GPS - New Magellin Device - Sounds good

[Renipladlo]

Please check out this link if you are interested in a GPS device which is geared/designed for RV'er type travel.

Magellan Debuts New RV-Specific GPS Device | RV Business

Based on my experience with magellan devices I have owned/own now, I like the easy interface, easy setup, and the built in bluetooth for my phone. I want the one above, now it's finding it cheap enough for my birthday.

[acampingwewillgo]

Ill have to keep my eye on this also....I also want a New RV specific GPS but want to wait until there time tested somewhat.

[Renipladlo]

All - I am an electronics geek, ex computer specialist, so I have a fair understanding on what & how these things work. I have owned four GPS's. I have currently a Lowrance handheld unit, which I use in hiking and metal detecting, a Magellan RM 3055 for the jeep, and owned a previous Magellan unit as well as a Lowrance car unit (the car unit was less than satisfactory, as it got lost a lot). Lowrance no longer makes GPS units for vehicles other than marine use. The do make handheld units for hiking, etc, and are great rugged units. If you have ever owned a marine unit, switching over to the handheld unit is a snap. Mostly the same type of menu’s and buttons. Now with that said here is what I hope is some information that will help if you are looking at each of these units and need a push one way or the other. My reasoning is simple, RV’s (MH’s being specific) are large, heavy units, and should not go on every road you will see on a map. RV Specific GPS units can be programmed as to length, weight, and will not take you on any roads not suited for the vehicle you are using. NOTE: A GPS should never be expected to take the place of a good current paper map, it’s only as good as the people who programmed it, and all of them have mistakes in the mapping software. We always check our route via a paper map before we head out, and we keep the RM Truckers Atlas, and the Western Mountain Pass Atlas in the driving area of our coach, and use them religiously. Maps, and GPS’s are tools and you cannot have too many of them as far as I’m concerned. The BH is my navigator, and I ask her periodically to check up on us on a map so we know exactly where we are so we both have the “big picture”. Current maps are only current at the publication date, as we found out driving around Phoenix, had we known about a different highway route, we might not have had our accident. So again, check, check, and then try to check again.


Rand McNally – RVND-7710 - http://store.randmcnally.com/gps-electronics/rv-gps.html - I read a review on this unit. To the best of my knowledge it does not have Bluetooth, so it cannot pair up to a cell (Bluetooth enabled) and do speakerphone work while going down the road. I downloaded the manual, very easy to understand, but, if new to GPS world, you won't understand everything it's trying to tell you. It also does not make clear, if the display is 3D or 3D or a combination of both (confusing if both). 3D is much easier to determine "where you are on the screen (think location on the map) & what is coming up shortly". The review I read said the windshield mount was stronger and better than the other unit reviewed, but, the reviewer did not have knowledge of how the "other unit" worked to me, and skewed the review toward this one in my opinion. In fact the RM unit almost makes breakfast and butter’s the toast for you. It’s got a lot of things it can do, and almost has too much information. Nevertheless, if you don’t program into the trip you are taking any side stops, etc, NEVER mess with it, while driving the rig. Stop at a rest area and then do what is needed to modify or include other stops, etc. This unit has (according to the manufacturer) a ton of trips you can take aside from the route you are currently driving on, rest areas, side trips to historic or scenic type of places, wal-mart’s, you name it they most likely are in it. My concern is getting the information out and displayed in a quick friendly manner. Based on the manual, and the demo I watched, seems to have lots of button pushing to get it to do what you might want. And it could in my case have a lot more features I won’t ever use, or need. I have not used one of these, and cannot specifically tell you what its process is when using it. I suggest you talk to folks who have one, and ask also what their previous unit was. As we age, our learning curve slows down, and our frustration level seems to increase when confronted with technology that seems counter intuitive to something else we may be familiar with. If you have used other RM units, this one “should” be similar to those. They have at least one unit for Big Rig Trucks and some Fleet management units as well, so they have been doing this for a while – and their paper atlas is the goto map for the Big Rig Driver, I recommend the Large Print version – Amazon.com best price. The reviewer specifically said this unit attaches to the windshield better than the Magellan unit. I can attest to this from another standpoint however. If you clean the windshield with Windex (only Windex), and clean the suction cup of the GPS unit bracket as well with Windex, dry them both well, then push the suction cup on the glass, it won’t come off for at least a year. I know mine did not come lose until we had one 90F day in Yuma, then it did (Magellan unit), cleaning it again as above and it did not come lose again, until I took it off for security reasons.

Magellan - http://www.magellangps.com/Products/RoadMate-RV/Magellan-RoadMate-RV9165T-LM - I read the same review (above) which also compared this unit. I own a Magellan unit (Not this one) and felt the reviewer did not fully understand how the Magellan unit operated, so I felt he skewed the review toward the RM unit. I have used a Magellan unit for more than 5 years, and have an excellent understanding how they work. That beings said, I may be skewed toward them, and so don’t take my point of view, make your own decisions. However, (mount issue above) I disagreed with his take on several points on the RV-9165, first on the lower left corner of the screen, it’s defaults to compass heading, i.e., N, S, E, W, and points in-between, but if you touch that heading, it expands a popup display giving you the option of choosing compass, elevation, time, distance to destination, touching one of the other options, makes that the default, really simple. The reviewer could not figure this out. They also could not figure out how to get the operating manual of the website, (mine came with it on a cd I think, but I downloaded it anyway so I have it on this computer, and a printed copy as well on my desk. Since I believe in reading the manual, and playing with the device, I learned it before I put it in the car. Notable differences – again according to the reviewer, the Database of the Rand unit has more POI’s (points of interest), but the Magellan unit has if I read it correctly 6 million POI’s and the RM unit has 12 million. For me part of the joy of RV’ing is safely getting to a place, and then checking out the local papers for things going on, that we want to see, which means for us walking around the town, seeing the local flavor as well as checking things out as well. If we go to a place and already know what events are taking place, the GPS device is the last place I’m going to look for local events (Rand unit has lots of events loaded in), I will check locally, things change, and the GPS won’t know those changes, so having festivals, rodeos, etc built in won’t be to my advantage. Both units have rest areas (important to me (old man who drinks too much coffee, yeah you got it, potty breaks)), plus I like to check tires on MH, the toad hookup, and just stretch legs. Both units can take you just about anywhere you want, routing you in such a way, you won’t get on roads, underpasses, etc which could ruin your day. That and being able to swap the unit into the car (if toad is not equipped from the factory), and so both have a car mode. This is the most important thing for me, since it’s nice to not be completely lost in a new place and driving and mapping is not safe. The Magellan unit takes three steps to put in an address, so it’s Ease of use for me since if you have ever worked on, all the later ones are so close the learning curve is 5 minutes. They all have quick spell, which anticipates what the city/road is based on the first 2 or 3 letters, then pops up a menu, and you can then choose from that. The most difficult one I have found was Garmin; again, it’s what you are used to. But, it takes me less steps on the Magellan unit than my buddy’s Garmin, or my old Lowrance. Based on the manual for the Rand unit, too many button pushes, and steps to get/do the same thing on the Magellan unit in my opinion. I don’t need to know sunrise/sunset, as the weather channel tells me that, I don’t need outside temp, as I have a weather radio and temp in the Jeep/RV, so the Rand unit give me lots of stuff I won’t use. The Magellan unit has 3D & 2D, not a combination. 3D is easier on the eye’s and I leave it in that display, pushing the + or – takes you closer or further out from the view you are seeing. The Magellan does not however tell you how close or far away (scale) you are on, which I find madding, I want to know if I’m on ¼ mile view, or ½ mile views for instance.

Pricing is similar, Amazon.com seems to have better pricing, but both unit are so new, discounts have not started much yet. Wait a couple more months and those will start happening. This is not a complete review, mostly just a quick overview of what I have learned reading and checking specifications. Try both at camping world – realizing, if they are on, you are watching a demo mode. The only real way is to have one in the car/RV and play with it, expensive way to compare. I will get the Magellan one, when I find its price to my liking, especially since I won’t have much new to learn, and know that the quality of that brand is second to none, with excellent warranty support. I blew up my unit (present 3055, updating the software about 3 months into its first year. My unit had to be shipped in, and I got it back in less than 10 days, which included weekends. Map updates for the Magellan unit (3055) took about 45 minutes on the Intel/Microsoft based laptop I have, but it was very easy with Magellan’s software doing it in the background. Believe both units are made in China, which angers me, but what can you do.

If anyone reading this, purchases one or the other, please provide a review herein, as we all want to know how they work. My next toad will have a GPS built in, so I only then would need one for the coach. Sorry to be longwinded must be something in the air.

[sdennislee]

Recreation Nation offers iRV2 members a 5% discount if you use coupon code IRV2.

See this thread http://www.irv2.com/forums/f59/recre...-a-122568.html

[Renipladlo]

Camping world has the Rand unit on sale now for 399.00 don't know when it ends.

[sdennislee]

It's regularly priced at $359.99 at Recreation Nation https://recreationnation.me/main/catalog/401 and with the iRV2 discount it brings it down to $341.99, this price includes free life time maps.

[TRAKKER]

Look into a notebook with proper software. I have a number of Garmin units for Jeep, MH and pick-up. THe notebook has a bigger screen and is so flat that it should mount easier.

[Coin-Op]

I use the Garmin model dezl 560 which is set up for RV or Truck. In my shopping I found the Garmin 560 has more features for RVers than the other brands. You can set your weight, width, height, length etc. of your RV.

[docj]

Originally Posted by Coin-Op

I use the Garmin model dezl 560 which is set up for RV or Truck. In my shopping I found the Garmin 560 has more features for RVers than the other brands. You can set your weight, width, height, length etc. of your RV.

We use the Garmin Nuvi 465T which has similar abilities.

[Renipladlo]

FWIW - Both the Magellan unit and the RM unit cand be programed for height, weight, etc. As I mentioned, never just use a GPS, check with a paper map, a truckers atlas would be better.

[mr300ce]

I had $80 in Staples rewards $$ from recycling empty ink cartridges, so I used it on the Microsoft Streets & Trips w/gps software ($70). I loaded it onto my laptop w/15" screen. Now I have a large GPS. I like it alot. I can download routes and POIs from it onto my Garmin GPS, too.

Very nice to sit at the table and plan the route ahead of time. Laptop sits nicely on console between front seats when on the road.

I have noticed that the turn-by-turn voice out the laptop is very low volume, (common problem) but.....I can plug a jumper cord right into my Sony dash stereo system, and while listening to 'my' music in Windows Media Player, the software will mute the music when she gives instructions. Yeah !!!

I have downloaded 1000's of POIs from the Discovery RVers site, which has just about everything an RVer needs.

[PC-Bum]

For what it's worth, I use Delorme W/GPS on my laptop. Fits nicely on RV dash, easy to see.

I always advance plan our annual trips. This year the Oregon Trail in reverse and looping back home to N. CA. About 5k. & 2 months. Have a Magellon 1700 I use in the Towed for local traveling.

The Delorme SW calculates stops. I use Google and Bing to look for RV parks near the marked area. I take a satellite look at possible parks to help decide. The car units drive me nutz trying to do any long distance planning. I like the Delorme labeling flexability too. I realize other units do much of the same, however I have NOT found anything that is better for long trip planning. Streets & Trips is a poor second in my books.

[Renipladlo]

I did purchase the Magellan RM RV9165T-LM unit. I updated it and will use it in the MH once we get MH back. It allows height and weight, and highlights Good Sam campgrounds if I need a place to stop. There was one software update and one map update online which it downloaded and updated itself with (provided you have installed the Magellan software for updating – called Content Manager). I then made sure it was charged up all the way, and put it back in the box. It finds where it is a lot faster than my other unit for the jeep, but that one is several years old now.

I don't want a PC device for this reason. If I’m ever in another accident, the PC then becomes a missile, which could kill or seriously injure someone in the front of the coach. This GPS will be glued down, and won't move, in that event. If you are ever in an accident with your coach, blow a tire, and lose control, things could and will launch themselves into the air, and I try to keep all the big stuff battened down, years of Naval Service in the North Atlantic, and boat ownership and RV ownership have taught me, anything lose can become a missile/weapon. Although we have not in the past stored them, the sink covers are going into the space under the sink provided for them, and the sink will stay uncovered. The stove covers fit so tight, I don’t think they would move unless we turned the thing over, and I will be already scared to death if that happens. FWIW- In the recent accident where the lady lost the integrity of a tire on her car and lost control and crashed into us, when she rebounded into the jeep after taking out the DSLRC from the rear wheel aft, I looked at the PS mirror to see what I could see, I saw the jeep on two wheels almost going over from the secondary force of that rebound.

In an employer safe driving class years ago, one example of someone being killed by flying objects was a woman was killed by a box of Kleenex she kept in the back window when she was hit. So anything lose can do you in. A PC weighs in at around 5-9 pounds, and the old dude Newton say’s it better than I can in three laws:

First law: Every object continues in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a straight line, unless compelled to change that state by external forces acted upon it.
Second law: The acceleration a of a body is parallel and directly proportional to the net force F acting on the body, is in the direction of the net force, and is inversely proportional to the mass m of the body, i.e., F = ma.
Third law: When two bodies interact by exerting force on each other, these action and reaction forces are equal in magnitude, but opposite in direction.