RV Specific GPS vs. Co-Pilot RV App vs. Google

[itat]

We have a newer Garmin RV760 and a very old Garmin Nuvi 265W for which I was able to purchase a lifetime maps subscription. I really like the functionality and bigger screen of the the RV760 but from the limited testing we did this past summer, the old Nuvi actually gives better routing. I am not pulling a 5th wheel so my height restrictions are not as much of a concern but my TT is 32’ long and all the other RV routing restrictions are applicable. I always update the GPSs’ maps before a trip so they should both be using the same Garmin North America map.

I recently downloaded the Co-Pilot free app that can be used offline so next summer we’ll try using that on my iPad at the same time as our Garmin RV760. The Co-Pilot app allows you to predetermine routing for the next day’s trip that can be checked against Google Maps if you have an internet connection.

We also have a CAA membership (Canadian version of AAA) so we can get good old paper maps as well.

It’s always advisable to have more than one resource for routing.

[Cold Lake Kid]

I have a 2013 Forest River 2300 motor home. I tried to use the built in GPS, upload new maps.
I finally gave up and now use the a Garmin LMT with with voice prompts and I couldn't be more satisfied.

[mlwilliams808]

I use Garmin RV 760 and it had only lied to me once, got me where I wanted to go but took the long way around. I have been bamboozled by the Google phone app several times, the worst was sending me the wrong way down a one way street!! Thank goodness I was in the car.

[spock123]

I like the Garmin RV 760, I have not had any real problems with it. Sometimes I think I know more than it does but it proves me wrong. I like the large screen and even when I make a boo boo it gets me back on track. In Canada it was not the best as it took me on some scenic routes.

[OldBob]

We use Google exclusively. We've had most of the brands of GPS units but found that Google seemed to always have the latest information and would automatically re-route us in case of a backup in traffic. I just hit the microphone icon and say, "Navigate me to Bob's RV Park in Podunk, Missouri" and it does it. It's easy, accurate and we always have our phone with us. The latest version of Google downloads the maps in case you don't have signal it can still navigate.

[johntaylor]

I just crossed the country from Maryland to southwest Arizona with a Garmin Nuvi 57, and it was nothing but trouble. In Tennessee, whenever the main road went around a mountain, it would want me to take back roads over the mountain. In Kansas, it could not cope with addresses using the Kansas highway numbering system, and it would want me to take dirt roads instead of paved roads. In Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, it would tell me that addresses along desert roads did not exist, and if I put in lat/long coordinates, it would always want to take me somewhere a mile or so away from the true location.

Early in the journey, I took to using the Garmin and Google maps together. I prefer the Garmin display and audio instructions, but Google would get me to the destination.

[ependydad]

I think I measured something like 40k miles towing in the last 5 1/2 years of pulling our fifth wheel. The last 2 1/2 years have been fulltiming and we’ve criss-crossed the country a couple of times. Every last mile was navigated by my wife using Google Maps on an iPhone.

The important part to that is the navigation happens by my wife. She will look at the overall route right away and then regularly looks 2-3 turns ahead.

We have only had a few minor navigation issues. Nothing major or anything that I’d really write home about.

We own a Garmin RV GPS but it doesn’t come out from its home in a storage compartment in the truck. I honestly don’t know why we keep it! It certainly hasn’t been updated in a while. Same with the built-in truck GPS- we almost never use it for directions and haven’t updated it since buying the truck.

[Vladivar]

We are looking into this right now and trying to decide. There are a few mentions of the Garmin 760, but we are looking at the RV770LM. Just wondering if that is an upgrade (more features etc) from the 760.

[itat]

Originally Posted by Vladivar

We are looking into this right now and trying to decide. There are a few mentions of the Garmin 760, but we are looking at the RV770LM. Just wondering if that is an upgrade (more features etc) from the 760.

I believe the RV770 is a replacement for the RV760. I don't think the RV760 is available anymore.

[mwdilday]

I have the Garmin RV770 and it works great. I have taken a look at the RV Copilot App on the iPhone but could not set the RV height to the 13' 6". It only has selections for 12' 6" or 13' 0". Pretty useless if you can't select exact heights. I want to check out the Rand McNally but already have the Garmin.

[Nancyc7]

I like Google Maps the best. We just got our car set up to tow and were practicing. We were on a nice wide street with a traffic light to turn left on to a very busy 4 lane street.

And stupid stupid Apple Maps directed us off this arterial to go through a small neighborhood to take a left onto this big busy street. It was not shorter or faster.
If we weren't from here and knew what it was doing, it would have been quite the hassle.

And this Car Play radio we replaced the Jensen with uses Apple Maps............ face palm

I never thought we needed RV specific because we are not too big but maybe when you are towing, it might be better to be more specific.

[danpophin]

I use the Garmin RV and also Waze. The only issue I have to with the RV specific GPS systems are they are not updated with current information. WAZE is great at telling you current conditions. I recently was in Houston after Hurricane Harvey and Garmin took me down a road that was closed, under water and I had to back my 5er out about a mile on a very narrow road. WAZE was telling me to go a different route to avoid this situation. WAZE is great but will also lead you down roads that may not be accessible for your rig. When they disagree on routes you need to figure out what the issue may be and follow the best solution for you.

[Delco Bobby]

A few days ago my RM/ Good Sam GPS gave me two bad turns in Southern Delaware.

On the second error it insisted I turn right but I knew to turn left. It also missed that street by over 1,000 feet. I had to do a U-turn.
Once I was heading in the correct direction it was OK.

I can’t trust it in Delaware, too many screw ups.

[gordonsick]

Originally Posted by Vladivar

We are looking into this right now and trying to decide. There are a few mentions of the Garmin 760, but we are looking at the RV770LM. Just wondering if that is an upgrade (more features etc) from the 760.

I got the Garmin 770 after a recommendation from Bama Bob on the Berkshire list. He has a 760.

The 770 has WiFi, which you can use to update the software and maps. There are lifetime North American Maps (also on the 760, I believe). The first thing I did after buying it was to update the software and maps and it was easy. A big download, so do this before you leave home.

The 770 connects to my iPhone (and Android devices, I think) to get traffic and weather information in real time. I believe this affects its routing recommendations.

You can switch between car mode and RV mode. You put in the specs for your RV on height, length, propane tanks, etc. This affects routing.

There are only three times it has given me odd directions:
• When I initially set it up, I put the RV height in too high. This caused it to build weird routes because of lower bridges, albeit on a truck route (the TransCanada highway). I realized the source of the problem when I went back to car mode.
• I usually set it up for no U-turns with my RV, because I tow a car. But, when this carried over to my car setting in the Catskills, I got some incredibly round-about routes, which I couldn't understand until I realized it was avoiding U-turns for me.
• My home neighbourhood is separated from the next neighbourhood to the north by a major road on which trucks are prohibited. When I turn off the freeway to come home, the 770 wants me to drive through the adjacent neighbourhood to avoid the non-truck route. You can get similar problems when you approach small campgrounds that are not on a truck route. Switch to car mode to see what it is trying to avoid, and study that situation more closely.

We mount the 770 on a bean-bag on the dashboard. Since my Berk dash is strongly sloped towards the window, I ran a wire between two screws on the dash panel to make a sling that holds the 770 from moving forward. But, it is easy for my wife to reach over and pull it out of the string to check route details or modify the route.

Overall, we like the 770.

– Gordon