GPS specific for RV's

I have the Rand McNally app for the iPad. I cannot recommend this. It sent me through a busy business/strip mall in Tuscon only to send me to a NO LEFT TURN intersection to turn left at. Going past the intersection left me no opportunities to U-Turn and to smaller and smaller roads. I ended up unhooking the towed and turning around in a small housing community. Then I find out that there was a direct RV-friendly route straight to my CG from the HWY that I was on originally if we would have stayed on it 8 more miles. The app also thinks I am "off-roading" it quite a bit during a highway trek. If I have to use a mapping unit plus a GPS... the GPS is not worth it to me. These aren't isolated events. All too often it sent me on routes that aren't RV-friendly and I feel that I need to always back up this app with other mapping programs in order to verify that we won't be stranded without options.

GoPackGo wrote:

1775 wrote:
CoPilot app is made for IOS and Android. For ten dollars it does everything the standalone GPS units do and has RV Mode for routing around low clearances and propane restricted roads, bridges, and tunnels. Lifetime free maps. No need for a data connection as all maps are stored on the phone or tablet's memory. There is traffic routing which does require a data connection (uses very little data) and this is free the first year and costs $10 a year after that by subscription.

I think this is all great stuff but for starters, you're talking about a very small phone screen vs a 7 inch full featured GPS. For a few short trips in the summer it would probably be ok, but once you use one of the dedicated RV GPSs, like my RM 7720, I think you'll see the advantages.

There's a reason these GPSs have large screens. It's easy to glance at them and get the whole picture. My 7720 has all kinds of info on the main screen. And additional info is just a tap away.

You can install CoPilot on a tablet with any size screen you want - even 10.1". So screen size is only limited by the device you have to run CoPilot on. I can duplicate a Rand 7720 with a $60 seven inch Android tablet and $10 CoPilot, total $70 as opposed to a $300-400 Rand GPS. And all the info is right there on the screen along with the map, the route, and selected POIs.

Two years ago I bought a Rand McNally RV GPS and had it route me from my home out of state. The first part of its route was onto a highway with a height clearance allowance of 7'10" with the Rand set to route no lower than 13 feet. Of course, I did not follow that route - and the Rand was returned for refund the next day. When I contacted Rand McNally they told me that they can't know about all of the low clearance roads - this one is a major route in NY and is listed as low clearance in their paper trucker's atlas. CoPilot routed correctly.

Question on the CoPilot; Do you have your data plan in constant use while using this? I would assume so but thought I would ask. If so it would be to costly for me to do this.

The map data is downloaded and stored on your device when you purchase Copilot, so no data is consumed when planning or driving a route. If you additionally subscribe to active traffic, that function needs a data connection in order to keep up to date with current traffic conditions.

To me the Copilot APP for $6.99 on sale was a easy choice. Having spent a small fortune on previous Garmin's and faced with another $400 "RV specific GPS" I bought the APP and have been very pleased with it. It uses no data, is constantly updated, and is very user friendly. The thing that really sold me was the too previous Garmin's failed internally. The phone was free and will be replaced every 2 years anyways with a contract so you don't have to worry about hardware cost.

kaarsti wrote:
It sent me through a busy business/strip mall in Tuscon only to send me to a NO LEFT TURN intersection to turn left at. Going past the intersection left me no opportunities to U-Turn and to smaller and smaller roads.

Almost certainly the app was set for the shortest route, always use fastest time.

Never, ever, never use a shortest route setting, that overrides any restrictions in every brand GPS and every app I've seen including Co-Pilot.

GoPackGo wrote:

1775 wrote:
CoPilot app is made for IOS and Android. For ten dollars it does everything the standalone GPS units do and has RV Mode for routing around low clearances and propane restricted roads, bridges, and tunnels. Lifetime free maps. No need for a data connection as all maps are stored on the phone or tablet's memory. There is traffic routing which does require a data connection (uses very little data) and this is free the first year and costs $10 a year after that by subscription.

I think this is all great stuff but for starters, you're talking about a very small phone screen vs a 7 inch full featured GPS. For a few short trips in the summer it would probably be ok, but once you use one of the dedicated RV GPSs, like my RM 7720, I think you'll see the advantages.

There's a reason these GPSs have large screens. It's easy to glance at them and get the whole picture. My 7720 has all kinds of info on the main screen. And additional info is just a tap away.

I'm not sure if you realize this or not, but iOS and Android run on some very large tablets, not just phones. I use my 9 inch tablet to run Waze and other GPS apps in my RV, that sure beats 7 inches. In fact Samsung even makes a 12.2 inch model, the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2. I think 1775s suggestion is a great one and I agree with you that you should preferably run the apps on tablets and not phones.

Yes, I do. I have the largest tablet that Samsung makes. But I prefer a dedicated full featured GPS as opposed to a GPS program that runs on another platform. Mine works for me and I'm glad yours works for you. I guess we will have to disagree on which is best.

Tim