In Car GPS question

[MuleShack]

A friend of mine runs deliveries each day and the route can vary from day to day.

She is looking for a GPS for the truck but was looking for one that you can load a route into with out having to key each address in.

The route would come out of a database, so it can be formatted in any fashion. Looking to be able to load a text file into GPS and then use that as a delivery route for the driver. IS THIS POSSIBLE in any unit?

It would take too much time to do it via software (I believe) although I have never used it in this fashion...so loading a file would be quicker.

Also wondering if any IN CAR GPS offers tracking like the boat models? This way she could see the actual path the delivery driver was taking each day.

Thanks

[LwnmwnMan2]

A friend of mine runs deliveries each day and the route can vary from day to day.

She is looking for a GPS for the truck but was looking for one that you can load a route into with out having to key each address in.

The route would come out of a database, so it can be formatted in any fashion. Looking to be able to load a text file into GPS and then use that as a delivery route for the driver. IS THIS POSSIBLE in any unit?

It would take too much time to do it via software (I believe) although I have never used it in this fashion...so loading a file would be quicker.

Also wondering if any IN CAR GPS offers tracking like the boat models? This way she could see the actual path the delivery driver was taking each day.

Thanks

I don't think it's possible. All of the GPS units I know, you have to enter the address.

One thing that you could check, is a route manager. My buddy that mows 70-90 foreclosures / week, the list changes from week to week depending on what sells, what gets foreclosed, what stays on the list, etc.

He gets the list at the beginning of the week, and then enters it into the software. The software then tells him the best possible route between all of the stops.

From there he has to enter each stop into the GPS.

As for a tracker, there are multiple companies that offer that service. I know of guys that have trackers in their tractors so they can tell which lot each employee is snowplowing and where they are on any given lot at any given time.

[MuleShack]

Yea, after posting, I spend a while scouring the major manufacturers sites trying to find something similar. I could not find anything that allowed you to upload a file.

I believe TomTOm had something for fleet trucks where you could see the truck in real time from the office and plug in route info from the office PC and it would get relayed to the GPS in the truck. Unit was $600 and you had to subscribe to a service which they didn't list the monthly price on that.

The next best option both price wise and efficiency wise is the voice recognition GPS from Garmin. They have younger kids do the delivery and the delivery report is listed in order. This way the driver only has to say "Navigate to" and speak the address to the machine so it is hands free. I suppose this is the route they will have to take.

As far as tracking goes, I found a quality unit that actually plugs in to the computer port under the dash so it is kind of hidden and doesn't require an power hookup. It is $200 and $16/mo for tracking service which can be viewed on PC or smart phone live.

[CAMAN]

Google "Roadnet Anywhere", I believe it is exactly what you are looking for.

[MuleShack]

Thanks Caman,

They do offer the convenience of uploading a csv file for the next days route which is what i was looking for.

However it didn't mention how the driver gets the information in the truck...so dont know if it goes to a GPS screen or what. Also says something about tracking but only supports Sprint and AT&T and only about 6 different phones.

Being it doesn't list a pricing system, I'm guessing it isn't going to be cheap. Right now she only has 1 truck that the kid does deliveries/pick up's in the afternoon so anything that too costly she probably wouldn't go for.

I will contact them to see what the entry level costs are.

Thanks

[Whoaru99]

DISCLAIMER: Haven't personally tried this yet, sooo... caveat emptor (but it's the direction I'm headed).

I'd think you'd be able to do it with a GPS that supports multi/multiple destination routing. Once you have a GPS that does that (which doesn't seem too hard to find) then I think it is "only" a matter of converting the csv file into something that the GPS will accept, like a gpx file. There seems to be converters for this but, again, I haven't personally tried it on a newer GPS unit.

Magellan multi destination routing simple example shown, if you can import those CSVs to the address book then I think it would be along the lines of what you're looking for. Not endorsing (or dissing) Magellan, just happened to be an example I found quickly.

In any case, researching "multi destination routing" I think will be your key, along with a conversion program, perhaps GPSBabel.

[MuleShack]

Thanks

I just sent them an email asking some questions and see what they have to say in response.

[MuleShack]

Google "Roadnet Anywhere", I believe it is exactly what you are looking for.

I contacted these folks via their web site last night. Today i got an email stating how much they could save me in fuel costs and every other thing you could imagine that they could save me money with.

I emailed them back stating how about you answer my original question on how much is the initial cost and what is the recurring costs involved.

The reply was he couldn't answer my question, he would have to get the regional manager to contact me.

That was all i needed to know with them. If they are not going to be upfront with the cost and pump out their propaganda, then more than likely it was going to be too expensive.

[MuleShack]

Magellan multi destination routing simple example shown, if you can import those CSVs to the address book then I think it would be along the lines of what you're looking for. Not endorsing (or dissing) Magellan, just happened to be an example I found quickly.

In any case, researching "multi destination routing" I think will be your key, along with a conversion program, perhaps GPSBabel.

I also contacted Magellan in regards to this technology with their units. They are capable of creating a 20 stop route and able to store it on the unit. However the rep that emailed me said it was not possible to upload a file to the unit.

[CAMAN]

I contacted these folks via their web site last night. Today i got an email stating how much they could save me in fuel costs and every other thing you could imagine that they could save me money with.

I emailed them back stating how about you answer my original question on how much is the initial cost and what is the recurring costs involved.

The reply was he couldn't answer my question, he would have to get the regional manager to contact me.

That was all i needed to know with them. If they are not going to be upfront with the cost and pump out their propaganda, then more than likely it was going to be too expensive.

That sucks, I hate those companies also. Just tell me the price or "estimate" if needed, don't give me the same advertisement I just read on your HSOforum.

Well if you ever do get a quote out of them please be sure to post it, I'm curious what the costs would be.

[Whoaru99]

I also contacted Magellan in regards to this technology with their units. They are capable of creating a 20 stop route and able to store it on the unit. However the rep that emailed me said it was not possible to upload a file to the unit.

It's hard to know how to take that. I'd certainly believe that a file to lay out out complete route, per se, just running directly from that couldn't be uploaded but I have a hard time believing that a group of waypoints couldn't be uploaded then a route made from them on the GPS.

Hmmm...maybe have a look at Garmin.

[MuleShack]

This is the response I received from them today. I didn't question changing a file format to something that matches their technology. I simply asked if I could take my .csv file and upload it to the unit. I figured if it was possible, they may elaborate on the concept.

You are probably correct, as long as you can tap into the directory structure of the unit and find out which file holds the route data and then format the new file in the same way in theory it should work. The key is how secure they have the operating system tied down I guess.

Thanks for contacting us at Magellan Technical Support. As I understand, you are asking how many multiple destination can you create and if the Magellan unit can creat a CSV list to create a multiple destination quicker that usual. I apologize for the inconvenience. No worries, I'll be happy to help.

I like to confirm what is the model and serial number of your GPS. The serial numbers will be the 13-digit numbers located at the bottom of the GPS or at the back.

You can create up to 20 multiple destination using your GPS, but we regret to inform you that you can't create a CSV file that the GPS can copy and create a multiple destination route. You have to manually create those destinations that you want. You can save it so that you can go back to your saved destination or edit that anytime.

I hope that I was able to help you. Please don't hesitate to email us back if we can be of any assistance.

Should you require further assistance about this or any other concerns with your Magellan unit, please visit our HSOforum and review our extensive Self Help Knowledgebase and FAQs under Support tab. (www.magellangps.com).

Thank you for choosing Magellan and have a wonderful day!

Sincerely Yours,

Eric AM20605

Magellan Technical Support

Email: [email protected]

[MuleShack]

I talked to my friend to day and she is probably going to just go with a 5" screen with a Garmin that has the speech recognition to verbally tell the unit the next address.

Also going with a gotrack on board gps live tracking piece that plugs into the computer port under the dash. $200 plus $16.60/month and is able to be live tracked on computer or smart phone. $400 covers both units and gets most of what she wanted.

[Whoaru99]

They only answered the question you asked and didn't expound on any other options. Many tech support operations work that way...answer what you asked. If they expounded on every possibility for every question they'd never get through all the incoming questions. Also, they have no way to know if you'd even care if there are other options so didn't spend the time on the assumption you might (or might not).