Community Forums

Grn_Mtn_Boy · 04-11-2018, 04:37 PM

We were on an extended trip this winter and used the in dash nav unit many times. I learned to never trust the directions and followed the route on our phone. On many occaisions the dash unit was leading me astray. As an example, on a trip from Fredericksburg TX to I 10 west, it took us down a narrow 2 lane road with numerous low water crossings and cattle gaurds. This went on for 20 miles. That was the last time I followed its directions over my phone. Keep in mind the system was set up for a large vehicle profile. Came thru Phoenix and the system kept trying to route me on local streets not freeways. My copilot kept threatening to take a hammer to it unless I turned it off. Love everything about this MH except this nav unit. Worst I have ever used, by far. Failure rate as to frquency of unacceptible routes, at least 50%!

Bob Hyatt · 04-12-2018, 09:46 AM

Unlike many, I am happy with the nav features. Just set up your coach parameters correctly and it seems to work. I only have two complaints.

(1) if you want traffic updates, you have to pay Garmin $50 bucks (lifetime traffic after that). It is a software download.

(2) map updates are $70 bucks. EACH. If you buy a garmin GPS for $100 bucks, you get free maps for life. Could be worse. Updates for my wife's honda are $200 and up depending on whether they have any special offers, so it could be worse.

Unfortunately we ran into a place where we needed the latest in Knoxville coming from Gatlinburg. Ramp to get on the interstate going south had completely changed, GPS was demanding we turn left. Would have put us into a mud pit... Always good to have accurate maps in something that does not easily "make a U-turn when possible." Thankfully you can disable U-turns if you want, since 34' RVs really don't do those well.

talberthanes · 04-12-2018, 03:11 PM

I have a 2015 Phaeton and I cannot update my maps in the Kenwood. I have downloaded the map from Garmin into the miniSD card, my computer says it is loaded but the Kenwood does not recognize it. WHY? Do you know what I should do next?

Trans. Cajun · 04-12-2018, 03:49 PM

I have had excellent assistance by calling Kentwood. I had some issues and they walked me thru it once I waited one year for the map update to be available. Make sure your software program is current before you try to update the map.

Bob Hyatt · 04-12-2018, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by talberthanes

I have a 2015 Phaeton and I cannot update my maps in the Kenwood. I have downloaded the map from Garmin into the miniSD card, my computer says it is loaded but the Kenwood does not recognize it. WHY? Do you know what I should do next?

did you go with the classic "blank drive"? Then insert into the microSD slot and go to the device/update maps and let it write the ID file to the disk? Then stick in your computer and be sure you are downloading for the right device... mine is an DNX571TR. the garmin connect program or whatever will download the file and put it on the same microSD. Then back to the Kenwood and continue the process with the update-maps and it should copy it to the internal memory and work...

TwiggieMom · 04-30-2018, 05:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trans. Cajun

I have had excellent assistance by calling Kentwood. I had some issues and they walked me thru it once I waited one year for the map update to be available. Make sure your software program is current before you try to update the map.

Would you mind sharing the contact number you used for kenwood? I have been pulling my hair out trying to get to talk to a real person. The manual is too complicated for this non-computer tech person! I need some “baby steps” help.

Bob Hyatt · 04-30-2018, 12:22 PM

I don't understand the dislike for the Kenwood nav/radio tiffin uses. It is still Garmin software and if you elect to update the maps ($70 bucks a pop) you go to Garmin to do it. I've not seen any problem whatsoever with the DNX571TR that comes if you choose the built-in NAV system.

You can also, for a $40 or $50 one time fee, turn on lifetime traffic as well, and have that right in the NAV view. Color codes the route to alert you to slow or really slow traffic areas.

I've been using Garmin GPS for years and find this one no different in terms of functions and such. It has features my plain old garmin did not, such as searching for gas stations, and popping them up on the screen closest first, and updating as you drive. I use this to find 2-3 or more in one close area to give me a better chance of finding one I can get into without any hassle.

I suspect you will be happy with it. About the ONLY thing I don't like is that every time I turn it on, it nags me about the vehicle to be sure I am using the profile I want, even though I have only set up one profile to use. 3 screen touches and you are ready to go. I like it being combined with the radio so the radio gets muted when it is giving you directions about an upcoming turn, etc.

It is a pretty pricey option at around $1200, but in the grand scheme of things with what a 32SA costs (I have a 2018 myself) it is chickenfeed...

BTW you can find most of the manuals for everything in the coach online. Might take some research to find the right model number, but for the nav, it is the kenwood DNX571TR and you can get the manual for the NAV in one file and for the radio in another. I've been collecting all of these in a Tiffin directory on my MacBook. Much more convenient than that 1' thick bag of manuals you get when it is delivered...

kbhine · 05-01-2018, 07:22 AM

Keith Selby from Kenwood 317-298-9650 updated ours and told us our mistake was not inzipping the file after downloading it.

kbhine · 05-01-2018, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kbhine

Keith Selby from Kenwood 317-298-9650 updated ours and told us our mistake was not inzipping the file after downloading it.

Also, the card has to stay in the gps once completed.

tnrzryd · 05-01-2018, 02:24 PM

Just curious on the 2018 systems can you feed the nav display to the forward TV? Makes it easy for my wife to follow along.

dezolen · 05-01-2018, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grn_Mtn_Boy

We were on an extended trip this winter and used the in dash nav unit many times. I learned to never trust the directions and followed the route on our phone. On many occaisions the dash unit was leading me astray. As an example, on a trip from Fredericksburg TX to I 10 west, it took us down a narrow 2 lane road with numerous low water crossings and cattle gaurds. This went on for 20 miles. That was the last time I followed its directions over my phone. Keep in mind the system was set up for a large vehicle profile. Came thru Phoenix and the system kept trying to route me on local streets not freeways. My copilot kept threatening to take a hammer to it unless I turned it off. Love everything about this MH except this nav unit. Worst I have ever used, by far. Failure rate as to frquency of unacceptible routes, at least 50%!

Have to agree with you. We just did the Fredricksburg trip along the what seemed to be rural road to no where. We had 2 GPS units take us to residential streets no where close to our destination near Nashville when we were looking for Percy Priest campground. Never will I trust another GPS. Good old paper maps and phone apps work so much better.

kbhine · 05-01-2018, 03:01 PM

We usually run two gps systems. The one in the dash and the one in the cell, just to compare notes.

Bob Hyatt · 05-01-2018, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pacwest

Just curious on the 2018 systems can you feed the nav display to the forward TV? Makes it easy for my wife to follow along.

No TV input. There are two DVI connections, one for sat, one for blu-ray. One normal antenna in connection connected to coax that goes to cable/OTA antenna. I also don't know if the display unit has an output, but have not looked. Sounds like a bad idea to have a big tv over the driver's head with anything showing on it the driver might glance up at.

Bob Hyatt · 05-01-2018, 04:18 PM

Strange stuff. I have never had any GPS glitches except for the kind that are obvious map errors. IE a road is not straight through, but dead ends and picks up on the other side of a large ditch/creek or something. Never had mine take me into cramped quarters. I'd go carefully through all the setup options to make sure things are set up rationally. About the only thing that gives me pause is when the thing dings and displays "entering unverified RV area" which seems to be quite a few campgrounds, big and small.

The only other minor glitch I have seen is a "sharp turn ahead 1 mile" but the thing has us turning off this road well before that turn is reached in the road...

Takes a little getting used to to find things easily, but once you figure it out, it works well for me.