19 replies to this topic

[bizsmith@yahoo.com]

When will it be available? The mixed reviews on the 7710 make me a little leery but if it meets the specs I will be interested.

[rorr1821]

It is my understanding the Rand McNally RVND 7720LM GPS can be order now but delivery will be delayed by a month or so. By pre ordering you would be one of the first to receive the unit.

[hermanmullins]

biz,
With all the bad reviews on the 7710, do you really want to be one of the first to buy the unproven 7720? Just wanted to give you something to ponder.

Herman

[bizsmith@yahoo.com]

I don't intend to preorder. Just curious when available. Meantime I'll continue to use DeLorme software on my laptop, old reliable for me. Hopefully RM will have learned from the 7710. I'll give it some time with comments on this forum. I hope there will be enough forumers (is that a word?) so I can make a better decision.

[hermanmullins]

I new dat uses would wait Tell me more about DeLorme.

[bizsmith@yahoo.com]

I have used DeLorme map software for GPS navigation for more than 10 years (before GPS units were available for cars). See what's available on DeLorme.com so I don't tell you something that's wrong.

[evansfamily]

i had the 7710 for about 6 months and really liked it. no issues....I just tested the 720 ( trucker version) and seems real nice with wireless support and weather overlay. I have pre-ordered the 7720 and will let you know how it goes.

jeff

[mrboyer]

I use DeLorme's Street Atlas 2012 Plus and have used versions for the past 10 or so years. Using my laptop PC, I can plan my route in my easy chair at home or modify on the road. There are many Points of Interest; therefore, for my long trips from Indiana to Arizona, four day trip, I can establish my fuel stops, overnight stops and even where we will eat that evening. I want to get out of the coach for a while and enjoy eating out one meal a day. The large screen on my PC is much easier to see than the 7-8 inch screens of some GPS systems. I have mine setup with split screen where the left side is about 4 miles per inch and the right is 1000 feet per inch. The bottom of the screen reports the distance and information about the next turn or highway changes. When the next turn is 125 miles away, I know that I have a couple of hours before I need to watch for the turn. You can have voice reports, too. There are many menu options to display POIs that are of interest to you. IE: Other than Post Offices, I eliminate Government buildings, etc. You can get a Topo version, but Ifound that I didn't like it as much. Just a personal preference. I have my laptop on the front dash just above the radio and use an anti-skid mat under it. Never had a problem in in an emergency stop but that would depends on your dash layout.

DeLorme sells package deals with their GPS that is USB connected and the DVDs for the software and database. And some packages that also include a Hand Held GPS. You might like that option if you hike or do geocashing. I don't know the current prices, but updates are usually about $39.00 and are available about this time of the year. Some retailers will have specials, but these are usually the version that is about to be replaced.

[bizsmith@yahoo.com]

Very good description of DeLorme by mrboyer. My personal preference is Topo North America. I really got started using that when I had a motor home that didn't like hills. Topo allowed me to see topography that might be a problem and plan the route accordingly. Other than that Topo is very much like mrboyer describes. It enables detailed route planning the night before. When I traveled Canada in '03, details were not yet available but that is changed now.

[Donlock]

I just got an email saying mine has been shipped-- today!
Don

[bizsmith@yahoo.com]

I will be anxious for real user reports since they are shipping now

[wla7pca7]

I purchased the 7710 in May and really like it. I do keep it updated, No issues ... Great Unit. Previously, I have had several Garmin units, the one with truck info, and another brand for trucks. So far, I like the 7710 the best!

[bizsmith@yahoo.com]

The 7720 is supposed to be considerably improved over the 7710 but that remains to be seen.

[desertdeals69]

Its supposed to have a brighter display among other things. I will report when mine comes in.

[BrewMeister]

Hello all,

My first post. Found these forums while searching for information/review of the subject RVND 7720, I've been thinking I'd pick one up and believe or not we don't even own a motor home yet! I thought it best to learn how to use it beforehand.

We anticipate buying a used Class A, 38-40 ft, DP, MH in the next year or two, whenever a "too good to pass up" deal comes along. It might be some distance from home when we locate that deal, and it would be nice to have a familiar GPS and a bit of RV specific guidance on our first drive. That and I love gadgets...

Just FYI and to save folks a bit of time:

A bit of a conversation here...including some input from a Rand McNally Representative. A bit of an overview video specifically on the 7720 from Rand McNally.

RAND McNally is running a bit of a sale, even with the freebies, I think Amazon has a better deal ($320.60) with no sales tax (for me) and free shipping. I added this sun shade, this mounting pad and this case, which out the door cost seemed like a better value than the Rand McNally freebie deal with tax. That and I know if I have issues, Amazon will take care of me.

EDIT - Seems there is a 10% off available to FMCA folks through this link, and it appears to be stack-able with the FREEBIE code. Discount codes are FALL11FMCA and 7720FREE - drops your cost down to $318ish out the door from Rand McNally with the two freebies and free ground shipping till at least tomorrow.

Thanks for the info everyone...
Take care,
Tim

[Shields]

Hi Tim,

Welcome to the FMCA Forum. Good luck with your hunt for a MH, its a great time to buy.

Tim2

[JacknKay]

I have the 7710 and brightness and glare are a problem when sunlight is hitting the screen. I tried the sunshield which is worthless im my opnion. I don't like the way the unit routes. Sometimes the shortest route is not the best route for an RV, but it tells you to go that way. Why can it route the smartest way?

[toothdk]

Basically I really like the 7710. The "glare" problem has not been an issue as I mount the screen on the driver window above my head. The unit reads the satellites just fine thru any roof blockage. I agree that the routing could be a more friendly method of choosing an alternate way. The unique features for guiding a route with your specific height and weight characteristics is great. Also alerting you to food, gas etc at the next exit works well.

Question: I am running the software on a MacPro laptop. Every time I boot up the RM tries to open its site which has to be force quit to stop the process. Any suggestions?

[mer@cisbb.com]

Have not posted here before, but am a frequent reader / contributor to the Tiffin RV owners forum. Bought the 7720 LM GPS based mostly on the FMCA endorsement and some fair reviews. We used it once, for a car trip (without motorhome parameters) and found it totally unacceptable in the routing selections it made. Regardless of how I set route preferences, it wanted to send us WAY out of our way ....like, 30 miles in the wrong direction! We returned it to Rand McNally. Guess we will stick with Garmin for now. I really liked the ideas and the extra features that the 7720 had, but the basics were sorely lacking.

[JacknKay]

Basically I really like the 7710. The "glare" problem has not been an issue as I mount the screen on the driver window above my head. The unit reads the satellites just fine thru any roof blockage. I agree that the routing could be a more friendly method of choosing an alternate way. The unique features for guiding a route with your specific height and weight characteristics is great. Also alerting you to food, gas etc at the next exit works well.

Question: I am running the software on a MacPro laptop. Every time I boot up the RM tries to open its site which has to be force quit to stop the process. Any suggestions?

I run the Dock software on my Mac Book Pro. It seems to check for updates, but doesn't open the RM website. Do you have the RM Doc software installed? This is the only way to get updates. I have noticed most of the updates are for traffic. I recently upgraded to the 7720 during their, "send us an old GPS" program. I returned the 7710. I also have the GPS mounted to the driver's side window. This gets it closer to me to hit the "buttons".