Need a simple, SIMPLE GPS.....please

[YaddaYadda]

Our 2012 Garmin has a small screen and works great. Need a 8-10 inch screen. Bought a Garmin RV1010 from Amazon and have 30 days to try out...and return. It is way too complicated for me. Wants my WiFi address and it does not connect. Wants me to register the unit with Garmin Express. Too complicated for computer stupid me....to do this. I would like to send it back and buy a SIMPLE unit. No WiFi, Bluetooth, no apps.

Want one that right out of the box, I can plug in the 12volt.....click Where To....and put in an address...and press GO

Am I asking too much ? I am 81, use a flip phone and dumb as a rock about anything electronic.

Thanks for listening.....

 

[SeilerBird]

https://www.amazon.com/Navigation-Drivers-Commercial-Trucker-Lifetime/dp/B08Q41VHLT/ref=pb_allspark_dp_sims_pao_desktop_session_based_3/135-0018592-9838846?pd_rd_w=39xJJ&pf_rd_p=e896123b-6614-49c5-873e-d532e726c2f0&pf_rd_r=JBG424K7MSCSQDSG7XFD&pd_rd_r=32f4b224-e0e0-4f8e-8bba-47389f9ec700&pd_rd_wg=03B62&pd_rd_i=B08Q41VHLT&psc=1

This is similar to the one I bought last year. Simple to use and lots of great features.

 

[donn]

Garmin rv780 looks pretty simple.
You do realize that any GPS you buy you will need to connect online if you want map updates.

 

[SeilerBird]

I have not connected online my last few gps.

 

[Kirk]

I would like to send it back and buy a SIMPLE unit. No WiFi, Bluetooth, no apps.

You do not have to use Wifi with your Garmin but you do need to connect it to the internet via a computer that is somehow connected to the internet in order to keep maps current and do occasional software updates. I know of no GPS that has any other way to keep the maps current.

This is similar to the one I bought last year. Simple to use and lots of great features.

In looking at the operator's manual for this unit at the website of LOVPOI, it clearly does state that it must be connected to the internet via a Windows computer in order to do updates. YadaYada, I strongly recommend that you read the customer reviews on Amazon before you buy one.

I have not connected online my last few gps.

Would you mind sharing with us how you keep your GPS maps and software current and what make/model of GPS's you use?

I do understand that the learning curve gets steeper with each passing year as I am only 2 years younger than you.

 

[Oldgator73]

Just use the map app on your phone.

 

[Utclmjmpr]

I bought a 9 inch Chinese knockoff and loved the screen,, but it was a nightmare to operate.. So returned it and bought a used 560 Garmin from a forum member,, it's 5 inch but very easy to operated,, download,, and understand..>>>Dan ( this from a guy that believes in paper mapbooks and a common sense approach..)

 

[Kirk]

Just use the map app on your phone.

He mentions that he uses a flip phone so I'm sure he doesn't have one.

 

[Isaac-1]

Try sticking with the one you have, these wifi and phone app enabled features are great to have when traveling. I have the older Garmin Dezl 770 (trucker version I bought cheap in 2017), which must be plugged into my computers USB port to update the maps, which takes an hour or so, I wish it had integrated wifi for map updates, it would make life much easier. Mine does have the Garmin Express phone app stuff that connects to the 770 by bluetooth, this lets the GPS know when there are accidents and traffic delays ahead, as well as providing on screen weather alerts, weather radar, etc.

 

[DonTom]

.and return. It is way too complicated for me. Wants my WiFi address and it does not connect.

If you don't need the latest updates the GPS should work well as is, right out of the box.

Garmin Express is used on your computer to get map updates. Easy to use. If the unit came with a USB cable, you should be able to use it and avoid all the WiFi BS.

If you're not happy with the Garmin RV1090 (not really an RV1010, is it?), it is very unlikely that you will be happy with any GPS ever made to date. IMO, the Garmins are the best for any mobile use.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[Rob&Deryl]

You really can ignore updates if you want. The odds that an update will include a map fix that actually fixes something you notice are small.

I only update every few years or before a big trip.
I have an RV890 & RV770 on the dash.

 

[SeilerBird]

In looking at the operator's manual for this unit at the website of LOVPOI, it clearly does state that it must be connected to the internet via a Windows computer in order to do updates. YadaYada, I strongly recommend that you read the customer reviews on Amazon before you buy one.

Would you mind sharing with us how you keep your GPS maps and software current and what make/model of GPS's you use?

You do have to be hooked up to the Internt to update the maps on every GPS, however it is not necessary. You can use the preinstalled maps for the next 50 years without updating the maps. My current GPS is a Cestovet 9 Inch Navigator. Prior to that I had Garmin Nuvi 2757. Of the dozen or so GPSs i have owned I can only remember actually update one of them. It was such a pain and took so long I decided I didn't need the aggravation. But I imagine that it is a lot easier to download files that qr 3 or 4 gigabytes.

 

[Isaac-1]

Maybe I am just unlucky then, as one of the map mistakes my 770 had for the first 2 years I owned it involved trying to route me down back highways anytime I would head west from my house instead of staying on the main federal highway. I don't know maybe a bridge was out when the did the map, but whatever it was the town that is 54 miles away straight down the main highway, became 96 miles away by the back road route the Garmin would try to make me take.

 

[SeilerBird]

Maybe I am just unlucky then, as one of the map mistakes my 770 had for the first 2 years I owned it involved trying to route me down back highways anytime I would head west from my house instead of staying on the main federal highway. I don't know maybe a bridge was out when the did the map, but whatever it was the town that is 54 miles away straight down the main highway, became 96 miles away by the back road route the Garmin would try to make me take.

Every single day in the US there are streets that are destroyed, new streets built, streets having a name change and other things. Every GPS will have to be used with the idea that there is a good chance the data will be wrong. You cannot blindly follow a GPS without applying a bit of suspicion.

 

[mweber (KC9NPT)]

I use the TomTom Go Mobile app on my 10" Lenovo android tablet. Easy to see, has a side bar that shows distance to next gas or rest stop. Also show remaing distance and arrival time. It will show more but that's all I need. Does not need wifi, but if you turn on wifi, it will show construction areas and how long delay is. Cost is 12.99/year for everything.

 

[uchu]

I use this one and it's pretty good. Simple, easy to use and it gets me where I want to go:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W84QD37/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You can specify dimensions and weight of your rig. So far, it has direct me fine and safely.

 

[Old_Crow]

I've been using TomTom GPS's for years. Yes, you have to hook them to a computer to update them. The updates include not only the maps, but red light camera info and charging station info as well.
I use the TomTom app on the computer to plan my trips(prefer the bigger display)and with that app you can enter the RV specs and it will avoid low clearances and other routes not suitable for the RV. It also hooks to my phone via bluetooth while I'm driving to provide live traffic info,
I'm not a big fan of doing everything on my phone. I've broken a couple over the years and if you break your phone, you loose all the other stuff you're doing with it. I tend to set my GPS for my final destination. Then if I get someplace along the way and want to find a place to eat or a Walmart, or a repair place, I'll use my phone. Once I'm done eating or whatever, the main GPS will have updated my route and will then take me on my way.

 

[DonTom]

You cannot blindly follow a GPS without applying a bit of suspicion.

And they all have bugs in some locations. One I remember very well with my Garmin on my electric motorcycle was when I tried to get back to the RV park in Lake Havasu City after I came back from the Denny's restaurant from meeting Bill (HueyPilotVN). I took me around in a continuous circle of about a half mile, about a mile from the RV Park. After I realized I saw the same building a few times, I realized something was wrong. It was at early night and dark, so it wasn't all that obvious at first. But I somehow figured out how to get back anyway. That was on a Garmin, but I have also had the same issue with a TomTom near hear in Auburn, when I was trying to find a restaurant.

Both of these places can be repeated over and over again with the same issue on the same GPS.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[SeilerBird]

My last Garmin had two different addresses for the same Best Buy. The wrong one took me to a residential neighborhood.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

YaddaYadda's new Garmin will also work fine without ever connecting to wifi. Or updating via Garmin Express. But maybe the operational interface is more complicated than he likes - I know my last Garmin 3 years ago) tried to do a lot more for me than I was really interested in doing. Just wanna enter my destination and go. In terms that I understand, whether its the most efficient for the GPS or not.