GPS SUGGESTIONS

We just purchased our Class C Motorhome and have yet to go anywhere but are planning a rather long trip the end of this month. Will be traveling from Central Texas area to Silverdale Washington and then back home to Central Texas, have given ourselves about 3 weeks, with plan for about 8-10 days in Silverdale with family. Planning on going southern route to see Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon and then go to the Redwoods and returning Northern route.
Our concern is getting on roads not ideal for a 30ft Motorhome or into mountain areas that we might have/should avoid.
Have been told there are GPS available for RV's that take into account length and height of your MH.
If anyone has used one of these your input would be really appreciated. Don't want to purchase one just for the sake of having it if it is  not beneficial.
Thanks in advance,
Stormey

Our concern is getting on roads not ideal for a 30ft Motorhome or into mountain areas that we might have/should avoid.

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You'll need the GPS, but get yourself a copy of the Mountain Directory - West.  It's arranged by state and each state has a map with a numbered item so you can read about that specific mountain pass.  See their website at: http://www.mountaindirectory.com/

ArdraF

ArdraF
thanks for the info, do you have a GPS and if you do and don't mind please share which brand you got and if it is the on specific to RV? We have a TomTom in the car seldom used because of OnStar, I know it would need to be updated but if specific to RV better that is the way I want to go.
Thanks Again

We're on our fifth Garmin, both the "regular" kind and the "hiking" kind.  Some people prefer other brands but we like Garmins.  When we took the U.S.C.G.S Power Squadron course a couple of years ago, they said they would not even discuss questions about how the Magellan and Tom Tom GPSs work because there had been too many problems with them.  I don't know what the problems were but we've used Garmins for years.

Someone is bound to tell you that you don't need a GPS if you have a smart phone with Google maps.  Yes you do!  A smart phone depends on cell service and there are many places in the west that have zero cell service.  It's improving, but you cannot depend on that for navigation.  We've had both on at the same time and the Garmin is much more dependable in remote areas.

ArdraF

AdraF,
Thanks so much for sharing your experience and info.....

Remember the GPS is only as good as the info that is in it, and the person who is interpering the information.

Be aware of your surroundings..a GPS will not tell you if your MH will fit under the over hang at the gas station, low hanging branches, or get you out of a parking lot.

In a car they are great, but I have found in the MH that I get lazy reading road signs and rely on the GPS to tell me where I am.  This is not good.

I still believe it is a vital piece of equipment.  And today's GPS is much more than getting you there.

Here's a discussion you might find useful,

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/26116665/gotomsg/26147779.cfm

I have both the Garmin Trucker GPS and the Rand McNally RV GPS. Both allow you to put in the length, width and height of your MH. I think The Rand Mc Nally is much friendlier to the RV on routing and it has Woodalls campgrounds in it. I like the Rand better for the RV. I liked the Garmin when I was trucking. Remember Rand McNally makes the maps.

We use a laptop running DeLorme TOPO 10. I like the larger screen and the ability easily plot and modify your route. TOPO is much more than just a GPS

See:  http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=10742&minisite=10020

I have both a Magellan and a Garmin for the MH. Both can get confused and send you on routes which are not optimal. You need to use a good amount of common sense with any of them. Having said that, I wouldn't leave on a long trip without one. The mileage to destination, etc is good info to have.

I also have a so called smart phone which does a very good job of navigation. I've found that the places without phone service here in the west also don't have a lot of roads to get confused on.

Neither of my GPS units are special "trucker" or "RV" units. I drive a 43' tag axle MH with toad and haven't been directed to a place I couldn't go yet. I am aware of the restricted roads in CA for rigs of my size and I plan my trips around them, (push the detour button) but your rig shouldn't trigger any of those restrictions.

I'd never use either of my land units for on the water guidance either, as Ardra advises. Marine GPS uses an entirely different set of charts (maps). And I'm partial to Furuno for that. For selecting a marine unit, look at what the folks who use it all the time for their livelyhood use. The commercial fishermen in the PNW and the Coast Guard both predominately use Furuno. Today just happens to start my 33rd year of membership at my yacht club. Congratulations to me.

You don't say when you'll be here, but honk when you drive by the Puyallup exit on I-5, about 3 miles before you take the Highway 16 exit to go to Silverdale.

Ken

bucks2 said:

I also have a so called smart phone which does a very good job of navigation. I've found that the places without phone service here in the west also don't have a lot of roads to get confused on.

Ken

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If you use Google Maps you can download maps for the area where you don't have cell service... just in case you need the maps... the navigation system won't work though...

I even carry one of those old fashioned atlas' in case things get really out of hand. How did we ever go anywhere before we had electronic hand holders? Remember when the "navigator" actually read road signs and said left, right or straight ahead? Ah, the good old days.......

Ken

Ken,
I do remember the days of the true right hand seated navigator, even as a kid I was the map reader in my family. I appreciate all the info. We should be coming past your exit July 3rd will try to remember to honk, after 2500 miles though I won't promise I will remember.
Thanks for all the info.
Have a great summer.
Stormey

I confess that even though I love the GPS I can't live without my paper maps!  : ;D

By the way, our cars have different nav systems and they're awful!  We take the Garmin and place it on the dash above the other nav system when we think we'll be needing nav help.

ArdraF

ArdraF said:

You'll need the GPS, but get yourself a copy of the Mountain Directory - West.  It's arranged by state and each state has a map with a numbered item so you can read about that specific mountain pass.  See their website at: http://www.mountaindirectory.com/

ArdraF

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Thanks for the hint about the mountain directory, just got through looking at site and purchased that book along with the another one as well....
Stormey

StormP said:

Thanks for the hint about the mountain directory, just got through looking at site and purchased that book along with the another one as well....
Stormey

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I am using the RVND 7720 GPS with Low Clearance (lowclearance.com) add on, and I just received my Mountain Directory West & East. The information shown in the Mountain Directory is wonderful to have when trip planning. I am planning a trip to Roseburg, OR from Las Vegas, NV, leaving on 6/13/2013 and with the Mountain Directory I have found a great route with a minimum of steep/worrisome grades to contend with.

 

bucks2 said:

I also have a so called smart phone which does a very good job of navigation. I've found that the places without phone service here in the west also don't have a lot of roads to get confused on.

Ken

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taoshum said:

If you use Google Maps you can download maps for the area where you don't have cell service... just in case you need the maps... the navigation system won't work though...

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I've tried to use my smart phone in this capacity, but I finally broke down and just bought a Garmin Etrex 30 for my journeys across the Prairies/Badlands of Eastern Montana.

Now I just have to contend with the Garmin trying to send me over "Ranch Roads" or like one day, I think I hit almost every oil well along a ridgeline I was trying to cross. I turned too soon and I recognized the ridge and I knew I wanted to be on the other side, but the trick was trying to get to the correct road.

The smart phone was not adequate/detailed enough and the Garmin is too detailed. You need to use caution when using either one.

Oly

When I first bought my motorhome, I had two very close "almost went under a bridge lower than my vehicle" events.  Luckily, I stopped in time both times.

I also bought the Rand McNally RVND 7720 GPS with lifetime updates.  It has saved me several times since, at least when I choose not to ignore its suggestions. It also keeps you off narrow bridges and roads with weight limits.  It has a 7" screen which makes it easy to see.

The only problems I am having with it is problems with the cord not staying plugged in adequately so that it does not always properly charge.  At this point, I am not sure about replacing the cord or the device itself, but in any case, I would probably buy the same model.

I am a GPS kinda guy and have used one for years, since they first came out for boats. Licensed USCG Captain with over 75 thousand sea miles and now well over 25 thousand RV Miles.

I am a Garmin fan for both land navigation and sea navigation. I have two in my truck a Garmin Nuvi automotive one and my Garmin handheld which I use for Marine...I have the Marine Charts on a removable chip and the detailed road maps on a chip which is also compatible with my Garmin Nuvi, which made it nice when driving through Canada on my way to Alaska, all of a sudden my Nuvi lost detail and when searching for food and fuel it would not find anything...quick login to Garmin to update the maps and I realized that the standard map did not include Canada so I removed the chip from my handheld and put it in the Nuvi and bingo, I had details again.

I only use the handheld as a backup and use it for MPH and trip log information - miles driven etc, so the map portion was not important. I also keep my laptop on the center console and always have my days trip up in streets and trips and I can plug my handheld into the laptop and it will track where I am on there, this is a backup and so I can see a larger map when I am stopped in a rest area or fueling.

The handheld will not tell you a route but only where you are. If you put in a destination it will run a straight course where there roads or no roads, as the crow flies.....obviously won't work on land but will when hiking and sometimes on the water if you are in open water, but not inland.

Anyway a Garmin fan true and true, have used many others on boats and as mentioned earlier Furuno is a great brand but they don't make automotive units....and I like compatability like in my chart chip instance.

Good Luck and safe travels and don't rely 100% on the GPS, they can be wrong and there are stories of people being lost and dying by listening to the little voice in the GPS. Especially out west in the mountains and desert....it will route you over dirt roads and old mining roads and some that are seasonal. So know your route before you go....

Jim

Before our last trip to the Canadian Maritimes and Newfoundland we bought the newly issued Garmin maps for Canada and they worked great.  The price included North America so Canada was not extra as we had expected.

ArdraF