GPS with RV Trip Wizard

[Dmitche4]

I need to replace my current GPS, the lifetime maps are no longer updating. Therefore, I would like to replace the GPS with another that will work best with RV Trip Wizard. Current GPS is Magellan. My RV equipment is F350 SRW 32' 5vr that is 13'2" tall. Does any one have suggestions for a standalone unit that will work well with the trip wizard?

Thanks in advance,

David

[MakethePlan]

I have a GPS Drive 60 LTM which we used for our 4 month trip summer 2018. I had used the RV Trip Planning wizard for this trip. However after much trying with Garmin and the Trip Wizard staff I never got the entire trip loaded into my GPS. Comments don't show up. The stops loaded into favorites.The excel spreadsheet was great in helping to reprogram the trip manually into the GPS. I am hopeful that this has been resolved although I have not tried it since last year.

[bruceisla]

Originally Posted by Dmitche4

I need to replace my current GPS, the lifetime maps are no longer updating. Therefore, I would like to replace the GPS with another that will work best with RV Trip Wizard. Current GPS is Magellan. My RV equipment is F350 SRW 32' 5vr that is 13'2" tall. Does any one have suggestions for a standalone unit that will work well with the trip wizard?

Thanks in advance,

David

Well .... depends on what you mean by "works well with Trip Wizard". I have found that what works for me is to input the entire trip into RVTW and include the street address in the notes. Then I send/print the trip itinerary via email. Then I manually enter the trip into my Rand McNally GPS. Works great for me and I have a printed itinerary for the navigator ... plenty of room for notes.
BTW, I have lifetime maps but they only get a major update yearly.

[mikeannetta]

Originally Posted by Dmitche4

I need to replace my current GPS, the lifetime maps are no longer updating. Therefore, I would like to replace the GPS with another that will work best with RV Trip Wizard. Current GPS is Magellan. My RV equipment is F350 SRW 32' 5vr that is 13'2" tall. Does any one have suggestions for a standalone unit that will work well with the trip wizard?

Thanks in advance,

David

David, I've been a loyal Garmin user for over 10years. From what I've seen its the best out there. I've been able to import my trips into RVTW but its currently a bit cumbersome. As of right now, RVTW takes some playing with to do this. The trips come across as POI and not a pre planned route. What I do is plan my trip with RVTW while online so I can review the campsites with RVTW as well as look online for additional information. Then usually on the night before traveling to next stop I program the next stop. This way I have an idea of estimated time of arrival. I even plan my fuel stops along the way using RVTW so that I can make sure I can get a CostCo or other memberships fuels you may prefer.
I've been told that RVTW programers are working on getting an easier transfer for Garmin, but the last I heard is Garmin seems to be the holdup.
But this procedure has worked very well for me the past 3 years.

[Hoffie]

I switched to RVTW when the Good Sam Trip planning tool when off line. It took a little learning to get my trips moved into my Rand McNally but finally found a decent workaround.

I plan my trip in RVTW and maintain that as the master trip file. I open my trip in RVTW and then open up the Rand McNally Trip maker. Highlighting a stop in RVTW, I copy the address for the stop and then go to RMTM, select add a stop in trip program and past the address from RVTW. Then go to the next stop and repeat. When I am done, I can send the RMTM file to the GPS running on my Rand McNally tablet standalone GPS. The trip then automatically opens up in the GPS module.

[foundwaldo]

I just bought a Garmin RV 770 with lifetime map updates. I found that you can actually update across wifi. Also I noticed it has a trip builder built in, and it allows you to connect to your phone through Bluetooth for traffic updates. I have not used it yet, but normally it runs $350 it is running $300 on Amazon right now though. That is why we snagged it up. I have read some of the bad reviews so I really hope it doesn't try it on me.

Also I tried the new good Sam trip planner. The jury is still out on it. I found that it would not let me modify the route unless I changed it to car, and then it is being really difficult to get it to the router I want. I am going from St Louis to Niagara and it is trying to take me through Detroit, when Google is taking me though NY.

[timjet]

I have a Garmin RV 660. I plan all our trips on RVTW. I have found it cumbersome to download trips from RVTW into my GPS. I have found some success in downloading my RVTW trip into Garmin's Base Camp and then downloading into my GPS. But the download process does not keep any of the route modifications you made in RVTW and download them to your GPS.


What I've found work's best is to create your trip in RVTW and then put your destination in your GPS. Compare the GPS route to the trip you created in RVTW. If they are the same - go. If not adjust the route in your GPS to be the same as the one in RVTW.
If you did not use the drag feature in RVTW to modify a route, I've found the route created by the GPS almost always is the same as the one in RVTW.

[cyclist922]

Sorry to piggyback but I think my question is essentially the same as the OP’s.

I have the Garmin RV 760. I’ve used it with the Garmin Base Camp app for years to plan routes. The Mac version of Base Camp is pretty good. But it was still a PITA to bounce between web sites to get park reviews, satellite maps, rates, weather etc. This year I started using RV Trip Planner.

So far so good, with one exception. Getting the route and the POIs into my GPS unit. I’ve tried exporting a .gpx file into Base Camp and then moving it to the gps device, but it comes through as a track and it doesn’t transfer POIs. I’d like to have it in my gps as a route, with POIs and shaping points.

Any ideas?

—Rod

[Feiter]

I just purchased and so far am finding it cumbersome to use and have ZERO luck trying to import RV Trip Wizard into the thing. At $500 you would think Garmin would be the first to allow import of GPX files...Come on Garmin get with it!!

Also not impressed with the manual...really does not say how to use anything and when it comes to files only talks about exporting from the device and not importing.

I am seriously thinking of return and keep using Trip Wizard and Google Maps via my iPhone and Apple Car Play

[Andy R]

Just an FYI - The new RV LIFE app has GPS turn-by-turn built in. It should provide routes similar to Garmin but using your phone as your GPS unit (ie. mount your phone (or a tablet) to the dash. We still have some improvements to make to the system, as of right now it's mostly defaulting off the same type truck routing that you get with the Garmins and other comparable hardware GPS for RVs.

Basically save yourself the hardware purchase and through a much smaller in-app subscription you can turn your phone into the GPS (even works offline like Garmins).

RV LIFE App is integrated with RV Trip Wizard so you can access your trips. We have a few bugs and anomalies we are addressing, namely trip segments where waypoints were used to define a route are not being pulled over right now. We are working to get those to work soon hopefully.

Here is the link to the app:
http://rvlife.com/app/

[Canuck53]

Originally Posted by Andy R

Just an FYI - The new RV LIFE app has GPS turn-by-turn built in. It should provide routes similar to Garmin but using your phone as your GPS unit (ie. mount your phone (or a tablet) to the dash. We still have some improvements to make to the system, as of right now it's mostly defaulting off the same type truck routing that you get with the Garmins and other comparable hardware GPS for RVs.

Basically save yourself the hardware purchase and through a much smaller in-app subscription you can turn your phone into the GPS (even works offline like Garmins).

RV LIFE App is integrated with RV Trip Wizard so you can access your trips. We have a few bugs and anomalies we are addressing, namely trip segments where waypoints were used to define a route are not being pulled over right now. We are working to get those to work soon hopefully.

Here is the link to the app:
RV LIFE App

Does this setup require a data plan (cell signal)?

[Andy R]

Originally Posted by Canuck53

Does this setup require a data plan (cell signal)?

The app is designed so that you download data for each state. The data downloaded includes the map tiles and map data so it can do routing directly from the phone (ie. no internet connection required - but you have to download the data prior to going offline) and it also includes all the data and every review and tip for all the campgrounds. So if you download California you will get all the California map data plus all the California campground data.

Site Note: we don't currently allow for all the photos to be downloaded. Maybe in the future but the storage requirements are on another level.

If you are planning to travel the Northwest you can download Washinton, Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, California, Utah, Nevada and you would be able to navigate anywhere in those states when offline without an internet connection. This is an important nuance most people don't consider or take for granted. I'll admit I love Google Maps and I town a vintage Airstream so height is not an issue like a 12'+ rig. The problem is Google Maps won't work unless you have a connection and I've been to many a campground with no signal. At that point, as long as you downloaded the data before leaving or from a coffee shop the turn-by-turn will still work without internet needed.

The whole app is designed so that you can download data, store it locally and have the app work for you when offline. It was designed that way knowing RVers are often in the sticks and no internet is available. The feature is only for Premium users who upgraded.

[dogyard]

Originally Posted by Dmitche4

I need to replace my current GPS, the lifetime maps are no longer updating. Therefore, I would like to replace the GPS with another that will work best with RV Trip Wizard. Current GPS is Magellan. My RV equipment is F350 SRW 32' 5vr that is 13'2" tall. Does any one have suggestions for a standalone unit that will work well with the trip wizard?

Thanks in advance,

David

After watching various online reviews I made the plunge and bought the Garmin 1090 RV GPS with intention of planning trips in RVTW and then exporting gpx files to the Garmin. After spending hours without success I finally chatted online with Garmin support and learned this - "You will need to quesry Garmin or our user forum site, irv2.com for a resolution. We produce the GPX file for your use. It might work if you import it into Base Camp and then into your GPS. Garmin and others continually update their GPS and we have no knowledge of what will be accepted by each GPS. GPX is a standard file for this function." I can tell you that after downloading/installing Base Camp that's definitely NOT the answer. The more I use the Garmin 1090 with it's VERY rich features (trip planner, campgrounds, wi-fi map updates, phone integration, web browser, etc) I'm thinking this will replace my use of RVTW since that's just redundant work to get the same results. Others have posted about using RVTW for planning and then printing out itinerary and manually inputting to Garmin but that seems akin to going back to DOS/CPM operating systems.....

[timjet]

I doubt your GPS has anywhere near the planning tools RVTW has. I use RVTW strictly as a planning tool and have found no better platform for this.