Forum Discussion

az99's avatar
az99
Explorer
Aug 20, 2013

TomTom RV and Garmin RV Comparison

Can anyone give the +'s and -'s of these 2 new GPS units made for RVs. I am not interested in the Good Sam unit or others. Thanx
  • I have had all Tom Tom up to now. I recently upgraded to the new RV760LMT from Garmin. Honestly the Tom Tom served my needs well and I have no complaints.
    The new Garmin is also nice. It is head and shoulders above my old Tom Tom but that is due to it being newer with better more up to date technology vs. being superior.
    Both brands will get you there with ease.
  • You might want to specify what 2 units you would like to compare so users of each can respond. I know that I had a Garmin for many years and bought a TomTom due to price. It was a joke compared to my Garmin and I quickly returned it and bought the latest Garmin.
    I am not aware of any TomTom unit that is RV specific like the Rand or the Garmin.
  • I bought a Garmin from Costco; it turned out to be pretty useless, as when I wanted to return it, it couldn't find Costco! When I finally got there, I replaced it with a Tomtom, which I love.
  • I was referring to the new RV specific units made by the 2 companies.
  • One feature of the Garmin that we really like is it will tell you what side of the street the place is on. As we full time, we are often in unknown towns and this feature is very helpful. Our Tom Tom did not have this.
  • Either can and will send you to your location by "odd" routing.
    If you are talking about the RV versions there have been some posting in the last few weeks comparing them
  • I have both, a TomTom in-dash unit in my RV and a couple of portable Garmins. I do have more experience with Garmin over the years and that may shade my opinion. The Garmin seems (to me) to be a much better choice. I find that with the TomTom I have to cross check with real maps to make sure it's taking me the right way; with Garmin I don't have those concerns. Both units are up-to-date with maps and such but even so TomTom still has difficulty finding some things or finding the best route to get me there.
  • I've been using Garmin for 9 years and have been well satisfied. I now buy the Garmin devices that end in "LMT" which gives me Lifetime Maps and Traffic updates. I can download map updates frequently and they have been quite good and accurate. The traffic information helps when I'm in an area that has traffic coverage. Even having the Garmin Nuvi sitting on the dash of my Class A, the receiver still picks up the GPS satellites with no problems. I wouldn't leave home without it!

    (I have two: one for the RV and one for the Toad - that way I have backup just in case one would fail)

    One disadvantage of the GPS devices though, I lose sense of where I am. I can get to my destination just fine, but I lose the big perspective....so we also have a map open on the dash in front of the passenger.
  • We have both...though they are also both older units, so I can't speculate on the new ones.
    I have the TomTom, and have had it for about 10 years or so, and I must admit that I've been slow on the updates, so there are times, when I'm driving over a new bridge or something, where it's got me going over water:), but generally, it gets me where I'm going. And, it's been good about the Walmarts, and other places of interest (POI) points on the system.
    DW has the Garmin (about 5 years old), though she doesn't use it much, and we will use it on some trips we take in our van, but generally, since I'm unfamiliar with it, it doesn't get used much. It does have a larger screen than the TomTom, and seems to be a bit more accurate, but that could also be due to a 5-year advance in technology.
    You probably won't go wrong with either of them, so I'd just check for price, as well as any special features you may want, such as hands free phone, or height restrictions (I think these are available on some models?).

    Good luck