Rv gps

[RoadToad]

Some reviews of the Garmin are less than favorable.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-r...R3AGUE9AG4N88Y

[adeakins]

The 890 with an 8” screen is, I believe, the latest Garmin for RVs. Has built in WiFi connectivity so no need for a computer for updates. Can be paired with the drive app and cameras.

[linux3]

I use a combo of the Waze app on Android Auto and the Rand McNally's Motor Carriers' Road Atlas.
Has not let me down so far.
It's a little bit more but I would suggest the Deluxe version of the Atlas as it's easier to handle while on the go.

Rand McNally does sell a couple of RV GPS's but I don't have any experience with them.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by linux3

I use a combo of the Waze app on Android Auto and the Rand McNally's Motor Carriers' Road Atlas.
Has not let me down so far.
It's a little bit more but I would suggest the Deluxe version of the Atlas as it's easier to handle while on the go.

Rand McNally does sell a couple of RV GPS's but I don't have any experience with them.

Did similar!
Had the Motor Carriers Atlas that had roads suitable for truck traffic, therefore suitable for RVs, highlighted plus listings of low clearances by state in the front of the atlas.
Also used a combination of google maps on my phone & the vehicle gps then confirmed with the atlas, didn't want/need another device on the dash.
Never had luck with the Waze app, it seemed to always cut corners or take shortcuts which isn't a good plan towing a 40' 5th wheel.

[ACJCF2]

I purchased a reman. Garmin 770 RV. Its ok but it does want to keep you on the Interstates and off secondary roads. A lot of the Interstate routes will take you around your elbow to get to you're backside.

[jxnbbl]

Although I'm use to Waze, mapquest and Connect (Ram/chysler) I realized this would be a problem for our long first trip since we need 11' of clearance and possibly propane restrictions, etc. So I used the good sam trip planner as to map out the major route and then compared with the mapping of, for instance Waze. If they were different I just entered intermediary points where there was a different route and readjusted when we got there (as it was usually 100+ miles away and really there were not that many.

Due to this thread I downloaded the app "TruckMap" and just redid our trip virtually. Intentionally putting in addresses of places where I *know* the 30 ft trailer would be a problem. This seemed to work in all cases.

I do want to note that we live in a town where the 'main entrance' is a covered bridge. You would not believe the number of delivery truck following their gps tear off a corner of trim or something every year. TruckMap (as well as the good sam planner) diverted us around the bridge and the 3 or so other restricted areas that I could remember on the trip

[Spletbr]

Originally Posted by bjasin1

I just purchased the garmin rv785
It’s pretty nice. Has built in dash cam , pairs with your phone for the garmin drive app that has traffic and weather. I also bought a bc 35 rear camera for it but haven’t really dialed that in yet. There is no extension cable for the bc35 available so you have to mount the transmitter back towards rear of rv and I’m trying to see if that is going to work. I wanted one complete solution for the dash. Not multiple display units. If you go for the garmin 780 you can get the bc 30 camera and they have a 50 ft extension cable so you can mount transmitter in battery compartment . You would have to run camera wire down through rv in back to connect to extension cable. The 780 and 785 have both recently been on sale because garmin came out with a larger version.
Garmin seems to come out with multiple similar units sporadically

I gave up on phone based trucker apps because they froze at critical exits a few different times

Even if I get a different backup/observation camera I will probably keep the garmin gps

None are infallible. We have 5he Garmin, CoPilot, whatever runs on Trip Wizard, and he stock Ford system. They are inconsistent and none has shown less wrong turns than another. We tend to use a couple at a time and couple them with our instincts/logic/common sense and make conservative decisions. More than one “wrong” route every year if we fill them blindly.

[Bill-2020]

Picked up a 780 at the last minute for this holiday trip. So far, it was dead on getting us to the “built-in” coordinates of the KOA. Seems KOA has paid to be on the Garmins. Well, the first time it worked. Since we are not totally familiar with the area, used it to get back the second days after some sight seeing. Had the big sign not been on the side of the road, we would have passed it in the dark following the now wrong GPS. Why it was good the first night and not the second (and subsequent ventures out) is a mystery. The local grocery store is also not right, it’s about a 1/2 mile off from the actual location. Grocery stores are not built in the middle of major intersections, Garmin. Last night, as sunset came the GPS said “Sunset 7:17am” - sunset was at about 5:20pm. I may return this if it gets worse. Oh, and at one point the grade was showing -7% while we were climbing a 7% grade. Dash electronics... sometimes they are just tiresome.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by Bill-2020

Picked up a 780 at the last minute for this holiday trip. So far, it was dead on getting us to the “built-in” coordinates of the KOA. Seems KOA has paid to be on the Garmins. Well, the first time it worked. Since we are not totally familiar with the area, used it to get back the second days after some sight seeing. Had the big sign not been on the side of the road, we would have passed it in the dark following the now wrong GPS. Why it was good the first night and not the second (and subsequent ventures out) is a mystery. The local grocery store is also not right, it’s about a 1/2 mile off from the actual location. Grocery stores are not built in the middle of major intersections, Garmin. Last night, as sunset came the GPS said “Sunset 7:17am” - sunset was at about 5:20pm. I may return this if it gets worse. Oh, and at one point the grade was showing -7% while we were climbing a 7% grade. Dash electronics... sometimes they are just tiresome.

Do you have it set up for the correct time zone? It will not only effect the sunrise/set times but throw off the satellite readings. Sometimes mine will show am entrance to a cg off because the address is off, ioe the gps will take me right to their mailbox but it's a 1/8 mile down the road from the entrance,.

[Bill-2020]

Originally Posted by flybouy

Do you have it set up for the correct time zone? It will not only effect the sunrise/set times but throw off the satellite readings. Sometimes mine will show am entrance to a cg off because the address is off, ioe the gps will take me right to their mailbox but it's a 1/8 mile down the road from the entrance,.

Yes, time zone is correct. I think I found a bug in the software. As I think about it, I had that screen showing when sunset occurred. The background of the screen went from white (daytime color scheme) to black (nighttime scheme). A few minutes later I looked over at it for the elevation and saw the sunset time. I’ll do the same again and see if I can get it to repeat. (BTW, just watched a bumper pull miss the entrance to the campground. No areas close to here to turn around either with a trailer on your rear end. Skinny, winding mountain roads. Wonder if he has a Garmin on the dash.)

[Bill-2020]

Originally Posted by Bill-2020

Yes, time zone is correct. I think I found a bug in the software. As I think about it, I had that screen showing when sunset occurred. The background of the screen went from white (daytime color scheme) to black (nighttime scheme). A few minutes later I looked over at it for the elevation and saw the sunset time. I’ll do the same again and see if I can get it to repeat. (BTW, just watched a bumper pull miss the entrance to the campground. No areas close to here to turn around either with a trailer on your rear end. Skinny, winding mountain roads. Wonder if he has a Garmin on the dash.)

Confirmed. There’s a bug in the firmware. It did it again with respect to sunrise/sunset. I’ll send a note to Garmin.

[Bill-2020]

Additional note: If I cycle the power the “Sunset” at 7:18AM changes to the correct setting of “Sunrise” at 7:18AM. This isn’t a real game changer for me, and I’d look past it if that were all. But the other navigational problems have me concerned. We have about 600-800 miles return trip later this week, depending on the route we decide on. Accuracy of that leg(s) will be a factor in what I do.

[flybouy]

Have you done an update on line yet? If not I'd try that and send Garmin an email. Wouldn't be the first time they've had to call the exterminator.

[adeakins]

Don’t know how relevant it might be to your particular experience, but I do know that GPS tracking products where the receiver is installed outside the vehicle tend to produce far fewer nav problems than when positioned inside the car or truck. There are a number of things inside a vehicle that can interfere — often in insidious ways — with signal accuracy leaving the device in “best guess” mode. Materials (particularly metallic elements) found in some windshields, for example, can produce idiopathic errors depending on the angle of line of sight through the windshield. Blue tooth, WiFi hotspots, radios and other amenities commonly found in modern cars can confuse signal processing.

[Bill-2020]

I updated first thing out of the box- it actually prompted me to do the update once it had an internet connection.

As far as where the receiver is placed, I agree. I had an old Garmin GPS Color III, it had a BNC connection for an external antenna when you removed the flip-up antenna on the outside of the case. It acquired the satellites faster I remember with an antenna out of the roof. This one knows exactly where I am and is correct 100% of the time, I confirm that from the front seat. But where it wants to send me is poor mapping/routing.