Garmin GPS

[flyu2there]

Larry,

All sage advice however I do believe these things are very much like printers.....the ink cost's as much as a new one. Personally I buy one at Costco every year, in the low 100 dollar range, then give it away the next. You always have a current chart (map) and don't have to go through the drill of updating a device that is probably already out dated. Option two, a bit more costly is a Garmin 496. This is an airplane model that works in the sky, on the roads and if you like, on (not in) the water. Best part about the 496 is the XM weather which updates every 4 minutes, for a bus, it's like having a very good color radar that spits out cloud tops, all that stuff. See some purple on I-70 while you are on I-70 and its 50 miles ahead...perhaps a wise idea to stop. XM wants a fee but its worth every penny.............. Air Gizmo's makes a panel mount so that you don't have a carbunkle on your dash. Just my opinions

[LarryB]

Sounds good John, Dispatch doesn't talk to ya on this thing do they?
I like the idea of hanging on to my stuff as long as it is supported but, time to make a change.

[rfoster]

I just recently purchased the Rand McNally TND from Amazon and used it on the Lobstah Fest trip to Maine. It was in combination with the Garmin Nuvi that needed an update. The screen is Large and easy for old eyes to see and the speaker is big so you can hear the instructions. I am pleased with the results so far.

It did not always agree with the Garmin on instructions, I elected to following the Rand and got to the desired destination without hiccups or winding up in an 8' tall tunnel or 3 ton bridge- which in the New England area could be easy to do.

But, One trip out is not an adequate test for me.

You never hear the words: recalculating

Two hour battery life, rest stops, truck stops, Walmart, already plugged into it and a lot of other useless information.

Did I say it had a big screen?

I used my Gov't stimilus check to buy it.

[HarborBus]

Roger, keep us posted on your comparisons of the two systems. I currently have a Garmin Nuvi 760 the maps are out of date and the unit will no longer take a charge after only 13 months, talk about designed obsolescence. In a call to Garmin they would be happy to send me a refurbished unit for $99.00 as my unit is one month out of warranty. I'm happy with the operation of the unit but I'm looking for one where the company isn't so hard line on there policy.

[michaeldterry]

I love my Garmin 1350T! It provides me with a wealth of information, including lane prompts for upcoming turns. The display is large and it has several useful options. https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=134&pID=37706 <- Here's link to the product page on Garmin's site that gives the specs.

This model can currently be purchased on amazon.com for less than $150.00 ($199.99 direct from Garmin).



Some of the features include:

• Voice prompts (e.g. "Turn right in 500 ft.")
• Speaks street names (e.g. "Turn right ON ELM STREET in 500 ft.")
• Lane assist (guides you to the proper lane for navigation)
• Speed limit indicator (displays speed limit for most major roads in the U.S. and Europe)
• Where Am I? (find closest hospitals, police & gas stations, nearest address & intersection)
• ecoRoute™ (calculates a more fuel-efficient route)
• Qwerty or ABC keyboard (choose keyboard layout)
• Custom POIs (ability to add additional points of interest)
• Photo navigation (navigate to geotagged photos)
• World travel clock, currency & unit converter, calculator
• Garmin Lock™ (anti-theft feature)
• Touchscreen
• Route avoidance (avoid highways, tolls etc.)
• Auto re-route (fast off-route and detour recalculation)
• Choice of route setup (faster time, shorter distance, off road)
• FM traffic compatible (receiver and lifetime traffic included)

I actually use the digital speed indicator display on the GPS screen to monitor my speed rather than the analog speedometer gauge in the dashboard - it's much easier to tell exactly how fast you're travelling and it's much more accurate (it helps me stick to Jon's recommended 62.5 mph!).

From the Garmin 1350T product page:

Go Beyond Navigation

Navigation is just the beginning. nüvi 1350T saves you gas and money with ecoRoute — a green feature that calculates the most fuel-efficient route, tracks fuel usage and more. The 1350T includes many travel tools including JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. With photo navigation, you can download pictures from Garmin Connect™ Photos and navigate to them. With its "Where Am I?" emergency locator, you always know your location. Simply tap the screen to get your exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and fuel stations. The 1350T features Garmin Lock™, an anti-theft feature, and is compatible with our free Garmin Garage where you can download custom custom voices and vehicles. Enhance your travel experience with optional plug-in microSD™ cards.

[Denny]

I use the Rand McNally TND that Roger is referring to and I think it is superior to the previous 3 Garmins that I have used. In addition to a lot of trucker items - on duty, off duty- it also has a maintenance schedule section.

[Ray Davis]

Having just purchased my wife a new car, she will be taking the GPS that we currently use, and I'm looking for a new one to use in my car, and the bus. I came across this link talking about various truck gps systems, which includes a couple of those mentioned above.

http://www.truckgpsstore.com/trgpsre.html

Ray

[Devin W]

[*]Route avoidance (avoid highways, tolls etc.)

Michael,
Does that route avoidance feature also allow you to factor in low clearance or bridges w/weight limits? I saw earlier in the thread that there is a Nuvi for truckers that appears to do that -- have to investigate.

[Devin W]

Having just purchased my wife a new car, she will be taking the GPS that we currently use, and I'm looking for a new one to use in my car, and the bus. I came across this link talking about various truck gps systems, which includes a couple of those mentioned above.

http://www.truckgpsstore.com/trgpsre.html

Ray

Nice link, Ray! Thanks -- I should have read further down the thread.

[michaeldterry]

Michael,
Does that route avoidance feature also allow you to factor in low clearance or bridges w/weight limits? I saw earlier in the thread that there is a Nuvi for truckers that appears to do that -- have to investigate.

Devin, I don't think that the route avoidance feature on my model gets that "granular", but I will check it later today and report back here if I find out different.