Garmin GPS Navigator for $419. Is it worth it?

Dec 14, 2019 at 04:53 PM CST + 3 - 1
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. I have been advice by shipper to have a garmin gps for trucks. Apparently the normal phone gps has a lot of missing features. Is this Garmin GPS worth it? https://amzn.to/38O7vCW

Replied on Sun, Dec 15, 2019 at 09:52 AM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. No, I had a dedicated truck GPS and they suck. I use a cheap android tablet and SmartTruckRoute2 app. Base maps are Google, all truck data and routing is through the app, which has very responsive devs, compared to rand McNally who, at the time I dumped it, had base maps over 2 years out of date and missing new interchanges, let alone the random crashes and even having a total memory wipe for no reason.

Replied on Sun, Dec 15, 2019 at 09:52 AM CST

Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.

No, I had a dedicated truck GPS and they suck. I use a cheap android tablet and SmartTruckRoute2 app. Base maps are Google, all truck data and routing is through the app, which has very responsive devs, compared to rand McNally who, at the time I dumped it, had base maps over 2 years out of date and missing new interchanges, let alone the random crashes and even having a total memory wipe for no reason.

Replied on Sun, Dec 15, 2019 at 09:52 AM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. I use the Garmin dezl 780 GPS and like it a lot. Also have a Garmin GPS in my car. I like the products a lot and, as for the dezl 780, it can be written off as a business expense.

Replied on Mon, Dec 16, 2019 at 08:49 AM CST + 1
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. No way! To each is own but they're dilusional. I've been using Google Maps for years. I've tried SmartTruckRoute a couple times but unless it's improved it put me in a couple bad spots so I would never trust it again nor would I recommend it to anyone. Sometimes CoPilot gets used as well for dedicated truck routing and it's pretty good but frankly Maps is free, all you need is the last leg to get in/out of your destination and that can all be viewed by satellite to look at your turns etc etc. I would never just press, "Go" on any navigation unit and trust it. I always scout it out thoroughly and choose my own route accordingly. Of ocurse, if all else fails go old school and call your shipper/receiver for pertinent details.

Replied on Mon, Dec 16, 2019 at 08:49 AM CST

+ 1

Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.

No way! To each is own but they're dilusional. I've been using Google Maps for years. I've tried SmartTruckRoute a couple times but unless it's improved it put me in a couple bad spots so I would never trust it again nor would I recommend it to anyone. Sometimes CoPilot gets used as well for dedicated truck routing and it's pretty good but frankly Maps is free, all you need is the last leg to get in/out of your destination and that can all be viewed by satellite to look at your turns etc etc. I would never just press, "Go" on any navigation unit and trust it. I always scout it out thoroughly and choose my own route accordingly. Of ocurse, if all else fails go old school and call your shipper/receiver for pertinent details.

Replied on Tue, Dec 17, 2019 at 07:50 AM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Quote: "No way! To each is own but they're dilusional. I've been using Google Maps for years. I've tried SmartTruckRoute a couple times but unless it's improved it put me in a couple bad spots so I would never trust it again nor would I recommend it to anyone. Sometimes CoPilot gets used as well for dedicated truck routing and it's pretty good but frankly Maps is free, all you need is the last leg to get in/out of your destination and that can all be viewed by satellite to look at your turns etc etc. I would never just press, "Go" on any navigation unit and trust it. I always scout it out thoroughly and choose my own route accordingly. Of ocurse, if all else fails go old school and call your shipper/receiver for pertinent details. " It has improved, I used it some time ago and yeah it sucked, now it's pretty good, of course I always check over the route, but when I pulled a van in the northeast it never led me astray.

Replied on Tue, Dec 17, 2019 at 07:50 AM CST

Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.

Quote: "No way! To each is own but they're dilusional. I've been using Google Maps for years. I've tried SmartTruckRoute a couple times but unless it's improved it put me in a couple bad spots so I would never trust it again nor would I recommend it to anyone. Sometimes CoPilot gets used as well for dedicated truck routing and it's pretty good but frankly Maps is free, all you need is the last leg to get in/out of your destination and that can all be viewed by satellite to look at your turns etc etc. I would never just press, "Go" on any navigation unit and trust it. I always scout it out thoroughly and choose my own route accordingly. Of ocurse, if all else fails go old school and call your shipper/receiver for pertinent details. "

It has improved, I used it some time ago and yeah it sucked, now it's pretty good, of course I always check over the route, but when I pulled a van in the northeast it never led me astray.

Replied on Tue, Dec 17, 2019 at 10:39 AM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. Quote: "It has improved, I used it some time ago and yeah it sucked, now it's pretty good, of course I always check over the route, but when I pulled a van in the northeast it never led me astray." Thanks. Good to know. If I were to go back to a dedicated truck app I think I would just use CoPilot full time though. I dig that CoPilot is based on PC Miler. Also, back when I tried SmartTruckRoute I left a message on the app page about the many times the app led me astray. I attempted to give them coordinates, screenshots and other pertinent details so they could correct the issues but they literally called me a liar and stated nothing was wrong with the app as it was updated on the hour or some ludicrous statement like that. I went back and checked all my data input/truck/trailer details and settings twice to be 100 percent certain the problem wasn't user error too. Based on those simple facts I wouldn't use their product if it were the last one on Earth. I'd go back to the old Rand McNally days and write my steps down on paper like I did 22 years ago before I gave them a single penny.

Replied on Tue, Dec 17, 2019 at 10:39 AM CST

Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.

Quote: "It has improved, I used it some time ago and yeah it sucked, now it's pretty good, of course I always check over the route, but when I pulled a van in the northeast it never led me astray."

Thanks. Good to know. If I were to go back to a dedicated truck app I think I would just use CoPilot full time though. I dig that CoPilot is based on PC Miler. Also, back when I tried SmartTruckRoute I left a message on the app page about the many times the app led me astray. I attempted to give them coordinates, screenshots and other pertinent details so they could correct the issues but they literally called me a liar and stated nothing was wrong with the app as it was updated on the hour or some ludicrous statement like that. I went back and checked all my data input/truck/trailer details and settings twice to be 100 percent certain the problem wasn't user error too. Based on those simple facts I wouldn't use their product if it were the last one on Earth. I'd go back to the old Rand McNally days and write my steps down on paper like I did 22 years ago before I gave them a single penny.

Replied on Tue, Dec 17, 2019 at 02:48 PM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. I have a trailer that will tell you use the dezl platform, google maps doesn't care about height. Lol

Replied on Tue, Dec 17, 2019 at 04:32 PM CST
Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.	Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member. You can read the road signs in street view on Maps. That's tough to beat for free. I trust that over any GPS unit any day. Also, Maps is updated way more often than those overpriced units. Those GPS units also get pushed out forced to be obsolete by the manufacturer over time as well. They make it so it can't hold the new maps etc etc. This essentially makes you buy another unit for another 450 dollars. Talk about a slap in the face!

Replied on Tue, Dec 17, 2019 at 04:32 PM CST

Posted by a private BulkLoads.com member.

You can read the road signs in street view on Maps. That's tough to beat for free. I trust that over any GPS unit any day. Also, Maps is updated way more often than those overpriced units. Those GPS units also get pushed out forced to be obsolete by the manufacturer over time as well. They make it so it can't hold the new maps etc etc. This essentially makes you buy another unit for another 450 dollars. Talk about a slap in the face!