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Old 04-22-2018, 07:34 PM   #1
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Furrion Back Up System or Garmin?

I have had Waze, Google, etc. send me down some horrific roads that I shouldn't be on with an RV. Therefore, I wouldn't mind an RV specific GPS (even though reviews are mixed).

I also have the camper pre-wired for the Furrion back up camera. I can get the Garmin 770 and the Garmin Back up camera OR I can get the Garmin 770 and the Furrion.

Anyone have both, one, or the other?
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Old 04-23-2018, 10:53 PM   #2
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The Furrion back up camera mounts and draws power from the pre-wired outlet on the back of a trailer. I communicates at 2.4 Ghz with a small flat panel screen on the dash of your vehicle. It supposed will communicate over 100 feet.

The Garman unit camera is powered over a long cord leading to the front of the trailer and a power source has to be found there. It will supposedly transmit 45 feet to a GPS unit mounted on your dash. It also works at 2.4 Ghz. I don't believe you can mix and match.
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Old 04-24-2018, 03:26 AM   #3
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I really like my Furrion observation camera. As stated above, it gets its power from the pre-wired plug. Mine (and I believe most) are tied in to the marker lights. As I run with headlights on, that’s not a problem.
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Old 04-24-2018, 09:43 AM   #4
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I’ve had em both

The garmin is a very good nav system but the back up camera is poor on a long “35’ “ trailer. Also it is only a back up camera. The furrion is a very good “ observation “ camera and works very good on a long trailer but no nav. The garmin camera can be hooked up to any 12volt source especially the marker lights.
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Old 04-24-2018, 12:48 PM   #5
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Get the Garmin since you have mirrors to see behind you.
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Old 04-24-2018, 12:48 PM   #6
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I have the Furrion camera and monitor. I am not too impressed with it. Maybe its the monitor, or maybe the camera.

BTW, someone mentioned 2.4 Ghz. Do you know if its an encoded signal at that frequency? I ask because maybe I can buy a better and bigger monitor, but I don't know if that signal is proprietary?
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Old 04-24-2018, 02:38 PM   #7
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I have the wireless Furrion rear view system on my trailer. Has worked very well so far. I use a Garmin Nuvi in the cab. I definitely am running out of room for monitors, but have not seen a particularly good combination unit, so I stack them up. I also run a TPMS monitor but it's small and it has alarms so only need the occasional glance at it.
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Old 04-24-2018, 03:33 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jk70 View Post
I have had Waze, Google, etc. send me down some horrific roads that I shouldn't be on with an RV. Therefore, I wouldn't mind an RV specific GPS (even though reviews are mixed).

I also have the camper pre-wired for the Furrion back up camera. I can get the Garmin 770 and the Garmin Back up camera OR I can get the Garmin 770 and the Furrion.

Anyone have both, one, or the other?
I have the Garmin 770 and have also had the Rand McNally from Good Sams and I can tell you that none are infallible. I've had the Nuvi (the best of all of them but not for an RV) and they all make mistakes. The 770 made 5 errors in a 6,000 mile trip but it stayed working whereas the RM did not. The RM would randomly shut off and always at the most inopportune times. I love the voice activated instructions on the 770. It works pretty well about 70% of the time.
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Old 04-24-2018, 07:20 PM   #9
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I have the Garmin setup. I plan on hooking up in the next couple of weeks. I am planning on using the power from the prewired connection in the back of the trailer. The cord that runs towards the front is to communicate with the Garmin. My trailer is 30ft if it doesn't work I will then order the extension cord. I was lucky I got the camera on a good sale it doesn't work then I will buy the Furrion. Not a big loss.

Good luck with your choice I will be posting my results but it won't be for a few weeks.
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Old 04-25-2018, 07:41 AM   #10
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I have found that I need to plan my route ahead as even the Garmin will just not make some adjustments, as in taking the beltway routes around San Antonio instead of the nightmare, (with a fifth wheel) ride through the center of town. Garmin just keeps trying to take you back to the center of town and you have to listen to an hours worth of false directions till you finally get past the point where you are headed back to the interstate. Because it's a little farther around, even if you de select the "fastest route" tab it still tries to take you through the middle of town. I have found that most GPS units "fixate" on a route, and unless you are prepared, that's the way you're going.
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Old 04-25-2018, 07:57 AM   #11
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We have the Furrion observation system and it’s great. We replaced the backup system that came with the fifth. Swapping the two was a five minute job. The observation system is far superior in both picture quality/signal strength and field of view. The monitor could be bigger but it is adequate.

We also have a windshield mounted Garmin Nuvicam which works well for our purposes. As long as you keep it up to date it’s pretty accurate. I also like the 1080p dash-cam that is part of this unit. That being said I learned 40+ years ago that there’s no substitute for some pre-departure route planning and study. As far as I know there is no infallible GPS for RVs or anything else. Situational awareness; i.e. paying attention, is still the most effective way to not get into embarrassing and possibly dangerous situations.

Learn from the mistakes of others. You won’t live long enough to make them all yourself.
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Old 04-25-2018, 08:01 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by Flatlander49 View Post
We have the Furrion observation system and it’s great. We replaced the backup system that came with the fifth. Swapping the two was a five minute job. The observation system is far superior in both picture quality/signal strength and field of view. The monitor could be bigger but it is adequate.

We also have a windshield mounted Garmin Nuvicam which works well for our purposes. As long as you keep it up to date it’s pretty accurate. I also like the 1080p dash-cam that is part of this unit. That being said I learned 40+ years ago that there’s no substitute for some pre-departure route planning and study. As far as I know there is no infallible GPS for RVs or anything else. Situational awareness; i.e. paying attention, is still the most effective way to not get into embarrassing and possibly dangerous situations.

Learn from the mistakes of others. You won’t live long enough to make them all yourself.
I have a question about this. People talk about planning their route prior with google maps or regular old atlas, etc. I think that's great but can you tell if it's a "bad" road to go down? My GPS has sent me into some areas that no RV should go. Later when I went to a map on the computer, I pretended I hadn't taken the route yet and from the maps I couldn't tell that the road was going to be a bad one for RV's. So, prior to a trip, you look at a map and how are you determining what road to avoid?
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Old 04-25-2018, 09:35 AM   #13
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I have the Furrion back-up camera and though I'm happy with the over all performance, the suction cup and mounting bracket are among the worst I've seen - basically unusable.
As for GPS guidance, I've spent a small fortune on stand alone GPS systems over the last 15? years, nothing is perfect.
I now use Google maps on the computer, verify the route on my trucker's atlas, make changes if necessary and then transfer it to my phone that displays it in real time with life traffic on the Uconnect screen in my truck.
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Old 04-25-2018, 09:35 AM   #14
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Furrion

We had the same choice and decided to go with the Garmin and the Furrion.
So far we are pretty happy with our choice.
We have not yet put the Garmin to the test but will take all precautions to not get ourselves into trouble!
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