I built the house pc in to the truck. Tower sits behind the pasanger seat. the council for the monitor is to my right obviously. I have the top of the box that holds the monitor at about dashboard level.

I run Delorme and Co-pilot.

The good thing with this set up over a laptop or standard GPS unit is I can add shippers, recievers, new roads, etc etc.

Second, using a standard Flat Panel monitor enables me to do two things.. First, I can turn the Brightness and contrast down on the monitor much farther then you can on a laptop. Second, The monitor has a power button. So, I set up the route on the gps, and hit the power button on the monitor.. The PC is still running which means everything is functioning normal you just can't "SEE" it and it's not blinding you at night or making a glare on the windhshield. The speakers still work so you can hear the GPS talk to you. It warns you of a turn comming up in x amount of time or x amount of miles. if you would like to see what your in for you just hit the power button on the monitor, take a peak, hit it again and it's off again..

I've got years and years into computers before I started pushing trucks.. This is the best setup I can think of in a truck..

The pete 387 gives me TONS of room between the seats to have this setup, but with a smaller cab'd truck like the 379 or most of the kw's this would be impossable for room.. however you could use a similer setup with a flatpanel mounting bracket.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....All+Categories

Just my Two Cents's. I used to use a laptop, I'll never go back.. I still cary the laptop so I can take it in TS's and play poker or sit on the net while I eat. but thats it.

Oh yeah and I have the laptop and the pc in the truck networked as well so I can swap information between them at will.

ok I got carried away... anyways, in the window can't possably be safe, however according to IN DOT it's legal provided it only blocks the view to the pasanger side of the windshield..


Nendail

 

nen take a photo of your setup. yurs sounds cool too.
http://www.classadrivers.com/phpBB2/...ic.php?t=22963

 

i would think that anything that blocks your view or your mirrors is probably not a good idea

 

i have the TOM TOM one, and I love it, it also suctions to the windshield and is very small. When I sit in the drivers seat and look at it the only thing beyond that is the hood. So does not block my vision at all.

 

Pics are posted on the msg link listed above.

 

Looks like a simple set-up to me. For a solo driver, that would be the way to go and a hell of a lot cheaper! Thanks for the pics and the idea's.

 

My Garmin I2 is really small and I've had it in several trucks and I've always been able to mount it low enough on the windsheild so that it only blocks my view of the hood 8) .

 

I'm just curious with the many responses I have seen to this post...my man has a Magellan that he used mainly for p/u and drop areas - not highway routing. The reason is that he is under the impression that the GPS systems don't know you're a big-a*#@ truck and doesn't keep to motor vehicle routes. Is what you're saying is that this is incorrect?

Appreciate any feedback....

 

Most of the dashboard GPS units (Magellan, Tom Tom, Garmin, etc) were made for cars. You can use them in big trucks but, you gotta to be careful and don't rely on the GPS unit 100%. You should ALWAYS check the route out in a motor carrier atlas and call the shipper/receiver for directions. Use the GPS as an AIDE only.

 

Truth. I noticed that about the GPS unit in the 85 Kenworth tow truck at the last company I worked for. We used it mostly for the speed indicator, since Kenworth seems incapable of making a truck with a working speedometer.