Community Forums

Old Radios · 01-27-2017, 06:17 PM

Have the Garmin. Thing I like most about having the Garmin is it showing me on the big screen which lane I have to be in ahead of time. That makes it worth it alone. Especially in heavy traffic going through cities on the Interstates. The old one I had just had the little arrows for the lanes in the top corner.

chiefneon · 01-27-2017, 07:37 PM

Howdy!

If you have a smartphone or tablet with gps look at the Co-pilot gps app. If your RV IS 13' or less you can use the premium app. It has a setting in the app for RV and you can set the height up up 13'. If you over 13' look at the the Co-polit RV app. Let you set heights over 13'. We are fulltimers and I've been using Co-pilot for years and it hasn't steered me wrong. Our current 5er is 13'4" and this last year we traveled in the northeast. I set it to avoid toll roads was routed us on to a lot of secondary road. Low bridges are a problem and Co-pilot did its job.

"Happy Trails"
Chiefneon

**TonyDi** · 01-27-2017, 08:50 PM

A GPS for an RV is like any other "toy". Is it necessary? No. Does it have good uses? Yes. When you are in heavy traffic, it's nice to have your GPS (mine is a Garmin 760) notify you in advance of the lanes you need to be in to either stay on your road or to change via an exit ramp. Finding places via voice command is nice too. Voice command rocks!

YC1 · 01-28-2017, 02:18 AM

Mine also has a check list feature which really keeps me out of trouble. The lane position is fantastic. Sure nice when in heavy traffic areas.

Chuck_Hammer · 01-28-2017, 05:02 AM

I run the trucker version 770LMTHD. by Garmin.

but Garmin is about to release there RV 770 soon.. the 660 been out..

cell phones do loose signal.. and its gps.
look at your cell phone area covered map..
you want NO signal out in the middle of no where?

never seen an app for clearing at gas stations.. but Gas Buddy for prices.

tmw188 · 01-28-2017, 05:05 AM

Is it worth it maybe, is it necessary, not really. It's another tool. I like the voice command and lane assist and other RV features and overall picture of where you are at a glance. For me it's worth having one, I have the Garmin RV660.

iPad using iRV2 - RV Forum

strongcity · 01-28-2017, 05:19 AM

I have a Rand McNally 7710 and like it. I really like the help of telling the correct lane to be in going through larger towns. I also like being able to switch to Tom's voice which I can hear well. Plus with the 7 inch screen it is easy to see at a glance also I can see it on a bright sunny day. I still look on map quest before the start of the day for a double check. The 7710 is an older device bought in 2012 but still works well. I've had to replace the 12 volt power cord is the only problem.

momdoc · 01-28-2017, 05:54 AM

We recently got he Garmin 660 and love it. Our rig came with the tom-tom which we did not like at all.
The traffic updates, lane visuals, voice commands and more all make the 660 the one for us. It has kept me out of trouble twice on this current trip

momdoc

wildtoad · 01-28-2017, 06:02 AM

If it prevents you from going down a road where there is a bridge you can not fit under and you don't find out until you get there you would pay the cost. I did.

inlineskater · 01-28-2017, 06:08 AM

I got a Magellan RV GPS and I really like it because it has blue tooth connection for my phone and I can answer and talk thru the GPS with hands free. It also does the height and length business. It gives you all the land choices on the screen and highlights the ones you need to keep on your route. It also warns you 2 miles ahead of your turns. It notifies you of speed cameras, ( I don't go fast enough to worry) and other warnings come up about intersection cameras etc. the only thing I don't like is updating is a little cumbersome on their website. Getting ready for a trip yesterday went on and did the update, but no sure if it really happened, no confirmation that you are done. It comes with a lifetime updates. No extra charge each time.

Over all it has lead me around well for two years.

nothermark · 01-28-2017, 06:28 AM

GPS's are inherently incapable of doing decent long range route planning. They usually do a decent job for last mile, lane changes for expressway exits, and a few things like that. Nothing beats paper and pencil for the large picture.

We have an Rand McNally in the RV, Garmin in the car. Delorme on the laptop. Have used smartphone mapping and it sucks compared to the other choices. NONE can be trusted totally.

SpaceNorman · 01-29-2017, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nothermark

GPS's are inherently incapable of doing decent long range route planning. They usually do a decent job for last mile, lane changes for expressway exits, and a few things like that.

Nothing beats paper and pencil for the large picture....

I'm with you on the first point. Tiny screens make seeing "the big picture" tough.

The point that "nothing beats paper and pencil ..." - not so much. I'll happily take Google Maps running on an iPad over a paper map any time. The ability to zoom in and out, have it recommend routes - complete with exact milage - and most of all the ability to flip into satellite mode to examine a desired location from an overhead view provide capabilities that paper maps simply can't deliver. Couple that with fact that a paper map was obsolete before you bought it - vs an online resource such as google maps which is constantly being updated. Electronic maps and navigation tools are one technology that are worth embracing wholeheartedly. There's a reason that virtually industry out there has - save for a few geezers who still cling to paper maps.

lucyh · 01-29-2017, 11:40 AM

In this era of smartphones, I don't see the need for a separate device. I use CoPilot for trucks which allows you to specify height, weight, etc. Since I bought it, they have now come out with one for RVs.

Scarab0088 · 01-29-2017, 12:03 PM

Smart phones and web enabled tablets drop data connection...and there's lots of gaps in 3G/4G data maps across the country.

No data means no maps or RV content (fuel, Campgrounds, rest stops, etc) unless you could download complete databases for maps, campgrounds, fuel, services, etc.

For this reason we keep a recent Rand McNally Atlas, and run 2 Rand McNally RVND GPS' (his and hers) plus a Garmin Nuvi as double check.
Overkill? Maybe, but we've never had any issues with path and destination selections on the fly.

The navigator uses a smartphone to search for interesting things too, when not in data dead spots...and when not on Facebook

These things allow us to be as flexible as we like.
So, yes a dedicated RV GPS is a great idea.