Mile High
Denver, CO
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Joined: 02/05/2008
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One of my biggest concerns with towing a fifth wheel is the height. I'm at 13' 3", just enough to get into trouble. We are taller than most semi-trailers.
I found this in my West Marine catalog - a Nuvi for truckers (465T) that lets you input length and height and it gives you warnings and picks routes that you can actually fit on. Does anybody have one of these?
2006 Ford F350 4X4 SB CC SRW Powerstroke 6.0
2007 Montana 3400RL 5th Wheel - high gloss, electric awning, remote system, Onan 5500, G614, JT Stabs, wet bolts, Sat Dome, Ariston W/D, 5th Airborne.
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MNRick
Crosslake, MN
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Joined: 11/30/2003
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Good question but, I should point out most dry van or reefer trailers are 13'6" but you are close. I least expensive option is to go to a truck stop and purchase a truckers atlas for about $20-$50 depending on which one you buy. Then look in the front and you will find a state by state listing for restricted routes and low clearance routes (low clearance is considered anything lower than 13'6") you will not find too many low bridges but they are out there.
There other much more expensive option, as you know, is to purchase a big truck specific gps. They typically sell for $300-$500 and will alert you to low clearance situations. They will also route you for trucker specific routes. Overkill for your needs.
In addition to being rv'ers both my wife and myself and our son are in the trucking business. We all drive big trucks pulling 53' dry vans and we have "cheap" gps's in our trucks. Mine is a $150 Tom Tom and it works fine. Before taking a run in unfamilier areas we always consult the trkr atlas and check for low clearance and restricted routes. This has always worked well plus we did not have to spend the extra money.
Hope this helps
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rick83864
North Idaho
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Joined: 09/04/2009
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Never seen one Brad, how much are they? I'm the same height and have had to drive in the center of a tunnel more than once. A detour because of a accident on the Oregon Washington border. Nothing like seeing that warning sign TUNNEL HEIGHT 12 FEET
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buehl
PA
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Joined: 06/13/2008
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I’m just shy of 13’. I did a very detailed study of the top 8 Garmin nuvi models. Made a spread sheet with all the specs. Spent hours reading all the reviews on GPS Magazine.com, Cnet & Amazon. Although the 465T has the ability to enter your vehicles specs the best price I could find was $350. With all the research I decided on the 765T. I then went to the POI Factory & downloaded the low clearance POI plus Flying J file & a POI for all the rest stops & welcome ctrs across the nation. Set my proximity alert for 5 miles. The 765T was only $180 @ Amazon. I’m totally happy with the 765T. It’s loud & clear and you can download custome routes that you 1st plan out on your PC. I’ve had it for 3 months using it in my car until camping season but haven’t had a problem with it yet. Haven’t had it alert me to any low bridges yet but I don’t think I’ve gone under any. I would say the only negative would be the traffic alert does not pop up until your right on top of the backup. With the money I save over the 465T I was able to go out & buy two BAL Deluxe Chocks.
I must say I used to drive tractor trailer at one time & there’s no excuse for not doing a thorough pre trip plan of your route. Computers are only as smart as the person programming them. No one but the driver is responsible for hitting an underpass.
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jimnbubba
Mesa AZ
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Joined: 08/12/2006
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rick83864 wrote:Never seen one Brad, how much are they? I'm the same height and have had to drive in the center of a tunnel more than once. A detour because of a accident on the Oregon Washington border. Nothing like seeing that warning sign TUNNEL HEIGHT 12 FEET I believe your talking Wa 14 along the Columbia river,I've drove Semis thru there and yes you kinda want to stay in the middle,most tunnels are measured on the side where the wall goes straight down.
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Virgil_Diesel
Santa Clara, CA
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Joined: 04/02/2006
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Maybe write an iPhone app and sell it for $9.99 since i has a built GPS then integrate that with Google maps. Create a field where you enter rig height and if its lower that the value you enter, you'll get an alert.
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foosh1
Annapolis MD
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Joined: 11/19/2009
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Virgil_Diesel wrote:Maybe write an iPhone app and sell it for $9.99 since i has a built GPS then integrate that with Google maps. Create a field where you enter rig height and if its lower that the value you enter, you'll get an alert.
There already is one called "CoPilot," which is also sold as a software for laptops. The iPhone app costs $34, and it includes an "RV Mode" with the same trucker height restrictions, etc, and allows you to enter your height.
It's my primary RV navigator, and the screen/interface is almost identical to the Garmin Nuvi. It's a bargain considering the Garmin 465T currently retails for $499, and there are no significant discounts available at the present time.
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rick83864
North Idaho
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Joined: 09/04/2009
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jimnbubba wrote:rick83864 wrote:Never seen one Brad, how much are they? I'm the same height and have had to drive in the center of a tunnel more than once. A detour because of a accident on the Oregon Washington border. Nothing like seeing that warning sign TUNNEL HEIGHT 12 FEET I believe your talking Wa 14 along the Columbia river,I've drove Semis thru there and yes you kinda want to stay in the middle,most tunnels are measured on the side where the wall goes straight down.
Yeah that was it. Bad accident on the Oregon side detoured all WB traffic across the river. I had a line of cars behind me too and nowhere to pull over let alone making a u turn.
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DonPd
Crawfordville, Florida
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You can purchase any GPS and load clearance information. I have a garmin and load Points of Interest that can be downloaded or created. I have used this site. I get the text files convert them into a excel file and load.
Map Overlays
Here is another site
POI Factory
One for Garmin
Garmin POI
2005 Dodge Ram 2500 Diesel, Automatic, Quad Cab, Shortbed.
2006 34' Mountaineer 328RLS, 5th Wheel Trailer.
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richfaa
Ohio
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Joined: 04/24/2005
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Brad. We have our eye on that Garmin 465T. We will we buying one... The best price we found so far is Amazon 352.00. Saw a reconditioned one for 319.00 forget where. The retail price from the garmin website is 499.99. Circuit city advertises them at 359.99.
We have been using Garmin products for several years. We used them in the FAA and we were impressed with their technology and being user friendly.
06 Montana 3400. 08 Ford F-350 6.4L
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