If I might ask, what reasons are you returning your unit? You can post here or send me an E-Mail if you like.

Anything I can do to change your mind at this stage?

Thanks,
Mark

 

Something to add to the GPS:
The bf was in Virginia traveling South on I81 looking for 'Jearolds' town in Tennessee. He couldn't find that town in the altas and it wasn't found on the GPS either.
He used the qualcomm to ask about it and they told him take exit 44.
I don't know the exact address he was going to but it's a town you should add.