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Old 09-18-2016, 08:34 PM   #1
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Garmin RV660 short review

For my birthday this coming Tuesday, Joyce bought me a Garmin RV660 GPS and gave it to me Saturday. She gave it to me early because we would be taking our fifth wheel to Columbia, MO to visit our daughter for a week. The Garmin replaces my Rand McNally 5510 which I didn’t like mainly because of a screen that was hard to see on sunny days and errors when using the POI database to find destinations.

Early results with the new Garmin GPS have been disappointing. First let me say the screen is 100% easier to see than the Rand McNally. I love that aspect of the new GPS. My first test of the Garmin was a local trip of 29 miles. The route took me to my destination but as we neared the destination it added one mile to the trip because of strange routing. Not really a big deal though.

My second test of the Garmin was a major disappointment. I had the Garmin program a route to Cottonwoods RV Park in Columbia using the POI database. As we approached the exit we normally take to get to the park I realized the Garmin was routing me to the next exit. I knew that was wrong. As it turned out, the Garmin had the park located 4 road miles from the correct location. Dang, this was my pet peeve about the Rand McNally, incorrect locations in the POI database. I was really disappointed.

Test number three came when we left our daughter’s house tonight to return to Cottonwoods. This time after programming in the actual address of the campground the GPS took us right to it.

The manual for the GPS is online and must be downloaded from the Garmin website. The GPS didn’t even come with a quick start guide. Perhaps that is done to ensure that folks actually download the manual.

Keep in mind this is early testing so I’m sure I will have more to say about this GPS as I use it more. By the way, I believe the Garmin RV660 is replacing the RV760.
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Old 09-19-2016, 03:28 PM   #2
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The 660 is a little smaller form factor than the 760.

Thanks for the review. Please do keep us informed. I'm interested in getting a unit that's large vehicle specific, but can't decide which.
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Old 09-19-2016, 03:45 PM   #3
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I have the RV760 and I am completely disappointed. On several occasions it has routed us on dirt roads with no way to turn around. One one occasion it had us on a loop back to the same dirt road. I called Garmin about it and they said to lower my MH weight. I did as they suggested and on our last trip it said prepare to go off road, I hit the brakes and got out of there, I called the campground for directions from where we were. We were about 300 yards from the place. I don't trust the RV760 any more and check the route on google maps before we go.
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Old 09-19-2016, 04:25 PM   #4
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I called Garmin about it and they said to lower my MH weight.
That seems strange. I'd think that if you raised the weight in the GPS it would keep you off smaller roads. But maybe I'm not understanding how it figures routing.
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Old 09-19-2016, 04:29 PM   #5
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I had my weight set to 32000 and the tech at Garmin sad that was too high to lower it, I don't remember the number he recommended but it was much lower then our actual weight.
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Old 09-20-2016, 01:25 PM   #6
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I've been using the 760 in our coach fir about 18 months now and through about 12,000 miles of travels and love it. Could be just personal preference, but I hated the old Rand McNally unit and abandoned the buil-in system that came from the factory. Never had any issues at all with the Garmin.
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Old 09-20-2016, 01:40 PM   #7
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Possibly routing you away from road bridges not rated for the weight entered.
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Old 09-20-2016, 02:05 PM   #8
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I've had my 660 for a few months now and have found it mostly good, I had one incident where it took me to the right instead of to the left took a few minutes to get me turned around and back using siri, thank you apple, since then I am careful with addresses and I use good sam and passport america apps and they have been great on the last four trips, when you use it without the trailer make sure you change the settings or you could be taking a long road.
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Old 09-20-2016, 02:13 PM   #9
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I've been using the 760 in our coach fir about 18 months now and through about 12,000 miles of travels and love it. Could be just personal preference, but I hated the old Rand McNally unit and abandoned the buil-in system that came from the factory. Never had any issues at all with the Garmin.
What settings do you use for weight, length, and width?

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Old 09-20-2016, 04:24 PM   #10
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Garmin 760

Try setting the avoidances to avoid dirt roads and the fastest route not the shortest. I have used the 760 since shortly after they came on the market and have been satisfied. I have only had 3 times that it didn't work as expected. It had my daughter on the wrong side of the street and it had some strange routing to 2 campgrounds that were well off the highway. My understanding is that the campground provides the location to Garmin so if they make a mistake it isn't the fault of the GPS. Try various combinations of avoidances and routing preferences to find what works best for you.
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Old 09-20-2016, 04:42 PM   #11
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I hated Rand McNally and bought the Garmin 760. I do update 3 - 4 times a year. Only once did it take me past a CG to turn around for a right turn instead of a left.
I also have the in dash system from Ford. Chattanooga has many low overpasses. Without the 5er I tried it a couple times and it would have saved me where Ford would have had the roof ripped off.
There is one direction near me where Ford, Ram, GM, Garmin, and the 760 have everyone going down a dirt road with no place to turn. I notified Garmin 2 years ago and my daughter notified GM but nothing has changed.
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Old 09-21-2016, 02:15 PM   #12
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My second test of the Garmin was a major disappointment. I had the Garmin program a route to Cottonwoods RV Park in Columbia using the POI database. As we approached the exit we normally take to get to the park I realized the Garmin was routing me to the next exit. I knew that was wrong. As it turned out, the Garmin had the park located 4 road miles from the correct location. Dang, this was my pet peeve about the Rand McNally, incorrect locations in the POI database. I was really disappointed.

Keep in mind this is early testing so I’m sure I will have more to say about this GPS as I use it more. By the way, I believe the Garmin RV660 is replacing the RV760.
Since the Garmin RV760 no longer shows up on their website, I take it for granted the RV660 is their latest and greatest. Well, not so great.

I’ve been playing around with the routing using the POI database, especially for the park we are currently at, Cottonwoods RV park. Today I really stumbled onto a strange quirk.

We were south of Columbia, MO checking out another campground. As we were about to leave I had the RV660 program a route back to Cottonwoods via the POI and voila, it programmed a route right to Cottonwoods. Spot on.

Later on I had to go to Camping World east of the campground on I-70 at exit 133. The GPS took me right to it. For the return back to the campground once again the RV660 planned an incorrect route to a location 4 miles from where the park is located.

I found this very strange and weird, coming from the south the GPS programed a correct route yet coming from the east it programed an incorrect route. So far I’m not impressed with this GPS.
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Old 09-21-2016, 03:00 PM   #13
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I have noticed several differences in routing that I get from the Garmin 760RV versus the Garmin I have in my Jeep. There is a reason for that, though, st least where you 've encountered it. For example, the route going to Freightliner here in Orlando using the 760 is different from the route back home. This is because the shop is on a divided highway and would require a U-turn if the route was the same both ways. Maybe I'm not seeing issues as I keep the 760 strictly in the coach and have another system in the toad. Have you contacted Garmin? Could be a software glitch or a bad positioning chip.
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Old 09-21-2016, 03:17 PM   #14
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I haven't contacted Garmin yet. Tomorrow I want to test coming from the west and then the north.
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Old 09-21-2016, 03:22 PM   #15
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I program 2 different vehicles in my 760, one for the RV and 1 for the car. It will use different routes for each, with the RV route being a much easier route. I've been very satisfied with the 760, but I always check the route before I start driving it. The 760 is still listed on the Garmin site (and can still buy), but not as a new model.
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Old 09-21-2016, 06:25 PM   #16
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I just received my new purchase of the Garmin RV760.
The bridge height function does not seem to work, I picked an address that has a low clearence bridge, 11.8 feet and the 760 routed me under the bridge which of course would have severly damaged my 5r if I had been towing it. And yes, I entered a profile for my 5r measurments.
The online manual is dated October 2013 and it describes settings not available on my 760.
I am waiting on a reply from Garmin.
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Old 09-21-2016, 07:11 PM   #17
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I just received my new purchase of the Garmin RV760.
The bridge height function does not seem to work, I picked an address that has a low clearence bridge, 11.8 feet and the 760 routed me under the bridge which of course would have severly damaged my 5r if I had been towing it. And yes, I entered a profile for my 5r measurments.
The online manual is dated October 2013 and it describes settings not available on my 760.
I am waiting on a reply from Garmin.
Although all agencies are required to list all heights some slip up. Most frequent with small towns. Also, repaving can add a couple inches and often these are not reported, markings changed, or marked at all. I'm satisfied with my 760 and update 3-4 times a year. I'm also cautious on all but interstates.
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Old 09-21-2016, 07:35 PM   #18
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All GPS units use public domain databases, meaning they were compiled by government agencies, hundreds of them. The quality of the data can vary considerably. A given unit may work great for one person but be terrible for someone located elsewhere. Often users can report corrections to vendors but they may be slow about making changes (often because they want to verify the data first.)
People woukd often call my agency complaining that google maps had them located wrong. We often provided updated data to google but it was rarely implemented.
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Old 09-22-2016, 07:31 AM   #19
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I thought about buying the Garmin vs renewing my OnStar Nav, the Garmin reviews weren't great. I have to say the OnStar Nav is not only convenient but has been 100% accurate. It announces when road designations change, when you're off course, when to make U turns, it is amazing.
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Old 09-22-2016, 08:05 AM   #20
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I thought about buying the Garmin vs renewing my OnStar Nav, the Garmin reviews weren't great. I have to say the OnStar Nav is not only convenient but has been 100% accurate. It announces when road designations change, when you're off course, when to make U turns, it is amazing.
Does on-star do the RV part where your height and weight become part of the trip information?
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