Leaving on long trip, best GPS

I use Delorme to plan my trip, but check it with the CoPilot app on my tablet. The CoPilot app has motorhome settings to keep you from going under bridges that are too low and also avoid going on parkways that don't allow large/commercial vehicles.

I have a Rand McNally 7730 with a 7 inch screen, which is the same as the Good Sam RM 7735. The length, height, and weight for the RV or RV plus tow or towed vehicle can be set. The GPS will then route you away from low tunnels and bridges. It can be set to avoid small roads and dirt roads. There are lots of other settings for warnings about going over the speed limit, approaching sharp curves, construction zones, etc. I travel by myself; the cat is no good about reading maps and handling a smart phone or tablet, so I appreciate the step by step directions and visual showing which lane to get in for exits and interchanges. Also the motor home speedometer is hard to see it some lighting so I find myself using the GPS speed indicator – easier to see.

I am very happy with this GPS and now that I am used to it, I find it easier to use than the Garmin in my car. There is a learning curve though, it takes a while.

Currently we use apps on our phone but since we are in flat Florida with not many low clearances to worry about. We are heading into areas we are unfamiliar with and though we needed a GPS but maybe the phone apps we currently use will be good enough. I always route on a paper map as well. Thanks for the great advice, much appreciated!

With Google Maps you can download the area you will be traveling and it is stored locally. Even with no cellular service, as long as you have a GPS signal the routine will continue uninterrupted. Even if you don't do that, Google Maps automatically downloads your entire trip in small segments so losing cellular for a period of time would also have no effect on your routing.
I still think the real time traffic is the best reason to use Google instead (or as a supplement to) any stand-alone GPS. We were recently traveling from VA to AL and there was construction ahead. There was no help available (or even a notice from our GPS with the traffic option) but my Google Maps said I could exit here, go a couple miles out of my way and save 30 minutes by going around. It worked perfectly as we could see the traffic on the Interstate at a stand-still.
I also drive UBER when I am bored and have watched it change routine in just a matter of 30 minutes or so of a major slow down. Yesterday on the I69 corridor N. of Houston I made a run to the airport and the 3 left lanes were closed due to construction. It was early and traffic was not too bad, as I returned from the airport traffic was backed up for miles. I made a return trip to the airport letting the riders know I was going to take a detour to avoid this traffic and I found that Google Maps had already made the detour change to save us from the traffic jam ahead. This all happened in just about an hour.

gbopp x 2. I have a Garmin zummo 660. Lately it has been messed up and taking me off track. I paid $50.00 for the map update but that still didn't fix it. I have also gone on line for updates. I recently mapped out a route to a simple destination and then watched where it wanted to take me. It made 3 errors with things like taking me off on an exit and right back on. Another error would have me going west on 10 from Sam Houston 8 and then telling me to go back east.

Problems like this obviously are not acceptable when pulling a FW, and on top of it I will now be pulling double at 63 feet!!!!! I'm not blaming all gps units but the bottom line is you still need to know where you are going. I'll be doing my research before I break camp and writing my directions down then use the gps as an additional helper. It is excellent for locating gas and food on the fly.

Last winter it took me off the Natchez Trace and down a dirt road that turned into one lane dirt rd and up a hill that was 4x4 territory and luckily ended up at girl scout camp with a large turn around. I dont usually go down roads like that unless I have scouted them on Google earth and street view. I no longer trust this thing. Just think of it this way, pretend it broke in the middle of your days travel so now what are you going to do? Well....do that before you leave and take the dummy along to maybe help out with lunch and fuel. :) Same issue with a cell phone if you lose signal. Yes, signal loss is common for us even with Verizon.

I use a GPS to find the closest restaurant or grocery store or whatever but I look at a map in the morning and know where I am going.

I have the Garmin GPS in front of me and the DW has her TomTom GPS for her use. Since they both use a different database, we are able to sort out any discrepancies. The various PC programs only use one database source which may or may not be correct.
Just be sure to set it up the way you want to travel. If you want to avoid toll roads, major highways, shortest route or quickest route, most GPS units will allow you to set up your preferences.
All of our GPS units have also allowed several different routes to get to the same destination. Just pick the one that suits your travel plans. Keep in mind that if you chose the "shortest route" it will take you down some roads that you really do not want to travel on.
Be smart and review the route BEFORE you start driving it.

You likely already have the best GPS built right into your smart phone. Now that Google Maps has purchased WAZE, the real time traffic is the best I have ever seen and the routing is every bit as good as any stand-alone Garmin I have ever owned. I use one of the most recent Garmin releases in when traveling in the RV but I then turn on my Google Maps when I am getting close to the destination as I know that Google will do a better job of getting me through those last few miles.
If you are needing more than just routing information like campgrounds and food stops, this information is all going to be out-of-date even on the most current GPS with the most current software update. The GPS database simply cannot store enough to compare with what can be handled using the internet for your searches. For campgrounds I like RvParky.com (there's an app as well) and you can use RvParkReviews.com to see what others think about that choice. I also use Google Earth (A LOT!) to see what the park actually looks like both from above and from a street view. You would be surprised at what the campground says about itself and then what the camera shows.
Save your money on the GPS purchase (as always, my opinion). If you like a larger display then a small android based tablet will give you the same thing with a larger screen.

My must have feature is Lane Assist. Different makers call it different things, but it's the feature that shows you which lane to be in as you approach complex interchanges. It's been on the last two in dash systems I bought and it's great.

I use my I phone with the Waze app.
I have never been routed to a low bridge.