In dash GPS display on front overhead TV

[FreshAir]

Is the ability to display the in dash info screen, GPS RM, etc, to the front TV something only Entegra offers? Do other Brands have this feature?

Friend just bought a 2016 Tiffin Bus and asked me to show him how to display his GPS Nav screen on his front TV like the Entegras.

No luck, doesn't appear to be a source signal available. I did a lot of searching and some posting on Tiffin for advice. Nothing. I was very surprised as I thought this would be a common feature.


Thanks for any info.
Pat

[Dutchstar411]

Originally Posted by FreshAir

Is the ability to display the in dash info screen, GPS RM, etc, to the front TV something only Entegra offers? Do other Brands have this feature?

Friend just bought a 2016 Tiffin Bus and asked me to show him how to display his GPS Nav screen on his front TV like the Entegras.

No luck, doesn't appear to be a source signal available. I did a lot of searching and some posting on Tiffin for advice. Nothing. I was very surprised as I thought this would be a common feature.


Thanks for any info.
Pat

I've included a PDF showing the back of my Kenwood DNX571TR unit in my coach. On the back panel look at #2 and it shows the lower AV Video Output. If the unit is on Navigation you can view the TV screen showing the same screen but without any sound, as long as you have an AV Cable plugged into that #2 lower output and also connected to your AV Input of your TV with your TV source selected as AV. BUT... not recommended to do it since it is a big distraction for the Driver and you have to by-pass your ign-TV off.

So depending on what unit your friend has and the outputs on the back of his NAV system, and as long as his TV has the same type input and that source can be selected on his TV, it should work.

Also note that mine displays the Nav screen as long as I select Video Out. Another unit may have an HDMI cable out or IR out.

[Gary.Jones]

Just a comment, hopefully constructive. It is a neat concept to put the GPS to the TV overhead, but I have never understood why people want to do it. It is far more dangerous for the driver to make any reference to the overhead TV than it is to simply quickly glance downward and to the right to see the dash GPS. I see no logic to need or want the GPS up on the screen several feet above the driver fr the driver's benefit. The only logic that I have ever been able to comprehend is so that the Co-pilot might also be able to see the same screen or it might be amusing for the kids back in the coach to look at it, but having two people look at the same display of information (pilot, co-pilot) would not really help me when driving at all..... I can understand a GPS display as well as my wife can understand it. In fact, my wife is a GREAT co-pilot and she is actively involved in making difficult navigation decisions while we are moving. Her involvement is much appreciated.

BUT, she is a great addition most of the time because she is looking at her own GPS unit (Garmin) which she has on her lap or beside her "in the ready". If she needs to see "my" display, she can see virtually anything that she needs to see to be aware of what we need to do simply by looking at my same RM display in the dash that I am observing. However, 90% of the time that she really needs to be involved is because her Garmin is showing something different than the RM is showing and we need to make a quick decision on what to follow or what action to take. It is the second completely independent GPS display that is what we have found important.... NOT a second display of the same information. I would never travel with a single GPS running on a rig the size of this rig, and 10% of the time, the differences shown by the two GPSs saves a lot of problems as it points out decisions that we need to know and decide quickly.

The lack of a recent RM GPS map update has become a big problem. Our unit works just fine, and does things our little Garmin does not do (like decide if our path is "tall" enough for our 13' height or our 65' length), but there has not been a map update in a LOOOOOOG time. That is inexcusable, and all of us should be hounding RiverPark for an answer on when we are going to get a map update. The little Garmin gets updates at least 4 a year, and more than an 18 month or more lag in updates for RM is intolerable. The long delay in publishing an update by Rand-McNally should be getting a lot of negative attention by owners.

Gary

[brobox]

Good friend of mine just purchased a new Tiffin. He researched and said the can run a set of RCA cables up the windshield column to the overhead TV. I have no first hand knowledge only what a new Tiffin owner told me.

[Dieselgem]

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

Just a comment, hopefully constructive. It is a neat concept to put the GPS to the TV overhead, but I have never understood why people want to do it. It is far more dangerous for the driver to make any reference to the overhead TV than it is to simply quickly glance downward and to the right to see the dash GPS. I see no logic to need or want the GPS up on the screen several feet above the driver fr the driver's benefit. The only logic that I have ever been able to comprehend is so that the Co-pilot might also be able to see the same screen or it might be amusing for the kids back in the coach to look at it, but having two people look at the same display of information (pilot, co-pilot) would not really help me when driving at all..... I can understand a GPS display as well as my wife can understand it. In fact, my wife is a GREAT co-pilot and she is actively involved in making difficult navigation decisions while we are moving. Her involvement is much appreciated.

BUT, she is a great addition most of the time because she is looking at her own GPS unit (Garmin) which she has on her lap or beside her "in the ready". If she needs to see "my" display, she can see virtually anything that she needs to see to be aware of what we need to do simply by looking at my same RM display in the dash that I am observing. However, 90% of the time that she really needs to be involved is because her Garmin is showing something different than the RM is showing and we need to make a quick decision on what to follow or what action to take. It is the second completely independent GPS display that is what we have found important.... NOT a second display of the same information. I would never travel with a single GPS running on a rig the size of this rig, and 10% of the time, the differences shown by the two GPSs saves a lot of problems as it points out decisions that we need to know and decide quickly.

The lack of a recent RM GPS map update has become a big problem. Our unit works just fine, and does things our little Garmin does not do (like decide if our path is "tall" enough for our 13' height or our 65' length), but there has not been a map update in a LOOOOOOG time. That is inexcusable, and all of us should be hounding RiverPark for an answer on when we are going to get a map update. The little Garmin gets updates at least 4 a year, and more than an 18 month or more lag in updates for RM is intolerable. The long delay in publishing an update by Rand-McNally should be getting a lot of negative attention by owners.

Gary

Gary,


I use the overhead, it does come in handy for the wife. Your Garmin only needs to have the low underpass points of interest downloaded into it. That and a whole host of other poi's for soup to nuts are located at the poifactory. I have rest areas, Wallys, flyingJ and a whole host of others. I made a tour guide out of the files. It can be set so that when you are within so many miles of a poi, it will alert you. You can even change what it say if you want to a laugh.

[FreshAir]

Originally Posted by FreshAir

Is the ability to display the in dash info screen, GPS RM, etc, to the front TV something only Entegra offers? Do other Brands have this feature?

Friend just bought a 2016 Tiffin Bus and asked me to show him how to display his GPS Nav screen on his front TV like the Entegras.

Thanks for any info.
Pat

Op here. Like to rephrase my orig. question to:

Are other MH manufactures connecting their In-Dash GPS displays to the front overhead TV as*a standard feature like Entegras does?

From what I've gathered here and by Google searches, the answer is likely that Entegra is the only one displaying GPS to the overhead TV's as a standard feature. I was surprised and think I must be wrong..

I found very little info on the subject, small sampling, but have heard from owners of Allegro and Newmar theirs is not connected to the TV. However, all appear to have AV output connectors on their in-dash units. Like others have replied here as well as a recent dealer, it's just a matter of running the cable. I have not read or heard of another Brand , other than Entegra, with it factory installed.

My Google searches mainly turned up old argumentative discussions as a dumb ind illegal idea with only a few in favor of overhead TV GPS. Very few even knew of it. In favor of it, the best reply, "it's a stopper for the kids questions of, Are We Almost There ?"

I'm thinking it may be a legal issue other Brands would rather avoid. If so, What difference does it make as to where the GPS screen is located and what size it is. In-dash or over head?

[Victory Blue]

Originally Posted by FreshAir

Op here. Like to rephrase my orig. question to:

Are other MH manufactures connecting their In-Dash GPS displays to the front overhead TV as*a standard feature like Entegras does?

From what I've gathered here and by Google searches, the answer is likely that Entegra is the only one displaying GPS to the overhead TV's as a standard feature. I was surprised and think I must be wrong..
I
I found very little info on the subject, small sampling, but have heard from owners of Allegro and Newmar theirs is not connected to the TV. However, all appear to have AV output connectors on their in-dash units. Like others have replied here as well as a recent dealer, it's just a matter of running the cable. I have not read or heard of another Brand , other than Entegra, with it factory installed.

My Google searches mainly turned up old argumentative discussions as a dumb ind illegal idea with only a few in favor of overhead TV GPS. Very few even knew of it. In favor of it, the best reply, "it's a stopper for the kids questions of, Are We Almost There ?"

I'm thinking it may be a legal issue other Brands would rather avoid. If so, What difference does it make as to where the GPS screen is located and what size it is. In-dash or over head?

In the few instances where it’s necessary for me to look at the nav screen my situational awareness tells me it’s much safer to glance up only a few degrees for 2 seconds to get information from a 32” screen (and still have my peripheral vision out the windshield) than it is to look more severely downward for a longer time to get information from a tiny 9” screen (with all of my eyesight on the dash area). Looking up for me is the far safer choice. Legality-wise I doubt it’s any more legal to look down at a screen then it is to look up.

FWIW, since day one (April 2016) I’ve avoided using the antiquated RM system in favor of Copilot RV running on an iPad Pro and mirrored to the front TV through an Apple TV. Using a better nav system eliminates the need to run a second system concurrently. Pat Carroll knows the RM system is a kluge but doesn’t have a lot of choices.

[pasdad1]

Originally Posted by Dieselgem

Gary,


...Your Garmin only needs to have the low underpass points of interest downloaded into it. That and a whole host of other poi's for soup to nuts are located at the poifactory.

I went looking for it, and it has been removed.....

[brobox]

Originally Posted by Victory Blue

In the few instances where it’s necessary for me to look at the nav screen my situational awareness tells me it’s much safer to glance up only a few degrees for 2 seconds to get information from a 32” screen (and still have my peripheral vision out the windshield) than it is to look more severely downward for a longer time to get information from a tiny 9” screen (with all of my eyesight on the dash area). Looking up for me is the far safer choice. Legality-wise I doubt it’s any more legal to look down at a screen then it is to look up.

FWIW, since day one (April 2016) I’ve avoided using the antiquated RM system in favor of Copilot RV running on an iPad Pro and mirrored to the front TV through an Apple TV. Using a better nav system eliminates the need to run a second system concurrently. Pat Carroll knows the RM system is a kluge but doesn’t have a lot of choices.

Bill, I agree and it suits my driving needs much like Adaptive Cruse Control .
You just gave me an idea. If the overhead TV on the 21 can be mirrored, I could run WAZE or Google Maps and not be to concerned with the RM. I just hope the antiquated Xite has finally added the Auto Play's but I have a feeling they don't want to pay for the licensing for the few systems they sell.

[Gary.Jones]

Bill

Well, we have very different vision then.... I can glance down and slightly right to the GPS display on the RM with virtually no significant loss of situational awareness of where I am and where I am going. Conversely, trying to focus on the overhead display whole driving would be far, far, far more distracting and disorienting to me. No comparison!!

I guess it must be individual differences in vision. I wear reading glasses but have had new lenses inserted in my eyes ground to have my prescription in them (when they did my cataract correction). So I have 20/20 vision for middle and distance , but need glasses for close reading. I'd rather have glasses on my face all the time than try to find readers when I need to see something close..... so I dont really need glasses for looking at GPS in either location.... but anyhow, the TV above the dash is a MUCH worse place to try to see what I would like to know than the GPS display in the dash....

For me, there really is NO comparison between the safety and usefulness of the two.... the dash display is FAR and AWAY the easiest to see of those two (and now, of course on this 19, I can put the RM GPS display right in the instrument display with the speedometer and tachometer.... only up on the windshield would be more safe)

Gary

[DoggieDaddy]

I am slightly confused on this thread. Our '14 came with a device that locked out the front TV when the coach was running. Meaning no power to it. The person that did the walk through told us it was a required safety feature. He showed us how to by pass it and made the GPS display on it but told we didn't hear it from him. Is it illegal? Is the feature just to protect Entegra? What? I also see no reason for having the GPS display on that TV.

[Balladeer]

Well my 2 cents worth.
I made the connection for this feature before our Alaska trip two years ago.
It is for the DW happiness factor. (most important).
In the end it is like we in the maritime profession lived by. "Different ships - different long splices."

Go with what makes you happy. Remember, you measure your success in life by your level of contentment.

Fair winds and downhill grades.......

[garysfb]

I have no idea what is legal or illegal referring to TV screens being used while driving. Must have had the same person do the walk through as Robert, he told me the same thing during the walk-through. In mine it's just a different wall plug 4 inches away.

Certainly wouldn't want to watch a football game, but having the RM up there has many benefits mentioned earlier; grand kids love it, DW likes it to keep my speed down and I like it when I'm listening to music so I can see the songs and artists on the smaller screen and still see the RM on the large screen.

I agree with Gary that it's takes more vision away to check the large screen overhead, but not too much so. Bottom line is it's there if you want it...or not.

[757driver]

Different years probably react differently. If I put my signal light on I loose my dash navigation screen, sometimes at a critical point. In that instance the TV gps is invaluable for either a glance from me or Gerri tells me what I need to know. For the times we are in heavy interstate traffic she is invaluable in giving directions for lane choices and approaching exits when I don’t want to take my eyes off the road.

With regards to the TV ignition switched plug, yes, it is a requirement to be installed by the manufacturer, BUT if it is being used for navigational purposes and not for watching TV then there is no problem with having it active while driving.