Garmin's first navigator designed for the trucking industry, the nuvi 465T brings a trucking-friendly set of features to Garmin's already excellent nuvi product line. If you drive a large vehicle, the 465T can navigate routes based on your truck's type, load, and physical restrictions. Even better, routing is customizable by height, weight, length, width, and hazardous materials.

The nuvi 465T also includes free lifetime traffic, Bluetooth wireless, speaks street names, and comes with a pre-loaded NTTS Breakdown Directory. When not driving a truck, the 465T can be put into standard vehicle mode, and functions as any other Garmin nuvi.

Installing the nuvi 465T In a Car or Truck

Unlike Garmin's other nuvi models, the trucking-friendly 465T comes with a mount that attaches to the dashboard rather than the windshield.Installing the 465T in a vehicle is still a simple process that takes only a few minutes, and doesn't require any professional wiring or installation. If you think you might be removing the mount, or might re-position it somewhere else in the vehicle, then it's probably advisable to use the Temporary Disk. If you're ready to commit to a permanent home for your 465T, then go ahead and use the Permanent Disk. Just keep in mind that once the Permanent Disk is applied, it is extremely difficult to remove it.

Remove the backing from one side of the adhesive disk.Place the adhesive mounting disk on the bottom of the mounting base. Next, remove the other side of the adhesive disk's backing. Ensure that the locking lever is in the unlocked position. Slide the Mounting Arm into the Mounting base until is clicks into position.Place the Mounting Base so that the locking lever is facing you, and apply pressure to adhere the base to the dashboard. Make sure the dashboard area is clean before attaching the mounting base.

Press down on the Mounting Base for a few seconds to let it bond to the surface of the dashboard. Put your other hand behind the mounting arm to offer some support, then press the cradle onto the tip of mounting arm until it snap into place. Connect the vehicle power adapter to an available 12v cigarette lighter socket.

The 465T's vehicle power adapter has a longer cable run than Garmin's other nuvi models. The longer cable is especially useful for truck configurations where the dashboard is far away from the 12v power socket(s). Plug the other end of the vehicle power adapter cable into the port on the rear of the 465T. Fit the bottom of the nuvi 465T into the cradle, and tilt the nuvi back (towards the windshield glass) until it snaps into place, as shown above.

Now that the nuvi 465T is properly docked to the dashboard mount, you can rotate the mounting arm, and/or tilt the GPS into the desired viewing angle. You'll hear a loud clicking when turning the mounting arm to the left or right. This is normal.

Once you've got the nuvi 465T angled to your liking, slide the locking lever on the Mounting Base all the way to the right. This locks the mounting arm into place, preventing it from rotating right or left. Even in the locked position, the GPS can still be angled. Only the Mounting Arm is locked. This is what the Mounting Base should look like when the locking lever is properly in the locked position. The nuvi 465T looks good mounted in the car or a larger vehicle. Notice that the FM traffic receiver is embedded in the power cable.

Compared to the windshield mounting hardware Garmin includes with the non-trucking specific nuvi models, the 465T's dashboard mount is equally simple and effective. My only complaints with the dashboard mount are that it's a passive mount (which means you have to connect the power cable to the GPS directly instead of letting the mount power the device), and that there's no way to conceal the fact that you've got a GPS in the car/truck. Windshield mounts can be easily removed, as can bean bag friction type mounts. The Mounting Base, by contrast, is stuck to the dashboard with an adhesive backing that is not easily removed, making it difficult to remove all traces of a GPS when parking the vehicle.

Setting-Up A Truck Profile

Whenever the nuvi 465T is powered on, a warning message is displayed that lets you know which mode the GPS is currently set to: Truck or Automobile. Agree to use the currently selected vehicle type, or switch to Truck/Automobile mode. Before you can use the nuvi 465T in Truck Mode, you need to configure at least one Truck Profile. You can create and save multiple profiles, but you'll need at least one so that the 465T will know what type of height, weight, and load restrictions to take into account when figuring out which roads to use.

You are automatically prompted to setup a Truck Profile the first time you try to use the 465T in Truck Mode.

A profile consists of the following attributes:
Width
Height
Length
Hazardous Material
Gross Weight
Weight per Axle
Number of Trailers
Truck Type

Hazardous Material Class can be set to any of the following pre-configured hazardous 
material types:
None (default)
Explosives
Compressed Gases
Flammable Liquids
Flammable Solids
Oxidizers
Poisons
Radioactive Materials
Corrosive Liquids
Miscellaneous

Once all the required profile settings have been entered, tap Save to save the profile and make it available for use. Review the Truck Profile settings. Tap Change if you need to change any of the settings, or OK to save it. Assign the saved truck profile a name that makes sense to you (this is more important if you plan on using multiple profiles). Once the Profile has been saved, it can be selected as the active profile when operating in Truck Mode. Tap the saved Profile to use it.

Navigating With the nuvi 465T

Power on the nuvi 465T, and within a few seconds the Main Menu appears:
GPS satellite strength (Tip: touching and holding this icon brings up a more detailed 
satellite page)
Bluetooth status
Vehicle Mode Icon (Truck or Automobile)
Battery status
Current time (Tap to change time settings)
Where to? - Tap to begin entering a destination
View Map
Volume
Tools menu

Let's take a closer look at the information displayed on the map:
Upcoming Turn Indicator - Displays the direction of the next turn, or lane guidance information when appropriate. Touch this icon to view the Next Turn page, or the Lane Assist page (if available).
Text Bar - This text bar displays the current navigation instruction. Tapping on this bar opens the turn list (a list of all up-coming turns)
Highlighted Route - The highlighted route is "painted", or marked, in magenta color
Zoom - Touch the plus or minus icon to zoom in and out on the map
Speed Limit - When available, the nuvi 465T displays the speed limit for the current road you are driving on
Vehicle icon - This customizable icon represents your vehicle on the map. Tapping on the vehicle icons allows you to save your current location (even if there's not a valid street address at your location)
Speed - Displays your current speed. Touch this icon to view the Trip Computer
Menu - Tap the Menu icon to return to the Menu page
Arrival - When navigating to a destination, this field displays the estimated time of arrival. When simply driving around, the direction of travel (North, West, etc.) is displayed.
Traffic - Displays traffic alerts that will impact your planned route. Touching this icon brings up the Traffic menu.
Truck Route Warning - This icon appears when traveling on a non-preferred truck route

The upcoming turn indicator (top left on the map screen) now displays lane guidance information, when available. Tapping this icon displays the Next Turn page, or Lane Assist page, shown below.

The Turn List is a list of all upcoming turns. The turn list can be viewed by tapping on the text bar (the horizontal green bar across the top of the Map Screen). Each turn can be selected to view a more detailed view of the turn, or the Lane Assist view if available.

Tapping on a turn displays a more detailed 2D rending of the maneuver. Tapping on Speed data field on the Map screen (left bubble on the information bar) brings up the trip information page, shown above. This screen displays a running counter of various statistics about the "trip", or since it was last reset.

A well designed map is essential for any turn-by-turn navigation system. Garmin's map is easy to read, uncluttered, functional, and automatically intelligently adapts to various driving conditions. The automatic zoom feature automatically adjusts the map's zoom level based on your speed and proximity to a given turn.

The nuvi 465T knows when trucks are prohibited on certain roads or highways, and alerts drivers if they're on a road they shouldn't be. When driving on a road that prohibits trucks, a large, red box appears over the map alerting the driver that trucks are not allowed on the road ahead, and to take the nearest exit. If you are navigating to a destination, the nuvi 465T automatically re-calculates a new route using the next exit as soon as you close the alert window. Garmin's map screen, shown above, is alerting the driver that there is a height restriction approaching. Specifically, in 8.9 miles there will be an overpass or bridge that is isn't tall enough to accommodate the truck's height (based on the height entered in the Truck Profile).

Additional alerts are also displayed in the lower-left corner. Tapping the alert icon displays more detailed information about the alert. When approaching a roadway that isn't tall enough for your vehicle's specific height, the above warning is automatically displayed.

Less severe caution alerts are displayed in the lower-left corner of the map screen, as shown above. Depending on the weight, length, and number of axles your truck has, the nuvi 465T may display caution warnings when approaching sharp curves.

Finding an Address

The nuvi 465T allows you to input a destination using a number of different methods. You can navigate to a street address, search for a specific business name, search for a Point of  Interest by category (restaurant, hotel, etc.), enter the intersection of two streets, navigate to a geo-coded photo, or even a set of coordinates.

The most common destination type, however, is a street address. To demonstrate the nuvi's address entry system, I'll enter an address in New York City: After powering on the nuvi 465T, the Main Menu screen appears, as shown above. Begin entering a street address by tapping "Where to?" from the Main Menu. After tapping on Where to? from the Main Menu, tap Address to begin entering a street address. The nuvi automatically defaults to use the State you are currently located in (Connecticut, in this case).

If your destination address is in a State other than your current location, tap Change State or Country. Otherwise, tap Spell City to continue. Use the on-screen keyboard to spell the name of the State your destination address is located in. Once enough letters have been entered, the nuvi automatically displays a list of States that match the letters you've entered. In this case, there's only one option to choose: New York. Tap the New York box to continue.

If you're not sure what city the destination is located in, sap Search All. If you know the correct city name, tap Spell City. I'm entering a destination address in New York City, so I type out N-E-W-space, and the nuvi 465T automatically produces a short list of matching City names to choose from.

Once enough letters have been entered that the nuvi can narrow the results to a short list of possible matches, the results list is automatically displayed. I'll choose "New York, NY to continue (the nuvi 465T would have also accepted "Manhattan"). Use the on-screen keypad to enter the house or building number of the destination address, then touch Done. I'm entering an address on "Central Park West" in New York City, so I start to spell out C-E-N-T-R-A-L...

When entering a street name, you only enter the main portion of the street name. For example, if you are looking for "North Main" street, you would only enter "Main" as the search criteria, and the GPS would product a list of matching street names that includes all variations of "Main Street", such as "South Main Street" and "North Main Street".

With the address fully entered into the 465T, the destination can be viewed on the map by tapping Map, saved to the address book by tapping Save, or the navigated to by pressing the large green Go! button.

The nuvi 465T also displays the route summary information next to the green Go! button. This information box displays after a approximately 2 seconds (it's an animated box that slides out to the left of the Go! button), and shows the total distance, and estimated drive time. Touch the green Go! button and the nuvi 465T begins navigating to the destination address.

Traffic

The nuvi 465T includes free traffic service for the life of the device. The catch? It's ad-based, which means advertisements will periodically appear while using the GPS. The good news is that's not nearly as bad as it sounds, and the ads aren't terribly distracting or annoying. Garmin seems to have struck an acceptable balance between advertising and convenience.

When calculating the route to a destination, the nuvi 465T evaluates current traffic conditions and automatically optimizes the route for the shortest time. If a severe traffic delay occurs on your route while driving to the destination, the nuvi 465T automatically recalculates a new route to avoid the problem.

When the nuvi 465T is receiving traffic data, the green traffic icon is displayed on the map. The appearance of this icon doesn't indicate a traffic problem, just that the 465T is receiving traffic signals and is within a coverage area.

Once the traffic receiver is connected to the 465T, traffic service is enabled and the GPS is ready to begin receiving alerts. Note that the 465T doesn't require a subscription or activation. Just connect the receiver and you're ready to go.

If a traffic alert is received that will impact the planned route, the traffic icon changes color to indicate the severity of the traffic conditions on your route:
Green = Traffic is flowing normally
Yellow = Traffic is slightly congested
Red = Traffic is heavily congested or stopped

The traffic icon also displays how much time the delay has added to the trip. Non-severe traffic alerts won't cause the nuvi to find an alternate route, but you can still see how much of a delay the traffic will cause.

Tapping the traffic icon on the Map brings up the Traffic menu, shown below. The Traffic page allows you to view traffic conditions the following ways:
Show Traffic Map - displays traffic conditions on the map. You can manually scroll around and see all traffic incidents on the map
Traffic Search - lists all traffic delays that have been received, sorted by distance from your current location
Traffic on Route - displays the traffic incidents along the current planned route

The nuvi 465T automatically attempts to avoid severe traffic when an alert is received. However, you can also manually avoid certain traffic conditions by touching Avoid on the details page for a given incident.

Touching Traffic Search displays a list of all traffic alerts that have been received, listed in order of closeness to your location. More details can be viewed for each incident by tapping on the alert. The Traffic on Route page displays the current traffic alerts that have been received along your planned route. Ads occasionally appeared on the Main Menu in a small, horizontal blue box across the top of the screen. They seemed to only appear once per use, when the unit was first powered on, and never appeared on the Main Menu again until the unit was powered off and on again.

Tapping on an ad initiates a POI search for the relevant business. In this case, tapping on the Wells Fargo ad causes the nuvi to search for nearby Wells Fargo banks. Ads can also show up during a POI search, and are contextual based on the type of POI you're searching for. 
For example, when searching for a hotel, the nuvi displayed an ad for Ramada hotels.Touching the Ramada ad displays a list of nearby Ramada hotels On occasion, the nuvi 465T displays coupon ads for discounts at nearby businesses. For example, while I was driving near a BP gas station, an ad for BP appeared on the map screen. Touching the ad brought up the coupon details screen, shown above. Touching the area inside the dotted line searches for nearby BP gas stations.

Where Am I? and Saving Your Current Position

Tapping on the vehicle icon on the map brings up Garmin's updated "Where Am I" screen, shown below. This is a great feature that provides one-touch access to your current street address (or closest valid street address), nearest intersection, and exact coordinates, and makes it easy to save your current location into the address book. Garmin's well designed location screen also provides one-touch access to find nearby hospitals, police stations, and gas stations. Tapping Save Location Saving your current location adds the current position to the nuvi's Address Book, and allows you to assign a name to the location.

The Where Am I page can also be accessed by tapping Main Menu > Tools > Where Am I?

Conclusion  

Until recently, trucking-friendly GPS options were pretty slim. There were a small handful of products supposedly aimed at truck drivers, none of which were very good. Thankfully, the 465T brings Garmin's best in class GPS navigation and ease of use to the specialized needs of truck drivers. Trucking isn't just an afterthought slapped on at the last minute; everything about the 465T reflects the well thought out needs of a truck driver.

The 465T comes preloaded with an NTTS Breakdown Directory (National Truck and Trailer Service) for the 48 states. This specialized POI database lets you easily find nearby trucking related points of interest, such as certified semi-truck repair shops, and 24-hour road service.

The nuvi 465T can be set to either Automobile or Truck modes. When operating in Automobile mode, the nuvi 465T functions identically to Garmin's other nuvi models, though it lacks some of the features found on Garmin's higher-end nuvi 7x5 and 8x5 models, such as 3D lane guidance, 3D buildings and landmarks, faster map scrolling. Garmin nuvi devices are intuitive and easy to use, and the 465T is no exception.

Set the 465T to Truck mode, and the the vehicle icon on the map automatically changes from a
sedan to a semi-truck. More importantly, the 465T will now use specialized routing to support truck-related restrictions based on the truck attributes setup in your profile, including the specific height, weight, length, width, and hazardous materials load restrictions. Spend a few minutes setting up your vehicle's profile information, and the nuvi 465T creates custom routes tailored to the size of your truck, as well as the load you're hauling.

When navigating in Truck mode, special alerts notify the driver of certain truck-related hazards. For example, if you're approaching a tunnel that isn't tall enough for your truck, the 465T will flash a large, red, alert warning you to take the next exit, and will automatically find an alternate route. Alerts are also displayed when approaching sharp curves, steep grades, lateral wind warnings, and when the road narrows.

The 465T includes free lifetime traffic service using the integrated FM traffic receiver (it's built into the 12v power adapter). If the 465T receives an alert for a traffic or construction delay that will impact your planned route, the GPS can be set to automatically calculate a new route that avoids the problem area.

Bluetooth for hands-free calling is also included. When paired with a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone, the 465T can be used to place and receive phone calls, and as a hands-free speakerphone. Navigation audio prompts are automatically suppressed during a phone call.

Unlike Garmin's other nuvi models, the truck-centric 465T comes with a dash mount instead of  a windshield mount. The dash mount is well constructed and easy to use, and is probably a better fit for truckers than a traditional windshield mount. Truckers will also welcome the extra long power cable that ships with the 465T, making it easy to connect the GPS to a 12v socket that might be some distance from the device.

Overall there's not much to complain about on the nuvi 465T. Some might argue that the 4.3-inch display could be larger, especially given the 465T's truck focus. the lack of 3D lane guidance is disappointing, as is the omission of Garmin's handy ecoRoute -- a feature that seems especially well suited to professional truck drivers. The flimsy internal speaker is also underpowered -- especially when used in a truck cabin.

A few minor quibbles aside, the Garmin nuvi 465T is an excellent GPS for the car, and a superior truck-friendly navigator that's unmatched in terms of features and ease of use. The nuvi 465T brings Garmin's best of breed navigation experience and ease of use to the trucking community.