Quote:
Originally Posted by fierce750
Copilot will do exactly what you need it to do.
Buy it, You will not be dissapointed.
This is comming from someone who has Streets and trips,Delorme and rand mc nalleys 2002 tripmaker
Fierce ...
I would agree with you that it (Co-Pilot] routes you along truck routes and it has some POI's specific to trucks ... but I was disappointed in the trip planning features and here is why ..
1. A major part of trip planning for someone running 48 as opposed to a regional run is planning where to stop the truck at a certain time and understanding what impact that has on the whole trip.
Simple question .. DM QC's a Pre-Plan .. Can you make it with your hours? On time delivery? Where should I stop for breaks and my 10 hour break?
With Co-Pilot you can list POI's and you can pick stops but it is very cumbersome.
Pro-Miles XF is an example of the features I am looking for. For example, if I run a trip and tell it I want breaks every 4 hours for 15 minutes and I need to pull it over at 9 hours for 10 -- it finds the POI's that I could park the truck for that length of time. Then when I pick the stops it recalculates that days hours, accumulated hours, and "real" hours so I can keep a watch on the impact to delivery times.
Pro-MIles XF has a state to state speed limits rather than just assume 65 MPH.
I have a quick answer for the DM.
With Co-Pilot I can only select one type of break and time. This feature only affects real time and then you have to cacluate by subtraction where you want to park the truck. Then double click to find that on the map. Then right click on a POI where you are going to stop the truck. Then you have to re-run the trip. This is done for each stop.
2. ALK does not update the Database regularly enough for $300 software. Many POI's are out of date. I have created my own custom POI database based on the Next Exit but really should I have to do that? I find between 30% to 50% of the time the address does not exist or the street does not exist.
3. This thread is about trip planning rather than GPS but I find that the GPS database is not as accurate as a Garmin. A Garmin is much easier to mount and has a touch screen.
Soooooooo
After going through Mappoint, Streets and Trips, Rand and MaNally, and yes ALK Co-Pilot ...
I have finally settled on a Rand McNally Paper Atlas, Pro-MIler XF for Trip Planning and a Garmin 7200 (ran a 2720 until last November but I like the 7" screen) for GPS Directions. Recheck directions with Google Local and look at the Satellite map for hazards.
But to each his own and that is what makes the world interesting ..