GPS recommendations (Garmin?)

A friend sold me a Garmin 760 he was no longer using.  I just took my first trip with it this week and was delighted.  It has a display that is easy to read and provides more than enough volume to be heard.  I love the fact that it can look ahead for highway situations that would give my RV problems and never suggests ridiculous U-turns like my automotive Garmin used to do. My guess that the 770 is every bit as good as this and better.

Guess the new Garmin RV 780 is out. 

jims94vmx said:

I recently used google on the laptop to fine tune my last drive.  I found a better route for towing and made the dragging changes.....then when i sent it to my phone (hooked up to big screen in truck) it changed it back to its route, not my changes......maybe i did something wrong? ??? ?

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You didn't do anything wrong - unfortunately Google maps do not "remember" drag changes when sent to another device. The work around is to add a city or other  stop point on your route and Google will send the correct route to your device. I like to use back roads, so I usually need to add several waypoints along the way to ensure that the proper map is sent to my device.

phil-t said:

...  The tablet/phone device still depends a lot on cellualr signal for location services...

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Although I am not positive of the specific hardware in the tablet that makes it work, this method does not depend on connection of any kind.  I suspect it is a built-in GPS circuitry of some kind. My tablet knows where I am without any kind of connection. I have used my tablet as my main navigation device for the past year or so on many trips, sometimes hundreds of miles in length all without cell or any kind of connection as long as I download the route maps before starting the trip. The downloaded maps will remain on your tablet (or any device) for about a month or so, and if you want to update it, you can.

We have been very happy with our various Garmins and they work quite well with downloads of your favorite items from the POI Factory which has a wonderful campground database, and numerous others for everything from state parks to Arbys to fuel chains.  We prefer the Garmin because we can carry it back and forth between various vehicles.  For those of you who have old Garmins you'll be pleasantly surprised by the improvements in the newer Garmins.  I love the speaking feature that tells me to "turn right at the light before the Applebys" or "prepare to exit right in 1/2 mile."

ArdraF

I have the best GPS in my camera. It uses Goggle Maps which is a lot more accurate than my Garmin. It is updated regularly whereas my Garmin only gets map updates once a year and it is a pain to update. I gotta get it out of my car, hook it up to my computer, download the update, and install it. Takes a few hours sometimes. And it tags my photos to the precise location they were taken.

Most definitely the Garmin RV 770 (or 780 now?).  A tablet does not do what this GPS unit does.  Yes, I've used my tablet at times to real-time track my route in the boonies to find unmarked, questionable turns etc., but I don't download maps to the tablet.  To me downloading maps all the time, would be a pain, when for about $350 I can have them at my fingertips, all the time, anytime without worrying about whether I have a map for wherever I might be. 

Secondly, the Garmin is an invaluable tool if I'm looking for a Walgreens, or Walmart, or Chevron gas station, or ______________(fill in the blank).  Especially restaurants - I can browse by style, or cuisine - what am I hungry for -- Mexican, a burger, Italian?  Also, the RV 770 has a "what' ahead" function you can turn on so you know how far it is to next gas station, or food, or lodging.  It saves "recent destinations" so no need to type in address searches all the time.  A tablet with Google maps downloaded just can't do what an RV 770 GPS unit does.  Open road highway "here to there" only travel with a tablet might be okay, but I use my GPS extensively while I'm on the go (no prior planning) in alien cities as well to navigate to dozens of places - the tablet isn't going to allow for that.

I LOVE, LUV, my Garmin RV 770 and wouldn't be without it.  BTW I DO check routes and business locations ahead of time on Google maps - mostly to see distances and travel times etc. when planning.  But OTR and on the go, I'm sticking with a GPS and so far the Garmin RV 770 with lifetime maps is superb.

Linda

Also, the RV 770 has a "what' ahead" function you can turn on so you know how far it is to next gas station, or food, or lodging.

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That's a great feature that I use a lot (it even has rest areas ahead), but it doesn't show ALL of them, unfortunately, so sometimes I have to do a bit of a search to find others. Still, it helps a lot.

There is a brand new RV Garmin, the 780 RV. https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/660527

pz said:

A no cost solution if you already have a tablet (I have a Samsung Tab2), is using it as a navigation device. I set my route using Google Maps on my PC, then send the route link to my tablet. When I open the map on my tablet, I get the option to download the map route to the tablet so I can use it offline for GPS navigation.


The screen is way larger than any GPS unit - 10-inches, and I have it mounted in a cup holder mount in the truck. The screen is so large I don't even need to use glasses to read it with my old eyes. The Google maps are far superior to any GPS unit I have ever purchased, and I currently have Garmin, Magellan, and Rand McNally units in addition to the GPS built into the truck, all of which have map errors. Don't get me wrong, Google also has it's faults, but I have never encountered any mapping system that is without error.


I've used it several times on trips over the past year, and now wish I had not wasted the $ on my latest Rand McNally Overdryve 7 RV unit. Just for fun, I currently use the truck GPS, the Rand McNally unit, plus the tablet for navigation, and without exception, the Google maps on the tablet has been the most accurate.

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I use Google maps on my phone mostly and find it superior to a stand alone GPS for everyday use. It has also put me face to face with low clearance bridges in unfamiliar territory 3 times. I got very lucky and was able to either have someone walk me thru to watch head room as a crept thru or had police come so I could back out and turn around. My 5ver is 13'4" tall though. Waze is Google map based and has added on all of the features such as road/traffic conditions, etc... I'm looking to get a GPS for pulling the 5ver but also use for work where I drive  bucket truck building powerlines. Heard that the RV 770 would have location issues at times that would have a turn show up too late making you have to reroute or find a place to turn around. Maybe they have that bug fixed? Don't know.

This is an app that has been very valuable to me over the years. It's free and while most of the features I don't use it will show me what truck stops where I can get diesel  in a place I can get my rig into easily. My wife also uses it when traveling to see me because she feels safer using truck stops than gas stations when traveling alone.

Trucker Path
https://truckerpath.com/trucker-path-app/

We got an RV-660 a couple of years ago, and I've been consistently very happy with it.  Lots of nice features and, so far, I can't complain about routing.  Just like with any GPS, it's always good to have a look at the route overview to be sure you agree.  Easy to change if not. 

I got a few extra POI files, and Garmin's POI Loader app works perfectly to import them.  I will say, though, that the built-in ones seem to be quite comprehensive.  And, as others mentioned, the "up ahead" feature turned out to be even more useful than I first thought.

I update it a couple of times a year using Garmin Express.  That seems to keep up with road changes very well.  I can't recall a time where it didn't recognize a road, or think it was still in the "old" location after things are reconfigured.  Much more accurate than the OEM one in my daily driver car.

Garmin is, IMO, the industry standard now.  I doubt very much you'll be disappointed with one.

UTTransplant said:

There is a brand new RV Garmin, the 780 RV. https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/660527

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Pam, would your rather have the RV 770 or the RV 780 and why?  Input from others who have experience with the RV 770 and/or RV 780 is welcome.  We are trying to decide which one to buy.  As always thanks for your help and advice. 

Max, the RV 780 seems to be just an enhanced RV 770, so there will be a lot of similarities. The LMT designation means "lifetime" updates along with traffic capabilities. I've got the RV-770 LMT and it's great (no GPS is perfect, but this is very good), a drastic improvement on my dezl 560 LMT, which I liked a lot and I'm still getting updated maps for.

Trying to figure our if the RV 780 has more options to justify the lower price of the RV 770.  Doing more research however I'm inclined to think we would be happy with either. 

Max, they are both aimed at RV'ers. The trucker one(s) start with dezl.

"Includes a directory of RV parks and services plus integrated content from Ultimate Public Campgrounds, KOA?, iOverlander?, PlanRV? TripAdvisor?, Foursquare? and more"

isn't for truckers. Apparently the dēzl? 580 LMT-S is their current unit for truckers. The RV 770 and RV 780 certainly have a lot of stuff in there that truckers can use, but large DPs need some of the same facilities. So have Eric look at the links I provided in my previous post above.

I use a 10" Lenovo tablet with the Tom Tom GO app.  Shows traffic delays, gas  stations, etc.  Much easier to see while driving, have it mounted to dashboard. It does cost $21.99 yearly to show everything.Also expands to show exit lanes. Been using it for about 4 years and have all favorite campgrounds stored. Does not need wifi, all maps are downloaded onto tablet.

mweber (KC9NPT) said:

I use a 10" Lenovo tablet with the Tom Tom GO app.  Shows traffic delays, gas  stations, etc.  Much easier to see while driving, have it mounted to dashboard. It does cost $21.99 yearly to show everything.Also expands to show exit lanes. Been using it for about 4 years and have all favorite campgrounds stored. Does not need wifi, all maps are downloaded onto tablet.

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Mweber, does the TomTom app have things like overpass heights, weight restricted roads, and grades? Does it need cell service? I would like a bigger screen, but I had bad luck with phone-style GPS apps.

(And Max, I didn?t mean to,ignore your response. Somehow I didn?t see it. I think you would be happy with either. The 770 will be less as they get rid of it, but the 780 will have a longer life since it is just coming out.)

Sorry, no it doesn't have those features and it also doesn't need cell service. It's all downloaded to tablet and uses gps to track your location.

mweber (KC9NPT) said:

Sorry, no it doesn't have those features and it also doesn't need cell service. It's all downloaded to tablet and uses gps to track your location.

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Too bad. At 13? ish tall, I won?t travel without overpass info, and I have occasionally started down roads with bridge weight limits when I forget to change from car mode to RV (32,000 pounds) mode. Luckily I caught it quickly, but it would be bad to have to turn around or back up due to a restriction.

If you use the TomTom app on a laptop to plan your route, you can input the size data for your rig.  Then you can push the route to the GPS.
To test this, I planned a route that I knew had a low tunnel(the road through the tunnel in Zion NP).  When in car mode it took me right through the tunnel, in the motor home mode it took me around the park to St George through Fredonia and Hurricane.