GPS unit's for semi truck use feedback.

I am researching a new GPS to be used when towing the 5vr. I discovered there exist many units that are designed specifically for semi truck use. I am partial to Garmin products because of their ease of use and intuitive design/s, however I am not blinded by loyalty. That being said I have been reading trucker forums and reviews and don't like what I'm reading. Many of these units have put trucks under too low bridges and bad routes. The Rand McNally 700 seemed to be favored. The Cobra seems to be least favored, followed by the Garmin 465T. The Miller is in the middle. There's even truckers GPS SW for laptops. Any feedback from you guys I'm not going to buy until I do my homework and I value your input, in advance, thanks. Tom

I have often wondered this same thing and I am really glad you are doing this. While I do not have anything to add I will be very interested in what others have to say.

Thanks,
Mark

We'll learn together Mark. I'd be interested in your opinion of the Rand McNally 700. None of the Truckers" GPS are spot free, in fact the 700 seemed to have issues with locking up and had to be re-booted. Hopefully, with this, other forums and reviews we can make an informed decision as to what GPS is best for RV'ing - at this time

Tom

We bought a 465T while in Nashville for the rally. I have made several trips since then and have been well satisfied. I'm sure the truckers have found problems, using them everyday, but for what we do it has worked well.
Bill

I have the 465t and use it every day. I have a love/hate relationship with my 465t (Mable - Wife's Grandmother). I believe her only part of the time. When your in Semi (Truck) mode it will take you to places quite a bit out of the way. It told me I had to go another direction because of weight. There was no bridge or anything to determine a problem. It told me I could not go down a certain road because pole trailers were not allowed. It will not give you height warings on bridges. Coming to Elkhat on hwy2 I ran into two bridges that were 12'-6" and had to find a way around. I had a route distance of 29miles but it had me going 89 miles around to the same destination. It had me on a road through a small town and told me to turn right. It was 2 lane and narrow city street with a steel railroad rail embeded about 3 feet from the corner. We know what that would do. That is my Con Rant. I have more.

Pro's. I an always find my way back to the campground. It helps in finding places to eat, shows fuel stations (doesn't show me where I can get diesel).

I don't think I would go back to paper maps, so I will keep with my Garmin. I try to contact Garmin about all the problems I find and there are many. I think they are tired of hearing from me.

I wish they would make a mode for RV, where it had all the the height, length assistance but not all the trucker stuff that they need.

Today while running around we came across a bridge being repaired and they detoured us around the bridge but the gps keep trying to get us to turn to go to hwy 33 on roads that many were gravel. Glad I did not have the trailer with me. It finally got me back on 33 and then on a narrow 2 lane when if I went over a couple of blocks I would have been on 19 which is wide and easy to travel.

I normally use Streets and trips to plot my route then I get on Mapsource and see what route it will plot out. Many times I like Streets and Trips in Truck mode. I upload waypoints and routes to the 465t from Mapsource and that way I have two routes that are similar. The DW does not use the computer so I print out paper maps of the route that she can look at and help keep us on the way we want to go. She enjoys checking out where the towns are along the way. She is a lot of help.

Any Who that is what we do.

BC

I've been using a 465T since May. I love it! I previously had a Garmin Nuvi 350 and a TomTom Go series. Neither had truck services on them. The TomTom was horrible! I would never recommend one even if it did have truck routing (which it did not). It was actually worse than the built in unit in my Toyota which was far more expensive! It routed me to more wrong locations than it did right. Unlike the TomTom (and the Toyota), both Garmin units have proven to be very accurate on their routing and estimating of arrival times.

For truck services, the Garmin seems to work, but I honestly can't say that I've been in a situation where it has sent me under a low bridge. I guess that is a very good thing. Other features in the unit that I find are very handy are -- traffic service for life (free) and the truck stop locator (updates are not free). I highly recommend this unit.

I am a Over-the-road driver. I had or still have a Garmin 7200. It is a great unit,not for trucks. I now have a Rand mcnally model 500,it works great,just program truck info in and go,98% of time it is excellent,keeps me out of trouble. Sometimes with restrictions are not height but weight,especially with trucks. Hope some of this info helps. Also I have not seen one yet but rand mcnallt has a new model 550 out,I think that's the number.George

I had been a long time Garmin user, I just learned to live with its' problems untill I got a Verizon HTC incredible phone. I use the navigation application (free) it seems to be updated constantly as it has directed me around problem construction areas that I did not even know about untill I ran into them while not using navigation. It does not have a large vehicle setting but when I question the units directions I switch to satellite view and you can see either satilite photos or in most cases street view 360 degree photos.

It did take me a while to learn how to work the phone but now that I have it figured out my Garmin sits in the console, I really do not miss updating it. The phone and car stand were actually a lot cheaper than a navigation system. Just my 2cts.

Thanks for the input everyone. I appreciate the candor and honesty, so many people are quick to state "mines the best" and not be so honest. Not sure what to get yet... George, perhaps the new Rand McNally model you referenced is the 700 ?

Garmin just issued a large GPS recall. I posted the info in another thread. George, ya may want to contact Garmin because your 7200 is affected.

Tom

Here is a link for Rand McNally Truckers GPS. I know nothing about them but sounds interesting and has a large screen.......Kenny


http://www.roadtrucker.com/gps-truc...-routing.htm?gclid=CLmX0cXj2aMCFUWC5QodSUAD8g

george7100 said:

I am a Over-the-road driver. I now have a Rand mcnally model 500,it works great,just program truck info in and go,98% of time it is excellent,keeps me out of trouble. Sometimes with restrictions are not height but weight,especially with trucks.

Click to expand...

X2

Been using the Rand McNally 500 for about 6 months or so and love it. I have had it lock up a couple times, no biggie, just rebooted and good to go. It ain't perfect but it's one of the best out there. I bought the Rand McNally because I have been using their truckers atlases for 23 years.

I still use their atlas, get a new one every year. I also use PC Miler routing I get from dispatch, Google maps and google maps mobile on my GPS enabled Blackberry Tour. With google maps on the laptop I even look at the terrain and sattelite maps to see what I am getting into. I don't just blindly follow the GPS. I use eveything together and plan my route. Using all of these tools together keeps me out of trouble and makes me very efficient.

It only takes a few minutes to do this, not planing your route can cost you much more than this.

I just told Patti she can surprise me with a Rand McNally 700 GPS for Christmas... She asked how much it was, I told her I've seen it go for $499.00 with FREE shipping and handling on the web. She asked if she could "borrow" $505.00 from me so she can get a card too ! We just put out some serious mulla for some serious reno work. She told me her wallets so empty the moths moved out... Now I gotta get down and dirty with creative financing. I was just trying to make it easy on her for shopping for the guy who has everything ... Only thinking of her ya know.

Hi a little late but I like to put my two bits in anyway.I just bought a truckers gps for the main reason that I could not find a bigger one then the reg 5 inch to small for me to see.
We got it from Kenworth trucking they have a different return policy then Best Buy etc to late to return it now.
But to come to the point this is what I got, it is called "Routefinder" by Nanovision and I only used it around Calgary AB so far, it is suppose be good for US, Canada and Mexico.
I sure hoop that it will be better for us when we go south this winter because around here it is not,also it does not have the option to build your routes on your computer and then transfer it into the unit itself.
The manual is very basic and not user friendly it is made in Chine (ooops) I did not know that and is distributed via California. Phoned them once for help and they where not very helpful at all.
It cost $350.00 Can and is not worth the money whatever you buy don't go for that one!

Good luck Joe

We just bought the Rand McNally 700.
It worked great on our trip to and from North Carolina last week.

RollingHome said:

I am researching a new GPS to be used when towing the 5vr. I discovered there exist many units that are designed specifically for semi truck use. I am partial to Garmin products because of their ease of use and intuitive design/s, however I am not blinded by loyalty. That being said I have been reading trucker forums and reviews and don't like what I'm reading. Many of these units have put trucks under too low bridges and bad routes. The Rand McNally 700 seemed to be favored. The Cobra seems to be least favored, followed by the Garmin 465T. The Miller is in the middle. There's even truckers GPS SW for laptops. Any feedback from you guys I'm not going to buy until I do my homework and I value your input, in advance, thanks. Tom

Click to expand...

ann1951 said:

Hi a little late but I like to put my two bits in anyway.I just bought a truckers gps for the main reason that I could not find a bigger one then the reg 5 inch to small for me to see.
We got it from Kenworth trucking they have a different return policy then Best Buy etc to late to return it now.
But to come to the point this is what I got, it is called "Routefinder" by Nanovision and I only used it around Calgary AB so far, it is suppose be good for US, Canada and Mexico.
I sure hoop that it will be better for us when we go south this winter because around here it is not,also it does not have the option to build your routes on your computer and then transfer it into the unit itself.
The manual is very basic and not user friendly it is made in Chine (ooops) I did not know that and is distributed via California. Phoned them once for help and they where not very helpful at all.
It cost $350.00 Can and is not worth the money whatever you buy don't go for that one!

Good luck Joe

Click to expand...

Hi, Joe

My name is Justin Mitchell and I work for NanoVision and run the technical support line for the RouteFinder. I saw your post and immediately registered on this forum to reply. If you are having any issues with your RouteFinder, contact NanoVision directly. I see that you noted that the RouteFinder were distributed in California. This is the main office of PanaPacific; they are only the content distributor. If you go to the NanoVision website at http://www.nanovisiontech.com or the RouteFinder website at http://www.routefindernav.com you can fill out a Support Form that goes directly to my email. I am very sorry that you were not directed to us when you called PanaPacific. The manual was not made in China by the way, I'm not sure if it was that, but I actually worked on the manual myself, along with other members of our team. If you need any repairs, upgrades, or support they are all 100% free of charge under warranty. If you are having any issues with the device I highly encourage you to call me directly on my cell at 321-557-7673. There is also a software update available for the device through a free download on our site. This may fix any routing issues or bugs you may have encountered. I am very sorry you have had such a hassle with the unit and I hope I can be of great help to you.

Thanks,

Justin Mitchell - NanoVision Technologies

Joe N Ann, I'm impressed that Justin from Nano Vision reched out to offer help, let us all know how it worked out... Very impressive Justin, keep up the GOOD WORK ! Tom

I'm also impressed with Justin's dedication and sincerity! Way to go!

I had a Pharos PDA with GPS for a little while...doggone thing was so complicated that I never got a single use from it. I ended up returning it to the retailer.

I just wanted something user-friendly that was intuitive and accurate. What I had was something that required a Masters degree in MIS to operate.

How is the Rand McNally for ease of use?

In the UK and Europe I use a Snooper Truckmate S7000, unfortunately I don't think they do a US map, but take a look anyway, maybe if there's enough interest they would expand map coverage. http://www.snooper.co.uk/snooper-s7000-truckmate.htm

We are upgrading to a Garmin 1450LMT(life time maps and traffic) but have had a Garmin 2720 which we downloaded POI's from POI Factory for low bridges and Walmarts. Seems to work fine, you can set up the POI warning for any distance from the object. I will do the same for the new one. We upgraded for several reasons: a bigger screen(5"), ours has been giving us some trouble, removability from the truck, lifetime maps and an option someplace(we don't have it yet) to locate fire, police, hospital in your immediate area(we think this is a great safety precaution). I think the price was $179 and free shipping.