PC Miler 430 GPS

[TeamCaffee]

One of the options I heard about was that if you turn onto a NO TRUCKS road the road changes color and will try to re route you off of that road. It sounds as if the 430 has tons and tons of options and you can turn many features off and on.

[LDB]

I just purchased PC Miler 430 on Sunday at Love's in Jonestown, PA. For the most part it is working pretty good except that some roads it has the information on like going straight instead of making turn. It still uses the TravRoute software which is not always the best and I do not think they corrected their mistakes from 1998 yet when I used Door to Door by TravRoute.

This is what I'm fearful of in buying this unit. I already have their Copilot 9 that has outdated maps and is error filled. Why should I believe they put out a product any better when their own track record is so poor. They're in business more because they're the only choice not because they're the best choice. If they had a true competitor I don't know how long they'd survive. I have no idea why Garmin doesn't look at our market and see opportunity. It isn't like they'd have a lot of competition from these guys.

[Turtle]

Thanks for the informative update, backhaul.

I share the same reservations as Leo on this one. ALK puts out PC Miler and CoPilot, but they are very, very different products. They use a completely different routing engine. Looking at the specs of the latest PC Miler 22 and comparing them to the PC Miler 430, it appears that both use the same underlying mapping data, which is a good thing, but it's the routing software that makes all the difference.

I was hopeful that this new 430 would be essentially the same as PC Miler, but two things keep nagging at me. One is the "Powered by CoPilot" label on the PC Miler 430, which means it's using the same routing engine as CoPilot (which used to be called TravRoute).

The other is, how can they come out with a standalone hardware solution for PC Miler|Streets+HAZMAT, and price it as a fraction of a fraction of the cost of the software-only version? This hardware standalone is MSRP'd at $399, yet the software version of the PC Miler|Streets+HAZMAT will cost several times that. Doesn't make sense.

The answer is, of course, that the PC Miler 430 is merely an updated CoPilot and is not the same product that carriers and customer use for routing when they fire up their copies of PC Miler. The PC Miler 430 is obviously an affordable compromise of PC Miler, to make it affordable and competitive with the current standalone models. The HAZMAT routing and custom vehicle weights and dimensions options of the PC Miller 430 is huge, and is a strong attraction for those desiring those features. But the compromise is less accurate routing and addressing on the non-restricted roads. Less accurate than PC Miler, for sure, and less accurate than, say, a Garmin or a TomTom. But then again a Garmin or a TomTom isn't perfect, either.

All things being equal, we all should be using PC Miler out here, because the vast majority of carriers and customers are using it. But all thing are not equal, as there is no cost analysis that you can come up with to justify the high cost of the full PC Miler software for an individual vehicle or even a handful of vehicles.

There are times when the Garmin and the Microsoft Streets and Trips cannot duplicate the mileage shown on a load offer regardless of the different routing options that are chosen. But I do have PC MilerStreets+HAZMAT (ver 20, doesn't have the customized vehicle dimensions and a few other of the newer features), and I'll check the mileage and routing in there and there ya go, matches up perfectly.

There is no question that a standalone GPS device mounted on the dash or the windshield (except in Minnesota and California) is a safer solution than is driving while using a laptop or having a Motor Carrier Atlas atop the steering wheel. All GPS routing devices and software have their flaws, including PC Miler, so all of them have to used used with common sense and a skeptical eye so as to not blindly follow it into a lake or a river or a 9 foot bridge.

A additional about DeLorme, the DeLorme POI databse is rather complete, showing industrial business locations, warehouses and even LTL terminals right on the map. That's pretty kewl. It's been several versions ago since I've had that installed on my laptop. I need to grab that and add it to the mapping arsenal.

[ATeam]

This thread got me to thinking about our Garmin Nuvi 750, and all the things it can do, and all I have left to learn about it. Like a lot of folks, I suppose, I learned just enough about our new GPS device to get it working and then let the manual sit.

It takes some time but learning how to fully utilize a GPS device provides one delightful surprise after another. In another post, Open Forum member Tempest shared sources for point of interest information (Wal-Mart locations, rest areas, truck stops, etc.) that can be downloaded to GPS devices. This stuff is way cool and worth exploring if you have not yet done so.

[arrbsthw]

I have downloaded the rest areas and Walmarts. Sure makes it
easy when u gotta go! Knowing where the next rest area is.. (don't have a built in potty ..u see) *lol*

[TeamCaffee]

Turtle that was our thoughts exactly when we listened to the interview as our carrier uses PC Miler and we could match routes with them. Sounds like we will stand back and watch to see what happens as we really have grown to trust our Lowrance iWay 500c and know what the "warts' are with her. The problem we are starting to see with the Lowrance is the mapping software has not been updated for over a year and we wonder how much longer this system will really be useful.

The PC Miler 430 GPS system will be updated yearly so that sounded really good when we go to replace our outdated system. We have found that that dash mounted GPS system is a no brainer and we would not like to run very far without one.

[LDB]

I'd be curious how expensive the updates to the 430 will be compared to updates by Garmin etc. I truly want a device like the 430 but only if it performs as well as my Streets and Trips. If it is no better than Copilot Truck it is unfit as far as quality of map data and reliability of routing instructions. I am admittedly very negative toward that product but only because it has earned that negativity with it's poor performance in actual use. Hopefully we'll get some detailed usage reports before too long.

[Turtle]

I'm negative towards it, as well, or at least very skeptical until I see otherwise. I was using TravRoute when it first came out, and used it for several versions (along with S&T and DeLorme), and TravRoute was just awful. I think at one point it was also called Door-to-Door, or it might have been TraveRoute Doot-to-Door, I can't remember. CoPilot is nothing more than TravRoute with updated maps, and they're still not accurate, and the routing software engine is really bad.

Garmin and TomTom are forever locked in court battles over the little nuances of their routing software, but that's mainly because they are constantly tweaking it to improve it. ALK doesn't do that, except for the flagship PC Miler product, which was in existence and was a completely separate product before they bought out whoever it was that was making TravRoute. They have simply kept CoPilot a separate product.

Now, the PC Miler 430, though, the truck routes, and being able to input vehicle weights and dimensions, that's huge, I'm tellin' ya. Huge. And they're gonna sell a lot of them because if it. And people are gonna be confused when the 430's miles don't match up with the load offers, which were figured with PC Miler. But the fact that it will NOT route you over truck restricted routes, and will inform you of when you are on one and aren't supposed to be there, that's a very valuable thing.

Since all mapping and routing software has flaws, the question becomes is the truck-specific features of the 430 gonna outweigh it's other mapping and routing flaws, and can people just deal with it the same as they deal with the flaws of S&T or a Garmin?

As silly as it sounds, the best option may very well be a Garmin and a 430 sitting right there on the dash next to each other, using the Garmin for more accurate routing, and the 430 to be aware of truck and restricted routes.

If they'd just put the full blown PC Miler in a standalone hardware unit and price it at a grand, they'd sell a snotload of them.

But like Leo said, if they could just get the 430 to perform up to the level of Streets and Trips, that would be huge, and Streets and Trips is itself a huge compromise with resepct to PC Miler|Streets.

In any event, I'd want to wait a generation or two before I'd jump on a 430. I have a feeling that we're going to see some major changes in standalone GPS units in the next couple of years. The newest Garmins have free traffic, but it's location-based ad-supported (fortunately, it's not intrusive or distracting). The competition from cell phones and smart phones and the ability to use Google maps (which are updated daily, not annually) and the fact that these other providers can now license the same NavTeq and TeleAtlas mapping data that Garmin and TomTom (and Mapquest and Streets and Trips) use, and can seamlessly overlap them with Google maps, means the current method of standalone GPS units and mapping updates will soon be no more. At the very least well see things like Garmin units updating their maps over the air via WiFi or something. Garmin will have no choice but to abandon the current cash cow revenue stream of updated maps in favor of cheaper units with more features that people replace more often.

[Tennesseahawk]

As silly as it sounds, the best option may very well be a Garmin and a 430 sitting right there on the dash next to each other, using the Garmin for more accurate routing, and the 430 to be aware of truck and restricted routes.

Funny, Turtle. I had the exact same thought a mere second before reading this paragraph. It seems that ppl use gps AND a computer program, this would only be logical to do... two gps units next to each other. Of course turning the precise one off until close would probably be a good idea. Or at least the voice. One thing I couldn't stand would be two women trying to talk over each other. I get that enough of that at home. LOL

Until they come out with the Skoti Transporter 3000, this may be the way I'm going.

[Scott101]

Funny, Turtle. I had the exact same thought a mere second before reading this paragraph. It seems that ppl use gps AND a computer program, this would only be logical to do... two gps units next to each other.

Shucks. I hate to think people would limit themselves to 2 units.

I kind of like the idea of 6 gps units and a compass built into the mirror for good measure

[Jefferson3000]

Aww, come on! Why a compass in the mirror, when you can get one of the compass balls at Wal-Mart that stick to your windshield.

I actually recently bought a Mio550 Travel Companion. It's a full-fledged PDA that has a built-in GPS receiver and comes with a halfway decent software package. I don't plan on using the MioMaps for long though, as ALK has the new version 7.0 of the CoPilot Truck for Pocket PC out. PDA costs 150 on Amazon. Software costs about 249 from ALK. New version has full touchscreen capability and is what you will get with their new in-dash device. I tried to find it myself this week, after reading the ever popular TA ads placed intelligently in the men's room so as to be read by most every visitor.

I would like to see a review, since it is a new version of software. Also, I would like to know how good the hardware being marketed really is.

[TeamCaffee]

Well we bit the bullet and bought the PC * Miler Navigator 430. We will be comparing the unit to a Lowrance iWay 500 dash mounted GPS and Streets & Trips PC software. We have enough to compare to that we should be able to do a pretty good test on the unit.

[mjolnir131]

i don't think i could get rid of S&T though i would miss saying right frog when it tells you to bear left.

[TeamCaffee]

We do not use the S & T while going down the road we just use it as a reference and also to keep track of where we have picked up and delivered loads. We do not plan on getting rid of the Lowrance before we do are satisfied with the 430.

[DILLYMAN]

I bought this PC Miler Navigator 430 and I put it to test last week when I came home.I got off an exit where I new I can't turn right with my truck because it's a 5 Tons vehicle limit road.The Navigator sucked because it told me to turn right on a restricted route and so far I considere it just a GPS unit not a truck GPS.My frustration came when I called technical support and after an hour of holding they asked me where was the restricted route so that the engineers would update their maps.I asked the guy I talked to what's going on with their "truck GPS" and what if I go to NY and the GPS will take me to a low bridge.He didn't answered but in my mind I said that if this will happend I will sue them so they don't advertide the Navigator as a truck GPS.