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RV GPS – Worth it?
I have a Garmin NUVI but after being directed to some very tight roads, wondered if GPS loaded with RV or OTR truck info might be worth the bucks. ??
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10 Replies
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A GPS is a wonderful thing. A GPS that is designed for or can be programmed for big vehicles is even better. But none are perfect.
I use a Garmin and despite knowing it is almost always correct I drive my route in areas I am questioning on Google and use satellite views and the feature where I can get the street view often prior to a trip with questionable routing.
It’s a belt and suspenders thing.
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I used the Rand McNally 7710 from FL to AK and it never took me the wrong way. If my destinantion is off the well beatened path I use the trust but verify method. It gives me the route and I check it to see if I agree.
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Don’t waste your time with Garmins 760, I ordered in early August and was back ordered, haven’t heard a thing. Rand McNally is probably the better way to go. I have a trucker Nuvi from Garmin and it will for sure take you to the boonies if you let it.
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I have been upgrading from the 5 inch to the 7 inch screen and now have the the 3rd edition, being the 7720 with lifetime free map upgrades.
I have driven about 10K miles and, so far, so good.
It is worth the $300 to me to have a dedicated device designed for RV.
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As long as you know where you are going a GPS is a great gadget!!
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I only trust GPS in the air, and they are updated every 28 days, and approved for Instrument flying, and are very very accurate, even vertically.
Unfortunately, those systems are not available( at reasonable prices ) for Truck/buses.
On the ground, my iphone/ipad works as good as anything I’ve used, the Google map app along with the Sat view as Jon mentioned are great. The one Gil mentioned would be my choice for an RV, if I was going to buy one just for that purpose.
A CB radio still works good talking to the Truckers, if you have a good one, and can talk to them “like one of them”, especially in a pinch.
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Our road as all who have visited the house will know is not friendly to big vehicles. The 3 miles I have to travel to get to the house has “S” turns so sharp no two large vehicles can be in the turn at the same time because we take both lanes. The width of the road is so narrow that when the driver’s side wheels are on the double yellow, the passenger side wheels are on the white edge line. There are no shoulders. Beyond the white edge line is a drop off deep and steep enough the bus will roll if i ever get off the edge. When I pass a dump truck or school bus both of us need to come to a near stop and wiggle a little sideways so our mirrors will clear one another.
Yet we constantly see one or two semis a week looking for the industial park that they missed because the GPS they are using gave them a turn command in the wrong direction. I am sure those poor guys are using every brand and every model GPS available and for whatever reason they got told to turn left instead of right.
The GPS we use in our RV is no better. I was spoiled by the aviation GPS that was approved for instrument flight and I used one since 1996 until I hung up my flight bag in 2012. The accuracy was measured in feet and if it had a questionable signal it would give an alert. It NEVER gave me a wrong bit of information. But it cost 10X or more what we have to pay for an automotive quality GPS so I just supplement my GPS with Google.
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All of the automotive GPS systems are probably OK but they all have their drawbacks; I have a closet full of them and am currently using a Tom-Tom that has maps and traffic that are updated for life. I had one unit a Garmin something that if one typed in “shortest route” would have one taking off ramps then the same road on ramp to save .1 mile. What I am saying is that you need to have a back up system and the I Pad Maps serves me well, just like the I-Phone only a bigger screen. Little blue dot shows where you are at all times. After a recent trip to the deep south, my newest concern would be bridge height, I came across several that were too low for me, I suppose the truck version may well resolve that. Bottom line is that these things are no panacea and you must maintain a reasonable amount of situational awareness or they may well take you down that primrose path.
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I use the new Garmin 760. I like it much better than any old Garmin or Tom Tom I have used. I used it on a couple of trips this summer and it did not take me on any small roads that I could not easily handle. Of course, it does not like the road I live on but I have to travel it to get home. Not saying it is perfect but it has worked good for me so far.
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I have been using “CoPolit Truck HD” it is programable to height and length. On my IPadII.
For two years, have not had any bad results, it updates frequently, and has voice and “Lane” info for turns.
I still use maps as a backup as it will sometimes miss a shortcut.
Jimb
Ft.Worth
09 Monaco exec
ISX
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