GPS in a big truck?

[Bulldog]

I don't know how often I run down the road, listening to other drivers talk about this gps system or that gps system, and the ups and downs of both, and at the end of the conversation either one of them will say, "but I always check my mapbook, just in case". This seems redundant to me. Why would you spend several hundred dollars on a piece of equiptment, that you can't trust a majority of the time? I just seem to think if you are going to use a mapbook anyway, why not save yourself the money, and hassle of possibly making a mistake and ending up on a parkway in Jersey, or on a low tonnage road in backwoods Florida? Think of all the stuff you could buy if you saved your money by buying a mapbook, a pen and a notepad. Anyone care to concure, or dispute my point?

[Malaki86]

gps's have been discussed at length in these forums.

[Bulldog]

You'll have t forgive me, I'm new to this whole thing and just trying to chat people up. I wouldn't have thought it prudent to post to an older thread.

[Malaki86]

just do a search for 'gps' - you'll get plenty of postings about it.

[Glad Hand]

Well most truck companies today supply the truck route at the time they send out the trip's fueling location. Thus, you don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on one of those over priced so-called trucking specific GPS devices. Instead, just buy Streets & Trips, which costs only a tiny fraction of what one of those glorified trucking specific GPS devices cost that can't and won't do what they charge a premium price for, and plug in the company supplied truck route into it and bam...your in business.

Then if you want to be able to search and route to truck stops and other trucking specific POIs in only seconds vs. minutes, buy the Truck Stops Plus add on template and then you will be in business and have a far better and far more flexible solution than you can ever get with any so-called trucking specific GPS devices that in reality are worthless, and it won't cost you hundreds of dollars either.

Nevertheless, the main reason I use Streets & Trips vs. pen and paper is because I can plan a trip in a small fraction of the time it takes using a MCRA, paper, and a pen, and also because I can search and route to truck stops and other trucking specific POIs about a thousand times faster than I can doing it the old fashion way. Not to mention also that Streets & Trips also provides street level mapping for every city, town, and village in the USA and Canada and a MCRA doesn't, and I can also zoom in and out, meaning I can make the maps any size I won't or need, as opposed to a MCRA.

In any event, if you ever have to make a JIT delivery on a new moon night when the fog is so thick you can't see the road signs much less read them, then you will appreciate the voice guided turn by turn directions that you can only get with a GPS device,

As for as checking your routes to make sure they are legal and free of low overheads and restricted routes goes, you only have to check once in a while and only when you are going to drive down a road you have never driven over before, and when you do have to check your routes, it only takes a minute or two and not nearly enough time to justify spending $500 on one of those so-called trucking specific GPS devices that falsely claims that is does truck routing.

[Bulldog]

I don't know, it just seems to me that the technology is great, but if it puts you in a position to possibly do yourself or others harm by the fact that there are omissions or errors, and you can't trust it 100% of the time, then whats the use. If you are utilizing company generated directions, coupled with the map, it doesn't take all that long to look it up, and if your'e going to do it anyway, do you see where I'm going? I cannot say that the technology isn't fascinating, or sometimes useful, but it seems that if you have to go back and do it the old fashioned way anyhow, whats the point? It strikes me as using a calculator to sovle a math problem, and then pulling out the old abbacus to double check the computer. I'm just trying to get thoughts from the other side, so thank you for the input.

[geeshock]

I use gps, yup, but what I usually do is eather plug in an address or once I get to the location I plug that specific location in my address book. I use it as a backup, extra insurance I don't pass the place up. routeing to the location is simple old fashioned common sense and being able to read the map. Also, if my dispatcher needs an ETA I can give it pretty close just glancing really quickly at my gps. It has it's uses, mainly to back things up and make them quicker.

[Bulldog]

Ya know thats a good point. I never thought of that. It would seem to be alot easier to give dispatch an eta with a computer giving you an eta and doing the calculations for you. Thank you for enlightening me. You are right, it does seem to be of some use after all.

[flood]

we have s & t and delorme, it's just me but i like delorme better.

it's nice to know at a glance you time and distance to your next 2 turns and your next stop and finish all at the same time. spoken turn by turn is real nice but with delorme (i have a mike with an on/off switch) i can voice command the gps (zoom in/out show next turn) etc. i can ask it some questions and it will tell me so i don't have to look at it.

i have files for some customers like fedex, bax, ups etc. when we have a load for say fedex i just open that file and all the fedex's we have been to are all on the map. just click the pick-up then the finish add fuel stops. check the route against the company routing and change as necessary, check gps milage against paid milage....! if it's off by to much time to make a call.. then save the trip by pro #. if i need to i can always pull up the trip later. i have every trip we have run for the last 5 years saved.

yes we do have a mcra but i only pull it out about once every or two.

[Glad Hand]

I don't know, it just seems to me that the technology is great, but if it puts you in a position to possibly do yourself or others harm by the fact that there are omissions or errors, and you can't trust it 100% of the time, then whats the use. If you are utilizing company generated directions, coupled with the map, it doesn't take all that long to look it up, and if your'e going to do it anyway, do you see where I'm going? I cannot say that the technology isn't fascinating, or sometimes useful, but it seems that if you have to go back and do it the old fashioned way anyhow, whats the point? It strikes me as using a calculator to sovle a math problem, and then pulling out the old abbacus to double check the computer. I'm just trying to get thoughts from the other side, so thank you for the input.

As I said, I don’t use one of those glorified trucking specific GPS devices that only provide pseudo truck routing at best as opposed to real truck routing. Thus, I don’t throw away my hard earned money on a device that doesn’t work and is incapable of doing what it falsely claims to do.

If drivers would do a modicum of research before they spend their hard earn money, they would learn and find out that for myriads of reasons building a device that does truck specific routing reliable enough to be trusted is beyond the reach of technology. It’s literally an unachievable fantasy.

Nevertheless, the reason I use Streets & Trips as opposed to a MCRA, pen, and paper is because it is much easier and exponentially faster, and easier and faster translates into a lot less stress and much more money in my pocket.

For instance, a MCRA doesn’t have street level mapping, where as Streets & Trips does. With the street level mapping I can follow the final directions to my shippers and consignees before I ever drive them and when I get to the location where they are supposed to be located, I can click Get Bing Map.

When I click Get Bing Map, I get an overhead bird’s eye view of my shipper or consignee’s facility if my directions are correct. If I get a bird’s eye view of nothing, on the other hand, then I instantly know my final directions given are wrong long before I ever drive them and find out the hard way that they were wrong. Therefore I have plenty of time to find the correct locations of my shippers and consignees long before I ever drive them.

Another thing is I can zoom in and out with the Streets & Trips maps. In other words, I can make the maps as big or as little as I need them to be and you can’t do that with a MCRA. With a MCRA I was forced to use a magnifying glass to focus in and it still wasn’t nearly enough, and because it didn’t have street level mapping, you were at the mercy of your final directions which about half the time were wrong.

In Streets & Trips you simply sync your company supplied truck routes in it and then save it, and once you become proficient at doing that, and it won’t take long to become an expert since you will use it every day to plan your trips, you can plan out an entire trip in a couple of minutes.

On the other hand, in those so-called glorified trucking specific GPS devices because the auto-rerouting feature can’t be turned off, you can’t plug in the company supplied truck routing the way you can only with Streets & Trips and you are therefore forced to use the pseudo truck routing the so-called trucking specific GPS device provides, which many times will lead you down roads with low clearances, restricted routes, or low weight bridges.

You see with that auto-rerouting feature that can’t be turned off every time a driver turns into a rest area, truck stop, etc., the GPS device will automatically recalculate the route and every time it recalculates the route, depending on where you are at the particular time, the route in the device may change. Thus, the incompetent drivers that use those truck specific GPS devices are forced into mindlessly following a device that does pseudo truck routing at best only. In other words, it is a ticket, accident, or worse waiting to happen and one of the reasons you hear and read about so many horror stories.

The other main reason truck drivers want a trucking specific GPS device is to have the ability to search and route to truck specific points of interest, such as truck stops, turnpike service plazas, rest areas, parking areas, turnouts, Wal-Mart Supercenters, etc. and to also see and know where weigh stations and inspection stations are located.

However, you don’t have to buy a $500 glorified so-called truck specific GPS device that only supplies a crappy and inaccurate POI database that isn’t tailored for truck drivers to have that capability, for a nominal fee you can simply add the Truck Stops Plus add-on template to your Streets & Trips and the truck specific POIs you get are not only tailored for truck drivers, but also pinpoint accurate.

Why is pinpoint accuracy in a trucking specific POI database very important to truck drivers? Because if the POIs in the database are inaccurate, you may find yourself driving many miles out of route just to find a legal and safe place to turn around. That is if you are lucky and don’t end up in a residential area or worse.

Also, if the POI database is tailored specifically for truck drivers like the Truck Stops Plus template is, you won’t need to buy expensive truck stop directories and exit guides. Not to mention that with the Truck Stops Plus template you can also check for restricted routes and low clearances right from the convenience of your laptop screen. So you don’t even need to use an expensive and very bulky MCRA.

Finally, because I use Streets & Trips as opposed to one of those glorified so-called truck specific GPS devices that only does pseudo truck routing at best and because I also plug in the company supplied truck routing into Streets & Trips and then save my trips, I don’t have to worry about putting myself in a position to possibly do myself or others harm, and thus I only have to worry about the omissions or errors that may be contained in my company supplied truck routing. In any event, if I had to do all the things you are erroneously envisioning and absurdly assuming, then there would be no way I would use GPS technology because it would be redundant and very time consuming. Not to mention, very self-defeating at the same time.

Like I said, I can plan out an entire trip or also search and route to any trucking specific POIs in only a tiny fraction of the time that it takes for you to do it the old fashion way with a MCRA, pen, and paper, and I therefore can drive with a lot less stress and much more peace of mind because I know I have precise visual and voice guided turn-by-turn directions the entire way. Not only that, but I can also see all the trucking specific POIs on the Streets & Trips navigation map while I’m driving for miles ahead in advance as I approach and pass them up along my route while I’m driving as well. Thus, it is also like having radar in the truck with me.

[Glad Hand]

we have s & t and delorme, it's just me but i like delorme better.

it's nice to know at a glance you time and distance to your next 2 turns and your next stop and finish all at the same time. spoken turn by turn is real nice but with delorme (i have a mike with an on/off switch) i can voice command the gps (zoom in/out show next turn) etc. i can ask it some questions and it will tell me so i don't have to look at it.

i have files for some customers like fedex, bax, ups etc. when we have a load for say fedex i just open that file and all the fedex's we have been to are all on the map. just click the pick-up then the finish add fuel stops. check the route against the company routing and change as necessary, check gps milage against paid milage....! if it's off by to much time to make a call.. then save the trip by pro #. if i need to i can always pull up the trip later. i have every trip we have run for the last 5 years saved.

yes we do have a mcra but i only pull it out about once every or two.

I also add to my Streets & Trips template every shipper and consignee I have ever been to, all of my company terminals, every drop lot, etc. Thus, the next time I have to inevitably return to those locations again, I don’t need to get directions. I just right click on them and click add as stop.

Being able to save my trips by trip or pro numbers is a great capability to have and has also been used to cover my ass on several occasions when the company tried to short change me, and I always compare the Streets & Trip miles to the company paid miles and often get my DMs to up the company paid miles because for some reason it is obvious that the miles haven’t been calculated correctly. If I was still using a MCRA, pen, and paper I would inevitably be short-changed often because I would have to trust the company paid miles and would have no way of knowing when I was being ripped off.

[golfhobo]

Ya know thats a good point. I never thought of that. It would seem to be alot easier to give dispatch an eta with a computer giving you an eta and doing the calculations for you. Thank you for enlightening me. You are right, it does seem to be of some use after all.

Just because you are new here doesn't mean you have to "suck up" to the GPS users! Stand your ground (that is the motto of the TARHEELS!)

Welcome to the board, Bulldog. Although, I must admit that I don't understand how that username is still available. I KNEW a "Bulldog" on here a few years ago. Anyways....

Users who choose such a name are often ex-Marines. Are you? WE here in North Carolina have a proud tradition of having bases for Marines, Army and Air Force.

I don't care if you use a GPS for SOME advantages.... But, PLEASE, learn to plan your trips by using an Atlas and company directions FIRST!

A "freight re-locater specialist" often finds himself in a big and expensive "fix" due to his reliance on technology. A TRUCKER usually delivers his load on time, NEVER admits to being "lost," and finds it an insult to even NEED a GPS device.

Anyway... welcome to what is LEFT of this once great Trucker's board.

[Malaki86]

I don't even rely 100% on my gps in my car. Doing so is absolutely ignorant. Use the gps as a tool to assist your job, not as something to even think that is always correct.

[RostyC]

Yep, use it as a tool to assist you in carrying out the task at hand. It certainly doesn't make you any less of a trucker. Good grief.

When I was in construction I had different tools that could do the same job, it just depended on the type of task that was in front of me. Nail gun vs. hammer, circular saw vs. table saw vs. miter saw, lasers vs. plumb bob vs. levels etc.

Nothing is ever absolute or obsolete.

[geeshock]

Just because you are new here doesn't mean you have to "suck up" to the GPS users! Stand your ground (that is the motto of the TARHEELS!)

Welcome to the board, Bulldog. Although, I must admit that I don't understand how that username is still available. I KNEW a "Bulldog" on here a few years ago. Anyways....

Users who choose such a name are often ex-Marines. Are you? WE here in North Carolina have a proud tradition of having bases for Marines, Army and Air Force.

I don't care if you use a GPS for SOME advantages.... But, PLEASE, learn to plan your trips by using an Atlas and company directions FIRST!

A "freight re-locater specialist" often finds himself in a big and expensive "fix" due to his reliance on technology. A TRUCKER usually delivers his load on time, NEVER admits to being "lost," and finds it an insult to even NEED a GPS device.

Anyway... welcome to what is LEFT of this once great Trucker's board.

Hey hobo, YOU FORGOT US SQUIDS . Many of us navy vets live on the east coast of NC.

As most of us "gps" users have mentioned we use it for the advantages and like most tools we don't follow it blindly. I don't assume the route it gives me is a safe one or even the optimal one. I don't assume the dot on the map is even the exact location. I still look over the road atlas for that stuff although it might turn my attn to a way I hadn't thought of. Sorta like takeing I-95 south to florence, then cutting across I-20 to get to atlanta. I'd still be takeing I-85. Not much diference in miles where I'm located but you miss out on a LOT of traffic going down I-95. gps is just another tool and I use it as such.

[GMAN]

I have never bought a gps. I have also gotten a lot of ribbing due to my shunning the technology. I still prefer a Rand McNally and shipper directions to the inaccuracy of the current gps programs. It might work well as an added tool, but I can't see spending $500 for something that isn't accurate. I prefer spending $10-30 on a new Rand McNally every other year. I think that it would be distracting sitting on my dash.

[RostyC]

I have never bought a gps. I have also gotten a lot of ribbing due to my shunning the technology. I still prefer a Rand McNally and shipper directions to the inaccuracy of the current gps programs. It might work well as an added tool, but I can't see spending $500 for something that isn't accurate. I prefer spending $10-30 on a new Rand McNally every other year. I think that it would be distracting sitting on my dash.

I don't recall anyone ever ribbing you Mr. Flintstone.

[Malaki86]

You don't have to spend $500 for a gps - buy software. I have both Microsoft Streets & Trips 2009 and Garmin Mobile PC. Both can be had for well under $100 each. They run on my laptop, which I use for both trucking (GPS, logs, weather lookup, etc) and entertainment (games, tv, movies, etc).

Not to mention the fact that you can download a 60 day trial of Streets & Trips that is 100% complete and not limited in any way whatsoever. You don't have to go into it blindly and spend money before you know if it'll be of use to you or not.

[GMAN]

So you are saying that I am still in the stone age, RostyC?

[Malaki86]

I wouldn't say stone age - I'd say Smokey & the Bandit age.