Excalibur
Well-known member
I have a car gps... TomTom. But I was looking for something a little more RV specific.
RV GPS
- Thread starter Excalibur
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
DonTom
Well-known member
You probably won't feel that way when your cheap GPS gives you no warning that your 12 foot and 2" high RV is headed for a 12-foot and one inch tunnel.
-Don- Auburn, CA
SeilerBird
Well-known member
I am not dumb enough to blindly follow any GPS.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
He already stated his rig is only 9'2".
DonTom
Well-known member
Okay, then make that a 9' 1" tunnel.
Mark_K5LXP
Well-known member
At the end of the day, garmins are running on android so they are just an app. To me, the value is the degree of accessibility and usability of what might even be "free" information like campgrounds or rest stops. I'm paying for the convenience of having it all in one place, a well designed user interface and for someone else to manage the updates. Yes, if you know where you're going and are on predominantly well traveled routes just yapping into the google works fine. When you're trying to go somewhere you've never been, and google takes you off the interstate through the middle of some town then back on the interstate two exits down for some inexplicable reason, you're ready to tell google to navigate itself straight to hell. One might believe that google or some app is "just as good". Maybe someday, but not today.
Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
Alan_Hepburn
Well-known member
While $800 will, indeed, get you a nice GPS unit you can get a Garmin RV890 for under $400 with some searching. It works great and does just about everything you need for safe RV travelling.
Or if Scooter who while writing fortran for the $ 800.00 Garmin was dipping his corndog in mustard and entered an 11'2" underpass as 12'2" .
jymbee
Well-known member
The sometimes poor navigation you mention with Google, how is that any different than Garmin? I've had as many if not more bad directions from Garmin than Google.
Just this last site we're at now, following Garmin with only a few miles from my destination, it led me around circles and wanted me to take roads that did not exist (yes, I keep maps updated). Very frustrating. As I was driving by myself, I pulled over and brought up Google Maps and could plainly see where I needed to go.
As anyone who uses these apps knows well, they're great tools but both can lead you astray at times.
I've had to do the same thing, Google Maps continually updates itself as well.
Ray-IN
Well-known member
Well, I used to have Rand McNally RV GPS units, then Rand McNally exited the RV GPS business.
I looked at Garmin and the prices made my wallet cry. So I bought a Chinese brand OHREX 7" RV/HDT specific GPS. It's has worked very well every time I used it in the MH or in my pickup. Best part_ $60.
This does have map updates that come on an SD card @ $20 each.
I looked at Garmin and the prices made my wallet cry. So I bought a Chinese brand OHREX 7" RV/HDT specific GPS. It's has worked very well every time I used it in the MH or in my pickup. Best part_ $60.
This does have map updates that come on an SD card @ $20 each.
Ex-Calif
Well-known member
This is the biggest pitfall with Google.
Very often when traveling on a north-south state or US highway and 4 miles down the road you are turning east-west, google will often "cut the corner" and drive you through a small neighborhood.
I am pretty sure the algorithm is looking at some combination "fastest time" and "shortest route" and predicts cutting the corner will save 20 seconds.
I've never had it route me off a freeway unless there was an accident ahead and it found a faster route.
Martian
Well-known member
I am not a rich man and I just achieved six dozen in age and if both my Garmins died today I would surely get another one. Both have served well and have taken a lot of stress out of life. Along with RV Life Trip Wizard pro planning and execution are easy. GPS is like having a good TPMS system in that it does something for you as a return on investment. No price can be put on peace of mind.
Excalibur
Well-known member
Oh I know that well. Spent nine months in Gallup , NM while my wife was working as a travel nurse on the Zuni reservation.
LarsMac
Well-known member
Google is good enough when all you will be doing is running interstates and major cities and such. but, the first time you make a turn onto an unfamiliar road, out in the boonies, and suddenly your phone bleeps, and says, no coverage, you'll wish you had put out for that Garmin.
NMDriver
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2018
- Posts
- 156
I use a Spouse 2.0 and always go the way recommended to optimize being happy. Spouse 2.0 uses Google Maps and prior knowledge.
Ex-Calif
Well-known member
The issue with many folks who used an app a long time ago or are unfamiliar with an app is they don't have the latest info.
It's not the most intuitive to use but you can download offline maps in google if you expect to go to thin cell coverage areas.
I do it all the time. Not sure if it is possible on the Apple platform.
LarsMac
Well-known member
Yup, that can be handy. Especially when you know ahead of time that you will be treading "Uncharted Territory". I have done it a couple of times.
But, then, I paid a couple hundred bucks for my Garmin 760RV a few years back, and I might as well get my money's worth.
I generally run with the Garmin and Google Maps running simultaneously. Google keeps up with current traffic and can re-route quickly, and Garmin can adjust to changes in route, and warn of weight and clearance issues on the fly.
Between them, I haven't been lost for a few years.
(well, there was the time that I ignored them both and took off on my own. They knew, I could tell by their smug voices when I had to ask for help, again.)
I bought a CHEAP 10" android tablet (Vankyo brand) for a larger screen and downloaded the Co Pilot app onto it. I also picked up a magnetic mount (actually got a pair since that was how they were sold) while I was on Amazon. I first got the Co=Pilot for free and tested it around town. I then took it on a 2000+ mile trip. I tested RVTrip Wizard (failed) and the CoPilot (kept it). I made it a simple test. Most of the trip was on interstates. RVTrip Wizard lost it's mind in Arkansas when I refused to get off I-40 onto roads that went nowhere. After a several miles of "take the next exit" it froze up and stopped working. No construction, no wrecks and a few times of no exits. I switched over to CoPilot and finished up the trip.
I plan my routes and trips out ahead of time using Google My Maps which has POIs loaded into it that I put together. It is now the closest thing to the old Streets&Trips that I used to use to plan my trips. I could use Google My Maps on my trip but I don't. I actually use paper maps with the GPS to just let me know that I have a turn coming up and which way to turn once I get to the turn. My way of trip planning takes a bit more effort than blindly following a GPS, therefore it's not for everyone.
I also downloaded the Kindle app to the table so I use it for reading when not using it as a GPS.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
I've owned a couple Garmin models for use in my motorhomes and every one of them has done that same sort of bizarre routing at times. And they are all vulnerable to faulty maps.
