Hi folks, I've been driving class A motirhomes since 1997 and put quite a few miles on the rigs we've owned. our trip planning gennerally involves looking at our big old paper Rand Mcnally, and then verifying miles with the standard goolge maps gps on my phone. this has served us well for all these years. we havent driven out east much, though, and i ocasionally see people swear by RV or trucker gps units to alert them to low clearances and other hazards. do you folks use one? has it saved you from having a mishap with a low bridge? i've always thought the driver and copilot could look out for low clearance signs while driving and adjust accordingly. am i assuming too much? thanks, chris g.
I have I have a Garmin RV660 in the Coach and a normal Garmin in the towed. I'm not sure if my butt has ever been saved from a low clearance issue but I have been misdirected to wrong places by both in the past. I do not rely on my GPS units 100% anymore. I try to verify my routes with Google earth first. My reliance on the GPS unit is to let them tell me when to turn and they both monitor speeds (I get a sound if I exceed the speed limit and a different note when speeds are about to change such as playgrounds or school zones.) Darrell
Up to this year I was using the AAA maps and google maps gps for traveling the major Interstates and state roads. I would also research the local roads on google maps on my laptop or call the campground direct if the local directions were not clear. This year I have been using the Garmin Rv 890, I've been able to save, build trips and stops to the Interstates and state roads that I know carry less risk for problems while traveling. "so far" no issues. The Garmin Rv 890 has 2 modes. 1 for auto and 1 for RV. In the Rv mode it will prompt you to put in your Rv dimensions and information like how many propane tanks you carry and size. I have test tried to map out a trips on highways where there was low clearence bridges, the program wouldn't allow me to build the trip. That said I would never trust it blindly, I still do my research Mike
We have driven the whole country with our Garmen RV unit and it has probably sent us in the wrong direction more often than highlighting a hazard. It also has a little icon in the corner that if you click it says no RV data available for this area which is on more often than not. We have picked up a few low clearance bridges but none we didn't already know about from other types of warnings, (signs, campsite directions, etc. Our nav unit in our Winnebego is terrible so we use the larger screen on the Garmin but always back it up with a Google phone check route. I would not buy one just for the RV capability.
i use a gps with my rig parameters set in it to help with tunnels , light weight bridges , and low clearances , it has helped many times , i have a Rand McNalley rv710 unit and a Garmin 6 inch that i use , (I dont trust the Rand McNalley much , as it has lied to me more than once)and between the two , i make a decision on routes , but normally just use the trip routers to get from my home to destinations , biggest route being 13,600 miles , getting to campgrounds is another storty tho , Rand took me on a 22 mile trip thru the country in Oregon to the campground that was only 2 miles from my starting point , and i figured out later that it did not want to let me turn left across traffic to enter the park , and there was a left turn lane there , Rand has been bad for updates being up to date as well. All in all they have helped me at a point in Mount Rushmore , heading south as ther is a tunnel on one road that i doubt i could fit thru , and has routed me around a couple of light bridges as well