Which RV GPS Do You Use?

I use a cheap garmin nuvi. Even if it gets me lost it always finds our way back. My problem is my wife. We'll be coming up on a exit and at the last second she says turn here, turn here. Next thing I know we are pulling our 5th wh up and down hills in the middle San Francisco and the gps is saying in 300ft. make a uturn. Oh well it isn't all bad. We have had lots of experiences we can talk about. Wouldn't trade them for anything.

I am still using Microsoft Streets & Trips-2005"

why pay money for unsupported products..

it is great for planing long trips...

Pops wrote:
i lay out my entire trip on my laptop with "microsoft streets & trips-2011", before i begin the trip. then each day i load the rand mcnally gps for the day sometimes a 2 or 3 day route. i also make notes on paper from "street/trip" of the hwys i'll be traveling that day or 2. with that and following road signs and common sense/feel, i've managed pretty good

I have managed real well for the last 50 years without any of that stuff. But I do have a GPS for use in towns to find places not for open roads or coast to coast travel. Just the way I am.

Captain_Happy wrote:
My smart phone does better then the on-board GPS unit in truck. It even has a GPS app. Just enter the coordinates and off you go. If you find a place you'd like to return to just use the app in your smart phone to get the coordinates. The GPS mapping unit these manufactures install in cars are a joke.

My joke of an in-car system worked great while I was traveling Canada and remote Alaska. No cell service, a smartphone is useless. Even with a downloaded map, my smartphone could not get a GPS lock, because it relies on the cellular network to calibrate the gps receiver for the initial fix.

In urban areas, I've had Google Maps try to get me to take some pretty strange routes, like through a residential subdivision, down a 2 track power line easement and through a locked gate at the end of a dirt road.

I use the copilot GPS app on my phone & tablet. On the tablet it gives me a nice 9" screen for which I don't need my reading glasses. I paid 9.99 but it is now 14.99 I think. It has an option for RV with a max 13.5 ft height. Been using it for 3 years or so and I am happy with it. You can use it with or without a data connection but if you want live traffic then you need the connection. No matter what brand of gps I have owned I always make sure I know my route ahead of time. I also use the Rand McNally Trucker Atlas and The Next Exit books to help plan the trip. Any GPS will potentially get you into trouble sooner or later especially if your in a big rig.

My smart phone does better then the on-board GPS unit in truck. It even has a GPS app. Just enter the coordinates and off you go. If you find a place you'd like to return to just use the app in your smart phone to get the coordinates. The GPS mapping unit these manufactures install in cars are a joke.

i lay out my entire trip on my laptop with "microsoft streets & trips-2011", before i begin the trip. then each day i load the rand mcnally gps for the day sometimes a 2 or 3 day route. i also make notes on paper from "street/trip" of the hwys i'll be traveling that day or 2. with that and following road signs and common sense/feel, i've managed pretty good

for my Truck / travel trailer.. I use the Garmin Dezl 770 " Trucker ".. unit with POI factory RV download files for RV items..

way better.. designed for semi-truck users.. works well 2 years and 12,000 miles..

if you have a motorhome.. use the box truck settings... for truck and trailer use the semi-truck/trailer.. and add your size into it.

with the POI files.. its is an RV gps with truck features ..

with ANY GPS.. never follow it blindly... know where you are going. and allow the GPS keep you on your route...

also the 770 allowed a finger to change route on the fly...
hill and sharp turn warnings... speed change alarms..

GordonThree wrote:
There's no automated navigation that's infallible. It is foolish to rely on their instructions as gospel and follow along blindly on the "wild goose chase."

Use them as a tool to find things, to track time and miles, avoid traffic jams, etc.

Study paper or online maps for areas of interest. Study roads and routes, use the shared knowledge of forums like these.

A little knowledge beforehand will save you from any "wild goose chase" the GPS might decide to send you on.

Stories like the senior couple stranded in the desert because they blindly followed their GPS make no sense to me. Where did their common sense go when they turned off the main road and onto a Jeep trail. Or the young family that froze to death in the PNW because the driver let a GPS send him down a logging road, in the dead of winter.

I completely agree Gordon. Common sense is missing. The road in the PNW has trapped many in the snow.

I like my RV660. I can't see spending $300 more for basicly the same product. The 660 is getting phased out but the is still some on Amazon. I got mine at Costco with a backup camera a couple years ago for a great price.

My phone. Google Maps.