New toy

[BrianR]

I recently invested in a GPS system for my truck. I bought this one on sale at Circuit City for $243 out the door.

I had it set up and navigating in ten minutes. Nine of those were waiting for it to orient itself. The unit is easy to use and intuitive, which is more than I can say for my digital camera. I fooled with it for two days, then set it up for truck navigation and put it to the real test: getting me through my next trip.

The trip went from El Paso, TX to Brownsburg, IN with an interim stop in Memphis, TN. I already had good directions from the customers at each stop and knew the Interstates in between by heart so I knew I could get there in time without it.

The unit got me there an hour earlier than I planned on and avoided the posted low bridge in Memphis properly. My arrival in Indiana was on time and exactly where I expected to be. The unit did get a bit confused when I hit a truck stop for a quick rest break. It wanted me to drive over a median to take an access road instead of taking the git-on-ramp to the right. Once I was settled on the highway again, It recalculated the route and I was back in business.

All in all, it seems reliable but I am going to continue to second guess it until I have more confidence in it's navigation abilities.

I am not sure I like the way it handles missed turns...all it does is try to get you back to the point that you goofed. What if that ramp is closed for construction and you must take another? This bears further testing, but I can't just take a wrong turn on purpose and go truckin' down an unfamiliar road in a semi...U-turns can be a bitch! I may save this portion of my evaluation for when I'm at home in my car.

Anyone know of a source for POI truck stops?

Brian