New GARMIN GPS suggestions

1775 wrote:

mudrat wrote:
This can be downloaded to your Garmin 760 LMT

http://lowclearances.com/

This just loads a POI file on your GPS. A POI is no good if you wind up on a road with a low clearance and no way off before it if the alert is not at the road entrance. There is no way to program a GPS to do that - Garmin or any other. I know the site says review the route before you start but there are many times when a route changes while driving and a GPS will not route around a POI. There are many low clearance POI files that are free and paid and all are equally useless when you see the low clearance sign and no exit between the sign and the overpass.

This is why an RV specific GPS is essential to RV travel if one wants to use a GPS. You get routed around the low clearances.

EXACTLY RIGHT having a low clearance POI does you no good when the route calculated by the basic GPS includes that low clearance. The ones like the 760 series will route you around those low clearances and will also alert you to a low clearance if you have the unit on and not following a route.

One downside I have noticed with our 760RV is when in the RV mode there are way too many warnings around curves and I haven't confirmed it as a fact, but it appears the unit will automatically use truck routes around major areas which is not really all that necessary for RVs. I have a feeling this is because the 760RV has a lot of stuff included from it's predecessor the 760DEZL trucker version.

The other downside is while the 7" display is great in like a MH or larger RV, it's really too big for normal use in a run around vehicle so we still use our 1490 a lot even on the road when at a destination. I can take that unit and put it in one of the pockets of the cargo pants/shorts I normally wear whereas the 760 would be too large and heavy to do that.

I also like the ability when using the newer BASECAMP software of seeing all the CGs around a location using the "find nearby" option when planning a trip. The new BASECAMP software does have a learning curve over the older MAPSOURCE, but it's worth the effort to learn how to use the newer BASECAMP program IMO.



Larry

mudrat wrote:
This can be downloaded to your Garmin 760 LMT

http://lowclearances.com/

This just loads a POI file on your GPS. A POI is no good if you wind up on a road with a low clearance and no way off before it if the alert is not at the road entrance. There is no way to program a GPS to do that - Garmin or any other. I know the site says review the route before you start but there are many times when a route changes while driving and a GPS will not route around a POI. There are many low clearance POI files that are free and paid and all are equally useless when you see the low clearance sign and no exit between the sign and the overpass.

This is why an RV specific GPS is essential to RV travel if one wants to use a GPS. You get routed around the low clearances.

This can be downloaded to your Garmin 760 LMT

http://lowclearances.com/

RV Nomads wrote:
One of my concerns is height... do all the Garmins have the capability to recognize vehicle height?

No. My Nuvi GPS doesn't. It's a Garmin Nuvi 205

ENCS wrote:

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:
The Garmin RV 760LMT is the only unit they make I would use for RV travel.

Garmin has great products - but that is the only one which is 'RV' friendly.

I have a Garmin for the car and am looking at the RV760LMT. I have a 5th wheel and have been told that it is only good for 2 Axel motor homes. Does it have the profile setups for pull behind trailers and 5th wheels? I pull both and would want these options available before purchasing 1. Thanks
Anyone know the answer to this?????

The RV760 has Auto and RV profile The RV profile does not have different settings for Motor home and trailers,nor the number of axles.It can be programed for height,weight,width,overall length.

You can program for more that one unit that you might be towing.
(RV #1,#2 etc.
I use the overall length of the TV with trailer attached and over all weight of TV and trailer.

I really like mine. One thing...If she says don't take your RV on a road...Don't! 'Nuff said.

RV Nomads wrote:
do all the Garmins have the capability to recognize vehicle height?

Every GPS manufacturer has models which a person can input a vehicle height / set a minimum clearance height.

This is common in trucker and RV model GPS units, but not in general vehicle GPS units.

However, that is only a guide.

There is no way for a GPS unit to know about a low clearance bridge, overpass, etc - unless it is in the highway department database used to generate the map data.

Things like the POI Factory mentioned above have user submitted data to supplement the GPS database.

I am very careful about construction zones - because temporary overhead obstructions are all too common.

One of my concerns is height... do all the Garmins have the capability to recognize vehicle height?

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:
The Garmin RV 760LMT is the only unit they make I would use for RV travel.

Garmin has great products - but that is the only one which is 'RV' friendly.

I have a Garmin for the car and am looking at the RV760LMT. I have a 5th wheel and have been told that it is only good for 2 Axel motor homes. Does it have the profile setups for pull behind trailers and 5th wheels? I pull both and would want these options available before purchasing 1. Thanks
Anyone know the answer to this?????

Highly recommend Voice Control, love being able to access my GPS without stopping or doing things I shouldn't while driving. Especially like being able to turn the audio on and off when I get tired of listening or don't need it at that time. Also is handy when your looking for someplace to eat, gas or camp.

Life Time maps are good to, I don't upgrade every time new ones come out but I do at least once a year or before a major trip.

Also highly recommend POI Factory.

I have the Garmin 3490LMT and really like the voice and traffic features. Not RV specific. Amazon has a good price on it too. Paid 400 two years ago and now it's about 180.