Need the best GPS

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Rene T

Site Team
Joined
May 20, 2011
Posts
22,412
Location
Farmington NH
I know this subject came up a while ago and may have even been by me. Do you think I could find that post?  :-\ :'(
I have a Tom TOM and it's been a good one but it just died over the weekend. It was around 13 years old so I think it was overdue.

So it's time to ask again unless someone can find that post. What is the best GPS out there without having to break the bank?  Thanks.
 
Rene - I have been using a Garmin 2757 for over three years now and I doubt anything on the market could beat it. Ardra recommended it to me and she was right on. This is a super GPS. I love the 7 inch screen, the voice prompts, and all the other bells and whistles.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AXX0I6A/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
SeilerBird said:
Rene - I have been using a Garmin 2757 for over three years now and I doubt anything on the market could beat it. Ardra recommended it to me and she was right on. This is a super GPS. I love the 7 inch screen, the voice prompts, and all the other bells and whistles.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AXX0I6A/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks Tom. I'm not sure I would like the 7" screen.  ::)
 
Rene T said:
Thanks Tom. I'm not sure I would like the 7" screen.  ::)
That was exactly what I thought before I ordered it. But I trusted Ardra and she was right, I love the screen. I bought it thinking that if I hated it I would return it to Amazon and get a 5 inch.
 
The best GPS out there without breaking the bank is to run Co-Pilot or other similar software on a smart phone.  If that is not an option I think the Garmin RV 770 is great, though I suspect it will soon be replaced by a 780 since the trucker 780 was introduced a few months ago.  Of course it is not cheap.
 
I have used Google Maps in the RV since 2011 on my smart phone.  I haven't had a problem since.  It thinks your vehicle is big. 
In Wimberly Tx there are 2 ways to the park, first is along a river road that has low branches and goes down to a single lane across a short bridge and the recommended route by the elementary school.  Google took us the correct way.
In near Indiana Penn. the was a low bridge crossing one way and the recommended route was longer, google took us the correct way.
Going from Larimie WY to Colorado Springs Google did take us down a well used dirt county road for about 2 miles, very wide and used by truckers.  Saved us about 30 miles overall.  I I wouldn't take it on a rainy day.
The maps are updated regularly, automatically.
Mine plugs into my radio and uses the coach surround sound.  When connected to the radio my phone auto sends "I'm driving" texts in reply to any sent to me, and lets me hands free calls if i take them, with surround sound and a small microphone attached to the radio.
I can review my google history maps to see everywhere I have been.
A couple times while driving the toad Google maps have told us our destination was on the wrong side of the street.  That hasn't happened for a couple years now.
 
Isaac-1 said:
The best GPS out there without breaking the bank is to run Co-Pilot or other similar software on a smart phone.  If that is not an option I think the Garmin RV 770 is great, though I suspect it will soon be replaced by a 780 since the trucker 780 was introduced a few months ago.  Of course it is not cheap.

I just finished a 2400 mile trip with my new RV770, and I like it very well. The data base isn't perfect -- a few rest areas were either missing or misplaced, for example -- but the overall experience was great. The 7" screen gives them room to put more on the screen at a time, and the user interface is much improved over my previous Garmins (and over the Clarion in my MH, too), allowing a much easier time of getting the various pieces of information that are helpful as you travel. Touch screen, dragging in via points, checking upcoming fuel stops, rest areas, campgrounds, and even looking at the upcoming turns is a two touch affair: touch the wrench icon, then touch the item you want to view.

I gave a more complete review in another post somewhere, but it's a great choice, IMO.
 
That 770 sounds tempting however it is well over twice the price of the 2757 with the same size screen and only a few options that are missing from the 2757.
 
Keep in mind it is not just the screen size but the resolution that is better on the 770 with 1024x600 resolution vs 800x480 on the 2757.  I also suspect the screen will be brighter with better contrast on the 770.
 
Isaac-1 said:
Keep in mind it is not just the screen size but the resolution that is better on the 770 with 1024x600 resolution vs 800x480 on the 2757.  I also suspect the screen will be brighter with better contrast on the 770.
You are probably correct but 800 x 480 is more than enough for a GPS. I rarely even look at it. Just listen. The higher resolution is like putting lipstick on a pig.
 
Bobtop46 said:
I have used Google Maps in the RV since 2011 on my smart phone.  I haven't had a problem since. It thinks your vehicle is big

That hasn't been my experience. I use Google Maps a lot but I've never noticed any routing that seemed to take into account the size of what I was driving.
 
I forgot to mention the live traffic conditions and rerouting around accidents. 
Once near Waco TX, was alerted by Google got off I-35 went down a two lane road with a couple traffic lights, then back on to a empty I-35 south of the accident.
This passed weekend accident at mm 301 on I-75 in Florida had the interstate shut down, routed off the interstate, down 301 then back on to I-75 south of the accident.
You do have the option to decline the reroute.
 
I'm a fan of the Rand McNally OverDrv GPS because it is built on an Android tablet platform and will run many other programs simultaneously. It offers free updates for life, and also has the electronic version of their paper map (also with free updates for life). However, it is not cheap at $450 or so, but considering that my truck wants me to spend $150 for GPS updates each year, maybe not too bad a deal.
 
Good news I think. I got online and found a copy of the users manual. I didn't know it but there's a button which restores all the settings to what was set at the factory. I clicked on it and for now, I think it's working OK. Have to do a little more experimenting.
 
Looking to replace mine, had an 8" tablet coming, but USPS managed to not find me and sent it back, then lost in the mail.  Ironic...  Looking at the Truckers version, it has trucking specific features which I don't need to use, but since we are essentially driving a truck, is that an issue?  My concern is the POI stuff like campgrounds, any info on these at all with trucking specific units?
 
PancakeBill said:
Looking to replace mine, had an 8" tablet coming, but USPS managed to not find me and sent it back, then lost in the mail.  Ironic...  Looking at the Truckers version, it has trucking specific features which I don't need to use, but since we are essentially driving a truck, is that an issue?  My concern is the POI stuff like campgrounds, any info on these at all with trucking specific units?
I don''t know which "trucker" units you're looking at Bill, but the dezl 560 I have is limited in its RV knowledge. But the Garmin RV760LMT i recently got has a LOT of RV stuff. It's a 7" screen with a nice user interface. It also has a "coming up" tool that shows gas stations, rest areas, and RV parks ahead in a field that takes the right 1/4 to 1/3 of the screen (plus one touch for more info), but I don't think it shows near all of them that way. But generally it knows about most of the parks when you're looking at destinations and such.

I'm pleased with it.
 
I have the RV760LMT and like it very well. The POI's are basically RV related and saves a lot of time when looking for something. The RV770  and maybe a RV780 are and soon available. They are expensive.
 
Back
Top Bottom