Hi, newbie here. I recently got into the OTR business and boy is their alot to it. I've done local drives around home, but never OTR. I've seen some drivers using a GPS and thought it would be a good idea to get one, but their are so many out there, with a few that are so called truckers GPS that have pretty bad reviews. I thought I'd get some firsthand info. from you guys (and gals) about which one you think is the best out there. I'm really looking for one that I can program my company routing into and be able to mark fuel stops, etc. and go from their. Which one would be best for me? Thanks for any help.

 

welcome to the board, try the search function this has been discussed at length.

 

agreed. do a search. i think i've even started a thread once on this subject. But to actually help and answer your question...........

I already had a laptop. So i went out and bought Microsoft Streets and Trips for $80. The version i bought came with a GPS unit with a long USB cord. i think you can get just the program for $50-60, but if you're looking for something with GPS, you might as well get the one with the GPS, otherwise it is just a glorified Mapquest program.

As for how i use it? Depending how complex the fuel route i get from the company, you can go in and select each leg of the fuel route, so you can run that in the route planner exactly as your fuel route has you going. make a wrong turn? no problem, it will figure a new route to get you back on track. I normally follow the fuel route 95% of the time. HOWEVER, just the other day i had a run from Waterloo, Iowa to Knoxville, TN. The fuel route had me going 910 miles, going thru cincinnati, oh. I followed S&T, saved myself 30-40 miles, and got the load there in a day and a half.

I like the laptop, cause it has a big azz screen. most your Garmin or window mounted screens are only a few inches wide. But regardless of what you get.....always double check for low bridges along your route.

 

Dang, tried to do a search before on GPS and got nothing, then spelled it out and got a few hits.

It seems like alot of drivers don't trust a GPS and I definetly see, and have already experienced in the trainers truck (going down a non-thru truck road and being off the grid when construction has moved the road to a new location), and can be a hinderance. I mainly want to use it, after consulting the q-comm and MCA, to help me navigate the freeways and interstates because I'm not very familiar with them outside of my home state and it seems to stay on your designated road (especially in big cities) that you keep left, then right, then right, and then jump over to the left, etc.

I also found it very handy when it shows me the outline of the road at night. Get newbie jitters traveling these roads not knowing what it's going to do once I reach the hilltop or come around the bend. Found it very handy when navigating mountain roads, especially when fog was present. My trainer wanted me to go faster than I was in those conditions and told me to use the GPS for the road outline, but unless I can see it, I'd rather take it a little slow and safe.

 

yeah, knowing what might be ahead really helps. I like it because when driving at night, and i'm in town, there are way too many lights to be able to quickly focus on where a street sign is, and then also having to maintain the lane you are in. I like the GPS cause i know what the next street is, before i get to it. Not all cities put their street signs in the same place...and some are not in big enough lettering to see it quickly enough.

 

I agree with Kevin0915, A Laptop with MS Streets and Trips. I don't do OTR any more but when I did the fancy GPS's weren't around. The MS program does all that Kevin0915 said PLUS when your connected to the internet you can update it for construction information and it will route you around that construction if you want it to. I found that to be a huge plus.

I also like the computer idea because it has so many other uses. I carry all of my music on my laptop and have a device that allows me to play that music on the radio in the truck. That way I get the music I like without paying a monthly fee or having to search for radio stations all the time and no more commercials. As far as bad weather alerts, my CB took care of that.

I also used the laptop for logs and record keeping and used it for internet at the places that provided it for free which are all over the place.

I also used it to watch DVD's when I had layovers.

There are also many e-Books available including the Bible that you can download and read when ever you have time.

The uses for the laptop are endless.