Funny Story, Serious Question

DocMike · 08-07-2016, 08:35 PM

Going on 15 months of RV'ing now in our Vegas 24.1 and enjoying the travel...and so this story.

This past weekend we headed out to go to Cove Creek RV Resort Wears Valley Rd, Sevierewille TN to meet up with "THe Dixie Traveliers" for our first Rally and introduction to the group.

We decided, since it was on the way (kind of), to swing by the Harrah's Casino in Cherokee Thursday night then pick 441 for a quick second leg of the trip Friday midmorning.

My DW had loaded the address to Cove Creek in Wears Valley onto her cellphone and so we were off. Beautiful ride, great roads, waterfalls abound, we saw Elk, we saw deer and then we saw a single lane bridge. No troll, but a big sign that said: 10 TON MAX (so far no problem for the Vegas) BUT the last rule on the sign RV's PROHIBITED.

So, we back track and 1 hour later...oh, yeah we lost cell communications just before the bridge...we found a nice Forest Ranger at the end of the road! Literaly, the road ended at a huge Campground with Forest Rangers helping Happy Campers and horse trailers to find thier campsites. Mister Ranger told us to go back 8 miles to the sign that says Townsend, turn left, then go to the first (and only) stop light, turn right and in 5 minutes we would be at Cove Creek RV Resort.

Upon arrival the host at the desk listened to my tale and then pointed to the mountain ridge across the street and said we were just 4 miles away on the other side of that mountain when we found the one lane bridge. And he just smiled!

So, with that said, I am in the market for Navigational system or an upgrade to my Garmen (not used on this trip). I have read threads on this site about some that allow you to program in what your RV is - so having to face a one lane bridge at high noon does not have to happen.

Please advise.

Thanks.

Doc

bevedfelker · 08-07-2016, 08:38 PM

My advice -- RV Parks immediately off and visible from the interstate.

scrubjaysnest · 08-07-2016, 08:55 PM

Look at it from this stand point. You got a great story to tell.

Haven't used it but Garmins 760 RV LMT is supposed to be able to handle things like that.

We just go for the story. Ours: Looking for Fools Hollow, USFS CG, in Showlow AZ. GPS put us on a dead end road. Turned the trailer around and kept looking for the CG. Turned out to be run by the State Parks.

sky_blue · 08-07-2016, 09:05 PM

Doc - I have the Garmin RV 760LMT. I keep it mounted on the plastic curve above the instruments because I can see my speed without taking my eyes off the road. With that model, you enter the rig's height, width, length and GVWR. It saved my bacon one time. I was turning off of one freeway to a second. It told me to take the truck lane. I kept wondering why until I saw the overpass to my side that would have taken the top of my rig off. It has voice commands, lifetime maps, lane designation, and traffic avoidance.

It is a mix of the auto GPSs and the DEZL GPSs (for trucks) that Garmin makes. The only downside is that it will display the maximum speed as for trucks (usually 55 MPH). So my speed usually is shown in red since I tend to cruise at 58-60MPH.

Since you are already a Garmin owner, I highly recommend this unit.

DocMike · 08-07-2016, 09:12 PM

gbrown,

I will contact Garmin and check on the 760LMT. Maybe they can just sell me somekind of software upgrade for my Garmin...

Thanks to all for this option. Please weigh in if you have another suggestion/recommendation.

Doc

bolandd · 08-07-2016, 09:43 PM

You can pick up a refurbished Garmin 760LMT for $249.99 here.

5 year extended warranty is $25.

JamieGeek · 08-07-2016, 09:49 PM

So far we haven't taken any trips longer than a week--the problem with having to go somewhere every weekday (I guess the good thing is that they do give me some greenbacks for showing up

)...but I digress.

I mention the above because when we are taking a trip to somewhere we haven't been I usually will use google maps to map out the route before hand so I have an idea of the route (in case all the electronic goodies fail for some reason I have my grey matter to fall back on..until that fails me LOL). I will also use Google Earth (yeah remember that!): Earth will let you program a route in and then drive it. I'll sit and watch that for a bit to get a feel for the roads along the route.

Mo_Mike · 08-07-2016, 10:14 PM

Is the RV 760LMT or the RV 660LMT the current version? I see there is a 1" difference between screens, but can't really see what ant other differences are..

It seems like it would be nice to have voice rec and have routes qualified for the VEGAS beforehand

Ag&Au · 08-08-2016, 05:14 AM

I have used Garmin GPS's for many years. I have watched them develop and improve. However on any long trip, they always seem to do at least one stupid thing. One time it took me down a narrow road that terminated in a dead end with a giant permanent barricade. All this time it was telling me to get ready to turn right onto Hwy 99. I stopped at the barricade and got out of the truck. When I looked over the edge of the big bank behind the sign, sure enough there was Hwy 99 about 150 feet directly below me. I still usually have one on the windshield because it still displays some useful data.

If I want reliable navigation I use Google Maps navigation feature on a cell phone or tablet.

I will say, however, in all my travels, I've seen many restrictions on roads and bridges, but never anything as stupid as blanket banning of all RV's. That's a pretty broad term covering even a compact truck pulling a Casita or Scamp trailer. I can't say for sure without seeing it myself, but I'm pretty sure I would have just blown it off.

If caught, I would have said, "This ain't no RV. This here's what ya call a motorhome. I know cuz my cuz'n Eddy's got one of them thar RV's.

I'm fairly sure that no one makes a GPS that would take something so stupid into account.

-
Ken

WillowRun · 08-08-2016, 11:27 AM

We use the Garmin 760 also.....has nice features! Just a thought for purchase though...we bought ours thru amazon and the first one had developed a hairline fracture in the screen the first week of just toying with it? Contacted garmin but they said no we do not cover the screens...that pedesatl mount thing seems to flex the unit? So we got a return authorization via amazon since we'd only had it 2 weeks but never traveled anywhere with it. It was immediately sent back,refunded and we purchased the second one. This time,much wiser,we never even mounted it or did any touch screening unless supported flat. We also bought a generic 7 inch iphone type bean bag weighted clip in to display and set the garmin on the dash! Not one issue so far. So refurbed and where you purchase may want to be a consideration!

**EA37TS** · 08-08-2016, 11:51 AM

We use a combination of RV Trip Wizard for planning our trip and then download the route info into our Rand McNally RVND 7730.

In the numerous trips with the unit we had one issue where the GPS would not direct us down a road that had a bridge limitation 3 miles beyond our turning point onto the road leading to the campground.

Wonderdog · 08-09-2016, 12:14 AM

We use a paper Rand McNally atlas and other paper maps. Sometimes we'll use the iphone but it doesn't always work. Getting lost is part of the adventure and we've found interesting sights we might never have seen.

vkb · 08-09-2016, 02:51 AM

Garmin RV 760LMT
We have used Garmins for years .. and like some else said...once in a while it will do something stupid...like show us out in the middle of a field !!! whaaaaat ???
Anyhow..I googled the 760 and it appears to be our next purchase.
I love Google Maps etc and the satellite view and use it in conjunction with the Garmin...but I hate to use my phone/ipad too much going down the road as I don't want to use all my MB's of data on the road !!

Thank you, everyone, for the information on this Garmin for RV's !

blw2 · 08-09-2016, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ag&Au

.....
I will say, however, in all my travels, I've seen many restrictions on roads and bridges, but never anything as stupid as blanket banning of all RV's. That's a pretty broad term covering even a compact truck pulling a Casita or Scamp trailer. I can't say for sure without seeing it myself, but I'm pretty sure I would have just blown it off. .....

I might very well have done the same thing.... as long as i was withing the height and weight restrictions

As far as the map
I keep hoping that google or waze will add that feature set some day

I understand you are looking into dedicated GPS unit solutions
but I'll throw this out there as back-up

when using cell phone navigation if going into the boonies/mountains where you know you'll likely get spotty signal coverage
download the entire area onto your phone for "offline navigation" It really does help. I did it twice this summer in google maps...
once covering the SE corner of TN for a boy scout summer camp trip
and another time covering most of western NC for a family RV trip
when not in data coverage, it wouldn't allow me to navigate to places outside of the area.... and of course wouldn't let me search for points of interest..... but I had no problem navigating at least.

vkb · 08-09-2016, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blw2

I might very well have done the same thing.... as long as i was withing the height and weight restrictions

As far as the map
I keep hoping that google or waze will add that feature set some day

I understand you are looking into dedicated GPS unit solutions
but I'll throw this out there as back-up

when using cell phone navigation if going into the boonies/mountains where you know you'll likely get spotty signal coverage
download the entire area onto your phone for "offline navigation" It really does help. I did it twice this summer in google maps...
once covering the SE corner of TN for a boy scout summer camp trip
and another time covering most of western NC for a family RV trip
when not in data coverage, it wouldn't allow me to navigate to places outside of the area.... and of course wouldn't let me search for points of interest..... but I had no problem navigating at least.

good idea

DocMike · 08-09-2016, 04:41 PM

blw2,

The offline sounds like a great idea, always like to have a backup plan! I had a roadmap, but could not find were we where when the bridge challenged us.

Doc

FrankMor · 02-12-2017, 02:12 AM

Try the app Offline Maps. It is a pretty good GPS.

Frank

SuperD · 02-12-2017, 11:35 AM

The 660 is the latest Garmin for RVs. I have used Garmin for years and love them, they are very user friendly! Garmins should be updated regularly via the Garmin website to maintain highest accuracy.

Are gps units perfect, no. A gps is only as good as the information entered in to it. If a developer doesn't send accurate information to the county then the information loaded in a gps won't be accurate since they get a lot of their information this way.
When going to my friends new house the gps showed two houses off, not the fault of the gps, problem was the person who sent in the plat map.

Chance · 02-12-2017, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ag&Au

......cut....

I will say, however, in all my travels, I've seen many restrictions on roads and bridges, but never anything as stupid as blanket banning of all RV's. That's a pretty broad term covering even a compact truck pulling a Casita or Scamp trailer. I can't say for sure without seeing it myself, but I'm pretty sure I would have just blown it off.

If caught, I would have said, "This ain't no RV. This here's what ya call a motorhome. I know cuz my cuz'n Eddy's got one of them thar RV's.

I'm fairly sure that no one makes a GPS that would take something so stupid into account.

-
Ken

Yeah, I believe old VW camper vans are considered RVs, and are a lot smaller than most modern SUVs. In fairness, I expect their RV restriction may have been for reasons other than size.

In my van I would have undoubtedly kept going. I've done similarly many times. That's one advantage of driving a "travel" van when it's convenient.

Chance · 02-12-2017, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuperD

The 660 is the latest Garmin for RVs. I have used Garmin for years and love them, they are very user friendly! Garmins should be updated regularly via the Garmin website to maintain highest accuracy.

Are gps units perfect, no. A gps is only as good as the information entered in to it. If a developer doesn't send accurate information to the county then the information loaded in a gps won't be accurate since they get a lot of their information this way.
When going to my friends new house the gps showed two houses off, not the fault of the gps, problem was the person who sent in the plat map.

I expect much of information that Google uses comes from us. The millions of vehicles moving about send them information that I imagine lets them know whether a road is really there or not. It also lets them know when traffic on an Interstate is moving at 10 MPH instead of 70 MPH, etc.

So far I've been impressed with Google accuracy, and depend on it, although I haven't needed information specific to large vehicles like RVs or trucks. In the future if that changes I may go back to a Garmin as a backup.

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