Is Garmin RV 770 LMT as stupid as all other GPS's?

[KTM251ss]

I am asking this based on do they all use the same mapping software and maps? Here is the reason for the question, this fall coming back to Michigan from Tennessee we have to go through Cincinnati. There is a nice bypass I think is called I 275 which in an RV towing makes it much easier than driving through the city and over that bridge. I wanted to take that bypass but there were some traffic issues that prevented me from jumping on right away so I had to make my way to the 275 bypass through other roads than straight off I 75. Once on it the GPS started trying to get me back into the city. There were traffic alerts and I "bit" on one of the reroutes and ended back into the city, smack dab in horrendous traffic and delays.

I decided that after that adventure I would upgrade my 60 LMT to a new RV GPS if it would help.

So with the new 770 is there a way to either program it to avoid situations like that or is it going to want me to drive through the city?

My only choices for routing is "fastest" or "shortest" but not something that would apply proper avoidance's. Does the 770 do that?

[ThomB]

I've got one and it's sent me through some places I didn't really belong. I mean I wasn't faced with a low bridge but it did send me through a neighborhood once when there was a nice 4-lane not far away. I didn't know the area so I followed it. Found out later that the area had had some fires and it was a possibility that the mapping wasn't updated when the road re-opened. (according to the ranger at the park we were headed to).


I was in Tuscon and it also wanted me to go on a 40 mile detour to go 2 miles up the road I was already on. At that point I'd had the same address setup on my phone (Waze) and knew that I was close and ignored the Garmin.


Short answer I think the 770 sounds similar to your current unit.

[creativepart]

Here’s how I deal with my Rand McNally GPS in a situation like that. Once I’m on a bypass that the GPS doesn’t want to recognize I cancel my original route on the GPS and then immediately reselect the the route to my destination from my current location. This always adjusts the GPS’s routing to include the alternate route.

[l1v3fr33ord1]

Originally Posted by creativepart

Here’s how I deal with my Rand McNally GPS in a situation like that. Once I’m on a bypass that the GPS doesn’t want to recognize I cancel my original route on the GPS and then immediately reselect the the route to my destination from my current location. This always adjusts the GPS’s routing to include the alternate route.

Our Garmin RV 760 LMT works the same way; cancel, then restart. I have yet to figure out what makes it so fixated on a route in one instance, but not another.

[Morich]

If a GPS senses you are off the chosen route, do you want it to get you back on the correct route? Most of us find that very important so that is what the GPS is programmed to do, so we need to be just a touch smarter than the box on the dash if we want to get the best use of what we buy. Part of that has to be knowing when to let the GPS know what YOU want now rather than what the two of you agreed to earlier!
As long as we tell it we want to go a certain way and we want it to tell us how to get back on that route, I can't see much fault with it trying to do what I thought I wanted, even if I now want something different. It may be a pretty smart little gizmo but it still can't read minds!

[creativepart]

I think a GPS should notice you're off the pre-programmed route, then ask if you want to stick with your original route or re-calculate from where you are currently. Seems so simple.

But I don't know of a single GPS unit that will do that simple thing.

Many times we figure out a different route than the GPS and we go off the set route to follow our new findings. The GPS will tell us to turn around, turn around, turn around and after a while recalculate a new route based on our current travels.

If not, it's "cancel route" and start anew.

[akeagle]

We experienced this issue too on our Anchorage to Indiana and return trip. To start out I used the multiple destination feature to program point to point segments to roughly coincide with fuel and overnight stops. In this mode the GPS pretty much performed as advertised but often did not automatically transition to the next segment. Yes, it took only a few screen touches to make it go to the next leg, I thought I'd try programing the route using the city to city method. By that time we were going through some of the big Canadian cities of Edmonton, Calgary, and Great Falls, MT. In each of those cities the GPS wanted to take us off the highways and if I wasn't staying on top of it, it was so easy to get off track and onto surface/business/residential streets. After experiencing this for the third time at Great Falls, it became apparent that in the city to city mode the GPS was actually routing city center to city center. After this realization I tried the intersection to intersection method (I-15 to I-90 for example) which seemed to work much better as far as automatic transition was concerned, although I had to be careful to ensure I had the direction correct, i.e. I-90East vs I-90West. On the return trip the GPS worked more seamlessly, but eventually we determined it was even better to simply cancel the current segment just before the transition point then select the next leg from the multiple destination list already programed. Overall though, we feel the RV GPSs are worth their weight in gold!

[powercat_ras]

In my experience sometimes when I know a preferred route that GPS will think is longer distance and or longer time route - I have to look on my paper Good Sam RV Road Atlas and find an intersection on the route I want to take, and build a multi-stop route using route to intersection to get me to that point on the longer route. Then from there to the next stop, etc.

[Sue46]

We review our route every evening on the GPS and add additional stops as needed to force it to go the way we want. If you program "shortest" the GPS will not take the bypass if it is longer without some help.



Sometims they just get confused and we restart.



I look at the GPS as a hand "tool" that goes along with paper maps and internet maps. I neve trust it 100%

[Podivin]

So, the answer to the OPs question is 'Yes'.
All GPSs have issues of some sort or another, and could eventually lead you to somewhere you don't want to be.

[luvlabs]

All GPS systems have some, often operator, caused problems. Selecting faster times on setup will generally keep you on major highways; whereas shorter routes will take you on some rather interesting routes. Getting your maps updated frequently solves a bunch of problems. Live traffic reports (if they are turned on) can help with navigation around construction areas.

When I know the route (like your bypass around Cincinnati) I would ignore the GPS routing. It will recalculate a route based on your location and destination. And unless you get yourself into one of those "get there from here" situations, it will show you a pretty good route.

Most people don't realize that GPS systems are only as good as the map data in the unit. Since all of the map making people are reliant on the same sources from state and local highway departments, there will always be errors. The best thing you can do is report those errors to the GPS makers when you find them.

[bobmac]

With Garmin, never select the shortest route as it will literally take you over a mountain rather than around on good highways, on two lane unpaved roads or even dirt routes where these are shorted. In most cases, these will also take longer than the "fastest" route. I learned this lesson the hard way. Good luck

[MainelyScott]

I use Apple maps on my Phone, corded to my car system. It usually gives a choice of routes and seems to work well. When plugged into my system the map and directions are displayed on the dashboard screen.

[GBFANKEN]

We have the 770 lmt. We always use RV mode, Not car mode. Have live traffic turned on via cell phone. The Maps seem to update Once a week. That is inportant. The ONLY problem we have had is in Ozark Mountains. For some weird reason, it gets lost, we just restart the segment. Be sure Fastest time is turned on, Allow Everything EXCEPT DIRT, GRAVEL AND UNPAVED ROADS. KEEP those in Avoid mode. We have 2019 Sightseer 33C and love it. The 770 LMT is the BEST WE HAVE HAD. We had Rand McNally and others. They were okay, But this 770 seems to work the best for us.

[Wayne M]

A GPS is good at doing one thing. Getting you to your destination. How it does that had room for discussion.

We also use "fastest" route. However, many years ago up in New England the fastest route put me on some hair pin turn roads that we should have avoided. We made it, but it was a little stressful.

After arriving I looked at a map and re-plotted the trip. If I ha gone the nice highway route, which was considerably longer, it would have taken 10 minutes longer to get to our destination.

Another thing one can run into is a road that goes for several miles and then comes to a wooded grassy area and the highway is on the other side of that area. A friend went 4 miles, no turn-around, had to jackknife the RV, unhook, drive down through the ditch gladly having 4 wheel drive, hook back up and go the way he came.

I always look at a mapping program and determine if I want to follow GPS or not. Plus DW uses WAZE from the co-pilot seat and she is always happy to tell me where to go.

[Sue46]

I would never just trust the GPS. I always verify on a map or even on Google maps. I also look at the overall map for the day(we ony do one day at a time) that the GPS plans to go and verify it is the way I prefer.



People putting their ful trust in the GPS are just asking for trouble.

[armullis]

GPS is a navigation "tool"! Beware, it was probably programmed by someone who doesn't drive an RV.

[KC1BUD]

Originally Posted by creativepart

Here’s how I deal with my Rand McNally GPS in a situation like that. Once I’m on a bypass that the GPS doesn’t want to recognize I cancel my original route on the GPS and then immediately reselect the the route to my destination from my current location. This always adjusts the GPS’s routing to include the alternate route.

I have a Magellan (exact model escapes me) and when I go off route it too redirects me back to where I left. To counter this, The only solution is to turn it off quit the route and re-entering the route. Sometimes for fun, I will route myself home from a well known spot and then see how many miles it says I have to go to reach my destination when I near my home. Sometimes it will say I have 50 or more miles left to go when in fact I only have a couple of miles to go.

My GPS will redirect me around construction zones or accidents with stop and go traffic. As long as I keep to the reroute route, I have had no issues with the GPS, other than this, so somehow it can get live updates while enroute.

[Sue46]

When we go off the route with our Garmin it just recalculates and changes the routing by itself..

[powercat_ras]

My Rand McNally "Good Sam" GPS finally wore out and I replaced with the RVND-7 GPS, $ 180.

When in RV mode it takes into account your height and weight that you program into the unit's settings. It defaults to routing based on shortest time, not shortest distance. You can also program if toll roads are allowed or not , and compare best toll free route to best route with tolls.

All that said , it still can choose a direct route vs. an available bypass around a metro if its routing data base thinks the direct route same time or faster time. On the RVND-7 you can force it to use a specific segment by programming a multi-stop trip and putting a intermediate stop (I use an intersection or fuel stop location) somewhere on the segment you want to force it to.

So the answer is yes, they are still "stupid" in that they may not pick the route you would pick yourself if you consulted maps and others who have driven something before.