gps which one is best,second best

Use your Garmin along with the Rand McNally TRUCKERS ATLAS. If you are planning a trip compare the routes on the GPS with the Atlas to be sure all is well. Covers heights and truck routes. With this procedure you will not find yourself lost or at a low bridge.

If you like using your phone, you can load a free app such as Osmandor Locus and then download maps. Your phone almost certainly has a GPS chip and can work as a GPS from satellites even when it loses the cell signal.

That said, I still like some old Garmin units I have.

Bill.Satellite wrote:
The best would be your phone and Google Maps. 2nd best WAZE on your phone.

Until you are out of cell coverage. I know you can preload Google map segments, but that means you need to know ahead of time that you are going to lose coverage.

For a phone or tablet based system, CoPilot adds complete maps to the phone or tablet so cell coverage is not necessary.

I'm still using an older Garmin product (a NUVI 3580) that I prefer to most of the newer Garmin. It does not provide RV/Truck height & road warnings, but my trailer is small enough that that is not a problem.

Loss of the cellular signal is a very minor issue (none if you know where you are going will have limited cellular service) and the GPS always has pre-loaded a portion of your trip. You would have to drive for hours without cellular service to run out of mapping information.

My preference is for a stand-alone Garmin unit so that we don't have to be concerned with cellular coverage being available.

However my new mobile phone has huge storage capacity (250GB), so I can store entire map databases in it (i.e. all of North America) ... and not to ever have to access cellular tower provided data anywhere in the U.S. for RV navigation.

I have several apps in it that can operate entirely off this locally stored map data in conjunction with the phone's built-in GPS system ... just like a Garmin navigation unit does.

We also bring along a satellite device that can be linked to the phone (via Bluetooth) so we can send and receive text and ERS messages without cellular tower access ... in addition to hitting an SOS button on the device for emergency help/evacuation.

My Garmin absolutely sucks. I have to baby-sit it every time I'm in a city because it will take me on roundabout routes that make no sense. In some cases this could be due to having a 4 year old map, but generally it doesn't even know where streets are that were there 40 years ago. And it doesn't do much better with businesses. I'm wondering if the maps are 50 years old.

Google/Verizon does that only occasionally.

corvettekent wrote:
I can tell you that two years ago I bought a Garmin 770RV GPS and I'm not very happy with it.

I still like using my I Phone with the Waze app.

I use my phone in cities. Garmin when on the road. Too many areas lack cell signal on the road or in remote areas. Garmin keeps right on working.

2oldman wrote:
My Garmin absolutely sucks. I have to baby-sit it every time I'm in a city because it will take me on roundabout routes that make no sense. In some cases this could be due to having a 4 year old map

Many Garmins include lifetime free map updates. My Garmin is 6 years old and I can still update it free. That said I have had nearly any GPS, or any map phone app give bad directions at times. I tend to know about where I am going. I never blindly follow a GPS route.

Not sure why folks keep talking about not using a cell phone as a GPS due to concerns over losing mapping with no cell service.
A) If you know you are headed for such an extremely remote area where you will not have service for hours, you can download the maps before you leave on the trip.
B) Google Maps downloads a good portion of your trip as soon as you begin the trip and continues to do so as you travel. The phone always has many many miles ahead of you already downloaded so loss of cell signal for a little while is of no concern. If you are traveling the Interstate highway system it's unlikely you would ever be without a signal for any longer than it takes to top the hill ahead.
C) Using the phone gives you the only truly LIVE traffic info even out in the middle of nowhere as the phone collects speed information along your route and can warn you of major traffic issues giving you time to find and alternate route, take a break or just live with it knowing how far ahead the back up ends.
Google can now also let you know where there are lane closures, speed traps and other user reported issues. None of this is available via a stand alone GPS unless you tie it to your cell phone and that pretty much kills the argument of GPS and loss of cellular.
Lastly, while any GPS can have incorrect mapping information, the MOST up-to-date maps are available on Google Maps and WAZE. They can be be updated in real time on short notice like years long construction projects. These never show up on a Garmin type device but keep you on track with phone apps.

I didn't necessarily use my GPS on my cell phone when I'm well aware of the route I will be taking.

My last trip through Knoxville, TN, I learned my lesson. I noticed that about 70% of the traffic exited the interstate, toward Maryville, just south of Knoxville. I didn't think much about it and kept going. The traffic came to a sudden halt and the trip through Knoxville took about 2-1/2 hours. There was a major accident during early rush hour and the traffic that had exited went through Maryville probably saved at least 1-1/2 hour. I now use the Google or Waze mapping, even when I know the route like the back of my hand.