Garmin GPS

[haste_maker]

I am considering upgrading my Garmin Zumo GPS that's just suited for auto travel to a Garmin 770 with the RV extra's...need to know if this the one I should get, or is there something better on the market?

[Nv_Guy]

We have a Garmin RV 770, and while it's handy, I don't trust it 100%. Sometimes it decides to just randomly change the route. It will also revise a route I prepared on my computer then loaded in the GPS, so that's something else to watch for.
As already recommended, always have a paper map / phone with mapping and a general idea of how to get where you are going.

[Fisherman]

mowermech wrote:

Those things are a good tool, but only YOU are smart enough to stay out of trouble on the highways and byways!

That's the problem with a lot of people.

[mowermech]

after making a trip from Billings, MT to Moab, UT, following a GPS unit (not Garmin), and having the less-than-smart GPS tell me to turn right down in WY where there wasn't a road (I could see the right turn from the top of the hill, a mile or so on down the road)...
I became convinced the fool thing was great for finding rummage/garage/estate sales in town, but I would never rely on it for long distance travel directions again.
We now have Garmins with lifetime map updates. They don't show the latest reconstruction on our way to town ("traffic circle"). Yes, they both have been updated. Maybe next year.
The last time I went to Great Falls, it didn't show the highway change up there, either. It showed me driving through a wheat field! That was two years ago. Maybe when I get the updates next spring...
I will never allow it to tell me to go over Beartooth Pass this time of year. It is closed until late Spring/early Summer 2021!
Don't let Garmin tell you to use the railroad underpass in downtown
Billings. The clearance is only 8' 6"!
Those things are a good tool, but only YOU are smart enough to stay out of trouble on the highways and byways!

[mbopp]

I have the smaller screen RV660. If you use the RV mode you can set the rig height and it will alert you to low bridges.

[SAR_Tracker]

After using one for over 20 years (see user name) in Search and Rescue, a GPS is just another "tool" in your navigation toolbox. You need to have a GENERIC understanding of WHERE you're going, and the GENERIC route to get there. If it doesn't make sense to take a certain road, then STOP and figure out why you're being directed down that route. One thing to keep in mind, Garmin and the other mapping software companies DO NOT UPDATE their maps. I've got a locked gate a block from my house that's been there 5+ years. I've tried calling, e-mail, writing, no luck in changing the software.

[pnichols]

Pretty much - at least for Western U.S. travel - what you can rely on is:

1) A Garmin unit kept CURRENT at all times with respect to it's operating system and maps,
AND
2) a Garmin unit kept set to FASTEST navigating mode,
PLUS
3) these super comprehensive map atlases for each Western U.S. state -> https://www.benchmarkmaps.com/atlas

[Fisherman]

People have driven into rivers, off cliffs on dead end end roads because XYZ told them too. I believe most if not all of those devices tell you not to rely 100% on them.

[navigator2346]

A GPSr should be uses for amusement purposes only and never,never trust it 100%. The Garmin is the bet unit going

[rk911]

corvettekent wrote:
I have the Garmin 770RV. It has some nice features but I don't trust it to take me on the best route so I also use my I phone with Waze.

none of us should implicitly trust any GPS. always review the route before departure.

[rk911]

Retired JSO wrote:
Don’t waste your money, I have one and it sometimes sends me down winding roads with tree branches overhanging the roadway at window level or even down a dead end road. Garmen, never again.

do you have it set for FASTEST route or SHORTEST route? FASTEST is best in order to avoid your experience.

[corvettekent]

I have the Garmin 770RV. It has some nice features but I don't trust it to take me on the best route so I also use my I phone with Waze.

[rlw999]

Retired JSO wrote:
Don’t waste your money, I have one and it sometimes sends me down winding roads with tree branches overhanging the roadway at window level or even down a dead end road. Garmen, never again.

I've had the opposite experience -- Google Maps has tried to send me under some low bridges, but the Garmin has warned me away. I usually use both -- Google Maps traffic is hard to beat, but I prefer the Garmin's UI and display... and the RV specific route warnings. It's also comforting to know that the map will always load and can plot a route, whether or not I have cell service. I don't even carry a paper map any more.

I don't expect any GPS to warn me about low hanging branches, just permanent restrictions like bridge clearance, weight limits, etc.

[rr2254545]

Retired JSO wrote:
Don’t waste your money, I have one and it sometimes sends me down winding roads with tree branches overhanging the roadway at window level or even down a dead end road. Garmen, never again.

Not even close to my experience

[Lwiddis]

Your phone and tablet give you all you need.