TND720 vs Garmin 560LMT

As I said earlier the problems I encountered my not be issues that effect other drivers. The IFTA issue can be worked around by the Cold Reset. The Mileages crossing State Lines are very accurate. I only brought this issue up because when I first purchased the 560 I tried out all the features off-road at home. They all seemed to work fine including the Truck Profiles. When I got on the road I realized that the Truck Profiles will not change, you cannot edit them, change the odometer/hub reading without the Cold Reset. The HOS issue is too lengthily to explain. Only advise I offer is don't depend on it. They tried to make it work similar to the Qualcomm but have not worked the bugs out.

I have owned and used Garmin products for 15+ years and have never been disappointed before. I was and still am unhappy with their customer service as it relates to these issues. They had me on the phone for over an hour before I realized they had never field tested the unit and were giving advise based on owners manuals and operating the unit at their office. They finally agreed to field test the unit and one week later admitted that the problems I described were accurate. I do not even activate the HOS feature since I don't need to depend on it.

One last thing. If you delete a driver from the 560 and have a memory card inserted make sure you delete the driver backup file on the memory card or the 560 will automatically re-load it.

Dont sync/update it with the memory card inserted. If the card is inserted you will not be able to properly disconnect the 560 without an error. They say they are working on these issues also.

I am now at 7 weeks and think all in all the 560 is a good unit. I will await the fix Garmin says they are working on. My only issue is that they should not advertise features that do not work. As anyone who has purchased one knows they ARE NOT CHEAP !!

 

In regards to any comments I may post. I drove OTR for 3 years comming off the road in 2009. I do know the logs and spend massive amounts of time testing them. I oversee the Rand Beta Program and all 70 testers hold a CDL A license and are currently driving. They field test all models on Beta versions, meaning we are beyond the production version. True some issues do get overlooked and Rand does take an oops on an issue, but we test it to see if it was fixed in the current Beta Version, if not Rand fixes it.

I take road trips also to test out an issue since some issues you need to be on the road to test.

Thanks,
mark

 

If you test Rand McNally GPS units , I have 2 burning questions for you. I have a 500 , with Lifetime maps. Why only 1 update per year ?
And , why are your maps so outdated ?
before I even THINK of buying the new 720 , I would like those questions answered!

 

Let me start off by saying, You send me the same in a E-mail. I can answer here or via the E-Mail.

If you send an E-Mail I take this as a personal request and I will answer as such. If you post on TTR then I take it as a general type of question/request and I will answer as such.

Would you like me to post here or respond to your E-Mail?

Thanks,
Mark

 

Map Updates are currently only issued once a year. This is a business decsion. Rand does take each new yearly mapset and they do go through the mapset to verify issues have been corrected and that the mapset is valid. This can take several months. Rand also has their own Truck restriction DB. This is also verified and complied with the mapset.

On the other question. Maps will never be current to what is physically there. Roads change daily and sometimes it takes up to a year to be reflected in the mapset.

Do you have a location that you are looking for?

If you have the 500 w/LTM's did you install the LTM's yet? This would be the same mapset as the 720. If you did not, then you are working off an older mapset and items may have been updated on the latest mapset that you are not seeing.

Thanks,
Mark

 

Thanks for the reply. One part of me wants to be sarcastic , but I will try not to be. Yes , I installed the lifetime maps card , as soon as Rand sent it to me. And then I hooked up to my computer , and let it D/L . About 2 months ago , Sept. I think , I hooked up again, " no updates available " , or some such.
As far as up to a year , the darn thing Still shows I-75 in northern Ga. as being on a ga state road , with a 45 mph speed limit.
A US route , going east in West Virginia , is 4-lane. Has been for years . When you get off the interstate , everything's cool. Go 5 miles , and the Rand has you in the middle of a field.
Same with another US route in Texas , that's been there for years .
And that maintainence reminder ! Any way to turn it off , or reset it !?? Bugs me ! Most of the speed limits are wrong , as well as many of the construction zones . Places where the construction ended years ago, are still construction zones in the Rand.
If Rand can't do timely updates , what is the sense in bothering to put them in there in the First place ? It may sucker you in , if you haven't used a Rand , the first time , but after that , I , at least , just snort , and look at the next Garmin, or Magellan , and wonder if perhaps it might be better.
i stopped placing comments on all the mistakes it makes in the "Tell Rand " , as it doesn't seem to make a difference.

 

If Google Maps ever comes out with a Truckers version , I think it will put a lot of these companies out of business.

 

Maintenance reminder - truck tools/timers - tap on the maintenance reminder and add miles back to it.

The US route in WV has been noted before and corrected in the next mapset.

I-75, (TN-GA) I ran it and it shows on the freeway all the way. If you know of a Mile Marker and what direction it shows you off then I can have them look at it more closely.

If you know the TX US route I can have it checked.

Speed limits are tied to the mapset. If the states change them then it has to be updated in NavTeq and will usually show in the next mapset. VA changed their speed limit right after the mapset came out for the 720.

Construction zones are reported back to Rand. Unless DOT signs off on them they may still be showing as construction zones. Only long term constructions zones are reflected.

Construction zones are updated about once a quarter. If you know of one that is showing still let me know.

Things like this should be placed in the support thread.

Tell Rands are looked at and acted upon. If you feel that putting one in does not make a difference then report it here.

I am here on TTR as a courtesy to the drivers. I am not required by Rand to be here. I do this all hours of the day on any day even holidays to help those that are in need of a issue resolved or questioned answered. How one places a question or how one words an E-Mail sets the tone. I am a person just like you are and a little pre-thought on how you word something goes a long way.

If you place an post on TTR then no need to send me an E-Mail unless you just say you posted something. If you send me an E-Mail then no need to post the same on TTR. If a person sends me an E-Mail then I take it they want a personal respond. On TTR I have to word things differently because of the openness of the threads.

Maps are an everygoing update. Rand currently is working on the next mapset and yes they do take updates from drivers seriously. I report many corrections that the Beta Testers find back to Rand and yes many times the restrictions are missing. Maps are not 100% perfect.

As I tell others, you have to think back and truck GPS devices only really started to come out about 3-4 years ago. Until then truck routes and restrictions were not truly looked at. If a car found an issue how many times would that person take the time to report back to NavTeq? Probably none. When truck GPS devices came into play now the truck routes and restrictions are being looked at more closely. When an issue is reported back to NavTeq, they have to verify again and update their sources. This takes time and is usually about a year for it to reflect. Truck routes and restrictions are not 100% in the maps. Many times a truck restriction or route by-pass is put into place and it never makes it back to the state level. If it does then again you have a time delay.

Rand works hard to make sure that what is put out is correct at the time, but corrections are missed sometimes.

If you find any route or truck restriction not current in the TND then by all means let me know. It also depends on what mapset you currently have. If you have a E model and do not have LTM's then you are one mapset behind the 720 and corrections may have been made. I always ask for the serial number of any TND so I can get an idea of what mapset you are on.

You can E-mail me the serial number of your TND and I can verify if you are getting LTM's.

Thanks,
mark

 

thanks for the reply. Texas : don't remember the route # , but I was in " the fields " almost the entire way . It was not a new road .
Construction : the one I remember most is I75 , MM 351 to Tenn. state line.
I75 , SB from MM 345 for aways , shows you on a Ga state route , with a 45 MPH speed limit.
As to the LT maps , I better have ! I paid almost $100.00 for that SD card !
I'll get you a serial # later.
thanks

 

I ran in demo mode the TN/GA I-75 route for several hours zoomed into 200' and it never left the highway. I am wondering if you got a corrupted file in the download.

I will submit to Rand the Construction one and they will verify it.

Thanks,
Mark