RV GPS

[geomahon]

Please share your experiences with RV GPS. I am reviewing the Rand and the Garmin.

[seabee]

Garmin nuvi 1490 LMTsuites us.

[Lloyd]

Garmin nuvi 2460 LMT
Has kept me out of trouble. In fact, there has been times I didn't believe him, and on the way back, check it out and he was right and I was wrong.

[CampMacKay]

I use my I-pad, apps I use are NAVFREE CANADA or NAVFREE USA. I use a RAM mount on an articulating arm mounted to the dashboard. I have to also plug in a "BAD-ELF" GPS receiver, because no data plan, it's about the size of a book of matches. It works great, nice big screen that you can expand & shrink. Great for passangers too, the can play games or watch movies and music plays through the radio from it.

[Tim D]

Garmins are top of the line. However, you do need to use some common sense. Have an idea where you going before you start. They will take you the looong way around.

[rdpalm]

Agree with Tim. Have a basic idea where you are going and if it doesnt look right dont go there. We were looking for a walmart in NC once and luckily didnt have the 5th wheel behind as it started to take us back into a housing development. Something didnt look right so turned around and went on down the road about a half mile and there was WW.

[2wheelglider]

For rv use, most units have a preference setting and you can tell it to avoid u turns. That helps in the way it directs you and will try and route you only making right hands turn.

[NorskeNY]

Garmin Zumo 450 truck and motorcycle. Garmin Street Pilot 5220 in my wife's car. I load points of interest for campgrounds, truck stops, State Parks and any other special places we like to visit.

Most of the time I follow the GPS route. Prior to a "big trip" I always plan a route using Microsoft Street and Trips. There is software that comes with the GPS that can be used to plan trips and upload the trip plan to the GPS.

[BourbonRam]

Originally Posted by CampMacKay

I use my I-pad, apps I use are NAVFREE CANADA or NAVFREE USA. I use a RAM mount on an articulating arm mounted to the dashboard. I have to also plug in a "BAD-ELF" GPS receiver, because no data plan, it's about the size of a book of matches. It works great, nice big screen that you can expand & shrink. Great for passangers too, the can play games or watch movies and music plays through the radio from it.

Just downloaded the Navfreeusa app. Didn't know it existed. Thanks.

[STEPUP2RVing]

We recently bought the Rand McNally GPS with the option to program it for an RV or for a car so it is very versatile. We used it on a trip last fall and found in our RV and found it very helpful. We also used it on a road trip in our car and found it helpful there as well. The difference is that when you have it set for RV it directs you on roads to accommodate the size of a large RV. However, you also need to use common sense to make sure the GPS makes sense if you will. So far we have been very pleased with our purchase.

[mbutts]

I prefer Magellan since it's the only brand with "stay on the freeway as much as possible" setting. My Garmins have routed me off the interstate for miles on access roads that run parallel to the highway.

[Hummer]

We also use the Magellan Roadmate Pro 9165T. It has a bigger screen for us people that needs glasses.

[tator447]

Magellan Roadmate 9165T...and trust me if you try to go on a single lane road with low clearance...it's going to let you know. Saved my bacon more than once...I love mine. FWIW

Jim

[Sirsea]

Had the Garmin Dezl 760 and really liked it, until it disappeared one day. Replaced it with a Rand McNally 7720 and like it better. Has most of the same features plus option to program your rigs total length, width, height, weight, number of propane tanks and things to avoid like toll roads, tunnels, u-turns etc. It can also give you warnings about your speed, changes in speed zones, curves, and roads where your rig is not permitted. On our current trip it took us 8 miles out of the way to a CG but when we drove the shorter route solo we found a very narrow bridge that would have been difficult to cross with the camper if we met another vehicle. Overall, we are satisfied with it.

[martyhardy1]

We just bought theRand McNally RVND 7720. We deliberated over many of the options but we are pretty happy with the decision. These things will never be perfect, I think it comes down to preference. I have friends that will fight to the death defending both brands!

We found this RV GPS article to be a nice condensed resource for comparing all the "stuff" if your looking for some outside info.

Good luck!

[avvidclif]

I have the Rand 7720. I bought it over the Magellan as you could enter custom POI's. I called Magellan and their GPS units do not support custom POI lists nor do they plan on adding that feature. But then the gotcha on the Rand.

According to the manual you can create a custom POI list using; name, address, city, state, zip. They give an example of entering there company name and address. After about 2 weeks of fighting it I called Rand. You can't enter it that way was the answer. They had no comment as to what the manual showed.

The other is the screen. There is so much junk around the map you only have about a 5" map.

Other than that so far I like it. We were at a place that supposedly had hookup but they didn't. I turned on the GPS and told it the closest campground and it showed a bunch all around is complete with amenities, addresses, phone numbers, etc. Once we called and made sure they had a spot I pushed Go To and got good directions. Neat.

That will be nice when we venture up to Kentucky this summer. Drive till we're ready to stop, ask the GPS for a campground, call, and go. Plan is to drive abt 250 mi per day with abt a 10am start. Abt 3 check for a campground and make our overnite nest. Repeat as needed. No hurry and if something shows up we want to see we'll stop.

[FKT4387]

I'm at a toss up between the Garmin RV 760LMvs the Rand 7720. I am a big Garmin fan. Sirsea I had read about problems with the 7720. Have you had any issues?
Edited by: FKT4387

[FKT4387]

One other question does anyone know what the difference is between 7720 and the 7725? The 7725 is the good sam edition. Thanks



Update - I found some other info that said that the difference is that the 7725 includes Good Sam parks and the trailer life directory while the 7720 has the woodalls only? Edited by: FKT4387

[Flyone]

Bought and used the Rand-McNally out west last summer, had a small issue with just a couple of CG's but over all liked it a lot. My brother in law, with a Garmin would turn his off and just follow me when we got close to a CG where we had reservations. Back here in the Midwest and Southeast his seems to work well. The R/M has a lot of features and has both RV & car mode. Like others have said none of them are perfect.


Flyone

[johnboytoo]

As long as you keep the garmin software and maps up to date, they can't be beat IMHO...
My 'old' Nuvi 5000 is still my favorite gps... with free lifetime updates, traffic, and maps - 1st class !



Edited by: johnboytoo