I just switched from '03 to '06 (day late & a $ short) so I cant tell you about '07.
I can tell you Ive tried using MSST GPS & just couldnt get the hang of it. I even purchased an ultraportable 12", 4 lb laptop because I was having problems finding a place for my huge 10 lb DELL 8100 & still couldnt find a place for it. I see guys running down the road with a laptop on their dashboard & cant believe 1, that they can see anythng around it & 2, that they dont get a ticket.
I got a Garmin NUVI 350 & couldnt be happier with it. It cost alot more but I get alot more. Its far more reliable, easy to use, & its only the size of a deck of cards. Its great in cities where they seem to have decided not to replace street signs or they hide street addresses. I feel more confident when in busy cities & Im trying to locate some hidden turn & Ive had to do less turning around to retrace my steps.
I do still use MSST for overall planning sometimes but less often now that Ive got the Garmin.
Ive just finished my 5th year over the road & my 4th month with the Garmin. I wish I had gotten one earlier...
Garmin is the best way to go. Just set it on your dash and let it work. I have had my C330 for just over a year now and run it 5 days a week 10 plus hours a day and it has not missed a beat.
I have never used GPS and know very little about it. For the Garmin, or any other GPS system for that matter, do you need to pay a monthly subscription for the service? Or, once you've purchased the unit are you good to go?
Hey Daktari. You only pay for the gps unit. There is no service fee what so ever. The satellites are owned by the Military which of course is government owned and we get it for free. All yours for the taking. The gps units are very easy to use. The one I have has the touch screen on it. so you just take it out of the box put it on your dash plug in the power cord into the cigarette lighter punch in the address you want and go.
I am new at this GPS stuff and not yet a truck driver. I have been doing a lot of internet research on lots of stuff related to trucking. I was originally impressed with what the CoPilot Truck 9 looked like. That was until I started reading some of the posts here. I guess I have been convinced there are better products on the market.
My question now is: Can these other stand along GPS units, like the Garmin products, be plugged into a laptop to take advantage of the larger screen? I was planning to purchase a laptop for other uses, so I was looking at a GPS routing program rather than a stand alone product.
I looked at the different Garmin units. They look nice, but they are pretty small.
Yeah, I gotta admit the GPS thing is pretty sweet. At first I was always double/triple checking it cuz I just couldnt imagine it was that accurate. But Ive come to trust it alot more. You could almost drive by it.
But youve got to watch it too. It dosent always have the most updated maps. I find that bypasses for smaller towns or rural areas arent listed & the unit gets lost until you get back to a recognized location.
I know alot of the older truckers are thinkin', "sheeeeeeit, these ding daing rookies are wussies. Why when I started out..." & Ive been on the road since 1995 (off & on fer 'bout sebm cheers) but I have a lot, I mean ALOT less frustration when driving since I got my Garmin.
Ive tried the Megellan too but IMHO Megellan S.U.C.K.z!
These GPS units come equiped with maps of Canada too. Sweet, aye!?
