FF1063 wrote: Does any GPS have routing for trucks ?
The Nuvi has a truck setting but, it doesn't work as good as you'd like. If the route is marked "No Trucks" it will try and route you around it but if it just contains a low clearance obstruction it may not.
The upside is that you can add "low clearance" poi's to them. You can set an alert if one shows up on yor route too.
I'm not familiar with the Magellan but you might be able to find it for them too. I know they're available ofr Garmin and Tomtom units.
Dodge Ram 2500 Mega Cab (Yeah, it's got a Cummins)
2006 Forest River Grand Surveyor GS-280
Prodigy Brake Controller
1000/10000lb Equal-i-zer with 4-way sway control
As far a model - it depends on the feature st you are looking for.
For brand - Garmin and only Garmin for me. Here's why...
I have a Garmin handhled that I use for hiking and biking - its actually my second one, the first was stolen. With the first unit (LegendC) I had noticed it was taking a little longer to acquire satellites and then in the mildest of coverage, it would loose them. I sent back and in less than a week, they sent a new one. When that one was stolen, I had to transfer the maps to my new VistaHCx. I started the process via email, but when then got in a hurry and called them... I spoke to an actual person that could speak and understand English.
I have a Magellan and their customer service SUCKS! I have Maestro 3250 and was trying to activate the traffic service... after several attempts, it kept rejecting the license number. I called customer disservice and sat on hold for what seemed like an eternity - anyhow, when I finally got someone, I could barely understand them (they outsource to foreign countries). Long story made short - it took 17 business days to get it resolved. Not again!
TomTom - don't have one, know several people that do and seem to like them - but I have no personal experience with them.
Mark & Tammy
'01 Excursion Limited, 4x4, V10, RoadMaster Active Suspension
'01 Prowler 31G
Equal-i-zer Hitch - Prodigy Brake Controller
I use the Garmin NUVI 660, It hase the truck route feature on it. I got the one with the bigger screen. It's easy to read and easy too program. Another cool function is you can download POI's from the internet and put them into your GPS via a memory card. I downloaded all of the NACSAR tracks, KOA campgrounds. Here is the web site I use.
I have both a handheld and in car model. Both of mine are Garmin. I have been very satisfied with both. If I were to go out and purchases another one today - I would buy Garmin.
David,Wife,4 kids,SIL,1 grandchild
2003 Ford Excursion Eddie Bauer 7.3 PSD w/3.73 rear end
Jayco Kiwi Too 30T bunkhouse w/triple bunks
Prodigy Controller
Reese Dual Cam HP
Michelin LTX M/S
2001 F150 SuperCrew
As noted here theft is a problem with leaving them in view. They did $1200.00 of damage to a friends car stealing a $150.00 GPS. He said from now on if he leaves his GPS in the car he is going to leave a note with his phone number so they can call. he will then meet them at the store and buy them one. He figures it will be cheaper in the long run.
We have the Garmin Nuvi 750. Just love the "Recalculating" when we don't follow the verbal instruction is fun to use.
Locating services, restaurants, fuel, etc. in a strange town is a lot easier with it.
Bill
If he was NOT doing the hunting and only using the unit in an enclosed vehicle, then I'd go along with the many and recommend one of the Garmin Nuvi's, BUT the Nuvi's are not nearly as shock-resistant as units made for "trail" use, and they are not at ALL water resistant.
If your dad is planning on using the GPS for both road AND outdoor use, then it needs to be durable and water resistant. I'd recommend either the Garmin eTrex Legend HCx, the Garmin eTrex Vista HCx, the Garmin GPSMAP 60Cx, or the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx. The Garmin Colorodo's are nice units, but very expensive and the software is still not bug-free.
The Vista and 60CSx have on-board electronic compasses, which is a feature I personally like, but many don't feel they are worth the extra $30 or so. The Legend and 60Cx don't have that feature.
The eTrex's are lower cost, smaller, lighter weight, and have brighter screens when compared to the 60-series. The 60-series seems to be more robust (software bugs all straightened out) and has front-facing labelled buttons, which I like for vehicle use and when I forget which button does what (I'm geeting old).
I myself own both a Nuvi 200W and the 60CSx. I prefer the 60CSx. The 60CSx is used a LOT for road routing, but I also use it when in the field. The 60CSx has all the autorouting, POIs, auto-recalculation that the Nuvi's have. Just a smaller screen and no verbal instructions (it only beeps - which is fine for me). It is a GREAT unit.
Another option is to get something like a Nuvi 200W for vehicle use and then an eTrex 'H' for hunting. That might be a better way to go in the long run.
Ken K.
w/ wife, boy, girl, Samoyed, & a really big Keeshound
(The horses & pigs have to stay at home)
2008 Keystone Freedom Lite 279TB, Reese Dualcam, Prodigy controller
2002 Tahoe 4x4
FF1063 wrote: I recently bought the Magellan Maestro also, not bad for $149 and speaks the street names. But these GPS units are about useless without having a "commercial route". My camper is nearly 12 ft high and I'm surrounded by restrictive parkways / low bridges.
Does any GPS have routing for trucks ?
I have an older Garmin (C320) and you can tell it what you're diving, car, truck, bike .... When I said I was driving a truck and heading to the same campground we go every year it took my a diff. route to miss a sharp turn in one town. It took me a bit outta the way but this type of thing might work for you. I usually just keep it set as driving a car.
I did a lot of research and reading, and felt that the best choice in companies were Garmin and Tomtom. Looking at low price, I ended up with a Tomtom One Third Edition and I've been very happy with it so far. I really like the way you can go onto the tomtom website and download various POIs as well as map corrections submitted by owners. I'm careful to only accept the ones that have been checked by Tomtom. For a low $150, I don't think the Tomtom One Third Edition can be beat.
If I were spending more, I'd go for a wide screen model and the text to speech feature. Having been happy with my Tomtom, I'd be comparing features and price between Garmin and Tomtom.
With ANY GPS, there can be routing errors or routing options that may be a little different than what you might choose on your own if you knew all the local roads and traffic patterns. When venturing into new territory, I still want to have my road atlas available....I use the trucker's atlas because I can look up any routes that have low overpasses that may be too low for my trailer.
Check out reviews at www.gpsmagazine.com. Great prices can be found at www.amazon.com., especially if you monitor the price over a period of time....they do go up and down depending on prices at other sites.
2001 Dodge 3500 DRW V10 Magnum
2002 Sunline T280SR
Arrow Hensley Hitch
10' Porta Bote My photo galleries.
I prefer simplicity and purchased and returned the Garmin 260W -- twice. I didn't want or need any extra bells and whistles offered in more expensive models. What caused me to return it was the stupid directions it offered. It would always get me to the destination, but the route was never optimum. At one point it wanted to route me off one highway through town and back on to another highway because it was a slightly shorter route instead of taking the obvious by-pass. That kind of thing happened once too often. Frankly, most times I can get where I need to go faster just by spending a few minutes on Google Maps (which while not infallilble, have more intelligent routing in my experience).
I've heard that Tom-Tom's routing is more intelligent -- I'll try one of their's next.
2001 Airstream Safari 25SS tugged by 2001 GMC Yukon 5.3L 3.73
Hensley Arrow • Jordan Ultima • Barker 3000 • Mckesh
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