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Regardless of what type/model of GPS forum members recommend, you should "always" have a relatively new hard copy version of a Road Atlas. Using both together will drastically reduce the chances of surprises.

2010 Newmar Dutch Aire 4304-Spartan Chassis-Cummins ISL 425hp-2013 Chevrolet Equinox AWD Towed-SKP# 120487-FMCA #402879-

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I have long been partial to Garmin products, but there are several of them with excellent reputations. I'm not sure exactly what you are looking for, but I would consider one of the RV models like the Garmin RV 760LMT or the Rand McNally RVND 7730LM.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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I would go with Garmin. I have one designed for big vehicles we bought when we had our class A because we could enter its height and weight and it would not route us down roads with those limits. It still works fine in our car when we use the automobile setting. Be aware that it won't route you down parkways if you are in truck mode even though your View may be fine on them. Do not drive the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey, though--it really does have low clearance bridges.

 

Linda Sand

 

ps. Also be aware that LMT stand for lifetime maps and traffic which you do want. But you have to update your maps at least once a year or you lose that freebee.

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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I would go with Garmin. I have one designed for big vehicles we bought when we had our class A because we could enter its height and weight and it would not route us down roads with those limits. It still works fine in our car when we use the automobile setting. Be aware that it won't route you down parkways if you are in truck mode even though your View may be fine on them. Do not drive the Garden State Parkway in New Jersey, though--it really does have low clearance bridges.

 

Linda Sand

 

ps. Also be aware that LMT stand for lifetime maps and traffic which you do want. But you have to update your maps at least once a year or you lose that freebee.

The Garden state Parkway has about 7 miles of arched overpasses that have low clearance, but only the right hand lane, some the far left lane, out of four lanes. The lowest I remember was 13 feet.

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I'd recommend an RV specific model, we have the Rand McNally one Kurt mentioned and didn't realize how necessary it was until recently when it routed us all around the place to get into Clear Spring COE park a week or so ago. When we came back on the direct route in the car we realized that the RV would have got hung up on a steep railroad crossing if we'd have used the car GPS. It was on a narrow country road too so we would have been unable to turn around even if we'd have seen it in time.

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I can only say stay away from Magellan. We had one for a couple of years and hated it so much we quit using it and sprang for a Rand McNally. It was soooooo slow and aggravating to use as well as enough crazy routing suggestions that we had to continually monitor where it suggested turns as to make it useless.

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I have a WIFE. Never makes a mistake. All I have to do is take it shopping every now and again. :wacko:

 

But we do use our trucks built in unit. However we still prefer the paper versions. We've lost count of how many Rand McNallys we have worn out.

 

Good luck. But remember that getting lost is half the fun.

 

regards

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I've been a long time user of Garmin products. I have an older 3790 in my Jeep, a Zumo 660 on the motorcycle, and the RV 660 in the motorhome. I have lifetime maps on all of them and use BaseCamp to manage the favorites, plan routes, etc. However, no matter how good the technology is, always be sure to keep your eyes open. Highway intersections change, new overpasses are built, etc. Always know the dimensions of your vehicle.

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Roger Wilson

Callsign: W0GER

2011 Tiffin Phaeton 40'

2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited

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Regardless of what type/model of GPS forum members recommend, you should "always" have a relatively new hard copy version of a Road Atlas. Using both together will drastically reduce the chances of surprises.

I don't use paper maps for various reasons (they are never, ever up to date, they don't tell you where you are or where you are going, no traffic info, you can't zoom in on them, etc.) Maybe they were fine 100 years ago, but there are much better tools today. But GPS isn't perfect either. So what I do is I combine several GPS units and run them at the same time. That and a healthy degree of skepticism keeps me out of trouble.

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So what I do is I combine several GPS units and run them at the same time.

 

That would make you the navigator . I sure wouldn't want to be in the same unit , if you had to drive and follow all that confusion .

 

GPS is never up to date , either . They can't tell you where you are or where you're going . Half the time they have you turning into a corn field instead of where there is suppose to be some kind of road . The best traffic info is right outside the windshield and it's even up to date .

Goes around , comes around .

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We are also partial to Garman .We have the 465 T trucker unit. If you have the life time map option and update on a regular basses you will have few problems. With the paper map it never updates .Roads do change faster than GPS updates. I would say that after 80K plus on the road over 8 years the GPS has been 99% accurate.

Helen and I are long timers ..08 F-350 Ford,LB,CC,6.4L,4X4, Dually,4:10 diff dragging around a 2013 Montana 3402 Big Sky

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I would stay away from Rand McNally. Their customer service is the worst. They have yelled at me and cursed at me and refused to transfer me to a supervisor. When I hung up on them and Calle snack, the same person answered the phone and asked me why I hung up on him. They di replace my defective unit after sending it in 3 times at my expense. The new one works but not the best. It will route me on roads I shouldn't be on and want me to make u-turns at over 60 ft long.

Ron C.

2013 Dynamax Trilogy 3850 D3

2000 Kenworth T2000 Optimus Prime

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GPS is never up to date , either . They can't tell you where you are or where you're going . Half the time they have you turning into a corn field instead of where there is suppose to be some kind of road .

 

You comments have me scratching my head. We have a Garmin RV 760 LMT and have found it to be an excellent unit. It certainly has no issues knowing where we are and where we're going, assuming that I have correctly entered that second bit of info. In 18 months of use it has been accurate about 99% of the time. I do double-check routing into RV campgrounds because it rarely has the location of individual campgrounds on the wrong side of the highway, etc.

Mark & Teri

2021 Grand Designs Imagine 2500RL, 2019 Ford F-350

Mark & Teri's Travels

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I have heard a lot of good about the Garmin. I personally use my tablet with CoPilot installed and set up for RVs. I like it because I use the tablet for everything when not driving, can plan routes in the trailer and then use it in my truck as a GPS. More versatile and you can buy a very good tablet for much less than a dedicated GPS. Here are some links of previous discussions of the issue. http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php?showforum=4

Dave and Lana Hasper

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You comments have me scratching my head. We have a Garmin RV 760 LMT and have found it to be an excellent unit. It certainly has no issues knowing where we are and where we're going, assuming that I have correctly entered that second bit of info. In 18 months of use it has been accurate about 99% of the time. I do double-check routing into RV campgrounds because it rarely has the location of individual campgrounds on the wrong side of the highway, etc.

 

Sounds like you have a decent unit .

Goes around , comes around .

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  • 8 months later...

Regardless of what type/model of GPS forum members recommend, you should "always" have a relatively new hard copy version of a Road Atlas. Using both together will drastically reduce the chances of surprises.

Yep! Preferable a Truckers Road Atlas, which has truck routes highlighted, which greatly reduces the odds of a surprise. I carry one to supplement my Rand McNally RV7730-which did not receive a map update last year from RM. When I phoned them I was told to expect it the first week of Feb. 17.

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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You comments have me scratching my head. We have a Garmin RV 760 LMT and have found it to be an excellent unit. It certainly has no issues knowing where we are and where we're going, assuming that I have correctly entered that second bit of info. In 18 months of use it has been accurate about 99% of the time. I do double-check routing into RV campgrounds because it rarely has the location of individual campgrounds on the wrong side of the highway, etc.

We have the same unit and find it to be excellent! Glad we got it and would get another one in a heart beat.

Trailer: Montana 5th wheel, model 3582Rl, model year 2012

 

Truck: Ford 450 PSD Super Duty, 2002 Crew Cab, Long bed, 4:88 rear end, last of the 7.3 engines, Automatic Transmission.

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GPS is never up to date , either . They can't tell you where you are or where you're going . Half the time they have you turning into a corn field instead of where there is suppose to be some kind of road . The best traffic info is right outside the windshield and it's even up to date .

 

When you think about the sheer number of road miles in this country, and how much road building goes on from day to day, I think that GPS does a pretty awesome job and are usually far more up to date than paper maps (although we keep an atlas handy).

 

While I don't think that "half the time" they have you turning somewhere you shouldn't, I do have to agree that they are not always right. The GPS companies, no matter the brand, rely on some other company for the maps they use. For Garmin that is Navteq. So even though you might update your GPS maps regularly, you really have no idea how often Navteq updates theirs.

 

I have had some some amusing things show up on the GPS. For example a road that we drove frequently that was paved, showed up as unpaved and the side roads that were gravel showed as paved. Since I had the GPS option for 'off road travel' unchecked it kept trying to take us from the road that was really paved. Once I figured that out I submitted a change to Navteq and they did respond.

 

We once went to a campground that said very plainly "follow these directions, not what your GPS tells you". We were camped nearby and I wanted find out why. So we drove over sans trailer and found out that while the GPS did take you to the campground in question, it took you to an entrance that was no longer used and has a locked gate. Another example of the maps not being updated.

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The other important thing about GPS is to read your terms. My Lifetime Maps portion says I must update at least once a year or it will expire. If I let that happen it will cost me money to update in the future.

 

Linda Sand

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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The OP might want to read the product descriptions of the multitude of Garmin units available (I agree with Garmin being the "best" choice) and get a unit that offers the features that s/he needs. I suggest that a GPS system that may be desirable for a big class A or large 5th wheel or TT may be overkill for a 24' rig.

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