Navigation units

[old man]

I see where Winnebago has a navigation unit for a 2006 Journey. This is exclusively for Winnebagos. Does anyone have this unit and are they satisfied with it. I now use Co-Pilot on a laptop but it is generally in the way when driving.

Thanks,

Oldman

[old man]

I see where Winnebago has a navigation unit for a 2006 Journey. This is exclusively for Winnebagos. Does anyone have this unit and are they satisfied with it. I now use Co-Pilot on a laptop but it is generally in the way when driving.

Thanks,

Oldman

[Finhawk]

I have a Magellan that mounts on the dash,workks like a champ and is not in the way.
That might be something to consider

[old man]

Thanks for the reply. I too have a Magellan but it has sent me into territory this coach will not fit with a toad behind it. I thought the one Winnebago has might be programed for large rigs.

Oldman

[Gordon L.]

My Tom Tom asks if I want to avoid unpaved roads before supplying me with a route, but a height clearance or no-back-up restriction would definitely be useful as well.

[Mothership]

We use a Garmin C340 and have had great success with it. It works WAY better than the Pioneer Avic D3 that is in our toad.

[MrTransistor]

Hi Oldman,

Garmin’s NRoute has these settings under 'Edit' - 'Preferences' - 'Routing':

Route Style; Use Auto-Routing
or Use Direct Routes

Vehicle; Bicycle
Bus
Car/Motorcycle
Delivery
Emergency
Pedestrian
Taxi
or Truck

Calculation Style; Faster Time
or Shorter Distance

Try to Avoid; Toll Roads
Unpaved Roads
U-Turns
Carpool Lanes

Road selection; A slider bar that goes from Prefer Minor Roads to Prefer Highways

Driving Speeds; Allows you to set your normal speed for
Interstate Highways
Major Highways
Other Highways
Collector Roads
Residential Streets

And under the Routing Tab 'Advanced' you can block any area or road you don't want to enter.

NRoute works with all of the Garmin GPS Units both Serial and USB and runs under windows. It's not the easiest thing to do but if you can run video cables from your Laptop or Desktop computer to the overhead TV, then you can display moving map information on the big screen. NRoute also provides voice guidance which has it's own setup tab. Options are extensive to say the least. NRoute comes with the City Navigator North America Package that is included with the GPS-18, which is a small 'puck' of a receiver about 2 1/4 inches in diameter and about 5/8 of an inch thick on a 6-foot USB cable. Just tape it to the ceiling (in a clear spot) and connect it to a USB port on your Laptop.

Our Horizon had a navigation option, which we didn't go with because of the price. I am now using NRoute and Terrain Navigator (Topo Maps) either separately or both at once in their own windows on the front TV. It's very comfortable to have that moving map display so you know what's out there. At night I just turn the brightness and contrast down to a comfortable level on the TV.

[The Sunde's]

Well, let me tell you a story about GPS, RV's and Wife's. The latter will say no way until she finds out how nice it is not to have an Atlas riding on her lap for a few thousand miles. She now swears by them. We have a Navigon 7100 and one of it's best features is tell and showing you the lanes you need to use or not take in actual 3D on the display. No more trying to guess if they mean all the way to the right or just bear right. They show you all the lanes you can use. Also to many other features to mention.
Yes I can recommend getting one.
Happy travels.

[AFChap]

I have an '03 Ultimate with the factory Winnebago GPS. It is an Alpine, DVD based unit, and that's what I saw in their parts store last summer. There is nothing "special" about it as far as routing for a motorhome rather than a car. My '03 came with an '02 DVD. I think the unit listed for around $3k, and my $600 refurbished Garmin 2610 would run rings around it. I finally got tired of the sorry maps on the Alpine (no roads many places we went) and broke down and paid $300 for upgraded DVD package about a year ago. The upgrade came on two DVDs, and is much better. BUT, it is dated 2005 and they told me that will be the last upgrade they do for my "obsolete" unit. I would not buy a DVD based unit. Most (even the replacement Alpine model I think) are software based where you can download upgrades, rather than having to buy a pricey DVD package.

The Alpine does have some nice features, but for much less cost my Garmin 2610 still runs rings around it.

[Rnicfingrp]

I have a Garvin Nuvi 265WT and it is a great unit.

Rnicfingrp

[Bob O]

Hi Oldman,
I have Copilot and I like it. My coach was sent back to the factory the first year I had it due to multiple problems and I called up Winnebago and asked how much to add the Alpine DVD based GPS that was available on that year. Even though it was about a $2,700.00 dollar option from the factory, they quoted me around $4,000.00+ to install. Needless to say I am still with CoPilot. I upgraded to the new CoPilot Laptop 11 and hate it and went back to my origional CoPilot which I like.
You said your laptop was in the way? On my last coach I bought a Jotto Desk for my laptop and had it bolted to the floor. It was right beside me to the right and was fully adjustable for height and angle and I enjoyed it. I sold it with my last coach and now regret it. I am considering buying another one when we start traveling more. When I use CoPiliot I leave my computer sitting on the dash in the middle up against the windshield and I have no problem, but it would be nice to have it closer if I need to make a change. I also have a 17" screen which helps
If you want to look at different options I have copied the Jotto Desk website. Good luck!
Bob O

www.JottoDesk.net

[THutch]

old man,

We have the factory Magellan unit in our 2005 Itasca Meridian. It displays on the color monitor - shared with the backup camera. On our first long trip, I used the onboard system for trip routing, and my wife used our Garmin Nuvi (handheld, at the time) to find places to stop for the evening. After that trip, I mounted the Nuvi just above the onboard, and leave the display on the backup mode to keep an eye on the toad.

The magellan wasn't really bad, it would get use from Florida to Montana, but it didn't have nearly as many points of interest (POI's). Also, as I understand it, there are no updates available. I believe it was a $2700 option, while the much more robust Nuvi can be had for about $150.

[DeanLinAZ]

We travel & navigate using a Garmin Nuvi 265 WT which I bought from Amazon.com for $249.95, no tax and free shipping. Works better than the factory option that came in my BMW at a cost of $1400.00. The Garmin has not led us astray yet.

[codgerbill]

I have a Garmin Nuvi 5000. I transfer it back and forth from the motor home to the Jeep. It has a larger screen and I mount it to the dash to the right of the steering wheel in the MH. It has the ability to customize routes but does not have bridge heights. It does not have a blue tooh feature but I dont really desire that feature anyway. I dont know about other GPS makers but Garmin has the "Mapsource" program for the computer. When planning a trip I plan a customized route on the computer and download it to the computer. If you have a blocked road on your route you can use the "detour " feature to route around the problem and back on your normal route. Garmen also has a feature with MSN that will give you traffic data, Gas stations (Prices included) stock market data, etc. That feature (MSN)is not avaliable in the areas outside a metro areas. A company called coolrvtoys http://www.coolrvtoyz.com/ sells a package that can be downloaded to most any GPS. It has a complete listing of campgrounds/rv parks, points of intrest, etc for the US and Canada and can be downloaded to your gps or (in the garmin nuvi case) to an sd card. The list has thousands of campgrounds/RV parks as wells as other points of intrest. It includes the locations, phone numbers, avaliable aminities (Sewer, water, electric [30/50amp] and it also in most cases includes campground rates.

[RedT]

With the exception of DeLorme's StreetAtlas, who creates their own maps, you will find only a few map data companies provide maps for the plethora of GPS units on the market.

The individual GPS units will have various features, but all of the map data will be essentially the same (with the exception of StreetAtlas)

[Suncircles]

Old Man

We have a Magellan/Winnebago stock unit in our '05 Journey. I believe it is just like THutch's and I ditto what he has to say. I would ask a lot of questions of the supplier of the unit you are interested in before buying!

My frustration with the stock unit is that there are no updates for it and the roads and POIs are now about five years out of date. For example, in growth towns like Las Vegas, NV, I find that I do not have all the current navigation information I need. Even though it was about $2700 new, I am about to just pull the stock unit out and use that upper cabinet space for something else. The price of the other units discussed above makes them much more affordable options than the Winnebago unit.

I currently use a Magellan Roadmate that can be updated over the internet. I just stick it to the side window and "Miss Betty" tells me where to go. The real advantage of "Miss Betty" is that I can pull it out of the MH and use it in the Toad when trying to find the nearest Harbor Freight.

[THutch]

old man,

Suncircles mentioned another benefit of the smaller universal GPS units - in that they are easily moved into the toad, once you reach your destination. We have an extra mount for our Nuvi in the PT cruiser, and just transfer the unit. Wiring on the Nuvi's are built into the mount, and the antenna in built into the unit, so it is a snap-out, snap-in operation. The internal antenna works fine through the fiberglass roof.

I was up on my roof washing it today, and the Magellan factory antenna is mounted on the roof, cabling passed through the roof into the drivers overhead cabinet, then it is wired down (probably through the side pillar), to the color Sony display. Just a guess, but I don't think the unit would work on a black and white display.

One more negative on the factory unit - it uses a clumsy remote, while the Nuvi is touch-screen.