Pros/Cons of an RV GPS System

Most of the time the GPS works fine. Every now and then (construction, accidents, traffic jams) having a map is handy for finding alternate routes that others might not consider - the obvious alternate routes quickly get backed up too.

When using the GPS, I like having a dedicated GPS with on-board maps more than using my phone. We tend to go places without cell coverage, and having to load the maps in advance is a pain.

Oh please; using a map is smarter than using an iPhone with GPS?

I know what is at the next five exits, find the cheapest fuel within a 100 miles, locate diesel mechanics, campgrounds, restaurants, hospitals, etc all in a few minutes if not seconds not to mention that a bridge is being rebuilt and is creating a huge traffic jam.

My GPS is Inrix smart and tells me when there is an accident or construction delays. It has saved me hours many times.

Yes, a GPS can route you poorly but you can make stupid decisions using maps too.

Gdetrailer wrote:

primetimerver wrote:
We will be traveling to Alaska this summer and I'm considering buying one of the RV GPS systems such as the one from Magellan and am wondering if they are worth the cost. I have a gps system in our TV but it is limited in terms of being RV friendly. Does anyone own one of these RV gps systems and if so, do you recommend them and if so, which one would you recommend.

No, we use the tried and true old fashioned pieces of paper called maps. Maps have been in use for centuries and tend to be much more reliable than GPS. No dead batteries, loss of signal and best of all no recalculating.

I am think that going to Alaska and relying on GPS might result in some interesting "stories" from your adventures.

Folks tend to rely on GPS units a bit too much instead of reading maps and road signs...

GDE, I'm with you....God gave us a brain,so use it. Old fashioned maps for me please...what did the rv'ers use before GPS's? More dumbing down for us humans who use so called "smart technology".

Now I have a question about a new GPS, we are looking at the Good Sam catalog that just came in and it features a RAND MCNALLY Tripmaker 7720 For $330.
Does anyone have experience with this unit or one close to it?
CCC

We use a gps but and this is a big but ALWAYS HAVE THE PAPER MAP open to the area that we are traveling.

Used this system on our trip to Alaska, 25 weeks and 18,000 miles without incident. As always YMMV
CCC

primetimerver wrote:
We will be traveling to Alaska this summer and I'm considering buying one of the RV GPS systems such as the one from Magellan and am wondering if they are worth the cost. I have a gps system in our TV but it is limited in terms of being RV friendly. Does anyone own one of these RV gps systems and if so, do you recommend them and if so, which one would you recommend.

No, we use the tried and true old fashioned pieces of paper called maps. Maps have been in use for centuries and tend to be much more reliable than GPS. No dead batteries, loss of signal and best of all no recalculating.

I am think that going to Alaska and relying on GPS might result in some interesting "stories" from your adventures.

Folks tend to rely on GPS units a bit too much instead of reading maps and road signs...

We have iphones with ATT service, but bought a ipad with Verizon service... The thinking being, when one doesn't have service the other would. So far this has worked well.

I use my iPhone and iPad frequently as the GPS' for our vehicle. There are plenty of apps that store the maps on the device itself so you don't need any king of internet access.

IPhones do not need cell service to be a GPS. They work as stand alone GPS units. They work BETTER than a Garmin,etc when they have cell service.
It's your money.

sremsing wrote:
I have the Rand McNallly RVND 7710, and really like it.

On the other hand, many owners hate it and report many problems, including freezes, crashing and bricking.

The Garmin Dezl 560 and 760 both have RV modes, where you can enter your rigs height, length, weight, etc.

They both appear to have a better rep then the Rand

The Garmin's lack the "built in" RV POI files the Rand has, but they can be added from places like POI-Factory.

A really useful resource on many models of GPS is the firm GPSCity. They have "how to" videos on just about every GPS they sell.