Gps for hdt

[steamynachos]

Hi guys I'm looking for a good gps for my hdt I've narrowed it down to a garmin would the rv785 or one of the desl modules made for trucking be better for our applications i understand the rv with all the campground info is more suitable for camping but would the desl models made for truckers be better for us to stay out of trouble on non truck routes?

[mr. cob]

21 minutes ago, steamynachos said:

Hi guys I'm looking for a good gps for my hdt I've narrowed it down to a garmin would the rv785 or one of the desl modules made for trucking be better for our applications i understand the rv with all the campground info is more suitable for camping but would the desl models made for truckers be better for us to stay out of trouble on non truck routes?

Howdy steamynachos,

I have an older Garmin RV 7something GPS and like it.  You can input into the GPS your setups lenght, weight and height, that will keep you off of most roads that could give you grief.  A Truckers Atlas, along with any GPS is your best friend and NOTHING beats local knowledge if you really want to know what the road ahead holds in store.

Dave

[Chad Heiser]

It sounds like you are set on getting a stand alone Garmin, but I will say that I use a CoPilot app on my iPad and it works great.  I like the larger screen on the iPad vs a stand alone GPS device and with the CoPilot app, I can also enter the rig dimensions to keep me off roads I should not be on.  So far (several years of part time use) it has worked very well for me and has not led me astray yet.  It is also cheaper than a stand alone unit since I already had the iPad and just bought the app to use on it.

[Phil D]

If you're going with a Garmin, choosing a Desl over an RV model won't gain you a thing as far as routing.  The RV Garmins use the same road and highway database as the Desl versions.  The only difference is the POI database, with the RV models having POIs that matter to RVers, and the Desl models having POIs that matter to truckers.  When you're RVing with an HDT it would be convenient at times to have both available at times, but that's not an option. 

I was on the fence like you are when I bought mine many years ago, I chose the RV version, and I'm convinced that I made the right choice.  When I'm navigating to any given night's destination I'm headed for an RV Park, not a truck stop, and that's what the Garmin RV models provide.

[castlewood57]

I have a garmin dezl.  I like it very much.  I use it in the truck and also in my car.  Its very handy for finding hotels quickly, and dining options as well while traveling.  Most of my travels are now between South Dakota and Virginia, and the Dezl garmin has been very good so far.

And it's easy to jump from one vehicle size to another without issues.

[Av8r3400]

I also have a Dezl. I got the one with a built in dash-cam.  

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010D2URZC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Ray,IN]

Check out the Rand McNally RVND 7 ;GPS. You input your weight, length, height, and it will not route you onto roads unsuitable for those parameters. It includes RV parks and a long list of other RVing features.

I've been in 45 states and both coasts of Canada without a routing mistake; after I got the parameters properly set on the first trip.

[chiefneon]

Howdy!

I also have been using Co-Pilot for years as a fulltimer and would not buy another stand alone gps. I used my tablet towing the 5er and my smartphone in the car. They now appear to charge a yearly fee for the cost-pilot app but it appears to also excludes live traffic updates which you use to have to pay for. The RV app is only $29.99  a year. 

https://copilotgps.com/en-us/compare-features/#pricing

”Happy Trails”

Chiefneon

[lappir]

Just 4 days shy of no comments in two years. Anyone still looking for something new like me?

Read about the new "Tom Tom" as an alternative to Google Maps and Waze (which I currently use). The article mentioned a new "Truck" subscription for those who like the "Live" traffic with the "Google Products" but don't want to stay with them. 

Went to the Android "play store" and found Tom Tom. Read everything including all the negative remarks over the past 2 to 3 years, but saw nothing about how much it cost. Only that it did have a price. 

Downloaded the app got the warning not to use my "Data plan" to download the maps, so waited till I got to a place with good WIFI and finished. It then allowed me to see the "Truck" section and I immediately deleted the app.  To get the "Truck" maps you had to agree to a $20 per month subscription. The annual subscription for the non truck version was just a few dollars more than $20. I'll stick with the Android Google things for now. 

 

 

Rod

[rickeieio]

I use Navigator/Wife 1.0.  She has an atlas and her phone.  We use the atlas to rough out our route and the phone to zoom in to see what lane to be in, whether a split is on the right or left, etc.

One thing we do, which some may find weird, is when deciding which way to go through/around a city, we count the intersections or on/off ramps.  Fewer potential points of conflict will determine which way we go.

[Star Dreamer]

When driving I use our Garmin Dezl 770. I update the maps before a long trip. But for trip planning I use Google Maps and plan my route between stops. I use to use Microsoft Streets and Trips but that is no longer available so I started creating my own map book. I will have the route displayed on Google and then do a snip of the screen and copy and paste that into Microsoft Word. I can zoom into to towns and areas where there are turns at and show route numbers and paste these into my word document. I can also switch to Satellite view especially if campgrounds I will be stopping at and paste that in. With the snippet tool I can add marking to it like if I want to note where my site is at in the campground. 

I have a double sided printer that I print the final document out. Our trip we are leaving on Wednesday to head west was about 38 pages so only 19 sheets of paper which o but in a 3 ring binder along with our campground reservations. 

I also then load the stops in my GPS under trip planner and verify that it agrees with my route and I can change it if needed. 

The only issue with the Garmin is it avoids route is marked "no trucks" which normally is fine but like on I20-/ through Atlanta it wants to reroute around the bypass but being an RV we can go straight thru so I just either put it in car mode or turn it off as it will drive me crazy with the "No Trucks Allowed" alerts!  

I can't rely on the wife to look at maps on her phone but she does great at changing the pages in my maps and can tell me what exit numbers are the exit for our route. 

[lappir]

22 hours ago, rickeieio said:

I use Navigator/Wife 1.0.  She has an atlas and her phone.  We use the atlas to rough out our route and the phone to zoom in to see what lane to be in, whether a split is on the right or left, etc.

One thing we do, which some may find weird, is when deciding which way to go through/around a city, we count the intersections or on/off ramps.  Fewer potential points of conflict will determine which way we go.

 

22 hours ago, Star Dreamer said:

When driving I use our Garmin Dezl 770. I update the maps before a long trip. But for trip planning I use Google Maps and plan my route between stops. I use to use Microsoft Streets and Trips but that is no longer available so I started creating my own map book. I will have the route displayed on Google and then do a snip of the screen and copy and paste that into Microsoft Word. I can zoom into to towns and areas where there are turns at and show route numbers and paste these into my word document. I can also switch to Satellite view especially if campgrounds I will be stopping at and paste that in. With the snippet tool I can add marking to it like if I want to note where my site is at in the campground. 

I have a double sided printer that I print the final document out. Our trip we are leaving on Wednesday to head west was about 38 pages so only 19 sheets of paper which o but in a 3 ring binder along with our campground reservations. 

I also then load the stops in my GPS under trip planner and verify that it agrees with my route and I can change it if needed. 

The only issue with the Garmin is it avoids route is marked "no trucks" which normally is fine but like on I20-/ through Atlanta it wants to reroute around the bypass but being an RV we can go straight thru so I just either put it in car mode or turn it off as it will drive me crazy with the "No Trucks Allowed" alerts!  

I can't rely on the wife to look at maps on her phone but she does great at changing the pages in my maps and can tell me what exit numbers are the exit for our route. 

For many years I have traveled by myself, have no copilot, navigator or anyone else to blame for getting off the planned route. 

I always blame myself for not "Looking Over" the route before starting out on my trips, but have yet to really do it. I enter the address in the GPS at the time I get in to go and pretty much follow it until something doesn't feel right. Had a 3 hour detour in Missouri when I accidently chose the Springfield and not the Sikeston location for Lamberts as my lunch stop. Got a good tour of the Ozarks on that trip to Florida. 

Maybe before my trip the HDT Rally I'll try to look over the route ahead of time. 

 

Rod

[rynosback]

1000% Garmin DEZL. 7 years of full timing and I have not gotten into trouble once.