Which trucker GPS is better Rand McNally or Garmin

A lot will depend on how you have your truck settings. If you have set for a 53'/102", you will be routed on STAA routes and most residential area's are not STAA. Normally if you change to 48'/96" this will route you on Non-STAA roads and even then you will find you cannot be routed to that retail store.

Put in car mode, if it routes you then it is a truck restriction, if it cannot route you then it is a map issue.

The National Highway Act (STAA) will only allow a STAA trailer 53'/102" to be routed 1 mile from the STAA route. Older area's are normally set to a 48'/96" trailer.

Be aware a lot of restricted roads are due to length, weight, etc. If you are set to 80k and the road is set to 68k, you will not be routed on it. If you do go down that road you can be ticketed for being OD. PA has a lot of these roads.

So do not blame the Truck GPS, as a Truck you have to travel on Truck legal routes. IF your settings do not reflect the route then you simply will not be routed. A lot of roads do not have posted signs for truck restrictions.

KY has certain routes that are truck legal. CO has certain routes if you run HazMat.

So no matter what Truck GPS you use, look at your settings. If the route on GoogleMaps or the MCRA is in yellow then it is a truck STAA or Non-STAA route. Change your settings to the route.

If the Mapping you use does not take into account truck settings like GoogleMaps, then you will be routed like a car and stand the chance of being on a truck restricted route.

So do not blame the Truck GPS for trying to keep you on a truck legal route based upon your settings.

 

Garmin 770 is the Cadillac in my opinion. Having said that, I like to triangulate with my Garmin, One20 on android, and my paper road atlas. If all three agree with one another I can be pretty sure im on the right track

 

Pretty much it is going to be your choice. Look at the comparisons from DieselBoss. He simply does not just write a review. He takes 3-4 weeks to test each model out.

I remember a review on Amazon one time. The lady gave the RM one start because it did not route her to her house. Long story short, we got her address and a BIG sign is at the end of her street showing "No Trucks."

But in the end it is going to be what you want and what your needs are.

 

Mark is the biggest plus for a RM.

 

Garmin by far and I had both.

 

I like the RM because im used to it,but waaaaayyyyy to mant probs w/ it.Its made in China.as is eveything.Everything on the RM is great......except its electronics(i guess)they suck.

 

Ill accept it as "mandatory equipment" when they no longer cost 200-500 bucks and last less than a year. And yes, I know some last longer. But my RM TND720 didn't. I can't afford to buy expensive crap like a GPS every year.

 

Send me a Conversation (PM).

Mark

 

I paid $150 for copilot ONCE. Used it on a total of 4 devices. And never had a breakdown. 2 sprint phones, 1 asus tablet, And 1 verizon phone which quit the day a new phone was bought so that would be the only breakdown. The sprint phones and tablet still work.

 

And a lot depends on the RM just willy nilly picking routes.

Today's example: From Petro in Scranton, PA to the Walmart DC in Lewiston, ME 428 miles -- 84 to 290 to 495 to 95 -- all interstate, easy right?

Well if you set your trailer as 48' -- RM wants you to add ~50 miles & additional tolls by taking 84 to 87 to 90. If you set your trailer as 53, it'll mostly route you correctly except that it stays on the mass turnpike all the way to 495 -- again, extra miles & more tolls.

And the route doesn't lock in -- if you stop at a truck stop mid route, the route RM picks when you leave may very well change.

So I pretty much use it in tandem with google maps, breaking out the atlas whenever google shaves more than a few miles. Plus google alerts you to traffic.


The RM has plenty of neato features, but I really think a truck gps out to do a better job routing. If you're an owner operator with costs in the range of $0.60-$1/mile, it doesn't take long for these ridiculous routing bugs to cost you real money if you don't catch them.