Community Forums

1010 · 02-11-2015, 12:14 PM

I am looking at the Good Sam (Rand McNally) or the comperable Magellan GPSs. Good Sam has a 7" & a 5" screen, is the 7" worth the additional $$$? Any problems, concerns or issues with reliability with the GPSs? Are local, state & federal parks included in these GPSs (important for us)?

Thanks in advance.

1010

MRUSA14 · 02-11-2015, 12:25 PM

To my mind the larger screen is well worthwhile, if you have the room for it. It makes things easier to see, and thus easier to use. I have a Rand 7720 and I like it a lot.

Scarab0088 · 02-11-2015, 12:28 PM

The 7" vs. 5" decision can only be made by the owner - personal preference.

We have the RVND 7710 and 7720 - the GoodSam version will be either the 7725 or 7735 (easy to tell apart with the 7725 having big knobs on the chassis edge).

We like ours very much and they have a bunch of RV specific functions and include all state and Federal parks...can't comment on locals.

All RVND's have lifetime map subscriptions included since the 7720 was released...a very important cost when shopping (typically $80-$100 if sold separately).

Bets luck

Boomster · 02-15-2015, 02:31 PM

I'm a big fan of the "Tom-Tom" series...Walmart sells them...price +/- $100.
Also Cabelas. Some come with free lifetime map updates...nice feature.

geocacher · 02-15-2015, 07:04 PM

We have had a garmin Nuvi gps for a long time but didn't get lifetime maps. I would make sure you get one with the lifetime maps. It is worth your investment. Does the GS Rand McNally ones have warnings for bridge or tunnel heights? We will probably replace ours with one when it dies. GPS'r are fairly reliable but there are times when they want to take you to places that you shouldn't go. Such as a road that doesn't go through all the way. If you haven't used them..and you have a route in but take a wrong turn, the gps will try to reroute you. They do that by having you go to a road that will turn you around and bring you back to where you left the route so you can go the right way. Sometimes you can see on the gps map that if you take another route, it would be lots quicker and easier. Most gps'r can be set to quickest timewise, or quickest by mileage on the garmin version. I can't attest to the other brands. Ours has helped us by re-routing around a traffic jam where the traffic was at a stand still. That was a neat feature.