Community Forums

Mgtv53 · 07-22-2021, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CamJam1

Just bought an RV780 GPS and set about putting in a short route to learn my way around it. I picked Garmin because I had an older car unit and found it easy to use. This one I find a little frustrating, though I suppose it will get more intuitive as I become more familiar with it.

I programmed in my moho parameters (length, height, width & weight) and tried navigating a short trip to the local WalMart. The first turn after leaving my subdivision is a left turn on to a divided highway. There is a crossover about 50' wide between the divided lanes, but instead of a left turn, the routing wants me to turn right, sending me four miles out of my way to the next turnout to make a U-turn. Ok, I figure, it's just trying to make sure I don't have the back of my moho sticking out into oncoming traffic (even though there is plenty of room) so I shorten the moho length in the parameters to see if that fixes it. But even if I shorten it to something ridiculous, like ten feet, it still wants me to turn right instead of left!

In car mode it works as it should, but leaving it in car mode defeats the purpose of buying an RV specific GPS in the first place.

Makes me wonder what kind of ridiculous routing this thing is going to send me on in areas that I'm not so familiar with. I've had enough GPS units to know that they all make mistakes, but this one literally got the first turn wrong.

Is this a common issue with these RV type GPS units, or did I just have bad luck right out of the box? If lawyers were in charge of determining the moho routes I can see this unit and I are not going to get along.

I have the 780 no problem with it works great , maybe you have defective unit ,call garmin they are very helpful

CamJam1 · 07-23-2021, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mgtv53

I have the 780 no problem with it works great , maybe you have defective unit ,call garmin they are very helpful

Actually, since I wrote that back in February I've had more time with the RV780 and find that I really like it. I spoke to Garmin about the initial misrouting, and they confirmed it was an error in the data provided by their map supplier. They said they would put in a fix request, but I haven't checked to see whether it's been corrected yet or not. I have had a couple more instances of poor routing on a trip we took in April and May, but that seems to be the case with every GPS I've ever had. My wife runs Google Maps too, and when the RV780 and Google don't agree we usually pull over to figure out why.

mjbenedict · 08-02-2021, 03:46 PM

We had the Garmin telling us a road was closed and rerouted us. We saw no road closed signs but they were doing construction with only one lane. It insisted on rerouting us but we knew the road was not closed. I suspect it was bad data from the state of New York DOT. These things can only do as good as the data that is fed to them. Garmin has to use external sources but your apple/google devices use shared information from everyone’s phones to calculate speeds, slowdowns, and stoppages (as well as some external data). We tend to pull up information from google maps, Waze, Apple Maps, and the Garmin when we question what we are seeing.

jacwjames · 08-02-2021, 04:02 PM

I've got a Garmin 760, it let me down twice this last trip. In both cases it displayed that the road was closed and did not provide a detour. The first time was in Missouri coming into Kansas City. The problem was that they city did not put any alternate route signs up either, got to the point where the road was closed and it had an exit ramp going into a residential area. There was a tractor trailer in front of me with 2 trailers and 2 more behind be. You could tell other trucks had come through as there were branches all over the place, at some point the truck in front of me just stopped, I waited 5 minutes and then decided to see if I could find a route around the mess, 2 other trucks followed me.
The second time was in Ohio, again road closed displayed with no detour route provided. Got of the highway and just found a round until I found a detour sign.

Was not pleased with this happening twice and I had just updated the GPS.

Mgtv53 · 08-03-2021, 04:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mgtv53

I have the 780 no problem with it works great , maybe you have defective unit ,call garmin they are very helpful

I have received an email yesterday from garmin the 780 on sale$ 299.00 . The 890 $ 399.00

LifeSalt · 08-03-2021, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mgtv53

I have received an email yesterday from garmin the 780 on sale$ 299.00 . The 890 $ 399.00

That's the cheapest your going to see an 890...

Watermark · 08-12-2021, 06:03 AM

Great reading, just received the RV 780, debated on the 890, not really sure the additional $100 justified a larger screen and a mag mount. The 7” screen on the 780 and features seemed like the right size / right price at $299 to supplement Google Maps and Waze on iPhone/iPad.

I’ve never 100% trusted any GPS on land or water, but Garmin has the easiest UI, and relatively accurate mapping data. Purchased as a travel assistant to assist with navigating highways and byways in hopes we get to our destination with all parts and pieces intact.

Friends using the predecessor the 770 for years recommended the 780, wish it included the option for MH with toad in calculating LOA. Maybe a future firmware upgrade from Garmin or their marketing ploy to get you to upgrade to the 890.

mjbenedict · 08-12-2021, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Watermark

Great reading, just received the RV 780, debated on the 890, not really sure the additional $100 justified a larger screen and a mag mount. The 7” screen on the 780 and features seemed like the right size / right price at $299 to supplement Google Maps and Waze on iPhone/iPad.

I’ve never 100% trusted any GPS on land or water, but Garmin has the easiest UI, and relatively accurate mapping data. Purchased as a travel assistant to assist with navigating highways and byways in hopes we get to our destination with all parts and pieces intact.

Friends using the predecessor the 770 for years recommended the 780, wish it included the option for MH with toad in calculating LOA. Maybe a future firmware upgrade from Garmin or their marketing ploy to get you to upgrade to the 890.

If I'm not mistaken the 890 has better smartphone integration and gets traffic though an app on the phone where the 780 has wireless traffic. I have another garmin unit with that wireless traffic and service is rare unless you are near a large city. I get service everywhere I have a cell signal on the 890. It's not just a larger screen but better integration and software flexibility.
There's also weather updates/radar, live fuel prices, as well as other differences on the 890 that are updated through the smartphone bluetooth connection.

NXR · 08-12-2021, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Friends using the predecessor the 770 for years recommended the 780, wish it included the option for MH with toad in calculating LOA. Maybe a future firmware upgrade from Garmin or their marketing ploy to get you to upgrade to the 890.

What does LOA stand for? That abbreviation is not even in the RV 890 Owner's Manual.

Ray

Daddypez · 08-12-2021, 09:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NXR

What does LOA stand for? That abbreviation is not even in the RV 890 Owner's Manual.

Ray

Pretty sure it means “length over all”

NXR · 08-12-2021, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Pretty sure it means “length over all”

Thanks. I have the RV 785 which I think is a 780 with a built-in dashcam.

I set up two vehicle profiles, one for the motorhome at 38' and one for the motorhome with toad at 58'.

But there is no icon for a car so I picked the boat for the longer one. [emoji4]

I also have the Garmin Drive app on my phone and paired to the RV 785. That gives me traffic, weather, and a few other things via the Internet.

Ray

Watermark · 08-13-2021, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjbenedict

If I'm not mistaken the 890 has better smartphone integration and gets traffic though an app on the phone where the 780 has wireless traffic. I have another garmin unit with that wireless traffic and service is rare unless you are near a large city. I get service everywhere I have a cell signal on the 890. It's not just a larger screen but better integration and software flexibility.
There's also weather updates/radar, live fuel prices, as well as other differences on the 890 that are updated through the smartphone bluetooth connection.

That’s great information about the 780 vs 890 that I couldn’t find anywhere else.

Is the 780 just a upgraded version of the 760, 770 whereas the 890 is a new navigation platform with smartphone integration?

LifeSalt · 08-13-2021, 09:01 AM

I have an 890 and like it alot. No 8dea how it compares to previous units. But to put another fly in the ointment, they now make a 1090.... Guessing 10" screen. May want to do a side by side comparison of the 780, 890 and 1090....

mjbenedict · 08-13-2021, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Watermark

That’s great information about the 780 vs 890 that I couldn’t find anywhere else.

Is the 780 just a upgraded version of the 760, 770 whereas the 890 is a new navigation platform with smartphone integration?

Note: the integration doesn't give you much options on the Garmin app on the phone to communicate. It's mostly a gateway to the internet and their data sources. IMO, it's 1000X better interface than the wireless traffic they have on older units because you can get anywhere your phone has internet. It also has more data sources as I mentioned.
The wireless traffic is limited to mostly large cities from my experience. I could not even get a signal in Erie, PA between two larger cities. I hated that my older unit had a feature I could hardly use.