The TruckMate 702 is a versatile and accurate device. It not only provides reliable GPS and a rich feature set, it allows you to set boundaries on driver speed limits, stop times, and more, plus receive alerts if your limits are crossed or exceeded.
Features
The TruckMate 702 comes with a 7″ high-def touch screen offering a vibrant 800 x 480 pixel resolution. The screen graphics are top-notch, and the GPS is fast and accurate. One major benefit is access to maps covering the US and Canada. It comes with not only the current 2016-2017 maps, but free lifetime updates. These GPS-integrated maps include simple 2-D road maps, but also 3-D versions showing reliefs and even structures along the way.
While it will work just as well for most vehicles, it’s primarily designed for truckers. You can customize it with your vehicle’s height, weight, type of load, and more to locate low bridges and alternate routes. It can operate in several different languages for GPS navigation instructions. You can set and locate a variety of checkpoint types, including gas stations, truck stops, restaurants, and more.
Some very respectable technical features include 4 GB of fast Flash memory, 128 MB of RAM, and support for external SD cards from 2 GB to 38 GB capacities. It doesn’t come with a card, but it’s so robust in performance you may not need one. All this is controlled by an 800 MHz MTK CPU. Additional features include an ear phone jack, audio/visual playback, games, a calendar, and a calculator with unit conversions. They’ve pretty much thought of everything.
Design
It’s compactly sized at 1.5 pounds and 1.5 pounds and 10 x 6 x 4 inch dimensions. The strong lithium ion 1500MAH battery can operate for up to two hours on a single charge. There’s also a sleep mode to extend battery life. Charge times are surprisingly short. It comes with car charger, mounting bracket, windshield holder, USB cable, and a user’s manual to provide instructions and answers. Installation can be tricky for anyone who isn’t familiar with vehicle wiring, but even beginners can usually work it out in well under an hour. Downloadable online versions of the manual are also available in PDF format. It’s very rugged and well designed; it’s been known to survive head-on impacts in perfect working order.
You get constantly updated info on location, as well as travel history playback on the map display. The TruckMate GPS will record stop times and duration, emails or texting at excessive speeds, geographical boundary violations, and many more useful features. It’s one of the few that will even show the vehicle’s battery life to avoid needless breakdowns. The internal battery will keep the unit running even if a too-independent driver decides to unplug it.
Drawbacks
Regrettably, it doesn’t have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi device compatibility, but TruckMate states that those will be included in upcoming versions.
It could use some more customization options. For instance, there’s no obvious way to control screen brightness or disable some of the features you may not want. Installing the updates can also be tricky over certain devices, so you may want to check with the manufacturer first. They provide an excellent web interface and strong customer service. But you can also get different update plans, including a fast 30-second download version.
But altogether, the TruckMate 702 does everything it promises to do, and pretty well. It provides a lot of functionality and reliable performance at a reasonable price. You can get a great deal on TruckMate 702 here.