Need advice on an RV GPS?

[temccarthy1]

Need advice from Rv'ers on whether it is worth purchasing a GPS made specifically for RV's to avoid ending up on roads a 30 ft TT should not be on. I am new to Rv'ing and plan on taking trips to states and areas I am not familiar with. I see RV GPS's , like the one Good Sam/ Rand McNally advertises, for about $300, which is substantially more than a regular car GPS that I already have in my truck... Are they really effective in giving the driver the correct and easiest navigable routes specifically for trailer rigs, or are they just loaded with locations of Good Sam campgrounds and other POI's? Would like to hear from those of you who actually own an RV GPS to see if you feel it is worth the $. Thanks!

[PenMan]

I'm not a fan of the Garmin for RV's. It has been very unreliable as far as routing. I really can't remember a trip over the past year and a half that it did not try to lead me to Tim-Buc-To (that's old people language for really, really lost). I will never trust it on anything other than major highways. If the road is two lanes just forget using it. I had an old Garmin from the early 2000's that did a much better job of routing. Unfortunately I gave it away when I got the new Garmin in 2014.

[Tom_Barb]

legolas wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:
We carry my desk top computer and google maps

You carry a DESKTOP ? I would have thought maybe a tablet or notebook......

The MAC has all my pictures (15,000) Our day trip are mostly planed the night before, then we print what we need.

Yeah, we carry the printer too.

The MAC will hook up where ever we have a cell phone coverage because the cell is a WIFI hot spot all by itself.

[legolas]

Tom/Barb wrote:
We carry my desk top computer and google maps

You carry a DESKTOP ? I would have thought maybe a tablet or notebook......

[legolas]

W.E.BGood wrote:
I got a Garmin 2797LMT last year in preparation for our trip to California. I'm a hard-copy roadmap/do-lots-of-Google-maps-research-beforehand kinda guy and I was glad I kept that discipline. The Garmin was nice for some things especially locating gas stations, restaurants and such things up ahead. For route planning I think it sucks...it took us right through downtown Portland, OR during afternoon rushhour instead of routing us around town on the interstatevbypass. Another "failure" was as others noted, it sent us on a backroad that had been closed for months due to a bridge being washed out...and yes, I'd done all of the "updates" just before we left. Also, some gas stations had obviously been shuttered for years when we got to them. Bottom line is I don't trust or believe ANY GPS for accurate routing ALL of the time. It doesn't know if a road just flooded up ahead, and it sure as heck won't tell you that you can't get through a McDonald's driveway.

X2

[temccarthy1]

Second Chance wrote:

temccarthy1 wrote:

Second Chance wrote:
I used to sing the praises of our Garmin RV760LMT... until we hit the road full-time. In RV mode, it has - or would have - taken us on some really "whack" routes. I assume this is because it thinks doing things like taking propane through the I-95 tunnel through downtown Baltimore or driving through downtown Richmond, Houston, and other major cities is a good idea just because I'm pulling an RV. Like someone said above, I've gone back to a mix of old-fashioned navigation and Google maps. In "car mode," the RV760 is still very handy... it matched the route I chose on our last travel day and has very good "Up Ahead" functions for fuel, etc. Once the GPS and I agree on the route, it's very handy for telling me how far to the next turn, how exits are configured, and our ETA at our final destination. The days are gone, however, when I will just accept that Garmin knows best as far as a route that makes sense for me and my rig.

Does the Garmin RV760LMT NOT have warnings on propane restricted tunnels or bridges? I have read several posts saying NO and several saying it does? Which is it? That is obviously a very big programming miscue if it asks that question in the settings but then ignores a YES to propane . Would like to hear from owners of this unit which is the highest rated one on Amazon THANKS!

Going from South Carolina to Aberdeen, MD, via I-20 and I-95, it would have routed me through the downtown tunnel on 95 in Baltimore had I not known to take the loop and the Hazmat route via the F. Scott Key bridge. I can't speak to other routes or situations. Yes - I consider it a big miscue.

Rob

thanks for the info Rob.. Important for my decision to buy or not buy since you have the exact unit I am looking at. One other question... Does that unit give you "TT friendly" fuel stops that are easy to navigate like Pilot or Flying J, or does it just list gas stations regardless of size and ease of getting in and out. I know since my total rig with vehicle is 55 feet long I can't pull into many gas stations based on the way their pumps are configured. I am hoping it flags big rig fuel stops like the trucker version does based on the size of rig that you enter? Does it?

[Valkyriebush]

I have the RVND 7720, great tool but wish I had bought the Garmin dezel. Not happy with the freeway exit graphics. My Tom tom has great graphics but not RV specific.

aslakson wrote:
My vote's for the Garmin dezl 760 - it's the trucker's unit, but also has RV profiles (Height, weight, length, etc.) 7" screen makes it big enough to see in a big RV cockpit. Might have to load some campground POI files - but all the fuel stops are there. If you have a smart phone, there's a free Garmin APP that will link to the unit for realtime weather, gas prices, road info, etc. And the free Garmin Base Camp software lets you build trips on a laptop and load them into the GPS (my preference). As with any routing aid, it's probably not perfect, but so far haven't found any flaws.

al

[scrubjaysnest]

W.E.BGood wrote:
I got a Garmin 2797LMT last year in preparation for our trip to California. I'm a hard-copy roadmap/do-lots-of-Google-maps-research-beforehand kinda guy and I was glad I kept that discipline. The Garmin was nice for some things especially locating gas stations, restaurants and such things up ahead. For route planning I think it sucks...it took us right through downtown Portland, OR during afternoon rushhour instead of routing us around town on the interstatevbypass. Another "failure" was as others noted, it sent us on a backroad that had been closed for months due to a bridge being washed out...and yes, I'd done all of the "updates" just before we left. Also, some gas stations had obviously been shuttered for years when we got to them. Bottom line is I don't trust or believe ANY GPS for accurate routing ALL of the time. It doesn't know if a road just flooded up ahead, and it sure as heck won't tell you that you can't get through a McDonald's driveway.

As a point and shoot device all GPSr's ate very bad since there is know way for them to know current road status and they ignore roads with traffic lights. But then paper maps have the same problem.

We use Garmin and build our routes on the laptop computer, review them with Google Earth; which isn't always up to date; then up load the routes to the GPSr. Also high light the route(s) on paper maps.

A review of road conditions on state dot 511 sites will avoid 90% of the problems but not all.

It is difficult for everything to be kept up to date....look at last springs floods in TX.

[Chuck_thehammer]

the information.. other than road data...

is only as good as the State or US Government gives the GPS companies...

so weight, height, restrictions. (Propane) will always be hit or miss.. my opinion. just like routes, around or thru cities..

the KEY reason I have/use a GPS.. is for when I am lost... a detour.. or something turns me around...

my very first time I used a GPS .... years ago.. I was going to someone's dinner party.. never been there... the GPS put me in a driveway ... 1/4 mile off... RIGHT Street... wrong block. I learned ...


^^^^Thank You ^^^^^ for the propane warning and tunnels... I have forgotten about that... a big trip in 2 weeks..

[hohenwald48]

I've talked to several folks with RV specific GPS units. The general opinion seems to be that they aren't any better than a regular GPS. I wouldn't pay extra for a GPS just because the marketing folks decided to call it "RV specific".

[Second_Chance]

temccarthy1 wrote:

Second Chance wrote:
I used to sing the praises of our Garmin RV760LMT... until we hit the road full-time. In RV mode, it has - or would have - taken us on some really "whack" routes. I assume this is because it thinks doing things like taking propane through the I-95 tunnel through downtown Baltimore or driving through downtown Richmond, Houston, and other major cities is a good idea just because I'm pulling an RV. Like someone said above, I've gone back to a mix of old-fashioned navigation and Google maps. In "car mode," the RV760 is still very handy... it matched the route I chose on our last travel day and has very good "Up Ahead" functions for fuel, etc. Once the GPS and I agree on the route, it's very handy for telling me how far to the next turn, how exits are configured, and our ETA at our final destination. The days are gone, however, when I will just accept that Garmin knows best as far as a route that makes sense for me and my rig.

Does the Garmin RV760LMT NOT have warnings on propane restricted tunnels or bridges? I have read several posts saying NO and several saying it does? Which is it? That is obviously a very big programming miscue if it asks that question in the settings but then ignores a YES to propane . Would like to hear from owners of this unit which is the highest rated one on Amazon THANKS!

Going from South Carolina to Aberdeen, MD, via I-20 and I-95, it would have routed me through the downtown tunnel on 95 in Baltimore had I not known to take the loop and the Hazmat route via the F. Scott Key bridge. I can't speak to other routes or situations. Yes - I consider it a big miscue.

Rob

[temccarthy1]

Second Chance wrote:
I used to sing the praises of our Garmin RV760LMT... until we hit the road full-time. In RV mode, it has - or would have - taken us on some really "whack" routes. I assume this is because it thinks doing things like taking propane through the I-95 tunnel through downtown Baltimore or driving through downtown Richmond, Houston, and other major cities is a good idea just because I'm pulling an RV. Like someone said above, I've gone back to a mix of old-fashioned navigation and Google maps. In "car mode," the RV760 is still very handy... it matched the route I chose on our last travel day and has very good "Up Ahead" functions for fuel, etc. Once the GPS and I agree on the route, it's very handy for telling me how far to the next turn, how exits are configured, and our ETA at our final destination. The days are gone, however, when I will just accept that Garmin knows best as far as a route that makes sense for me and my rig.

Does the Garmin RV760LMT NOT have warnings on propane restricted tunnels or bridges? I have read several posts saying NO and several saying it does? Which is it? That is obviously a very big programming miscue if it asks that question in the settings but then ignores a YES to propane . Would like to hear from owners of this unit which is the highest rated one on Amazon THANKS!

[Second_Chance]

I used to sing the praises of our Garmin RV760LMT... until we hit the road full-time. In RV mode, it has - or would have - taken us on some really "whack" routes. I assume this is because it thinks doing things like taking propane through the I-95 tunnel through downtown Baltimore or driving through downtown Richmond, Houston, and other major cities is a good idea just because I'm pulling an RV. Like someone said above, I've gone back to a mix of old-fashioned navigation and Google maps. In "car mode," the RV760 is still very handy... it matched the route I chose on our last travel day and has very good "Up Ahead" functions for fuel, etc. Once the GPS and I agree on the route, it's very handy for telling me how far to the next turn, how exits are configured, and our ETA at our final destination. The days are gone, however, when I will just accept that Garmin knows best as far as a route that makes sense for me and my rig.

[temccarthy1]

2oldman wrote:
GPS in heading in Technology

THANKS for the link! It is a big help!:)

[temccarthy1]

Dick_B wrote:
For previous posts on this subject search this Forum for `gps' then search the results for the different manufacturers like `Garmin' etc. We have the Garmin dezl 760LMT which seems to be working out just fine for us.

THANKS for the reference tip on finding many posts on GPS's.

[Dick_B]

For previous posts on this subject search this Forum for `gps' then search the results for the different manufacturers like `Garmin' etc. We have the Garmin dezl 760LMT which seems to be working out just fine for us.