Riverpark Infotainment GPS

[Trynforpar]

I have a 2016 Winnebago Meridian Itasca 40U outfitted with the Riverpark system. The Rand McNally GPS is giving me fits. It is extremely slow and not current. It's ranges from 2 to 5 miles behind my current location. I spoke to a Rand McNally tech who sent me the current download and I performed the update. Still no change and we are driving cross country and need a reliable system. 

[desertdeals69]

How about using your cell phone?  We use ours all the time now.

[wildebill308]

We have been using CoPilot and like it. You can down load maps when you have wifi so you don't use as much data when on the road. I have it on my phone and tablet. Having it on the tablet gives a bigger screen than the usual gps products. There is a RV function so it is good about keeping you off bad roads.

Bill

[tbutler]

I would give up on the Riverpark system, how old is that?  Get a stand-alone GPS.  You can get a large 7" screen GPS for around $200 and that includes lifetime map updates.  I have never used a dedicated RV or Truckers GPS.  I want the driving stuff, not all the RV resources, I can get those from dozens of other dedicated sources for that information.  I like Garmin GPS systems but there are others that perform as well.  Other than downloading the map updates, you have all the maps you need on board at all times (including all of Canada).  No need to download maps for a specific trip.  I like having the GPS on the dash in front of me with automatically zooming illustration for turns, etc.  The Garmin shows what lane to be in for intersections and interchanges, distance to turn, pictures of the exit signs, etc.  It also indicates the next turn when you are on the highway, even if it is 200 miles ahead.  That gives us a head's-up as to the route it intends to use.  If we want to do something different, we'll take the road we want and it adjusts.  I also find the speed indication to be quite useful, it shows the speed limit (usually correctly but not a legal reference - still have to watch the signs) and if over the speed limit it shows our speed in red.  It does easy quick searches for stores, attractions, etc.  Type in post office and it gives you the location of the nearest 20!  Take your pick.  The same for Walmart, Lowe's or Safeway.  Updates occur several times a year and keep the system up-to-date.  In addition, they also make software improvements from time to time to take care of problems that crop up.

We do use the maps on the iPad at times if we are having map problems and need to get a second opinion but I would never try to drive from a cell phone or iPad, too much heads down activity unless you have it mounted on the dash in front of you.  We took our car Garmin with us to New Zealand and Australia.  I purchased the maps for both countries from Garmin.  They were on a single Mini SD chip that plugs into the side of the GPS.  I had every road in both countries, every round-about, school zone warnings and all the rest.  It was one of the best things about driving in those countries.  It made adjusting to driving on the wrong side of the road much easier to handle.

[jleamont]

Trynforpar, we have the Rand McNally RV gps...it's a better fit as a wheel chock than a GPS! I have called, sent it back, updated, updated, updated (I could do this all day its been updated so many times....) still almost useless! It has tried to send us down cattle pastures, on roads with a 3 ton covered bridge (and it has all of our coach information loaded).

The final straw was we tried to get to Myrtle Beach SC last year from PA...it couldn't locate Myrtle Beach SC. I use it now just as a live map on rare occasions. I am planning on purchasing a Garmin for next year.

Rand McNally's customer service is non existent, after it was returned and still didn't work, I asked them to replace it or refund me they told me it was out of warranty now and can no longer help me with my concerns. We are not full timers so time has worked against us with this product and they tell you their latest update will fix it, so you update it, next trip out...still doesn't work, call back...and on and on and on.... I believe they tell you to update it, update it, update it just to drag you closer to your warranty expiration then they cut you loose .

My problem with phone APP's DW would have it in her hand telling me where to go, which is often a disaster. Plus it would use phone data and when you exceed that your monthly bill goes off the charts.

[manholt]

My DW, when she was among the living used to tell me where to go...all the time.

[jleamont]

2 hours ago, Manholt said:

My DW, when she was among the living used to tell me where to go...all the time.

Mine still does

[hermanmullins]

My DW will look at the map and say, Take the Blue road to the left and go up one inch to the Red road. Nuf Said.

Herman 

[jleamont]

22 minutes ago, hermanmullins said:

My DW will look at the map and say, Take the Blue road to the left and go up one inch to the Red road. Nuf Said.

Herman 

Haha, mine "turn left, why did you go this way"? You told me to turn left..."well I meant right, you should know better!"

[wildebill308]

12 hours ago, jleamont said:

Trynforpar, we have the Rand McNally RV gps...it's a better fit as a wheel chock than a GPS! I have called, sent it back, updated, updated, updated (I could do this all day its been updated so many times....) still almost useless! It has tried to send us down cattle pastures, on roads with a 3 ton covered bridge (and it has all of our coach information loaded).

The final straw was we tried to get to Myrtle Beach SC last year from PA...it couldn't locate Myrtle Beach SC. I use it now just as a live map on rare occasions. I am planning on purchasing a Garmin for next year.

Rand McNally's customer service is non existent, after it was returned and still didn't work, I asked them to replace it or refund me they told me it was out of warranty now and can no longer help me with my concerns. We are not full timers so time has worked against us with this product and they tell you their latest update will fix it, so you update it, next trip out...still doesn't work, call back...and on and on and on.... I believe they tell you to update it, update it, update it just to drag you closer to your warranty expiration then they cut you loose .

My problem with phone APP's DW would have it in her hand telling me where to go, which is often a disaster. Plus it would use phone data and when you exceed that your monthly bill goes off the charts.

Go read my earlier post. They also have RV specific program but I haven't tried it.

Bill

[lmsooter]

We use the Garmin RV760LMT for both the motorhome and toad.  Our trip last year was around 5500 miles with no problems.  Using it in the toad, I selected a parking garage in downtown Chicago, entered the address and it took us right to it - and then got us back out of there to the campground without any problems.  When we plan a trip, I select the mode I want to use - RV or Auto - and go from there.  It will give you on screen information for turns and highway change information including which lane to be in well in advance.

We went through several major cities last year without being sent down a wrong road - Dallas, TX, Lansing, MI, Boston, MA, Buffalo, NY, Albany, NY, Jacksonville, FL, Miami, FL, Tampa, FL, Des Moines, IA, Kansas City, MO, Little Rock, AR and several others.

In the 2 years we have owned the unit, it has never failed to take us directly to a campground we selected although I have added some additional campground databases which is a simple process.

 

[wayne77590]

On 8/24/2016 at 8:21 AM, jleamont said:

Mine still does

And makes me happy to be on my way.

[aikenrver]

My Winnebago 2015 Journey also has the Riverpark system. We had trouble with it locking up all of the time. Dealer put a new unit in and it is great! Sadly dealer was Camping World so they didn't get everything quit right. Pulled the unit out and corrected some connection. Also, the Wi-Fi dongle was defective which Riverpark sent a replacement. Would suggest you contact your dealer. I have found Riverpark tech support to be very responsive.

One other thought. My unit would start doing weird things after it was on for about an hour.  Because of where it is mounted it overheats. I added a 4" muffin fan and is now solid no matter how long we use it.

[bbadwolfe]

An actual fix to the GPS Problem?

We own a 2014 Born Free "Freedom" with this Riverpark Infotainment center model XSG2NA-X1.   The unit JUST lost its GPS this season.  It started out being flaky, with finding the signal, then not. The Rand McNally software also acted up with frozen screens.

The first attempt at a fix was to remove the SD card used by Rand McNally and repairing it using Rand's downloadable software. It takes a long time, but it did find over 40 files that needed to be repaired.  After the repair, the doggone GPS was still not able to be found, although the software worked fine.......

So, I just called RiverPark and told them about this FMCA discussion with others experiencing the same issue.  They say that the GPS unit itself (the small external antenna that picks up the signal) has gone bad and that it needs to be replaced.  Its really a simple job to replace it.

I will follow up on this post and let everyone know if that was the actual problem or not.

[bbadwolfe]

On 8/23/2016 at 3:51 PM, desertdeals69 said:

How about using your cell phone?  We use ours all the time now.

We actually like camping in such remote areas that there is no cell service. The GPS system with its antenna is the only navigation available.

[wildebill308]

bbadwolfe, welcome to the forum. Yes there are still lots of places like that.

Bill

[relationshipdoc]

I have read all the discussion and I have a similar problem, just a different question. I have the Xite Solutions unit with the Rand GPS as part of the unit. The Rand GPS is hopelessly out of date and I can’t get Naviextras to ever answer my emails. I gave up on Riverpark years ago. They would just say, “Go see your dealer.” So, I thinking of throwing the whole thing out and using it as a wheel chock, as some of you have said. My question is, if I want to use my iPhone for navigating, how do you plug it into a larger screen? I have the software on the phone and I have unlimited data, so that’s not a problem. It’s just that these old eyes can’t see a 6 inch screen very well. Any suggestions?

[wildebill308]

Why not run something like CoPilot on your tablet?

Bill

[wayne77590]

Be wary using the iPhone or any other device that cannot be configured for a high, long, and heavy RV. 

Use software that can put in the parameters of your RV.