Lol Bameyi, WHEN YOU DO THIS ITS CONSIDERED YELLING and some people take it as such, I would consider getting a good truckers road atlas, such as Rand McNally, it will show you the and give you information on truck routes and restricted routes, alot you will learn by experience and perference. At some truck stops you will find they sell Truck stop books that will list alot of the informatioin that you are asking about

 

I use a combination of my regular road atlas, MicroSoft Streets & Trips and PCMiler. My last truck at USX had an onboard DriveTech GPS mapping unit that I used extensively.

 

Everything I am saying here is done in a nice and friendly manner, ok

Are you prepared to spend a bunch of money.....like a grand or more?

No, ok...then forget the GPS for now. If you have a laptop, get MS S&T, run your routes both as "quickest and shortest"....cross check them on your MCA and look for truck restrictions and low clearances. You can also buy a copy of PC Miler, which is significantly more expensive.

I am not an advocate of a new driver using a GPS. Yes, I know all the reasons for using technology. But being old school, I can go point to point, know the shortest routes to 99% of the places in the country...and learned them without the aid of expensive "technology". An MCA, a ruler, a pen and a piece of paper will do it all just fine.

This brings to mind the story about the guy who drove his tractor and trailer under that low bridge....while looking at his GPS... :shock: :shock:

You have enough on your hands being new and in that tractor. You need to learn how to route with hand tools and your brain....write down the route and follow it.

 

Pilot and others sell a a 7.95 Rand McNally Dist o Map. It estimates mileage quickly in case your air card signal is bad or computer crashes.

 

would you people PLEASE keep it down

 

Yep I would skip all the fancy stuff ($$$$) and just do it the old fashioned way, which is quite easy actually.

 

thanks skywalker, your info is a good advice and i will keep to that, i know most software may not be truckers friendly but just seek info for vet like you all. which could be helpful,

 

I ran a couple of trips on this website and it gave me ridiculous routes, my 1998 rand mcnally tripmaker does a better job

 

Stand alone GPS like a Garmin or Tomtom will get you to your destination 95% of the time but they are not truck oriented, they will not show you low overpasses, truck restricted roads or bridge weight limits.