8/2/2015
Rand McNally TND 700
Anyone using this GPS |
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| 1Rod 09 October 2010 07:08 AM |
On my first trip alone with my rig, I had to do a detour due to a low bridge situation. I had my GPS routing me but it was the Garmin Motorcycle friendly one. I should have known about the bridge but had forgotten and decided right then that before I started out on another trip I would have a "Truck Specific" GPS that I had heard of. I believe it is a good investment as a first set of watchful eyes and me being the second. It should also route me around an obstacle better as it would already know my limitations. (The Garmin kept trying to get me back to the original route.) I have been reading about a few on the site and some on another more OTR truck sites and think the Rand McNally may be my best bet. I like the larger screen (I have the 5 inch in the Garmin) and some of the other features with the RM seem nice too (service intervals, note pad, calendar, state specific mileages) I don't know how they interface with a computer though. Anyway, I am getting ready to move again, heading back to South Florida from Denver. I have traveled these roads quite a bit before but will be going through Des Moines again where I had to detour on the trip out. Lived in Iowa for 30 years but didn't have a 13' 3" vehicle during that time, and always used University Ave to get onto I 235. Maybe I still can but don't want to find out the hard way that I can't. Thanks for the suggestions, advise or comments in advance, Rod |
| Still Working 09 October 2010 08:30 AM |
Talk here during the pre-rally is the Rand McNally is a very good unit. Me I have Garmin and don't really use it since I never know what I'm doing or going. |
| HERO Maker 09 October 2010 07:48 PM |
Had copilot, got me in trouble. Now have the Garmin 465T. Seems pretty good. Sometimes I think it is messing up, then it becomes clear what it is doing. |
| electryc_monk 10 October 2010 12:53 AM |
I have a pair of RM spiral maps. Our two "electronic leashes" have Google maps... :>)
Admittedly we've not had much issue as I've always prepared by doing an initial (laptop/desktop) look-see on maps.yahoo AND maps.Google to see what if anything I'll want to change or do enroute.... Funny thing is ... on some run's I've traveled a segment or three so many times that I'll have a mental map scrolling along in my *third eye* as we travel along.... Case in point from Denton, TX to (well, it used to be Battle Creek and Beaverton, MI) Now it's just Battle Creek again. Shoot I have 1 main run with some 12-20 variations on the run depending on WX, traffic, the CB's updates, and now adays.... the cell phone's Google maps with traffic alert! I'll be prepping a laptop w/GPS soon enough as I will want a big screen view of a map - in the days coming up... why? (well silly, because I'll be able to afford it) and the old trusty spiral bound Rand McNally will still be around the base of the drivers seat for sure.... |
| 1Rod 10 October 2010 07:37 AM |
Thanks everyone for the looks, reads, responses and votes. Looks like no one has a Rand McNally (from the votes) so I will be the first (maybe). Will probably pick one up at a local (Major)truck stop, so if I have an issue while on the road I can just stop in and exchange. Hopefully that won't happen. Prepping today for take off Wednesday evening, how early would be too early for arrival in Hutch. Will probably catch an nap somewhere en route and arrive in time for a full day on Thursday. Hope I won't have missed too much. Rod |
| Still Working 10 October 2010 10:14 AM |
When you get here. Let me know if it it's in the middle of the night and I leave the gate open and you can seek in that way. See ya. |
| sdixon747 10 October 2010 10:28 AM |
I have the Rand McNally and am happy with it. I have used 3 different Garmins, DeLorme, Streets & Trips, and none of them compare. The Garmin is OK for a car, but for the truck, it's RM. Anyone at the Rally that wants to see and play with the RM, come see me. Steve |
| Darryl&Rita Posted 10 October 2010 12:19 PM |
Don't forget they aren't "stupid-proof." My Garmin has tried to get me into trouble a few times, such as thinking a dead-end street goes on through. If I'm going into an unknown area, a quick Google Earth trip will give me a second opinion. If the screen on the Blackberry were bigger, it would be nice for last minute checks, but the laptop works for planned trips. |
| 1Rod 10 October 2010 12:41 PM |
I will wait till around 7am before barging in. Thanks for the offer though. |
| 1Rod 11 October 2010 06:20 AM |
Picked one up yesterday in the rain. Found a sale ad for a Love's where they were $50 off, found the closest and headed up with ad in hand. Got there, none in stock. Had tried to call earlier but in my current location I am in a "marginally served Verizon area" Call dropped three times and decided to quit. Hit two other truck stops on the way back home before finding one at a TA. They also had it at $50 off so I didn't even need the ad. Got it home and plugged it in for an all night charge. Woke up this morning with a bright green light and fully charged battery. Took a bit to get it up and running. You have to recalibrate the touch screen a "thousand" times it seemed to get through the tutorial. Did a couple routes and saved my trip to Hutch for future use. Will wait till I have a good Strong Wi-Fi connection before I hook up the computer and try to update the road construction and such. 48 this morning in Golden, what's the weather for Hutch this week. Rod |
| HERO Maker 11 October 2010 07:22 AM |
Should be great as soon as you get here Rod. Rained yesterday, with some chance today, but in mid 70's during the day the rest of the week. Mid 40's at night. Good sleeping weather! |
| Hdonlybob 11 October 2010 05:04 PM |
My Garmin is an older one, and has served me quite well.
However, as one other poster said, they can get real stupid....and mine seems to mostly when in a big city with the 5er attached. Never a problem in my pick up. When I get a few $$$ ahead, I will upgrade to a better trucker style one... |
| j506 11 October 2010 05:46 PM |
I've got one of those "better trucker style ones " Bob.
And they get just as stupid also..not that this "operator " has any faults.. either |
| Mark & Dale Bruss 22 October 2010 06:49 PM |
In the self-contained models (like a PDA) there are a few Trucking units with height knowledgeable road database. The Rand McNally you mentioned, there is a unit from ALK with CoPilot 7 ( a later version than any of the PC version of ALK, and Live 9 is near release) and WorldNav. Pricing seems to be comparable.
All these units had really bad reviews when they were first released. (new software with problems, never happens!:). Current reviews of all three run with mostly positive reports with a few negatives. So if searching for reviews, limit them to 2010. That seems to be the world of GPS. Many people can use a particular unit or software package and a few will have problems. |
| 1Rod 22 October 2010 08:10 PM |
I got the 700 just before the trip. Worked great on the ride to Hutch but I hooked it up to the computer when I got to Hays to update it and it wouldn't turn off after the update. Power switch fell into the unit after a couple pushes. Got it exchanged at the TA truck stop where I bought it and the new one seems to work ok. Did the update and all is well so far. Have the route planned for the trip to Iowa and then to Florida. Will see how it takes me through St. Louis (hate going through there) and Atlanta. (again not a favored city). Haven't used it much here in Denver. Have been lucky and the weather has been good for Motorcycle to and from work. Rod |
| horsecampers 23 October 2010 08:54 AM |
I have the Garmin 465T and am not that happy with it. It might be OK in the big cities but out West in my area it's not very accurate. It doesn't have many of the smaller highways/roads and on more than one occasion it has routed me on to a potentially dangerous road. One instance was a paved road that turned into dirt. My wife wanted to SMACK me and run over the Garmin!! Totally my fault for not checking the route on a real map !!!!
I called Garmin to tell them and they didn't seem to care. I find my iPhone 4 with CoPilot set to RV mode to be more reliable. The app cost $19.99 and I use it a ton !!! The Garmin might be fantastic on the major highways but for me and where I live and what I do, it's not. When I do use it for routing, I also double check it with my truckers atlas and Google earth. |
| Jack Mayer 23 October 2010 10:26 AM |
Greg I noticed that an Android version is available. I have questions that I can not find on their site. I assume the iPhone and Android have identical features, so an iPhone answer will work for me. Man, $4.99 for USA is pretty cheap.... 1) Do you get complete maps with the download, or do you have to "buy" regional maps? (I only care about continental US) It is implied that the entire country is downloaded. I find that hard to believe given the storage requirements. I find 2gb to be not much required storage....but I think I'll go buy a card. 2) Is the PC-based route building app included, and does it work well enough to use? Mark - you might know this as well. I find the Garmin MapSource PC route management almost USELESS with my new Garmin 855. The GPS simply will not follow the route when I load it.....it is really pissing me off, too. |
| HERO Maker 23 October 2010 12:16 PM |
Well, I keep yelling at my 465T and then I find out why it took me the way it did! Like leaving Hutch after the rally. I know from the past that I could take 235 south and then it would put me on 135 until it was time to get onto the Toll Road. Take the ramp before the Toll Road and it routes me to 81 heading south and avoiding the Toll fees, which is how it is set. Well, this time it takes me north/east on 235, then south on 135 to again head east on 96??? Expanded the view area and I could see that it was going to take me all the way over to 77, on the far east side of Wichita (really not in Wichita anymore) and then finally south.
Well, I took control and drove through town on 400 (good thing it was Sunday) until I got to 135, headed south until it was time to get off before the Toll Rd and headed to 81 south. Did I mention it was a good thing it was Sunday. Lot's of construction there around that junction (in fact at the turn to get onto 81 headed south there is a sign that says "no trucks." Made the turn fine, since there wasn't very much traffic and no construction workers at all. Afterwards looked at where it was going to take me, and if my taking control would have saved time. By the time I finally got onto 81 south past the construction (with slower speed limits), I would have already been further south on 77!! So again Garmin had a plan and it really made sense, although I don't know why it didn't take me down 135 and get me off at the exit for hwy 15 and take me south from there. But I don't know if maybe 15 was under construction also! Looking back, it would have probably saved a whole lot of time and fuel $$ had I just simply taken the toll road out of Wichita and gotten off at the first exit, paid minimal $$ (probably less then the fuel I burned) and been much further down the road then I was. But I have it set to avoid Toll Roads! Another time I was in North Texas running multiple times between just below the Texas Motor Speedway, and Plano Texas. It seemed like every time I was going in either direction it would take me on a different route. Then I would hear on the radio about a traffic incident that had various lanes stopped or some other kind of congestion that made that individual route must slower. And this was in car mode! I am not saying I trust it 100%, but with it's capabilities of checking road conditions ahead of me (while on the run), and routing me to the next better solution, it does better then me thinking I know the best way to get where I want to go. I have even had it report to me that there has been a slowdown ahead of me on those long lonesome roads before even the OTR guys would put it on the radio! I will be sticking with this one for awhile. |
| Still Working 23 October 2010 12:26 PM |
Rocky and others, For what you spent driving around the toll road south of Wichita, you could have save money by paying the toll. You burn more fuel then the cost of the toll. This is true for all toll roads in Kansas. JMO |
| Mark & Dale Bruss 23 October 2010 01:12 PM |
We take the I-35 toll road. It is fun when they hand me the ticket and I ask if they included the car behind. A new toll ticket and away we go. |
| HERO Maker 23 October 2010 01:47 PM |
Next time I'll take the toll road in Kansas.
Hey, how do you all feel about the toll road around Austin, TX? Heard another OTR guy complaining about Austin not having a loop around the city area like most major cities now, and then another OTR guy jumped on him and said to just pay your fee for the toll road and get off the radio! Those guys are just sweet talkers to each other every once and awhile! So how much does it cost to go around Austin? What did it cost to take the toll road out of Wichita double towing? |
| Bill B 23 October 2010 03:04 PM |
Hero Running east on I70 - toll for 6 axles (not listed on the ticket, 5 but not 6) toll was $8.00. Toll road from Topeka to Kansas City. Usually, you can look up the tolls before you hit the road. Some, are bad. Some not so much. And some to foreign countries that have bought infrastructure of the US. |
| Still Working 23 October 2010 03:38 PM |
$9.50 for 7 axles=3 gallons fuel. $4.75 for 5 axles= 1 1/2 gallons of fuel Here's a link for KTA website. Count the axles for which class you are. https://www.ksturnpike.com/travel/tolls |
| Jack Mayer 23 October 2010 05:25 PM |
Well, UNFORTUNATELY, after reading some of the info I found online for the Android version of CoPilot I installed it on my Droid X. BIG MISTAKE. You do NOT want this on your X..and possibly not on any Android.
First, the user interface is just TERRIBLE. Second, it locked my phone up totally. Even power off would not restore it to a usable state. Nothing like a phone that is locked up. Removing the battery the first time did nothing..it was still locked up. Removing the battery the second time did allow the phone to boot to the OS. I removed the app. Not ready for prime time on the Droid. IMO. On edit: the droid app did not have the truck routing on it. Only RV routing. |
| horsecampers 24 October 2010 10:26 AM |
Jack Sorry for the slow reply. Worked with the horses outside all day. I have had "0" problems with CoPilot on my iPhone 4. I had to download it to my laptop into iTunes first, it took 7 hours, and then to my iPhone. All the maps are pre-loaded into the phone. I have used it on several trips and so far it is great. I am flying to San Diego for a few days and will be using it a lot there to find my way around. I will report when I get back on Thursday. Sorry you are having problems Jack !! My version of CoPilot has RV mode, not HDT mode. |
| davelinde 24 October 2010 12:15 PM |
I'm a big GPS fan and they seem to keep getting better. I've now used several different Garmin and more recently a Tom-Tom. They are all good and they have all had some issues. The key is to understand the tool. Last week I made the "classic" GPS error and believed the GPS and not the sign. As soon as I kept straight I realized my mistake... new road! The GPS didn't know about the new roads and did not know to tell me that the road it wanted was now an exit. The minute the locator jumped off the road and into nothing, I knew. I also ran across a reconfigured road where the GPS sent me the wrong way on a (new) one way (I didn't do it).
While there are things I surely prefer for the UI, almost all of them are usable now. High on my list are QWERTY, pre-searching against partial matches (the Tom-Tom was excellent on that despite the annoying alphabetical softkeyboard), voice prompts, a repeat and next turn button, and good route-review tools. I'd LOVE to get one with Google-maps style route review and modify (drag/drop). Ultimately I wish for a nice way to find locations in one place (Google maps, business web site, other... and just push them quickly to the GPS as a complete POI... the POI defs are easy enough this is just a matter of some integration) In the end it comes down to the data. I have yet to find a good low clearance db - the common suggested links are missing many, and for my Garmin it can only alert them not route avoid them. I'm not especially happy with the map update costs and so far have just lived with old maps until it came time to get a new GPS unit. With my new tall (and heavy) rig some more routing helps are on my list...though for now I'm not eager to be an early adopter. |
| Jack Mayer 24 October 2010 01:06 PM |
I think I may download it again to the phone. And this time, instead of downloading the data directly to the phone, load it to the computer and then transfer it. That may be more successful.....or not....
It must work, because other people are using it.... |
| horsecampers 24 October 2010 06:37 PM |
Jack, that might be the trick. It was a huge file and the download took about 6 hours . Hope it works !! |
| horsecampers 24 October 2010 06:40 PM |
I just remembered that CoPilot on my phone does have a setting for the height of the RV, 12'6" and 13 feet. |