Have you bought a GPS in the last 12 months?

[AlexP]

I bought the Garmin 760LMT about 8 months ago. Before that I relied on Street Atlas USA and the Google Maps Android app on S4. I like that it is thinking about my size and height. What I found disappointing was that I seemed to have relatively little control over the route. With Street Atlas I could examine every turn and see if it was what I wanted and think about what else I might be interested in on the way. I also liked/like the discoveryowners overlays for Street Atlas. (Although many of these are getting a bit long in the tooth at this point)

 

Eventually I found that Garmin has something called BaseCamp which kind of does the same thing. It is a PC app that lets you plan the route with all the detail and then upload to the 760LMT. This is the level of detail and control that I wanted, but ease of use is....well for me a bit challenging. I probably should spend more time with the training materials which are prominently featured on the site and the application (for good reason??)

 

All of this has been a maybe steeper learning curve than I would have expected. But does seem to be a better approach than before.

 

If you are happy with just inputting an address and asking it to get you there, it seems to work fine. Being a participant in the routing, takes a little more learning and energy.

 

Alex

[rynosback]

Do you keep the camera on the back of an RV? That is where I'd be putting it if I got one. I tow a 20' travel trailer.

I did not opt for the back up camera. I think I can add it down the road, but do not see a purpose for it as I have the wife back up system.

[defboater]

love our Garmin 760LMT - only once it brought us to a place back of the CG a!nd a dirt road, but we figured out that it was b/c the CG roads were original and the CG was new. Interesting. Now I check both google maps and the CG directions. Good learning experience

[jweems]

I bought the Rand McNally RV GPS with the 7" screen. It fits well in my F250 and the screen is large enough to be easily readable. I pull a 39 ft Montana Big Sky and love the customizing features of the GPS which lets you input the major features of your RV, ie Ht, WGT, Length, LP gas cyl size etc. There are may other inputs you can customize to fit your rig and or auto if you are not pulling the fiver. Like any GPS it has its quirks, but for the most part we have been very satisfied with it, and it certainly makes pulling the rig a lot less of a hassle and gives you plenty of warning when it comes to lane changes, route intersections etc. I have lifetime maps as well. Even though I have used the live traffic feature ) needs an internet connection) I did not find it very useful and will not subscribe for that feature again. I would give it a 4 star out of a five rating.

[Jack Mayer]

I just got a Garmin RV 760 to replace my "oh so old" Garmin Nuvi that does not have map updates. I'm looking forward to the large display and current maps. We use a GPS (this new one) along with Google Maps on my phone (a Note 5, so it has a reasonable display), AND Co-Pilot running on an 8.4" Samsung Galaxy Pro Android tablet. So three sources of navigation to lead us down the wrong roads. The phone and GPS are in front of the driver. The tablet is for the navigator. Oh, and Danielle still refers to a paper map.

[telcoman]

I bought the pricey Garmin LMTHD. Its impressive with a build in webcam. It allows you to snap photos including the co-ordinates as you drive, plus takes a constant video. If you are in an accident it auto takes a picture & coordintates, plus gives you warninggn if you drift out of lane (like fallinggn asleep) Best GPS I have ever had.

 

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/on-the-road/automotive/2015-line/nuvicam-lmthd/prod168820.html

[bradleyleanne]

My wife and I travel to Mexico every winter also. I have never owned a GPS. I would assume Paul you had to buy the Mexico maps separate. How are the maps working out in Mexico?

As I stated we are still using paper maps.

 

Brad and Leanne

[Matt NY]

No one mentioned the Rand McNally. Still must be lacking in a few important areas, like lifetime. Have a dezl 760 currently. Bought refurbished less than a year ago. It's OK. Wish it had many of the features my old Rand McNally had, but it doesn't. Have yet to try a TOM TOM, may get their motorcycle unit in the future. Had the Garmin but gave it to my cousin for his BMW. It fit right in the dock that's built in to his bike. Have used Google maps a lot. It's much better if you have a copilot to work them though. Have to turn on the hotspot for the phone and then use my 7 inch tablet to be able to see things well enough in the truck. One day I will try another Rand McNally. See the accessories for sale or trade if you would like to try a Garmin.

 

Rod

I have the Rand McNally RND 7725. I have not been too impressed with it to be honest. They have a website where you can map out your trip and send it to your GPS (after jumping through hoops). I don't find that too user-friendly. For example, when you are on the online map (http://trips.goodsamclub.com) - if you want to travel around a city instead of through it, you have to drag the route to the route you want... The problem is it adds a "waypoint" to your route and the GPS thinks it is a destination. If you aren't careful, that waypoint could end up in someone's back yard and the GPS will take you there. You have to zoom in as close as you can (before you import to your GPS) and make sure the waypoint is actually still on your route. I have called the "help" desk, who offered no help except to say how to drag the route (duh).

 

Also, the touch screen is not as responsive as I would like (I am so used to the iPad and iPhone touch screens). And now of course after the warranty expired, it will not stay plugged in - (There is a loose connection at the point where it plugs in). Again, "Help" desk, no help.

 

I am considering others now and reading reviews on them, which led me to this thread...

Good luck and safe travels!

Matt

[telcoman]

My wife and I travel to Mexico every winter also. I have never owned a GPS. I would assume Paul you had to buy the Mexico maps separate. How are the maps working out in Mexico?

As I stated we are still using paper maps.

 

Brad and Leanne

It included lifetime mexico maps. They are not bad.

[telcoman]

My wife and I travel to Mexico every winter also. I have never owned a GPS. I would assume Paul you had to buy the Mexico maps separate. How are the maps working out in Mexico?

As I stated we are still using paper maps.

 

Brad and Leanne

 

My wife and I travel to Mexico every winter also. I have never owned a GPS. I would assume Paul you had to buy the Mexico maps separate. How are the maps working out in Mexico?

As I stated we are still using paper maps.

 

Brad and Leanne

It is good to have both

[bradleyleanne]

Leaning towards LMTHD with wireless backup camera. Suburban towing a 25' fiberglass trailer, so close to 45'.

Seems like it should work. Thanks.

[chiefneon]

Howdy!

 

Didn't buy a stand alone but I did upgrade my Co-pilot gps app to the Truck version. We purchased a new 5er and it was over 13' tall so the truck Verizon was needed. I use it on my android tablet and it was still cheaper than buying a new gps.

 

"Happy Trails"

Chiefneon

[Jim Gell]

I bought the Garmin 770 DEZL designed for truckers. I thought the trucker POI's might serve us better than the similar RV version. We have not used it a lot, and I am really bad at reading manuals, which means I really don't know how to use the features yet. Our truck came with a Cobra. Over the years, I have used Tom Tom's, Garmins and Magellan's in cars. I don't think comparing this new Garmin to any of those old models would be useful.

 

I can tell that I have had mixed results using voice commands. At times the GPS's interpretation of what I was saying was both maddening and hilarious at the same time. But most of the time it seems to work fine. Maybe the unit is learning my voice, or I am starting to sound more like a trucker.

 

Another problem I have had is when I jump in the truck and wanted to head toward a city without a full address. On every other GPS I have owned I could easily do that, then later in the day at a rest stop I could search for the exact address and enter it then. It may be operator error (me not knowing how) but I can't seem to get it to take me to a city without a street address.

 

The lane guidance and photo, or very good graphics, of ramps etc are much better than I have ever seen on any of my older GPS's. I have not had any issues knowing which lane to get into for upcoming turns. The timing of advice for such seems to be better suited for truckers who have a harder time changing lanes than any of my old car GPS's. I assume a similar RV GPS would probably do just as well, but I can't complain about this trucker one.

 

Traveling from Ohio to Indiana I came across a tarp lying in the center of my lane. It was apparently a tarp designed to cover the entirety of a 53 foot trailer. I am estimating, but I would guess it was folded into a block 6 foot long x 4 foot wide X 3 foot high. I was able to slow down and change lanes before I hit it. It was easy to imaging someone not being so lucky. The GPS did not warn me that it was there! Imagine that. Wouldn't that be a nice feature. I guess they do have technology in vehicles now that would even stop the vehicle for you.

 

Jim

[bradleyleanne]

I bought the Garmin LMTHD with the backup camera for my 25' fiberglass trailer. Tow vehicle is a Suburban.

Just installed all today. Backup camera and GPS unit seem to work fine so far, I have only driven about 20 miles so far.

I could drive about 50' away from my trailer before I would lose signal, 90' total distance from transmitter to receiver. I thought that was pretty good.