Best GPS Router Garmin or Rand McNally

[jleamont]

2 hours ago, WILDEBILL308 said:

How did you get a picture of me on Cadillac Mountain???

Bill

[rsiemer]

Just purchased RM RVND 7.  Been a user of Good Sam planner and plan to download trips to the RM.  Also can turn on/turn off real time traffic.  RM does have height warnings but like everyone else, won't talk about it.  (I suspect liability may play a role.)  Also noted that RM Tablet 80 for RVs has been pulled from the website -  could be an indication of problems.

We'll see.

[huffypuff]

3 hours ago, RSiemer said:

Just purchased RM RVND 7.  Been a user of Good Sam planner and plan to download trips to the RM.  Also can turn on/turn off real time traffic.  RM does have height warnings but like everyone else, won't talk about it.  (I suspect liability may play a role.)  Also noted that RM Tablet 80 for RVs has been pulled from the website -  could be an indication of problems.

We'll see.

Good luck with it.  I'm still waiting for my refund.  

[roblaura]

We have a Garmin and a Rand McNally GPSs (plus whatever company's software is behind our tow vehicle GPS). The 7" Rand McNally has worked better for us, but the newer Garmin RV GPS appears to be closing the gap. A couple of RM features are especially helpful. Number one is that it lists all names that apply to an upcoming turn road (e.g. US 98, SR 106, Shelby Rd.) Garmin still picks one name, which may or may not be on the road signs. Having all the names helps to visually verify that we have the correct secondary road. The other feature is that RM lists the current interstate mile marker on the display. This helps when using Next Exit, or coordinating with the atlas map (which we also use). Some folks like to use their smart phones or pads, but we prefer the GPS because it does not use up our limited monthly data allowance, and is not dependent of cell towers (the satellite is always there away from urban areas). 

[glenstmary]

We use the Garmin Dezl 760LMT in our Newmar 4369, and prefer to stay off major highways as we full time across the country. In the four years we have been using this unit it has only misdirected us twice. Once, it told us to take a dirt road to a campground, and once it told us the campground was 1/4 mile further down the road when I was turning into the campground entry. Neither of those directives proved disastrous. When in doubt about the course the Garmin has told us to follow, we rely upon Google maps on our phones to provide us a second opinion, or, if in an area where cell service is unavailable, I use my Garmin handheld. So far, seven years on the road has been a blast, with no issues having been caused by our navigation methods

[fagnaml]

I concur with Bill Adams.  WAZE has served me well on my motorhome journeys (albeit they have been less than 300 miles one-way each) and is my "go to" navigator for my daily drives to/from work in  Houston area traffic (especially today as many parts of west Houston remain flooded).  WAZE is "free", uses very little data and has better real time information than Google Maps.  

I'd like to know what advantages Garmin or other paid navigator systems have over WAZE.  How is the cost for Garmin or other systems justified versus a free navigator like WAZE?

[huffypuff]

Well I just picked up an unlocked Motorola Moto G5 Plus and changed to Sprint unlimited for $50.  With that in mind it won't hurt to try Waze since it is free.  Heck we used Googles maps when the Rand McNally quit on the road.  Yes, when you pay $399 for a GPS, you should expect the best, not something that locks up and leaves you dead in the water.  

[jleamont]

7 hours ago, huffypuff said:

when you pay $399 for a GPS, you should expect the best, not something that locks up and leaves you dead in the water.  

YUP!!

[BillAdams]

You have to use a bit of common sense when using WAZE in your RV.  If you do run into traffic it will route you through neighborhoods to get you around and save you time.  Take a close look at the detour and look at just how bad the traffic delay is (it shows you how long you will be stuck in traffic) and see if the planned route makes sense.  Google maps will detour you to lesser roads but not through neighborhoods so I check both if I hit a bad traffic jam.  I still prefer Google Maps as my main GPS and it uses less data if that's a concern but neither unit uses much data.  I measured the data on a 250 mile drive and it was only about 8 Mb with Google and 15Mb with WAZE.  Considering how few days you use a GPS in your RV, this data is completely insignificant.

[manholt]

Google will also put you on a Service Road that dead ends in a Farmers field !  You can't depend on civilian GPS entirely, you got to have a back up system!

[hermanmullins]

That would be the true meaning to BoonDocking.

Herman

[BillAdams]

12 hours ago, manholt said:

Google will also put you on a Service Road that dead ends in a Farmers field !  You can't depend on civilian GPS entirely, you got to have a back up system!

A stand alone GPS can do the same things.  This is the reason I mentioned you need to use a bit of common sense.  Anyone who fully depends upon a GPS to get them from here to there is, eventually, going to wish they had planned ahead!

[huffypuff]

9 hours ago, BillAdams said:

A stand alone GPS can do the same things.  This is the reason I mentioned you need to use a bit of common sense.  Anyone who fully depends upon a GPS to get them from here to there is, eventually, going to wish they had planned ahead!

Yep X2

[fagnaml]

Bill Adams --

I fully concur with your "common sense" statement about using WAZE.  I rely on WAZE for highway navigation only as I would not take my motorhome on any side streets in cities/towns I do not know to save a few minutes of travel time.  Google Maps and AT&T Navigator are also good alternatives to WAZE.  My opinion is WAZE has more real-time traffic/accident/incident/road closure/etc. updates than Google Maps and AT&T Navigator.

I haven't seen a response yet that justifies the cost and benefits of a Garmin or other  GPS device over the free WAZE / Google Maps/etc. services.

[BillAdams]

Google gets more and more WAZE info inputs everyday.  (Google owns WAZE).  I often see similar traffic info now in Google Maps so that's my primary routing software with WAZE as my "gotta get out of this mess" 2nd opinion.

[jleamont]

14 hours ago, BillAdams said:

WAZE as my "gotta get out of this mess" 2nd opinion.

YUP, ours also!

[manholt]

go to next Exit, back track about 10 miles, go way around mess...since you and everyone else is looking for closest way around, secondary tend to move slower and slower! 

[wolfe10]

Guys,

Let's try to keep this thread on track.

Thanks.

Yes, using a GPS to search for alternate routes is a useful feature.

Moderator

[huffypuff]

Update about the Rand McNally saga.  I got my refund and they also pad me back the Texas sales tax.  How about that, finally a happy ending.   In the meantime using Wares for over a week has been going well.  Driving near my home it seems to know all of my short cuts.  

[BillAdams]

7 hours ago, huffypuff said:

Update about the Rand McNally saga.  I got my refund and they also pad me back the Texas sales tax.  How about that, finally a happy ending.   In the meantime using Wares for over a week has been going well.  Driving near my home it seems to know all of my short cuts.  

I assume you mean you are using WAZE?  You should also try Google Maps.  They are different but both are good.

[ispjs]

On ‎7‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 0:52 PM, mandy2008 said:

Wanting new GPS. Which one would you choose and why?

I had to double check, but I think this was the original ops question.  

I have had the Rand RV GPS for about 5 or 6 years.  My buddy bought his first one about the same time since we were both traveling in large fivers.  He went through three of them and I am still on my first one.  I don't let mine sit on the dash while parked for extended periods in the Florida sun, he does.

When we are traveling the Rand is positioned so I can see it and a regular Garmin is positioned so my DW can see it from her side.  But I don't really go by what either of them tell me.  I use them more for ETA and digital speed readouts, etc.  I keep an up to date Trucker's Atlas and consult my route on it the night before if it is an area I haven't been through before.  My RV's have all been any where from 11'3" to well over 12' tall and I'm not about to use some non-truckers based mapping program.  I use Google maps or Waze but only when I'm traveling in my Mini or Harley.

 

[manholt]

I would love to see how you "ride in a Harley"!

[BillAdams]

Where did we sway from "What GPS?"  Google Maps and WAZE are both very powerful and accurate GPS systems.  They are both as good or better than any stand-alone GPS with only a few exceptions.  Considering you are making a choice between Free and $300+ I think this is just the information the OP can use.

[manholt]

I did not know there is a truckers atlas...where does one get that? 

As far as the OP is concerned, he specifically asked about a NEW GPS, Garmin or Rand Mc Nally!   I guess he want's to spend the bucks!

[huffypuff]

19 hours ago, BillAdams said:

I assume you mean you are using WAZE?  You should also try Google Maps.  They are different but both are good.

DW was using Googles maps when Rand McNally GPS quit.  I got us where we were going but I unaware of traffic data in Googles Maps.  I believe both could be problems without cell towers like in the desert.  Although the Waze have a bus icon you can use I don't think it has bus data for low bridges or narrow roads.  It dose have stay off dirt roads option.