GPS Help Please.....

[scott_vt]

Good Afternoon Guys,
Could someone point me in the right direction please !

What is available on the GPS market that can plan your route for you ?

Im driving a truck, new career/ career change, and am making aprox 30 to 35 stops a day.

Im looking for a GPS that is capable of routing me in a logical manner, so as not to backtrack and wasting time !

Im in an unfamiliar part of the state, and until I get to really know my route base ,which consists of between 3000 to 4000 customers, I need a bit of help !

I know enough to layout the route by towns, but when I get to all the seperate streets in town, Im in trouble !

Any suggestions would be helpful !

[polo1665]

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=275&pID=31541

Scott,
Take a look at this one. I've been shopping for a hand held GPS to use around my land here. I ran across this and when I read you question I remembered it. It may fit the bill for you. A little pricey, but what the hey, it's only money right?

Mark

[scott_vt]

Originally Posted by polo1665

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=275&pID=31541

Scott,
Take a look at this one. I've been shopping for a hand held GPS to use around my land here. I ran across this and when I read you question I remembered it. It may fit the bill for you. A little pricey, but what the hey, it's only money right?

Mark

Good Afternoon Mark,
Wow !!! That does look good !

Weight and height restrictions, hazmat restrictions etc thats the ticket !

Very helpful !

[polo1665]

Now if you can just find a place to buy it. I am pretty much settled on the Garmin Oregon 550 handheld GPS, but I can't seem to find a store around here that has it on hand. I' gonna call Cabelas this afternoon to see if they've got it. It'll take an hour drive to Wheeling WV, but Cabelas is a fun store to visit.

Mark

[Reg]

According to EXACTLY what your new career entails you MIGHT want to consider a laptop based solution.

I use Street Atlas 2009 Plus from DeLorme and one of the BIG advantages to me is that I can receive e-mail enquiries ON THIS LAPTOP, do trial routings and mileage/time estimates ON THIS LAPTOP, reply with my prepared quote and questions I may have about any details - right ON THIS LAPTOP. As other enquiries come in I can add "vias" to the best existing route that I already have, etc, etc.

Then I can take it all with me and if there are delays or whatever I have all the contact info with me. I can call ahead and give an ETA to each stop and I can KEEP to that schedule by setting the expected travel speeds conservatively. If there are construction delays I can call ahead to re-set the expectation. For what I do it is important that I arrive pretty much when customers expect me to, although it is OK if I'm late as long as they know that I have been delayed due to traffic or construction.
If I need an overnight stay I can do a radius search for say Comfort Inns or Holiday Inn express, whatever chain.

Not saying you couldn't do same/similar with i-phone or similar, but this has worked well for me through various versions for over 5 years now.
A mini book might work a bit better, say a 10 inch screen, but try to drive with the lid SHUT and just listen for next turn directions. With Street Atlas I have that set for 90 seconds warning, which seems about right.

[Reg]

One more thing about Street Atlas.
I begin a route with my "Start" and "Finish" locations, typically home.
Then I "Insert" my stops if the sequence doesn't matter, that produces optimal routing.
The nature of what I do doesn't usually permit this, so I have to "Add" my stops and they have to be in the right order - I have to know what that order is.
This is the difference between "Insert" and "Add" with Street Atlas.
"Inserts" would probably work if you have all deliveries or all pick-ups, but it doesn't work for specific items that must be picked-up at specific locations and delivered to other specific locations.
Of course you HAVE TO start your route at a pick up location (or your base) and you generally want to finish at a delivery address, or your base. Automatic routing can be frustrating when it tries to do anything different than this for you - based just on route optimization for mileage.


Make sense ?
Well, it does if you are in a biz where you can only carry up to 6 customers' items at any one time.
(-:

[/pine]

...you MIGHT want to consider a laptop based solution

unless you use some sort of device like they use in police crusiers to hold the laptop...the safety police will give you heck about trying to use a laptop as a navigation device...

also, unless the laptop has touch screen capabilities it can be difficult to use for someing also driving...

on the other hand it is very cheap to turn any laptop into a GPS navigation system as long as the laptop has bluetooth... just buy a satellite receiver on e-bay for about $25 and install some mapping softwre and you're good to go...likewise with any PDA that has bluetooth (most all PDAs have touch screen)

[sandman2234]

I use Microsoft streets and trips 2009 with the gps sensor on a laptop to find my way. I generally figure out where I can and can't go when I plug my address' into it. If I don't like a route it gives, me, I add a stop on a road along the route I want to take. You can't expect a gps to do everything for you, and as long as you have the general idea of where you want to go, and come up on a route not truck friendly, then it should "recalcuate" for you based on that route you do take. I have tried several normal GPS' but don't really like the small screen that I have to put my glasses on to read. With a laptop, you can zoom in or out with a screen XX inches in size, much bigger than the largest GPS available. Size does make a difference. version 2009 will allow you to do a night friendly view of the map also, to lessen the light that is put into your cab. I think the program and sensor was about $75 but I got it for my birthday last year. I have used S&Trips since 1997 and still like it. Maybe it is because I am used to it, don't know.
David from jax

[Reg]

Originally Posted by /pine

unless you use some sort of device like they use in police crusiers to hold the laptop...the safety police will give you heck about trying to use a laptop as a navigation device...

also, unless the laptop has touch screen capabilities it can be difficult to use for someing also driving...

on the other hand it is very cheap to turn any laptop into a GPS navigation system as long as the laptop has bluetooth... just buy a satellite receiver on e-bay for about $25 and install some mapping softwre and you're good to go...likewise with any PDA that has bluetooth (most all PDAs have touch screen)

I had also said to DRIVE with the lid SHUT and depend on the voice simulation for turn by turn directions.
I do NOT use mine as a live moving map that I stare at while driving, so it is far LESS distracting than the self contained units that mount on the dash or with a suction cup on the windshield.
The receiver comes pre-packaged with Street Atlas, every so often I get a newer one, but I usually just get upgrades and stay with the old USB or bluetooth receiver.

As far as Streets and Trips is concerned; DeLorme DOES Maps, MicroSoft (almost) does software.
Nuff said.

[radioman]

scott vt- I am not sure what type of truck driving you are doing, but if you are delivering to new homes, chances are is the gps may or may not know where to find it since its too new of a palce and not added to the database. you just gotta use a lower house number or nearby street and go from there. Just a tip. I prefer the gps's you can add your own poi as that is what I do.