Homer wrote: IMHO GPS is one of the most useless gadgets to ever come down the pike. I'll take paper maps and recommendations from other RVers every time.
Well ..... I guess I would be in the camp of "the greatest invention since sliced bread" ..... I have 3 of them - and they are all well used - pretty much on a daily basis.
The secret to successfully using any tool - (no matter what it is)- is practice - and through that practice gaining a full understanding of its strengths and its limitations.
Those who get into trouble with a GPS are those who are pretty naive about their operation.
From the marketing package I viewed on that RV specific GPS there really didn't seem to be any special features or information that made it superior for RVing than other, much more cost-friendly GPS's on the market.
Jay
2002 Bambi 19' - the "Toaster"
2009 Nissan Pathfinder - the "Buggy"
Homer wrote: IMHO GPS is one of the most useless gadgets to ever come down the pike. I'll take paper maps and recommendations from other RVers every time.
Well ..... I guess I would be in the camp of "the greatest invention since sliced bread" ..... I have 3 of them - and they are all well used - pretty much on a daily basis.
The secret to successfully using any tool - (no matter what it is)- is practice - and through that practice gaining a full understanding of its strengths and its limitations.
Those who get into trouble with a GPS are those who are pretty naive about their operation.
Jay
Homer wrote: IMHO GPS is one of the most useless gadgets to ever come down the pike. I'll take paper maps and recommendations from other RVers every time.
Well ..... I guess I would be in the camp of "the greatest invention since sliced bread" ..... I have 3 of them - and they are all well used - pretty much on a daily basis.
The secret to successfully using any tool - (no matter what it is)- is practice - and through that practice gaining a full understanding of its strengths and its limitations.
Those who get into trouble with a GPS are those who are pretty naive about their operation.
Jay
Very well put. Big X2.
X3!
I was a real stick in the mud, heels dug in about using my ole stand by map. That BTW I couldn't really see when driving even when Rand McNally came up with the EXTRA large type! And the truckers map? All you get is laminated sheets with extra extra 'small' type. Boy that was the biggest waste of $24.00 I've ever spent.
THEN I broke down and bought a GPS. Been RV traveling 5 years now with it and only by it, driving a MH towing. 5 years and have only been taken down the wrong road 2 times and both were because I had it set for 'shortest' route instead of 'fastest route'.
I bought the biggest screen GPS I could find and one where I speak the instructions to it, no typing on a small keyboard for me! I tell here where I want to go and she plans the trip.
I set an alert for when I have to stop and run the toad, set an alert for CG's where an icon pops up when there is a CG within however miles I set from where I am driving. Touch it when it comes up and voila a phone number and address of the nearby CG. If I choose to change the initial route at any time, I turn and she 'recalculates' the route from where I changed it.
Yup I too think the addition of the GPS for RV'ing has been VERY beneficial.
"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned,
so as to have the life that is waiting for us".
Our Garmin automobile GPS is way, way more powerful and useful than even our vast collection of state-by-state Landmark map books would be by themselves ... IF and ONLY IF we keep the GPS current with all of the fantastic 3rd party/private party POI's available over the Internet. Our Garmin now has more out of the way camping spots in it's free publicly available POI databases than would show up on any map.
We use both our Landmark maps and our properly loaded Garmin GPS in a powerful combination - neither one by itself will do.
P.S. You have to keep it's raw map database up-to-date too ... to go along with any extensive POI libraries you load into it!
BTW, the types of GPS units being discussed here are maps, just a map on a screen instead of paper. And you don't have to follow the route it suggests. I use one on a trip where there is no way I'm going any of the ways it routes you. I have it on for the estimated arrival time and should I need to make a detour.
I have a GPS integrated in the dash of my truck, and I bought a trucker's unit so I could plug in height, weight, distance to pin etc. When I'm running both they sometimes get to bickering and I have to look out the windshield to see what I should do.
I have been using a GPS for several years since I go to homes and businesses to repair grandfather clocks. My GPS has made my life much easier. Yes, I use to use maps, customer directions and help from people on the road. Now the GPS take me to the exact location. I will purchase a RV GPS this year. Yes, the best thing since sliced bread.
greg121 wrote: I only use GPS to tell me about my immediate area - destination, turns, exit/lane guidance, services etc. I can't imagine my ever letting a GPS set my route so I load them in.
So is there any advantage to having one of the RV specific GPS's? It might be interesting to see what it comes up with for a route as compared to what I come up with but not enough to cough up a couple hundred more dollars. Which I wouldn't mind paying if there is a reason but one is just not occurring to me.
No reason if you have a Class B. Could be a good reason if you have a Class A, or big 5'er, or even a long TT.
A special RV GPS does allow you to put in weight and height of your rig. This feature could keep you off of bridges that can't handle your weight, or off of roads that have tunnels too low for your rig.
If you have a Class B, there are real good reasons to have an RV specific GPS if you are planning on traveling in the Northeast - there are many roads, highways, bridges, and tunnels in NY, CT, Mass, MD etc. that you can not drive an RV on,over, or through even a Class B, due to height, road regulation restrictions, and weight, plus carrying propane. Where I live a car GPS will put you on roads that have a 7 foot ten inch clearance allowance. And if you come here from some other part of the country, you are going to be in for a lot of frustration trying to travel when you get to the road and see the sign not to get on with no alternate route, or worse, get on the road and find yourself heading for a low clearance overpass with no exit before it.
I realize that in other parts of the country this is not a problem at all, and a car GPS can take your RV most places, but beware in the Northeast.
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