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Old 08-30-2021, 09:49 AM   #1
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Garmin GPS alternates?

I've been shopping and not finding!
I've used a small Garmin from way back, moved to a Nuvi 460 which fit for all we wanted but it is now dying, so we are looking for something to match what it did and not finding it.

We've tried the RV specific of some number and another smaller one Drive 52 and find both are good at added things but bad at the basics of giving a clear picture for navigation. We do not want to give up a clear picture of the road for things that we will never use like bluetooth for phones and music as we have other electronics which do fine for those.

What I do want is a GPS which gives a clear picture which lets me flip my view to the screen and see what streets, lanes to use without having to study so closely that I miss the turn! The old nuvi was good at things like that and did a great job of rerouting me but it has lost it somewhere and now may take 3-4 minutes to find a new route when I miss an exit!

Has anybody tried any of the "no-name" products from Amazon and have one to recommend as Garmin seems to have moved away from the simple stuff and now seems more inclined to selling ads for Trip Adviser, national parks and such.

Any thoughts on this one?
https://www.amazon.com/Navigation-7-...92115017&psc=1
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Old 08-30-2021, 06:16 PM   #2
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I just downloaded RV Trip Finder, are you looking for a stand alone unit? I have only used the app for a week and it is just ok for now, compared to my usual Google Apps via Android Auto it is not as robust with directions and highlighting lane position etc. I have looked at some of the RV specific Garmin units but cant justify the 609 price tag at this time. Will be interested to see what your final determination will be.
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Old 08-30-2021, 06:21 PM   #3
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Richard-

I bought two of the RV760 models, the first new in 2014 and the second used in 2018. They are relatively simple and a decent size for old eyes. They provide lane guidance. Every now and then they send me off into the fields, so they bear watching... sneaky things.

If you can't pick up a used RV760 unit you might look for used RV770/780s, which I believe are just incremental improvements over the RV760.

There's a trucker's version, the "dezl" models, equivalent to the 760/770/780, but with some truck-specific features. They probably would work for an RV.

We keep the two GPSes going, programmed the same, one for the driver and one for the navigator. Sometimes what one GPS shows/recommends is different than the other. I get to arbitrate the disagreement. It's actually kind of helpful, as it reduces the chance of being pulled off-route by a single GPS "gone bad."

Sneaky things.

P.S.- iRV2 shows a couple of used Garmin units for sale in their classifieds (link here) right now- an RV660 and and RV890. The RV660 is the same era as the RV760, with a smaller display. An iRV2 classified ad for an RV780 is here. They misspelled "Garmin," or it would have been included in the other search results.
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Old 08-30-2021, 06:24 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Morich View Post
I've been shopping and not finding!
I've used a small Garmin from way back, moved to a Nuvi 460 which fit for all we wanted but it is now dying, so we are looking for something to match what it did and not finding it.

We've tried the RV specific of some number and another smaller one Drive 52 and find both are good at added things but bad at the basics of giving a clear picture for navigation. We do not want to give up a clear picture of the road for things that we will never use like bluetooth for phones and music as we have other electronics which do fine for those.

What I do want is a GPS which gives a clear picture which lets me flip my view to the screen and see what streets, lanes to use without having to study so closely that I miss the turn! The old nuvi was good at things like that and did a great job of rerouting me but it has lost it somewhere and now may take 3-4 minutes to find a new route when I miss an exit!

Has anybody tried any of the "no-name" products from Amazon and have one to recommend as Garmin seems to have moved away from the simple stuff and now seems more inclined to selling ads for Trip Adviser, national parks and such.

Any thoughts on this one?
https://www.amazon.com/Navigation-7-...92115017&psc=1
I'd definitely stay away from inexpensive off-brand GPS navigators like may be what's in your link.

Just update your Garmin navigator experience with a modern Garmin model like this one: https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/76...n/010-02425-05

Our Garmin model is now several years old (a 3550LM model with free lifetime map updates) and it still works just fine and updates quickly and accurately. However - I keep it's maps (all of North America) updated at all times, I have plugged a 32GB memory card in it's extra memory slot, and I have moved all of it's POI (Points Of Interest) data off of it's main high speed internal memory and onto this memory card so as to free up as much of the unit's internal memory as possible to give the unit fast processing power.

I have a a modern high end cell phone and have tried several navigation apps on it (Waze, Sygic, etc.) and I still prefer the Garmin's quick and simple purely GPS based navigation (when combined with my over 400,000 Points of Interest) ... with no Internet access required other than for periodic map updates via my laptop that I do when not on RV trips.
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Old 08-30-2021, 07:26 PM   #5
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Okay , this does get my interest on some things that I might want to do on the GPS but I'm afraid the old unit is gett6ing more than just a memory problem as it is an older one (Nuvi 460) and seems to have more trouble with some of the simple things now.
It no longer is able to tell where I am when I may take the frontage road versus staying on the main lanes and that can get into some really difficult problems near some of the larger cities and places where I've not been before or where it has been long enough for the roads to have changed a lot.
On our last trip, we needed to move fast as time was short, so went car from Texas to California, passing through Phoenix on the way back and it got to be hairy enough that it has pushed me into replacing the good old one, that I've liked for so long!

Since I only want the GPS for navigation, can you give me more details on moving the POI and other things that I do not like off the internal memory?
I'm far from computer trained, so that thought had not come to mind as a way to cut the clutter I'm finding when shopping for new. With so very few actually stocked in stores, we have been trying to get one by reading the ads and those are so little help that we have gone through two different models and find both to be terrible for what we want. I'm hoping to get one that fits me better and stop the silliness of ordering, trying and sending it back!
Where we travel most, using the cell phone would not be good at all due to so much of it being out of range for service. It seems the really newer GPS units have moved into info which might be useful but not the info I will ever want on a GPS, like Trip Advisor ratings which are not something I use as I plan the route before taking off and reviews tend to be of two sorts. Those who fully hate or fully love the place, so that what I think is rarely in either camp!
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Old 09-02-2021, 12:50 PM   #6
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Not finding what I really wanted but looks like the Drive Smart 65, will be the closest I find.
It looks like Garmin has gone the way of many businesses and gone for making the sales to ad firms a priority over what the buyers want.
I'm finding my favorites can be added but they are also limited to being placed second behind the paid stuff for Foursquare, Tripadviser and the national parks info!
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Old 09-05-2021, 09:13 PM   #7
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Garmin GPS RV780

Picked up our 1st RV GPS on sale, Garmin RV780 and used on a recent road trip. Purchased for routing around traffic, low bridges etc. GPS guided us on major roads, and kept trying to redirect us to major roads when we ventured off onto secondary roads.

The unit was recommended by friends that have an earlier model. Size is adequate sitting on dashboard of our class A, easy to see and follow. Easy for my navigator to use as well. Couldn’t justify the cost for a larger screen and frivolous differences.

Very pleased with the purchase of the RV780 with lifetime maps and it’s ability to sync with a smartphone for live traffic updates in addition to having the 12v adapter that is an antenna for traffic and red light cameras. GPS technology for RV’s can be had for $299.
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Old 09-06-2021, 04:53 PM   #8
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I am on my second Rand McNally GPS. The last one I Purchased is so much better than the older model. The screen resolution is much better and it is less bulky.
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Old 09-06-2021, 05:04 PM   #9
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Quote:
Drive Smart 65
Haven't seen that one, but I have a Drive Smart 51 and hate it. Not anywhere close to as functional as my old Nuvi 1450, while also being much more annoying. I'm looking for a replacement but it won't be a "drive smart" model.
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Old 09-06-2021, 05:48 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by wyocamper View Post
Haven't seen that one, but I have a Drive Smart 51 and hate it. Not anywhere close to as functional as my old Nuvi 1450, while also being much more annoying. I'm looking for a replacement but it won't be a "drive smart" model.
Third time was closer to being the charm, for me.

We tried two different models of Garman as we had used two of the older Nuvi set and liked them, but each of the new we tried had major problems with things that we felt made them hard to use.
What we wanted was a simple item that would figure a route for us. We did not need an RV specific and wanted smaller to use both in the Rv and on the car dash where space is more limited. The old Nuvi 460 was great but was losing it's mind in some way.
But the units we tried were just not giving us a map we could see and spot roads at a glance.
We are finally okay with the Drive Smart 65 as one which is slightly larger than the older Nuvi but does okay on being able to quickly see turns and the info we need, just that it also has more goofy stuff that we would rather be able to avoid as we will never use most of it.

Using Gps memory to get info on national parks? Just in case you are out and don't have anywhere to go, you decide to look up the Grand Canyon and see if it is worth going by? Surely almost anybody has a bit more planning involved in national park decisions that we get on the GPS!!!

Then there is the section of basic adds for Foursquare and Trip Adviser. Both might be something we might use if we had no sense of what we liked and had to ask the general public for their ideas but we are not that interested in reviews written by owners and the employees!

It has some good points and enough to make me keep it, rather than send it back and keep shopping ----but it could be better if they stopped selling ads and tried to sell a product that did it's main job better!
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Old 09-27-2021, 09:46 PM   #11
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That link looks like the one I've used for several years from Mexico (surprisingly accurate) up and back to/from Alaska over to Iowa and back different routes each time. But I got mine from eBay and saved $20. Mine is an Xgody and instead of upgrading the firmware, which I couldn't get to work, I just bought new several years later when the battery was getting weaker.

Anyway, I'm always in favor of saving money...Xgody GPS
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