Finding a jobsite...

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Hey guys/gals,I'm curious as to others who have, on occasion, really gotten lost enroute to a jobsite because of poor directions. Last year I installed a Garmin GPS in my truck to "take" me to a jobsite in an area I was unfamiliar with. In my area, the vast expansion of new home & business construction has added a multitude of new roads and streets and sometimes directions can be a maze. Not to sound like a male chauvinist pig, forgive me ladies, women aren't the greatest giving specific directions. Since I tow a small enclosed trailer, getting lost can be a headache when you are looking for a place to turn around. The GPS is the best investment I made considering time and fuel lost without it trying to find a site or home. Just wondering how many others use this superb device.......DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Denney, I have a friend who is a crop consultant and he has been getting some contract work for us thru the state dept. of agriculture doing some work on irrigation pivots thru out the state.  We have the Garmin GPS in the truck, and all of the locations are given to us with a picture of the jobsite, and the two GPS coordinates.  I don't know how we could do it another way.  Especially since alot of times we will be working in unfamiliar territory.  Since I started using it, I don't know how I got by working out of town without it.  ~JacksonI'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:GPS is great if they give you and address and the software is up to date. Gps doesn't know the old Johnson place, where that place to used to be the barber shop is and it doesn't know when it just past the tree with a horse under it.
Reply:The mapping GPS units are pretty handy.  Give it a street address and it will calculate a turn-by-turn route to it for you.  Yes, there are limits for roads that are newer than the electronic maps, but all in all they are wonderful tools (and toys).Almost -any- GPS can be used to help you get to a set of coordinates.  Some units make it easier than others to do it this way.  The unit may or may not do the route calculation or turn-by-turn navigation for you.
Reply:When getting directions, I usually tell people not to give me street names if they an avoid it... Just give me the names of the bars and strip clubs where I need to turn. Usually have big signs, and if I get lost, there is ALWAYS someone that knows where the "Whiskey Chug" or where "Big Floppy's" is. Then again, this area is the next best to being in the middle of Manhattan. Doesn't work so well in the land of "Turn at the big rock that looks like a bear, the turn at the bear that looks like  a rock".
Reply:We install them in fire apparatus. The FD goes around town and "marks" the location of each hydrant. When enroute to a fire call, the GPS via the laptop shows the crew when they are approaching the most efficient hydrant. We also install many of them in police units so that the dispatch can track the cars in real time. For EMS units, we set them up with all hospitals, LZs (landing zones) and other medical points of interest.I use one in my own vehicle and on my quad and love it! Go spend $300 and get yourself one. Don't waste your money on TomTom or other new ones. Stay with Garmin or Magellin, as they have been  doing navigation systems for years and have more knowledge than the others.GPS is one of the greatest pieces of technology created. BTW, for those that are old enough to remember President Reagans "Star Wars" program...that was the creation of the GPS technology for our military. It wasn't lasers on the moon and on satellites like the conspiracy theorists said some 20 years ago. The project was named Star Wars since the moive was popular at the time and the GPS satellites were up "with the stars" and guided missiles and other devices used in war.
Reply:I have been wanting one for a long time.I have GPS on my cellphone but cancelled the $15/month bill a while ago because I wasn't using it.  Once I get my business back on track I will buy one for sure.
Reply:"It's the big pink house right on the corner, you can't miss it!"Yeah right!Been using a GPS in my truck since '96
Reply:I go 4-wheeling around here with a guy that has a GPS, he has essentially mapped out the trails where we like to go....No clue what his unit cost, as his company gives him all the cool stuff.
Reply:Yea, one other thing I like about my garmin is that when i am out of town working for a few days i can even pull up stores by types, restaurants, etc...  It really comes in handy, and to be honestly you would be suprised at just what all pops up on the one I have when driving such as landmarks etc....I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:I have one and I had taken it out of the car as they are tempting to some. My wife rang me and asked me to get something from a friends house on my way home "It's a terracotta place, you can't miss it." famous last words. Would have saved me some angst.