GPS recommendations?

[gartonhl]

Could someone please recommend to me a good, moderately priced ($200-250) GPS unit that I could move between my motorhome and Jeep? and, what your experience has been using a GPS.

Preparing to leave for Colorado to go jeeping this Friday and would like to purchase before I leave.

I would appreciate any and all input.

Thanks,
Pete

[nowait]

We have a Garmin 265WT that has free traffic(when the power cable is plugged in) and does a reasonable job of text to speech. It allows you to import your own Points of interest (POI). I have downloaded from the internet POI files that list all the state parks. Pretty cool.

[MrT]

Originally Posted by nowait

We have a Garmin 265WT that has free traffic(when the power cable is plugged in) and does a reasonable job of text to speech. It allows you to import your own Points of interest (POI). I have downloaded from the internet POI files that list all the state parks. Pretty cool.

x2 on the Garmin nuvi models with the traffic receiver ("T" suffix). We have two nuvis, the newest being a 765T. A friend just bought the 1390T, which is a newer design, and very s*xy if you are a gadget afficionado.

In my experience, Garmin produces the best "routing engine" in their software.

You have alternative choices from TomTom, Magellan & others. Do a little online research, and make your decision. I chose Garmin.

Keep in mind that none of these technological marvels is foolproof, so bring along alternate sources of information, such as mapping functions in your cell phone, hard copies of routes from Google, Bing, AAA, Coach-Net, etc.

[pondlady]

I do like my Garmin except when she talks back. All in all, she does a great job.

[MrT]

Originally Posted by pondlady

I do like my Garmin except when she talks back. All in all, she does a great job.

So switch to a male voice!

[Bayouownbeer]

I have the new model Garmin Nuvi 1390T has 5" screen with the free traffic. So good so far have about 3500 miles on it LOL.

[wayne1]

Garmin 1490T, with lifetime traffic, 5 inch screen

Amazon has refurbished units, at $60 cheaper than brand new units

Refurbished because the software had bugs when initially came out, now re-flashed...

Just remember, those super thin units has a battery that is integrated, will make it almost impossible to replace, for do it your self-ers, like myself, in a few years...

[doctort44]

We have the Garmin 265WT. Love it.

[LadyWindrider]

Got a laptop? I use Streets and Trips from Microsoft. Never drive with it, but find it nice to plan routes before I leave. Can always just follow the directions that you can print out.

In reality, I fly an airplane for recreation, and if I can find an airport 200 miles away with only an aerial map and a compass, I don't use a a GPS much. I do like being able to get a map of the roads where I'm going, and once I get there. I understand JEEPING and wanting to follow a trail and come back home sometime.

[Hokiehall]

We have a Garmin 205 which they don't make anymore but they do give me updates. I bought my brother a 265 for Christmas last year and he likes it.

There are several brands that are all pretty decent but I strongly suggest you still look at an old fashioned paper map before blindly following the GPS. I usually enter the directions for several places that I already know the way to and it will route me through roads I know I don't want to follow. When we go to Chicago, it wants to route me through the middle of Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Chicago, which is fine at 3 a.m. but not at a normal time.

For Myrtle Beach, it routes me through every pig path in North Carolina instead of the nice route I always follow. The mileage difference between the GPS and mine is less than 5 miles but the time difference is over an hour. And I have it set for fastest, not shortest.

[rxfiller]

When we got our coach this spring, I tried a Garmin that is a "truckers" model. Supposed to give you routes that don't have low clearance or weight restictions, etc. First trip out it wanted to send us through a bridge tunnel that we would never have fit through. Luckily the campground asked us if we were using a GPS and warned us about it. They said all the units direct the traffic that way. Of course I thought our "trucker" model wouldn't do that, right? Guess again. That's exactly the way it was taking us.

The next morning I got a look at the tunnel, and the road leading to it, as we left camp. There's no way we would have made it, and it would have been quite a trick trying to back out with a trailer!

The Garmin has also given us some bogus directions. We have decided to go back to our Magellans that we have used in the cars. BTW, Best Buy has Magellans on sale this week!

[aintgotnun]

We have a Garmin Nuvi something or another and it works great. Well except the time it wanted to route us through downtown Mobile, Alabama on our way to Disney while towing our 5'er. ALWAYS have a good set of paper maps with ya and you'll be fine no matter what GPS unit you get. Garmin does have one for truckers and RV'ers but they are on the high dollar end.

[revrnd]

I concur about the misdirection problems. My Legend Cx loaded w/ City Navigator tried to send me down an unplowed township this past winter as a shortcut.

Unlike the Oregon couple that was stranded the same way.

[pondlady]

She does need some stern discipline occasionally.

[Bama Rambler]

RxFiller -- Can you answer a few questions for me and maybe it'll help someone else in the future. I'm very interested in that unit and am surprised it didn't know about the low clearance.

You have the 465T right?

Did you have the unit set up in truck mode or car mode? You can switch them and if you're in car mode it ignores the rig height, length, etc.

What height did you set your rig up as?

Have you noticed any other anomalies with the unit?

[ArkyGeorgetown330TS]

I have the Garmin 205W and really like it. I used it last year when we went to Silverton, CO and was surprised at all the roads and mountain trails it had on it. Oh it will try to lead you wrong sometime, but for the most part it worked well. I have a lot of extra POIs loaded for fuel and Walmart locations.

[wnytaxman]

Originally Posted by Bama Rambler

RxFiller -- Can you answer a few questions for me and maybe it'll help someone else in the future. I'm very interested in that unit and am surprised it didn't know about the low clearance.

You have the 465T right?

Did you have the unit set up in truck mode or car mode? You can switch them and if you're in car mode it ignores the rig height, length, etc.

What height did you set your rig up as?

Have you noticed any other anomalies with the unit?

I've got the 465T and we have found it to be reliable so far. Again, as others have stated, make sure you know where you are supposed to go and you'll be fine. From Buffalo to Boston, which is a straight shot on I-90, it tried to have us get off 90 and take US20. That would make a Boston run a very long arduous journey. In its defense though, I have to note that it was trying to route us around some construction on the NY Thruway which is a tough drive in an 8 and 1/2 foot wide motorhome.

[wayne1]

The 465T will keep you on the standard truck routes. LOCAL truck routes that you might take with you RV are NOT listed

[NWJeeper]

You might be asking too much to use one unit in both the RV and the Jeep. If you do a lot of off-road as we do you will find the Nuvi will probably have a hard time keeping a lock on the satellites in dense trees. For our motorhome and around town use we have a Nuvi. In the Jeep and for Geocaching we use a Garmin 60CX. They now have out the 62 series which have an even better receiver and antenna. We use the 60CX exclusively for gathering the data we provide on our web site as it will hold a lock on the satellites like nothing I have ever seen. We can get signal in our house with a floor above us!

[rxfiller]

Bama-

Yeah, I have the 465T, in truck mode, with the height set at 12.5 feet.