Which RV GPS Do You Use?

[Geeze]

I've been scouring the internet reading reviews and watching videos on the different brands of RV specific GPS units. None of them seem to have really good overall ratings. I've been using Garmin units in our other vehicles for years and they do tend to take you on a wild goose chase once in a while. Looking at the reviews on their RV770LTM it appears to have the same problem. I also looked at Rand McNally however their reviews are even worse than the Garmin. Looking for suggestions. Thanks

[mt1729]

I use a cheap garmin nuvi. Even if it gets me lost it always finds our way back. My problem is my wife. We'll be coming up on a exit and at the last second she says turn here, turn here. Next thing I know we are pulling our 5th wh up and down hills in the middle San Francisco and the gps is saying in 300ft. make a uturn. Oh well it isn't all bad. We have had lots of experiences we can talk about. Wouldn't trade them for anything.

[Chuck_thehammer]

I am still using Microsoft Streets & Trips-2005"

why pay money for unsupported products..

it is great for planing long trips...

[john_bet]

Pops wrote:
i lay out my entire trip on my laptop with "microsoft streets & trips-2011", before i begin the trip. then each day i load the rand mcnally gps for the day sometimes a 2 or 3 day route. i also make notes on paper from "street/trip" of the hwys i'll be traveling that day or 2. with that and following road signs and common sense/feel, i've managed pretty good

I have managed real well for the last 50 years without any of that stuff. But I do have a GPS for use in towns to find places not for open roads or coast to coast travel. Just the way I am.

[GordonThree]

Captain_Happy wrote:
My smart phone does better then the on-board GPS unit in truck. It even has a GPS app. Just enter the coordinates and off you go. If you find a place you'd like to return to just use the app in your smart phone to get the coordinates. The GPS mapping unit these manufactures install in cars are a joke.

My joke of an in-car system worked great while I was traveling Canada and remote Alaska. No cell service, a smartphone is useless. Even with a downloaded map, my smartphone could not get a GPS lock, because it relies on the cellular network to calibrate the gps receiver for the initial fix.

In urban areas, I've had Google Maps try to get me to take some pretty strange routes, like through a residential subdivision, down a 2 track power line easement and through a locked gate at the end of a dirt road.

[wtmtnhiker]

I use the copilot GPS app on my phone & tablet. On the tablet it gives me a nice 9" screen for which I don't need my reading glasses. I paid 9.99 but it is now 14.99 I think. It has an option for RV with a max 13.5 ft height. Been using it for 3 years or so and I am happy with it. You can use it with or without a data connection but if you want live traffic then you need the connection. No matter what brand of gps I have owned I always make sure I know my route ahead of time. I also use the Rand McNally Trucker Atlas and The Next Exit books to help plan the trip. Any GPS will potentially get you into trouble sooner or later especially if your in a big rig.

[Captain_Happy]

My smart phone does better then the on-board GPS unit in truck. It even has a GPS app. Just enter the coordinates and off you go. If you find a place you'd like to return to just use the app in your smart phone to get the coordinates. The GPS mapping unit these manufactures install in cars are a joke.

[Pops]

i lay out my entire trip on my laptop with "microsoft streets & trips-2011", before i begin the trip. then each day i load the rand mcnally gps for the day sometimes a 2 or 3 day route. i also make notes on paper from "street/trip" of the hwys i'll be traveling that day or 2. with that and following road signs and common sense/feel, i've managed pretty good

[Chuck_thehammer]

for my Truck / travel trailer.. I use the Garmin Dezl 770 " Trucker ".. unit with POI factory RV download files for RV items..

way better.. designed for semi-truck users.. works well 2 years and 12,000 miles..

if you have a motorhome.. use the box truck settings... for truck and trailer use the semi-truck/trailer.. and add your size into it.

with the POI files.. its is an RV gps with truck features ..

with ANY GPS.. never follow it blindly... know where you are going. and allow the GPS keep you on your route...

also the 770 allowed a finger to change route on the fly...
hill and sharp turn warnings... speed change alarms..

[ORbiker]

GordonThree wrote:
There's no automated navigation that's infallible. It is foolish to rely on their instructions as gospel and follow along blindly on the "wild goose chase."

Use them as a tool to find things, to track time and miles, avoid traffic jams, etc.

Study paper or online maps for areas of interest. Study roads and routes, use the shared knowledge of forums like these.

A little knowledge beforehand will save you from any "wild goose chase" the GPS might decide to send you on.

Stories like the senior couple stranded in the desert because they blindly followed their GPS make no sense to me. Where did their common sense go when they turned off the main road and onto a Jeep trail. Or the young family that froze to death in the PNW because the driver let a GPS send him down a logging road, in the dead of winter.

I completely agree Gordon. Common sense is missing. The road in the PNW has trapped many in the snow.

I like my RV660. I can't see spending $300 more for basicly the same product. The 660 is getting phased out but the is still some on Amazon. I got mine at Costco with a backup camera a couple years ago for a great price.

[Dennis12]

My phone. Google Maps.

[scrubjaysnest]

We use Garmin Nuvi's, a box of paper maps, and Garmin mapping software. A little use of Google Earth and post its for changing state and county roads in small towns also helps.

[Geeze]

GordonThree wrote:
There's no automated navigation that's infallible. It is foolish to rely on their instructions as gospel and follow along blindly on the "wild goose chase."

Use them as a tool to find things, to track time and miles, avoid traffic jams, etc.

Study paper or online maps for areas of interest. Study roads and routes, use the shared knowledge of forums like these.

A little knowledge beforehand will save you from any "wild goose chase" the GPS might decide to send you on.

Stories like the senior couple stranded in the desert because they blindly followed their GPS make no sense to me. Where did their common sense go when they turned off the main road and onto a Jeep trail. Or the young family that froze to death in the PNW because the driver let a GPS send him down a logging road, in the dead of winter.

To me a goose chase is your GPS running you up an off ramp and then right back down onto the interstate or making you drive around the block when you can see your destination. If your not familiar with the area its easy to be mislead. I have learned to question everything "Betty" tells me;)

[Dr_Jay]

Hi, I used the Garmin and RNd McNally RV hps units theybothworked fine. They are accurate. In the over 10 years I have been RV’ng they have made minor errors but I can only remeber it happening once or twice. You have to use common sense and have a general idea of where your heading if possible. I review a map of my upcoming travels before I go on a trip. This helps me have an understand of where I am going and the roads I would be taking.
A gps in my opinion is indispensable for long trips in your RV.

[GordonThree]

There's no automated navigation that's infallible. It is foolish to rely on their instructions as gospel and follow along blindly on the "wild goose chase."

Use them as a tool to find things, to track time and miles, avoid traffic jams, etc.

Study paper or online maps for areas of interest. Study roads and routes, use the shared knowledge of forums like these.

A little knowledge beforehand will save you from any "wild goose chase" the GPS might decide to send you on.

Stories like the senior couple stranded in the desert because they blindly followed their GPS make no sense to me. Where did their common sense go when they turned off the main road and onto a Jeep trail. Or the young family that froze to death in the PNW because the driver let a GPS send him down a logging road, in the dead of winter.