Rand McNally GPS RVND 7725-LM

[G_Lewis]

In the latest Good Sam Highways magazine, May-July 2013 a new GPS is reviewed. It is produced by Rand McNally for Camper World. I was wondering if anyone has one and their comments on it.

[lillyputz]

Update :

Camping World is going to exchange my 7725-LM, for one of equal value.

I'm a happy camper.

Lillyputz

[Finally_Time]

I'm another one with no problems using the RM 7725 in my motor home. I've used it for 8,000 miles in unfamiliar terrain. No problems with glare or difficulty seeing it in bright light. I do have problems seeing the motorhomes instruments in daylight so I use the RM as a speedometer. Last big trip I caravanned with some friends who were using a smart phone app. Both sent us on the same routes. I always used a Garmin in my car. The RM takes information differently and there was a learning curve. Now that I am used to it, I like it better than the Garmin.

[lillyputz]

I purchased the Rand McNally RVND 7725-LM, because of the RV features, advertized by Camping World and endorsed by Good Sam.

The problem with this unit is, it routes me on a longer route as compared to the trip routing features on the Good Sam site and my old Tom Tom as much as 500 miles. It gives the same route on the car setting.

I've talked to two differant tects at Rand McNally. They know this is a problem, but said there is nothing they can do to re-program, that's how it's designed.

One tect told me to put in shorter trips, to get to my destination, that way, the GPS would keep me on the same route as my Tom Tom or Good Sam routing.

Comparing the Good Sam trip routing and my Tom Tom, on any route, only varys by a couple of miles.

I have requested my money back from Rand McNally and Camping World. They refuse, saying, I've had it more than 30 days.

What a joke, after all, Good Sam endorses this gps.

Lillyputz

[MRUSA]

I am amazed by the negative comments. I have had a RM 7710 for over a year and have driven over 12,000 miles with it, and I have found it to be excellent. I've had no major routing issues, and the only mechanical issue was a loose power connector, which is a problem on some 7710's but has been changed on the later models.

I find it particlarly easy to find RV type places such as rest areas, Flying J's, and Walmarts. The campground database is far better than on the Garmin that I used before. I like it so much that I am in the process of trading it up for a 7720.

I met the design engineer and he is an RVer who knows waht we want and need in a nav unit.

[nomad297]

I have had the same problems as Effy with my 5510. Every time I contacted Rand McNally about it I was told that the next software update would fix it. Half a dozen software updates later, it freezes up more than it ever did. I am sick of my 5510 and am shopping around for a better unit.

Bruce

[Effy]

Hated every second I had to use either of my RVND's. That's right I had 2. THe first one plain stopped working, the second one still freezes up. When it's not frozen, it misses CG's (what's the point of an RV GPS that can't find a popular CG) misses gas stations, can't find my local rv dealer and that's what I know of. Now I LOVE my new Garmin dezl 760lmt. Does what it should and performs flawlessly. More intuitive, easier to read, easier to update and is just plain better.

[Bea_PA]

Thx for the review. I'll stick with my Garmin 2555 for now, in the 20,000 miles we have used it, most mistakes have been minor and more omission than anything. I still route by map and keep it handy. Maybe someday someone will give us a really good RV GPS.

[Fargo44]

I said I would follow up after taking with Rand Mc Technical support. I did and here it is.

I talked at length with two different folks on the tech staff at Rnd Mc -- both were courteous and fairly knowledgeable about the RVND 7725 LM but neither had much of a clue as to what the driver of a 12 ton, 55-ft long vehicle might want to have or need on the road. Pity.

I learned a few things about the options and got a few suggestions from them as to how to fine tune it to my needs/desires.

Yesterday, I drove around the I-275 beltway with the unit in my Jeep but on "RV" mode. I tried all their suggestions and the bottom line is minimal improvement and I have decided it is a "no go". I've given the unit more than a fair test and I'm sending it back for a refund as I am within the 30-day period.

Bottom-line is for this kind of money you should NOT have have to work so hard for such spotty or mediocre roadway guidance.

In talking to the techs I started to get an inkling of the basic problem with the RVND 7725-LM -- it was designed by a committee! For example, you will notice if you are on "RV" mode (and I presume that is why most of us would buy it right?) that the unit displays ALL the animal hospitals, veterinary clinics and dog parks! These icons are hard programmed into the "RV" mode and the only way you can shut them off is to go to "Car" mode. But do are not driving automobiles are we?

Why are these animal care icons not optional? Because it seems a user group panel supposedly RV'ers (I guess most of whom had pets?) decided that this was information that all RV'ers needed without question.

But, I don't need it. Furthermore, the 25 (or more) "pet POI's" that pop up and take up a good percentage of the screen when I'm near the Cincinnati metro area are not appreciated. Doubly so when no matter what I do the RVND 7725-LM (regardless of what scale or which POI settings or filters I pick) it will NOT reliably display icons/locations for all gas stations, truck stops or diesel fuel outlets -- something I really need.

When I mentioned the fact that the unit warned of small insignificant curves and then totally missed some serious ones the tech thought I should be grateful for the warnings I got. I really did not agree.

The RVND 7725 LM (and other related versions) are marginal GPS devices in my opinion and not worth the considerably greater amount of money charged. Yes it could work for some and maybe I am too picky about the unreliability and questionable layout/options but they are deal breakers for me.

I've read and watched a lot of videos on the Garmin RV 760LMT and it seems to address some of my issues with the Rand Mc unit but it is hard to evaluate properly from canned videos and it has its share of negative comments out there too.

[ltm]

ditto on the rvnd7725 it is only correct 50% of the time it is not worth having

[down_home]

Our Rand McNally has pulled several Garmins such as telling us to do a Uie and five miles back down the road turn right and lead us down goat paths, and country roads in a loop a mile down the road we were on in the first place. Relatives with their new Garmin last week. It directed us to turn right instead of left and took us 10 miles or son on that route and then told us to turn left and made a giant uie back to the same road and 20 miles back the way we should have gone. Let us through narrow road hollows in a big uie to the road we should have turned on in the first place a second time. And there were so many others, if it were mine, I would have thrown it out the window.

[Fargo44]

A lot of good comments on the Rand Mc RVND 7725-LM. We are seasoned RV's and I have been using GPS devices for field work years before the current travel units became available about a decade ago. I also used Geographic Information Systems so I am very familiar with how this stuff is programmed and how it works. We have had several travel-GPS units (Garmin & Tom Tom also two NavTech installed as factory units in our cars) over the years.

We did a fair amount of reading and then decided to take a chance on the Rand Mc RVND 7725-LM for our Class A. We picked up on at Camper's World near Akron, OH when we passed near while on a trip to Maine (from Ohio)two weeks ago.

Since I did not want to take the time to read the manual (it is on-line anyway) before trying make our first hook-up for the night I just plugged it in and let it run alongside our Tom Tom 1535 Via. Both units gave the same info for the rest of the day on our trip to our stop. OK - so far.

But over the next two weeks traveling to and from Maine we used the GPS daily. The large screen is easy to see and as claimed is relatively free or glare and wash out. But we also experienced some rather less than stellar service by the RVND 7725-LM. In general it gave acceptable guidance but certainly NOT impressive given its price and we uncovered what seemed to be some FLAWS in its logic too.

The main flaw was the RVND 7725-LM's apparent "inflexibility" on routing. Leaving a small town in western Maine (Bethel) on our trip back to southwest Ohio I programmed in the address our first stop on the eastern edge of Pennsylvania (Matamoras, just off I-84)-- it was obvious to me just glancing at the paper maps that the SIMPLEST route was to get over to I-91 S and take it south to Hartford, CT and then take I-84 W right to our stop.

But, regardless, the route option I gave it (i.e., shortest or fastest)the RVND 7725-LM insisted that we needed to get off I-91 at Springfield, MA and take I-90 W (a toll road) up to Albany, NY and then turn south meeting up with I-84 just before the PA boarder.

This made no sense (in fact this route by Map Quest is some 23 miles FURTHER) and obviously involved more intersections so we ignored the RVND 7725-LM for this leg and drove past Springfield to hook up with I-84 in Hartford. You would think that would be the end of it? Yes? But with the RVND 7725-LM, NO! It tried for for over two hours or about 100 miles to get us to turn at nearly every exit! I'm not making this up! Finally we stopped for diesel on I-84 and when we resumed the RVND 7725-LM made one more attempt to turn us around and then gave up and showed us the ONLY logical route -- the one we were on. This is more than annoying and also absurd GPS routing logic.

The RVND 7725-LM did the the same thing the very next day -- insisting on a route it picked for about 50 miles -- again the GPS had in fact picked a less favorable, and LONGER, route. When if finally gave up it showed that we were actually 66 miles from our destination instead of 123!! That is less than useless -- it is actually a hindrance in my opinion.

I intend to call Rand Mc about this and I they don't have a really good reason or can tell me where I made mistake in the use of the unit I think we'll try to dump this thing. The routing logic seems at this point at least to be juvenile at best --counter productive at worst.

The manual (on line pdf) is 59 pages long and I was impressed with its presentation -- there are indeed a lot of great features but do they work? In our first 1800 mile of use the RVND 7725-LM showed us a total 2 (count'em) Pilot truck stops, both in Ohio but in no other state. Pity because Pilot, Luv and Flying J are the places we prefer. None of the other two brands of truck stop showed up at all -- why? We had checked "all RV services" in the options. It did show us all of the Walmarts and hundreds of restaurants -- as if we cared.

ALSO, I had "curve warning" turned on and it warned about even the most trivial of curves -- I don't mind the over cautious approach. But just when I started to rely on the warnings the RVND 7725-LM totally missed (like silence) several really sharp, serious curves -- ones that I really would liked to have known about driving 12 ton, 55 ft long vehicle. What sense does that make?

The RVND 7725-LM only has spotty knowledge of the speed limits along the two lane roadways -- it often insisted that I was speeding (I had speed warning set to on)for more then a mile outside of the town limits and long after the postedlimit was back to 55 mph. Not helpful and annoying too.

So at this point I say the RVND 7725-LM is better than no GPS. But if these problems we experienced are not the exception (or our own fault) then it is NOT worth the money. I will follow up after my talk with Rand Mc.

P.S. down home's comment above is a good one the RVND 7725-LM is often totally silent when pulling out of a lot or RV park!!! Not helpful either.

[down_home]

goldviper wrote:
I have the 7720 and love it. The 7725 is identical to the 7720, it just has been rebadged for Good Sam. I have used my 7720 alot and it has never lead me astray. I know a couple of other RV'ers that have them and have had no issues. I would buy it again.
Les

One glaring note. If you are pulling out of a lot or fairground and so on you don't know which way to turn until you've made a turn. It will tell you to make a uturn or you choose the right direction by accident.

[Cbones]

I love the new fuel mpg feature. When you fill up, enter the gals use, and it automatically calculates accurate mpg based on miles driven between last fill up and it keeps a log that can be downloaded and kept in a spreadsheet. In addition it keeps all the data on the unit so you can keep track of your mpg over time.

[chuckftboy]

I also have a 7720 and think its a great unit. I've used it for over 10,000 miles of travel and its done as advertized. I also have 2 Garmins that I use on short trips but in the RV i prefer the 7720.