What GPS is recommended

I bought the TomTom years ago for my wife's birthday (like many gifts I get her, they are really for me lol-- XBox, 200 pound weight bench, 37 inch LCD TV, vibrating massage recliner,I could go on and on lol). But blew up after plugging it in to the computer for an update. I was really apprehensive about which one to get because they are expensive for a guy like me starting a new career and as broke as I was after 15 months off work. My mentor had a PCMiler Copilot that blew up about halfway through my training. That was the second PCMiler that had blown up on him. So he bought the Rand McNally 5 inch and really liked it. That was the impetus for me to buy it as well. Really pleased with its performance.

 

Rand McNally all the way. You can trip plan on the go in seconds. I got a load with a bit of extra time on it. I let dispatch know, so on the fly in route the plan a swap 4 me. I send in the required macro's on the qualcom instantly locate and route my truck to the swap location hit the road, on the fly while driving to a new location I then am able to see all the truck fuel stops rest areas and plan where I will stop that night to rest.

The free website rocks as well. Randmcnally dot com. There computer data base they use to make the maps that is the industry standard is simply reconfigured for there gps units and downloaded. Each time something changes you get the free update immediately with paper maps they are obsolete before the ink on them is even dry. Not the gps they are always current.

 

I have the Rand Mcnally tnd 700 as well. If you have had others It is a little harder to navagate untill you get use to it. Info on it does help me plan for stop (travel centers) on my route or my truck or end of day. I faind that helpfull to me anyway. As others have said though. Do NOT trust it 100%. Even with it set on truck, with my weight enterted in and my height it will STILL sometimes route me to a ...let's say an underpass with only a 10' clearance or try and take me on truck restricked streets. So armed with that info just be AWARE!

Over all I like it though

 

Don't trust any GPS unit for height issues because if the state/county/city didn't make the info available to the GPS manufacturer it will not be on your unit.

 

My wife got me the Garmin 465T for Christmas, I don't like it very much. It sometimes doesn't recognize Toll roads and when it's set on truck it seems to want to go way out of the way. I know it's looking for the widest route when set on truck, but it will go miles past where I'm trying to go just to stay on the wider roads. The roads that it ignores are plenty wide enough for the truck. ( so far )

 

I have a PC Miler 550. It is a good gps, but isn't what I call user friendly. It flashed up a low bridge warning icon while I was on I71 South of Cleveland this week. "I thought WTH?" Seems The Rand McNally at first glance, seems easier or more convenient to use than the PC Miler 550. While playing with it at a TS, it seems to be the closest GPS for Dummies, which isn't a bad thing, but I see a lot of posts about glitches with the RM.

 

With Rand Mcnally's if you encounter a problem like that you can send an update to them 2 different ways through their "Tell Rand" portal. Thousands of users across the country do this every day and Rand continually updates the maps and software. You plug your unit into your computer once a week (internet connected of course) and the live updates download right to it. Just today I had a pickup in Plainview Texas. The address turns out is in the middle of a upscale residential neighborhood. Signs all over No Trucks! I sent for fine tuned directions over the qualcomm and they confirmed the address and even pinpointed the same house address my GPS locked onto. I called the DM on duty and the actual place is 12 miles away-- a huge flour plant lol. That house must be one of the management types who works here.

But like everyone has said, don't give over control of your trip planning to the GPS.

Some other features I forgot to mention about Rand's-- it will keep track of all miles driven by quarter and you can break it down by month and state as well. It will tell you how many miles you drove on tollways as well. And if you choose, you can use buttons for On Duty Not Driving, Driving, and Off Duty-- so it will help remind you when you're getting close to the end of your day.

 

Somewhere on here I posted a review of the Garmin 465t. I love it to death.