Time for a new GPS

BobGed wrote:
I tested the Rand McNally 7735 and Garmin RV 760 side by side on a round trip from Carson City, NV, to Red Bay, AL, via two routes. One eastbound and a different one westbound.

The 7735 had a couple of minor routing flaws, for example after fueling at a station just off the interstate it would direct me to take the eastbound on ramp when I was heading westbound.

The RV 760 on the other hand gave me some really bizarre routing instructions. In one case the instructions would have taken me 115 miles out of my way, and the other would have taken me 65 miles. The 7735 was right on with its instructions.

There is a RV 760 Yahoo Group, and when I detailed my routing situation, I was advised there is a known issue with the RV 760 ignoring some perfectly acceptable non-interstate highways, and the fix was to change my RV profile weight to 5,000 lbs, and it would route correctly.

Needless to say the RV 760 is out of my 15+ ton motorhome and now resides in one of my other personal 2 ton vehicles that didn't come equipped with GPS or BT phone. It works fine in automobile mode. I'm just glad I only paid $250 for it when Garmin screwed up on their initial release.

Rand McNally has been releasing software updates over the past few months that have added or improved existing features.

For those that own a Rand McNally unit, they have just released a software update.

ncrowley wrote:
I use the Garmin RV 760 and I love the large screen. I have not had any issues with it but as with any GPS, I know the route I should be taking before I head out. I really like that it shows me which lane I should be in for exits. It gives me plenty of time to move into the proper lane.

x2 ! Love my RV760LMT. It hasn't steered me wrong yet! But if you wholly rely on a GPS to get you where you are going, you seriously need to reconsider your travel plans.

I use the Garmin RV 760 and I love the large screen. I have not had any issues with it but as with any GPS, I know the route I should be taking before I head out. I really like that it shows me which lane I should be in for exits. It gives me plenty of time to move into the proper lane.

I upgraded from the Good Sams Rand McNally 7725 to the 7735. The first one I received I had problems with the keyboard. I called Camping World and they sent me a new one. This one worked fine. I like it because I can go online change the route to what I want and then download it to the gps. The others do not really offer this feature. When you do the route online you can change to satellite mode and make sure you are going to the right location. My other gps have taken me to wrong locations in the past.

It also has good junctions views. That was the main reason I did not like the 7725. Did not really tell you what lane you should be in. This new one has worked great.

Just FYI....

CoPilot GPS. $24.95 max on the istore, less on android.

Has RV / truck mode.
Has all ondevice mapping, internet connection not required to use it.
Full turn by turn directions.
On device POI's less than ideal, google search available if you have an internet connection, that is less than ideal too. Mostly you get hits to nearby state farm insurance offices... lol.

Still WAY better than a $500 does nothing else ever hardware solution.

I put my iPad mini in a Bluetooth "keyboard case" and vecroed it to the steering wheel... nuf said.

I'm still using a Garmin StreetPilot III . . . . .




and I like it!

I'm sure the more modern GPS's work well with all their features and fancy graphics but mostly I want to know where I am along the route.

If I'm looking for restaurants ahead I pull out the smartphone (Garmin database is a little "dated") and use Google Maps. Same for traffic congestion. Same for weather. Same for fuel prices, except using Gas Buddy.

StreetPilot III - free (someone else was upgrading)
LG G2 Smartphone - $40 (deal with 2 yr plan)

Not saying old & trusty is the way to go, it just works for me. And it moves to the auto in a heartbeat.

Best,
- bob

Been there, done that.

GPS search in heading in technology

I have a tablet PC and loaded Delorme SW on it.
The screen is large, and I can plug a keyboard and mouse into it for programming each trip.
The GPS cable sits on the dash and plugs into the usb port on the tablet.

Works great.

I tested the Rand McNally 7735 and Garmin RV 760 side by side on a round trip from Carson City, NV, to Red Bay, AL, via two routes. One eastbound and a different one westbound.

The 7735 had a couple of minor routing flaws, for example after fueling at a station just off the interstate it would direct me to take the eastbound on ramp when I was heading westbound.

The RV 760 on the other hand gave me some really bizarre routing instructions. In one case the instructions would have taken me 115 miles out of my way, and the other would have taken me 65 miles. The 7735 was right on with its instructions.

There is a RV 760 Yahoo Group, and when I detailed my routing situation, I was advised there is a known issue with the RV 760 ignoring some perfectly acceptable non-interstate highways, and the fix was to change my RV profile weight to 5,000 lbs, and it would route correctly.

Needless to say the RV 760 is out of my 15+ ton motorhome and now resides in one of my other personal 2 ton vehicles that didn't come equipped with GPS or BT phone. It works fine in automobile mode. I'm just glad I only paid $250 for it when Garmin screwed up on their initial release.

Rand McNally has been releasing software updates over the past few months that have added or improved existing features.

We bought one of those on our first out west trip with our Bounder. The McNalley Rand lasted less than 10 days before it quit. Bought the Magellan, it last about 2 weeks.
We then bought the Garmin RV 760 and never had a glitch since. Map updates depend on speed of the server you have and the memory of the Garmin. We put a 32MB one in ours and have had no issues with updates.