Rand McNally 7710 GPS

[TechWriter]

Originally Posted by randco

There has been a lot of discussion on another forum about the Rand McNally 5510. The larger percentage of buyers have sent them back.

Really???

Like Moderator JohnRR, I'm curious where this info came from.

I check the Escapees & RVNet forums and found this . . .

• Escapees -- one person "claims" he returned a 5510. I quoted "claims" because it was the first and only post from this person. Mmmmmm . . .
• RVNet -- there are several people using the 5510. Most like it. Some report initial programming difficulties and a forum moderator gave the unit a thumbs up after a long trip. He noted a couple of problems, but all in all, the 5510 worked well.

Randco, do you have a source for your comment?

[JMonroe]

We met the programmer at the FMCA rally in Madison, and went to one of their seminars. The 5510 was their first effort and they were trying to pack a lot of features not previously available to the RV market into a brand new product. There were teething pains, there have been updates to their original programing. While at their booth, which was VERY busy, another 'glitch' was identified by a customer. The programmer had pen and pad in hand.

We walked away convinced that their intentions were to deliver a solid product, targeted to the RV community. You can test in the lab 'till the cows come home, but only a few thousand customers are truly 'qualified' to put it through real life scenarios likely to reveal any deficiencies. We were satisfied they are quickly moving in the right direction.

[TheArnolds]

I have a Garmin dezl 560 LMT (list $499) that is designed for Trucks and RV's. It has a ton of functions and you can set up different profiles for your RV to keep you out of trouble, i.e. low bridges, non-truck route roads, light duty bridges, etc. It also has a FM receiver for traffic alerts and re-routing that works fairly good. I have tried to ignor it's suggestions only to get into a ton of traffic troubles. It also has lifetime updates. I like it but I have the same issues as others...not easy to see the larger route ahead however I have a co-pilot that loves to map out our trips on our computer (Microsoft Streets & Trips) as well as tracking our route with our iPad (GPS App). For now, this works for us.

[Dacotah]

We bought the 5510 in late June and took it on a 5000 mile trip in July and early August. It took a little while to get familiar with it since it is a new unit, and the 5" screen is a little small, but it worked flawlessly. Every few days we checked the internet for changes and upgrades and they loaded seamlessly. One comment about the 7" being to big to put in the car is correct, the 5" is great to switch back and forth.

Since we wanted to stop at many POI's that we had not seen before, the system gave us all the information including phone numbers, and all the campground info also. If Rand comes out with a remote antenna, we will move the unit to the "Nagivator" chair so the screen size is OK. Hope this helps, DACOTAH

[traveldawg]

After reading my post and all the others, I think my bottom line (for now?) seems to be the ability to see POI I am interested in (truck stops and rest areas currently) without having to zoom to a ridiculously detail level.

I can live through all the routing functions. My JVC in dash GPS in the RV as well as my Garmin Nuvi (whatever model) lets me do waypoints so I can route the way I want to when necessary.

What I'd really like is a small indicator on my screen when I am zoomed out so I could see that there is a POI coming up (or around me) that I selected. I think a TomTom I use to have did this when in 3D mode.

For now using my JVC, Google maps on line, iPhone google maps and iPhone apps (Rest Areas, Truck Stops) I am doing fine. I suppose I'm being a bit piggish wanting everything in one. But, honestly, the iPhone apps seems better than a GPS for POIs.

[distaff]

For what it is worth (not much probably) I don't use my Garmin Nuvi for directions in the MH. I will use it for distance to specific points or to locate a rest are coming up on the highway, but I only use it to direct me around town in the toad when I get somewhere.

Moving the big rig is a big deal, so I take the time to pull out my laptop and plan my route on google maps. This goes as far as printing out specific sections such as how to enter difficult sites such as campgrounds or other such stops I plan to make. I like to use the satellite view to really look at what I'm driving into. With the toad on the back of a 43 footer, I don't like to find out when I get there what lane to be in, and only a careful look on google maps will tell me. I also look at the terrain view to see how steep the grades will be.

It is worth it to spend 10 minutes on this given how stressful it is to not know where you are going.

[gripper]

I purchased the "Tripmaker RVND 5510", just before I went to the IRV2 Rally in Urbanna, VA. It worked well, except for using the "Lat/Long" coordinates for finding campsites. I never was able to get it to work for me. The message was always "unable to find anything at those coordinates", or something to that effect. I used the Lat/Long figures from "Woodalls". Maybe I was not doing it correctly, but one time it located me somewhere in Europe....I think. A lot of times, it looked like the location was in the middle of the ocean. I am not 100% satisfied with it, but I'll keep trying.

[BJLove]

Why spend big bucks on specialized equipment when today there are little computers called tablets that do all the functions of mapping (with GPS) along with free APPS (Applications or computer programs) that find the cheapest gas; RV related sites (camping, maintenance); navigation, dump sites, TV broadcast stations (for aiming that antenna); satellite finder (for pointing that dish!) and even the ability to browse this Forum! Did I mention all these apps are free? All for about the same price as one of those high end models that just does route following. With all the other functions in these units in 7-inch and 10-inch formats, why restrict yourself? These little units are great for the navigator (I can't get distracted trying to read a GPS unit and drive too!). There are many models on the market. Investigate these while you're at it. Once you use one you'll never go back to just plain GPS! I've relegated by Garmin Nuvi to being just a fancy trip meter for recording miles, driving time, etc.. BTW, mine is a Toshiba Thrive 10 inch and fits perfectly in front of the navigator in my Simba.

[Bremer Speck]

I had purchased the 5 inch Rand McNally when it came out a few months ago and took it on a cross country trip. Worked quite well and it is obviously made for RV's. I did not like the small screen and when I heard about the new 7 inch Magellan for RV's I ordered that one. I sent it back. Why? I could not find where to input information about my RV. The available options clearly were for trucks only, certainly not for RV's. In my opinion, clearly a case of Magellan and Good Sam trying to cash-in on RV GPS's but without having the product. I do still have the 5 inch Rand which I am going to sell. I ordered the new 7 inch version and got information from Camping World, that the ship date is delayed until 11/1. The Rand McNally is clearly made for RV's. I like the 5 inch version and am sure the 7 inch version is as good and better. As for another post extolling the value of tablets, there is a point and using Co-Pilot on my iPad clearly works well. However, I do prefer having dedicated devices. so I will have a dedicated GPS and use my iPad as a back-up.

[texnet]

Originally Posted by gripper

I purchased the "Tripmaker RVND 5510", just before I went to the IRV2 Rally in Urbanna, VA. It worked well, except for using the "Lat/Long" coordinates for finding campsites. I never was able to get it to work for me. The message was always "unable to find anything at those coordinates", or something to that effect. I used the Lat/Long figures from "Woodalls". Maybe I was not doing it correctly, but one time it located me somewhere in Europe....I think. A lot of times, it looked like the location was in the middle of the ocean. I am not 100% satisfied with it, but I'll keep trying.

I am not sure if the 5510 uses a - or W for the Longitude but if you do not put the proper symbol in they you will end up 1/2 way around the world from where you expected to be

[jjwalkers26]

I bought the Rand McNally 5510 a couple of months before going to the IRV2 rally in Urbanna,Va. I also used my Garmin Nuvi 660 at the same time. Both units worked about the same except for a few things.

The 5510 wa able to find Gas stations and Campgrounds pretty easy. It has speed warning which drove me crazy but you can adjust that. It's easy to hear.

Both GPS's routed me the same way, but the definition on the garmin is way better then the Rand Mcnally. Sharper with more detail. The screen is kind of dull.

I want the Rand Mcnally 7710 if the resoultion is better with more road detail.
Maybe being HD, it will be better. I don't know if I will keep the 5510 or sell it.
My wife and I both like to see the GPS while driving, and she likes to hold it and play with the features so having two might be a good choice.

I hope someone gets a 7710 soon that can comment.

JW

[Bigd2]

Originally Posted by Bremer Speck

I had purchased the 5 inch Rand McNally when it came out a few months ago and took it on a cross country trip. Worked quite well and it is obviously made for RV's. I did not like the small screen and when I heard about the new 7 inch Magellan for RV's I ordered that one. I sent it back. Why? I could not find where to input information about my RV. The available options clearly were for trucks only, certainly not for RV's. In my opinion, clearly a case of Magellan and Good Sam trying to cash-in on RV GPS's but without having the product. I do still have the 5 inch Rand which I am going to sell. I ordered the new 7 inch version and got information from Camping World, that the ship date is delayed until 11/1. The Rand McNally is clearly made for RV's. I like the 5 inch version and am sure the 7 inch version is as good and better. As for another post extolling the value of tablets, there is a point and using Co-Pilot on my iPad clearly works well. However, I do prefer having dedicated devices. so I will have a dedicated GPS and use my iPad as a back-up.

After doing a little more research I canceled my order with camping world
for the 7710. I am now looking at the Magellan RoadMate Pro 9165T and am going to do some more checking before I make a decision. One item that I read about the Magellan talked about the fact that it was made more for truckers than Rvers. It seems as though there is a mad rush to see who can capture the RV business. I think I will just use my Garmin on the next trip and wait to see how this thing shakes out

Dick

[jjwalkers26]

I love garmin so I sent them an e-mail to suggest they come out with a GPS just for RV's. I got no reply. They did say thanks for the inpute.

I would love to see garmin come out with a 7" model just for RV's. Until then I want to see the new Rand Mcnally 7710.

I like everything the 5510 does except like I said in an earlier post, the screen lacks resoulution and road detail and it's small.

I do have to say the mounting bracket is great.

[Dano52]

I too love my Garmin. It's a good idea to email them and request a 7" RV model which I will do after this post. Maybe we should start a consumer movement .....