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Old 07-14-2018, 08:35 AM   #1
Barseven
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Arrow RV specific GPS Recommendations

Google Maps can get you in a lot of trouble if you're not careful. Looking to move to a RV specific GPS that allows personalized data entry.
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Old 07-14-2018, 08:40 AM   #2
stolly23
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Following, i have been looking for this for years. The amont of rvs/campers i see on the parkway near me is ceazy. No commercial vehicles nothing in tow
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Old 07-14-2018, 09:30 AM   #3
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I've had excellent success with "Magellan" GPS units over the last 15+ years. They are reliable, easy to learn and use. The make several RV and Truck specific units.

Go to their website to check on Refurbished units. Most have full warrantee, and lifetime map, and POI updates. Some pretty good deals.

p.s. Don't trust any cell phone app's! They leave you in the woods when you lose the tower signal. Sat Nav is much safer.

Good Luck,
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Old 07-14-2018, 03:05 PM   #4
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I have the Rand McNally Overdrive 7" screen. Only used a couple times so far but it is capable of doing far more then I expected. You enter your overall length and height and what you are ie. class a, b c or tt bumper or 5th wheel and max weight. You can connect to phone for hands free as it has a speaker and microphone, front facing traffic camera that you can set up in many different ways, wireless connection to internet for lifetime maps, current weather, fuel prices and more! You can load other apps on it as it is a basic android platform, but can be used simply stand alone as well. There is even an optional license tag back up camera and tpms system available separately.
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Old 07-14-2018, 04:46 PM   #5
captcolour
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I use the Garmin RV660 which works well.
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Old 07-14-2018, 07:00 PM   #6
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i use the garmin RV660 also
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Old 07-15-2018, 06:23 AM   #7
Barseven
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Quote:
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i use the garmin RV660 also
In the top two or three I'm looking at. The Magellan RV9145 and the RV760. Not sure if they're worth the added expense over the 660 though.
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Old 07-15-2018, 10:08 AM   #8
flybouy
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I have used several bands over the years. Currenrtly use the RV 760 and like it a lot. It's mounted a little off center to the passanger side of the dash so the larger screen makes it much easier fot me to see. YMMV
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Old 07-15-2018, 05:42 PM   #9
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One thing that is extremely important when using these is listening to them and following the route.



While in Memphis a few weeks back, was traveling along Front Street heading north towards downtown. The Garmin 660 kept telling me to turn right. I ignored it because I wanted to go along Front Street to Riverside Drive. Kept telling me to turn right. Finally I came to an overpass that was only about 12' high. Alpine is 13'6". When I went under the overpass, a little crash symbol showed on the Garmin screen which was a little humorous. Now don't worry, I was just driving the truck without the 5th wheel. Forgot to change the unit to car mode.


The moral of the story is that the GPS never told me why it wanted me to turn right. Never warned me of a low overpass ahead. So unless you are 100% positive that an alternate route is OK for the RV, you had better take the advice of the RV Garmin set on RV mode.
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Old 07-15-2018, 06:41 PM   #10
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Many RV specific GPSs out there. I narrowed down to two Garmin units...decided on the Garmin RV660LMT-S.

Lot's of info on this thread I started several months ago:

http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums...ad.php?t=31184

Good luck,
Mike
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Old 07-22-2018, 05:52 PM   #11
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Was going up I-75 on Saturday and the Garmin warned of low overpasses. This time it showed in a red bar on top of the screen what the clearance was. Don't know why it didn't do that in Memphis as I reported in a few posts above.
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Old 07-24-2018, 05:26 AM   #12
Mikendebbie
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Garmin RV660

Bought the Garmin RV660 a month ago - love it! I had similar experience in Memphis as Captcolour above. I also bought the data base from Low Clearances.com but I have not yet loaded them to the RV660 as I am somewhat technology challenged...but I will get it them loaded soon.
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Old 10-10-2018, 12:36 PM   #13
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I got the Garmin RV760 a few months ago. I really like the larger screen. It is advertised as providing RV friendly routing. Don't believe it. Going through Illinois, it took me off the freeway, through very narrow side residential streets and tiny towns. Areas where it was very dicey in a big RV. Finally brought me back to the freeway. Looked at another map later and the route I took was way out of my way and we probably lost two hours gong that way. In Upper Michigan, it actually routed me to a trail. It kept saying "Turn left". It was truly a wide spot in the trees with a grass hiking trail. When I passed the turn, it kept trying to get me to turn around and go back to it for several miles before recalculating.
Another feature is supposed to be real-time traffic information. It kept warning me of things that weren't there, yet never warned me about obvious long term issues. In one case, the freeway was closed and traffic routed into the other side, bypassing a bridge replacement. Garmin kept flashing a red screen warning me I was gong the wrong way on the freeway.
It is a nice unit with hands free speaker phone and voice commands, just be careful of the routing and don't take every turn as gospel.
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Old 10-12-2018, 06:22 PM   #14
Mikendebbie
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Garmin 660RV

I chose the 660 over the 770 because I wanted built-in traffic which always worked well on my old garmins, plus I wanted my phone bluetoothed to the truck and not the garmin (for the telephone function). It is my understanding that for the 770 you have to use your phone/Bluetooth for traffic, weather and other functions.
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Old 10-12-2018, 08:15 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by barnmichael View Post
I got the Garmin RV760 a few months ago. I really like the larger screen. It is advertised as providing RV friendly routing. Don't believe it. Going through Illinois, it took me off the freeway, through very narrow side residential streets and tiny towns. Areas where it was very dicey in a big RV. Finally brought me back to the freeway. Looked at another map later and the route I took was way out of my way and we probably lost two hours gong that way. In Upper Michigan, it actually routed me to a trail. It kept saying "Turn left". It was truly a wide spot in the trees with a grass hiking trail. When I passed the turn, it kept trying to get me to turn around and go back to it for several miles before recalculating.
Another feature is supposed to be real-time traffic information. It kept warning me of things that weren't there, yet never warned me about obvious long term issues. In one case, the freeway was closed and traffic routed into the other side, bypassing a bridge replacement. Garmin kept flashing a red screen warning me I was gong the wrong way on the freeway.
It is a nice unit with hands free speaker phone and voice commands, just be careful of the routing and don't take every turn as gospel.

It may be just me, but my nav systems have always left me out to dry in some situations. I always carry at least 2 nav systems if I am relying on them. I have the nav in the vehicle, the outboard nav, and when feeling doubtful, the directions from the smart phone. I've been left high and dry so many times by navs that don't really know I don't trust them.
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Old 10-13-2018, 05:46 AM   #16
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I have the Garmin DriveSmart 7 LMT ex (whatever that means). I did not know they had RV specific units available when I purchased. I'm am on my second unit because the first went tango union.
I'm real happy with the unit. Yes it is true (sourdough) that you should back up your route choice with another median (maps,phone,google maps) or at least take an overview look at the route selected. These units have a built in "shortest" route programming. Not always the best choice for RVs. Also there is s setting (on mine) for avoiding toll roads. I found this on a recent trip. Check your GPS settings and find out if it is programmed to avoid toll roads,that may explain some of your misdirection.
The app LowClearance.com looks interesting. But the site does not show comparability with my GPS unit. I'm sure there is a remedy for that.
RMc
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Old 10-13-2018, 11:00 AM   #17
Mikendebbie
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Low clearances.com

I bought the low clearances.com data base for $44. Tried to follow the instructions for loading and had difficulty...in fact it destroyed a brand new 660. It would not boot. Thankfully garmin sent me another unit. Anyway - I have the data base but I need to find better instructions for loading. For what it’s worth low clearances.com has ZERO customer service...no help. Period. I have found a few videos on YouTube that seem to be more informative but I am a bit gun shy to try it again.
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Old 10-13-2018, 11:59 AM   #18
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Good info there Mike.
I will steer clear (no pun intended,well OK pun) of LowClearance.com
Thanks
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Old 10-13-2018, 02:04 PM   #19
Mikendebbie
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Low clearance data base

I’m sure the data base will be great once it gets loaded - I just need simplified instructions for doing the upload. One of these days I will get back into it and try to figure it out.
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Old 10-13-2018, 04:30 PM   #20
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GPS must be tempered with a healthy dose of common sense. I do a lot of backcountry camping in the Death Valley/Mojave Desert areas of California, Nevada, and it's surrounding areas. i use a couple different GPS units, usually one for roads, and one for hiking in the backcountry. People have died in that area because their GPS has taken them down "roads" that aren't "roads" anymore, and they've gotten flats, ran out of fuel, and then ran out of water. Be careful! I've had GPS try to take me down roads that have been long closed by the Park Service, BLM, or Forest Service, that are currently in "wilderness" areas.

My wife and I recently took about a 3000 mile trip back east. We weren't RV'ing, but our car has OnStar. We found that using the OnStar APP on our phones, the routing sent to the car, and the routing sent to the Google maps on the phone, would be two different routes! Trying to follow the car's instruction while also tracking progress on Google maps was impossible. In some cases, the route sent to the car was hours longer than the route sent to Google maps. We went down "roads" that I never would have tried otherwise, when just looking at a road atlas, but at least it never tried to send us down dirt roads.

What I've experienced with GPS units is that they generally have menu settings that will keep you off smaller, overland routes. You can set faster time vs. shorter route, etc. Shorter route settings will often try to send me down questionable roads, while faster time settings will stick more to the main highways. Though that's not 100%.

As I said earlier: Use GPS with a healthy dose of common sense.
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