toys for my RV.

[Herd fan]

I am thinking about adding items such as an in motion satellite and possibly some kind of GPS for my MH. can anyone make any reccomendations about brands, best value, and weather or not these toys are worth having?

Thanks Bill

[Herd fan]

I am thinking about adding items such as an in motion satellite and possibly some kind of GPS for my MH. can anyone make any reccomendations about brands, best value, and weather or not these toys are worth having?

Thanks Bill

[AFChap]

I would not have ordered a GPS with our coach, but it had one and I learned to appreciate it. That said, the oem unit is a built-in Alpine GPS, and cannot hold a candle to the Garmin 2610 portable GPS I bought myself for Christmas for use in the toad. On two trips recently I used the Garmin on the RV dash because the expensive Alpine did not show the local streets where our destination was!! It would be hard to beat the Garmin, and the neat thing about it is that you can move it between RV & toad as desired.

[Lug_Nut]

I would recommend the KVH L3 in motion sat and the Pioneer GPS. I have the KVH but I don't have a Pioneer GPS. Are they worth having? Any gadgets that are complicated are great. I love both in motion sat and GPS. More powerrrr!

[Diplomat Don]

Bill, I just bought and installed the Pioneer AVIC D1. This is a combination AM/FM, CD, MP3, DVD, back-up camera, TV monitor and GPS all in one. It's a double din (twice as tall as a car radio) and fits in the dash. It's all touch menu with a wireless remote that straps to the steering wheel. The screen is 6.5" and easy to read. It does a ton of things as you can see.

The GPS is capable of finding a location by address, phone number or touching the screen in the general area. Plus it has all of the restaurants, gas stations, hospitals, and hotels included in the software.

There is one model above this that actually plays DVD's on the screen, but you can't play a CD while the mapping disc is being used.

You can also map to an area and then have it play the route for you.

It's expensive, but it was my Christmas present to myself. The total price was $1239.00, but that included the remote. You can go to Pioneer's website and view the unit. I bought mine though Electronics Bonanza on-line (best price). Best Buy has them on disply.

This was pricey, but it included the Pioneer Super Tuner radio and CD. The only down side is that you can't remove it for the TOAD. The big screen is great for those of us trying to look at those tiny little GPS units.

P.S. On the in-motion satellite, you must remember that most motorhomes lock out the front TV while the engine is running. You would have to bypass the lockout or watch the TV in the bedroom only. With that said, we bought the KVH S3. It's their best stationary satellite. I'm painting the dome tomorrow to match the coach paint.

[Starship]

GPS wise we have a Garmin Street Pilot.
DW calls it Angel (as in Guardian Angel).

Maps well, is portable, and talks to you to give route info.

I swear the voice (female) sounds irritated if I miss a turn and she has to tell me "off route, recalculating." I try not to irritate her

[PDB]

I'd buy a portable GPS. The builin ones are way overpriced, and you still have to buy another for your car.
Look at Garmin, Magellan, Lowrance and TomTom.
My particular choice was TomTom 700. We set it on the dash of the RV, then when we arrive at CG, we unplug it and set it on the dash of the car.
Paul

[PDB]

PS: Starship, I agree. The voice seems to go thru a series starting with, in a sweet voice, "At your first opportunity, turn around", thru "In 200 yards, turn around", then "TURN AROUND!".
After which "she" gives up and re-routes me. Whenever I screw up a turn, my wife says "Boy, she's gunna be ****** now!".

[Dave Bowers]

We have the Delorme system hooked up to our laptop. It is a valueable tool, however, my wife tends to get used to looking at the progress on the laptop rather than looking out the window. And, she can let me know some very useful info, like my elevation for example. That's really a boring statistic here in Minnesota

[John66]

I got the Garmin IQue 3600. Its a palm pilot PDA and navigation system. For use in a vehicle, the mobile kit is invaluable, with bean bag based stand, power supply and external speaker. The built in antenna is adequate in my pickup, but I'll bet I need an external antenna in the motorhom.