GPS

Rocket Man · 12-16-2011, 07:57 PM

I have lurking for some time. I have learned a lot and been able to repair a lot of problems that have shown their ugly head. Going on an cruse around the good old USA this winter and need a GPS that shows lane turn offs and speaks street names. My old Tomtom still works great but at my age the new additions would take a lot of the guess work out of driving. Your recommendations on a GPS will be greatly appreciated. Keep up the good fight.

Ramblin · 12-16-2011, 08:06 PM

More information about your needs would be helpful. What sort of rig are you driving? What is your budget? What is your comfort level with computers?

There are some great RV/Trucker specific GPS units with big screens available, but they're pricey if you're on a budget. There are GPS systems available for a laptop PC, but they're not for PC neophytes.

A search of this forum for 'GPS' will yeild much information.

LVJ58 · 12-16-2011, 08:41 PM

Recently bought a TomTom XXL550-TM from Radio Shack on sale for $99+tax and it came with a lifetime Traffic & Maps Edition. It has a 5" screen, not too bad. Haven't tried it out yet but will on our trip to Quartzsite in January.

sdennislee · 12-16-2011, 10:39 PM

I really like the Rand McNally 5510 and 7710. Just upgraded to the 7710. When a lane split on the interstate is coming up the screen turns into an interstate road sign showing you which lane to be in, for city turns it zooms in to street level view and shows your turn. Spoken directions are clear and easy to understand.

The searchable database in my favorite feature.

BpK9Miami · 12-17-2011, 05:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocket Man

I have lurking for some time. I have learned a lot and been able to repair a lot of problems that have shown their ugly head. Going on an cruse around the good old USA this winter and need a GPS that shows lane turn offs and speaks street names. My old Tomtom still works great but at my age the new additions would take a lot of the guess work out of driving. Your recommendations on a GPS will be greatly appreciated. Keep up the good fight.

I've gone through TomTom and Garmin (and use another app on my iPad), but so far I've found the Garmin 465 T to be the most cost effective solution for me. This particular model allows you to enter length, width, height, and weight and then provides warnings if your route exceeds any of the limits. Keeping it up to date off the Gamin site has been my biggest weakness (I don't do it often enough). Just a thought. . .

4Fun · 12-17-2011, 06:01 AM

We purchased the Garmin 465T last summer and returned it for full refund. On the first trip out it performed horribly. It took us on a rock and dirt road way out of the way to our destination (campground).

We now have the Magellan Roadmate 1700 (7 inch screen) with the chip that is copilot for truckers/rv's.

The unit was approximately $150 and the chip was $59.

So far - so good.

jzick · 12-17-2011, 06:10 AM

Another vote for the Rand McNally. We have several GPS units, including two built ins in autos and the 5510 seems to outperform them all.

mikron · 12-17-2011, 06:11 AM

Anyone have a Garmin 880 voice activated. Don't know if they still sell them. Saw it on Youtube and thought it was a great idea. Can't find one except used on ebay and not a fan of that.

Rocket Man · 12-18-2011, 10:30 PM

Thanks for all the reply's. After looking at about every GPS known to man I have it narrowed down to 2 units that may suite my needs.. A Garmin nuvi "1490LMT" or a Tomtom "GO 2535TM". If any one is familiar with either of these units and can advise me either way please sound off. Thanks again for your input.

Rocket Man · 01-07-2012, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LVJ58

Recently bought a TomTom XXL550-TM from Radio Shack on sale for $99+tax and it came with a lifetime Traffic & Maps Edition. It has a 5" screen, not too bad. Haven't tried it out yet but will on our trip to Quartzsite in January.

LVJ58. After returning 2 different Garmin units I also settled on on the TomTom XXL 550TM model. Having a TomTom for years I'm sure It helped to be much easier to program and to do the things I expected, no guess work. Thanks again for the suggestions.
One Happy camper.