Community Forums

bgsc · 06-05-2011, 05:17 PM

Anybody tried the new Rand McNally 5510 RV GPS looking to upgrade my Garmin Nuvi 350, I like that you can specify the height weight etc of your coach for true truck routing, I recently had to replace my dome from a meeting with a low bridge, any comments appreciated

Floridafran · 06-05-2011, 06:16 PM

Barry,

There's a pretty long thread at the RV.net website about this, started by a guy who has one. It's in the Class A Motorhomes forum under the title - NEW GPS Unit Just for RVers. WOW.

Hope that helps you out.

Fran

Dacotah · 06-09-2011, 11:03 AM

BGSC, we researched and bought one, it arrived last week. It is everything you could want for travelling in an RV. We tried it out two days ago in the car, but with the class A 38' settings for the motor home. It gives very detailed voice and visual information, and plenty of warning time for intersections, off ramps, speed changes and other RV info. Every campground in the country is listed and it is very easy to plan a trip with multiple stops. It has a virtual dashboard that gives all speed and time info; even when sunrise and sunset times are if you do not want to drive at night. Go on their web site and look at the tutorial to learn more. We have had Garmin systems on several boats, but no one else has an RV specific system that compares to this one. DACOTAH

Dacotah · 06-12-2011, 07:13 AM

While planning our July trip to Minnesota on the new GPS, I compared it to the Good Sam route from their web site. Good Sam has us going through every small town in Illinois making turns both left and right at every small town stop sign to save 15 miles even though we programmed it for a large class A. The GPS plan uses major roads, mainly interstates, and will get us there quicker with no stop and go through small towns. The reason appears to be there are many Good Sam parks in these small towns and the route takes you near all of them! The GPS can be programmed to take a senic route or the quickest. Since the trip is over 1800 miles we need to get there quick since our time is limited. Has anyone else bought one of these units? I would be interested in your opinions. DACOTAH

Triker56 · 06-12-2011, 07:48 AM

Can you plan a trip on a PC and then import it to the GPS unit?

Or can you plan several trips in the PC or GPS unit and save them until you want to use them?

okie-dokie · 06-12-2011, 08:22 AM

I purchased the Rand McNally 5510, online in May. I'm still learning all of the things it can do. So far Iam very happy with the purchase. The 5 inch screen is OK, however I wish it were a 7 inch screen. You only have two voices to choose from. I don't like either, but I'll get use to them. On a scale from one to ten, I would give it a 9. I once drove up to a stop sign, but didn't stop completley. It notified me that I had made an illegal manuver. It will post the speed limit for the road you are on, and if you exceed that limit, it will tell you. How's that for a GPS !!!!!! I'm sure happy that it does'nt write citations. I would be in deep pooh pooh.

JohnH59 · 06-12-2011, 10:57 PM

I am interested in the Rand GPS. I've been using my iPad with CoPilot Live. It has an RV mode and seems to do a really good job at picking the routes. I found a stand at Brookstone that let is stand on the dash perfectly (we have a flat dash area in our '97 American Dream. I play music from the iPad through the cassette system and CoPilot lowers the music volume when it gives directions. The 10" screen on the iPadis great.

Like I stated, I am interested in the Rand GPS since it has numerous other options for RV travel like road grades and bridge heights, etc. After looking at a 10" screen, I'm not sure I could use to the 5".

Dacotah · 06-13-2011, 08:43 AM

Triker 56, the system can be downloaded to your PC, and you receive updates through your PC. The best way to plan multiple trips is on the unit itself; our July trip will have 3 legs going to Minnesota. Okie-Dokie, you are right, the screen is small, but once it is programmed for a trip, it zooms in on each turn and interchange to show better detail. Our boat GPS has a 15" screen but you have to adjust the scale manually or you do not get much detail. The voice commands are loud enough for a hard of hearing guy like myself; you really do not have to look at the screen that much. I like having truck stops and rest stops shown so you can plan some stop and stretch time to break up a long day. There are some short 3 day trips preloaded which we will try after the July trip. DACOTAH

Triker56 · 06-14-2011, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dacotah

Triker 56, the system can be downloaded to your PC, and you receive updates through your PC. The best way to plan multiple trips is on the unit itself

Thanks for the update.
Looks like I will stick with Co-Pilot Live for a while longer. Where I can plan my summer trips over the winter on a 22" screen. And then transfer all of them to the 15" laptop with a flash stick.

I have more time then, too fine tune the POI stops for fuel, attractions and campgrounds.

Also my old Street Pilot 2610 still works for my toad. And I can plan and research local attraction stops when traveling for it, on my 22" Desktop screen and them import them ahead of time. Even with it I have to add a lot of via's to make it take the roads I want it too.

When Rand McNally makes the trip planning on a PC available to do, along with a bigger screen for the 5510, then I may try it for the toad.

The New Co-Pilot Live 8 Laptop is only $99
Or for your iPad and many smart phones less then $60

Doug Sage · 06-14-2011, 08:22 AM

Can you set two profiles? One for the motorhome and one for the car? It would be great to be able to stick to the truck routes with the motorhome but be able to go through town with the car.

BobGed · 06-14-2011, 08:54 AM

Reliable source says they will be coming out with a 7" version this fall. For good low clearance information that you can load on various GPS devices and routing software, you might take a look at Low Clearance GPS Data

TechWriter · 06-14-2011, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by okie-dokie

The 5 inch screen is OK, however I wish it were a 7 inch screen.

Amen!

rebelone · 06-15-2011, 04:04 PM

I have the Rand Mcnally RV5510 Gps, it lasted 2 days, used it in my car only, then when I went on line to set up future downloads it locked up.I called the tech dept. no help there. I now have to get it back to the factory. Looks like this will be at my expense. Not easy to do as they are in the USA and I am in Canada. As it is I have not much to say as to how it performs compared to my Garmin 7200, 7 inch screen. I had hoped the RV mode would be great on trips with low bridges etc. My RV is 12 foot 6 inch high. More later, when it gets back.
Rebel

Dacotah · 06-16-2011, 07:38 AM

Doug, yes you can change profiles and use it in other vehicles. You can also change the icon for your vehicle from a car, truck, motorcycle, tow behind or motorhome. We used the unit Tusday to take the motorhome to Freightliner for service. It was in an area we were not familiar with in Pompano Beach, about 30 miles away. We usualy start from our storrage area and make a tight u-turn to get to the road to interstate 95, but the GPS led us to a truck route around Delray Beach that we did not know existed that was much easier to follow. Before the July trip we will download the latest road construction info and update it from the lap top as we stop each night. On this trial run my Nagivator moved the unit to her side of the windshield and she could stand in the step well to reprogram if needed. The voice directions could be heard and the info was concise and to the point. So far, we love the system. DACOTAH