Best GPS for Interstates that didn’t come with one?

[Air99]

I use Google map on my iPhone 7+ to plan all our trips, use Google Earth to scope out day and night parking, use Yelps for places to eat, use Google search “10 Best Things To Do” for each city we are visiting, then mark them all down on the map app with labels so I can just touch on them and go. We were able to drive and park in big cities such as Chicago and Boston with minimal cost if not free, including some fantastic waterfront parking lots. The trick is doing the recon ahead of time, usually the nights before in bed. I also used the Allstay app for RV related services, campgrounds, dump stations and state parks, link them to Google map and read additional reviews and photos on each destination before I chose them. To save data I preloaded all the maps using Wi-Fi at home and we never overran our 5gig monthly plan with 2 phones. Attached are my maps with all the locations we visited since March of this year and the only time the app failed was when we were in Boston underwater tunnels. Gosh if my map app behaved like the Garmins mentioned here I would be in a world of hurt!


Boston itineraries

Aerial view close up of free parking

Just tag it and go!

[Air99]

I only use the low tech low rez Garmin in the dash to indicate north up while my phone is showing direction of travel up, just to make sure where we are headed. Several times it just locked up even on clear days in “search for satellite” mode and the screen froze in one location.

[c21]

Originally Posted by Mollysdad

Okay. Tell me, if you had to pick a GPS unit, probably Garmin, which would you pick for the RV?
How about the RV 660?

Not being familiar with the 660 or 770 or any of the others mentioned in this post, I would pick the Garmin RV 760. I have been using one for 4 years with no issues. I use it for all navigation functions and leave the installed Kenwood/Garmin unit set to an audio dial (either SiriusXM or Media) as well as blue tooth my phone to it. I love the convenience of planing routes on my computer then downloading them into the 760. It will hold 15 separate routes so even on a month long trip I will break my trip up into 2 day routes. I also love the large screen.

[GettinAway]

I use a Garmin Montana. I've found it to be very reliable and rugged. I plan a lot of trips by using the Garmin Basecamp software. It's not all that difficult to use, and transfer to the Montana gps unit. It does require some reading, and spending some time setting up the unit the way you want to run it.
I will often run google map routing as well, for realtime traffic situations, and alternate routing. But you can't plan a trip, or at least I've never tried to plan a trip, using google maps. I've waypointed lots of campsites, good looking trout streams, and points of interest on the Garmin. The plan is to incorporate them into future trips once retired.. Garmin isn't perfect, but for my use, I don't think there's any alternative. I also use the track feature for real off road or back road/trail routing for adventure motorcycling. Pretty versatile unit.

[mythbuster88]

Originally Posted by Air99

I use Google map on my iPhone 7+ to plan all our trips, use Google Earth to scope out day and night parking, use Yelps for places to eat, use Google search “10 Best Things To Do” for each city we are visiting, then mark them all down on the map app with labels so I can just touch on them and go. We were able to drive and park in big cities such as Chicago and Boston with minimal cost if not free, including some fantastic waterfront parking lots...

Really nice! Can't believe you took your rig to BOSTON!!!

[amirm]

Originally Posted by Air99

I use Google map on my iPhone 7+ to plan all our trips, use Google Earth to scope out day and night parking, use Yelps for places to eat, use Google search “10 Best Things To Do” for each city we are visiting, then mark them all down on the map app with labels so I can just touch on them and go. We were able to drive and park in big cities such as Chicago and Boston with minimal cost if not free, including some fantastic waterfront parking lots. The trick is doing the recon ahead of time, usually the nights before in bed. I also used the Allstay app for RV related services, campgrounds, dump stations and state parks, link them to Google map and read additional reviews and photos on each destination before I chose them. To save data I preloaded all the maps using Wi-Fi at home and we never overran our 5gig monthly plan with 2 phones. Attached are my maps with all the locations we visited since March of this year and the only time the app failed was when we were in Boston underwater tunnels. Gosh if my map app behaved like the Garmins mentioned here I would be in a world of hurt!]

Great post! My main navigation tool is also Google maps. I bought this neat mount where you put a magnet behind the phone and the other end on a vent. This way, I just slap it on and off on the mount so it is no bother to take the phone off when we leave the car.

I then have the Garmin navigation on the Kenwood for speed limits and larger view of where we are going. The phone is up above close to the instrument cluster so easier at a glance. And my Sasmung S8+ is plenty big and bright for navigation. It is also the playback source of music using Amazon's Prime or stored music on the phone when we lose cell phone reception.

I have looked and looked and still have not found a good in-dash unit to replace the Kenwood.

What we haven't done which you have is to leave permanent marks for where we have been. Starting to forget some of the good campgrounds we have been to.

Allstays app is weapon of choice for us too in finding campgrounds, rest stops with dump stations, etc. My wife has the app on her phone also so she can help find them when I am driving.

Yelp is also the go-to tool for finding places to eat. Sometimes it lets us down but most of the time, it is better than random selection otherwise

[Air99]

Originally Posted by mythbuster88

Really nice! Can't believe you took your rig to BOSTON!!!

Thanks and credit to the class B footprint, visiting large cities is no problem with good planning. It is not so much about trying to save on camping fees but convenience, you cannot drive 30-50 miles out of town after your dinners or other activities so we look for nearby city parks for quick rests then move on to preselected night parking spots, preferably quiet residential side streets near multiplexes, always observe local parking restrictions and never on private homes or driveways, and leave as soon as I got up before even making coffee. We never had any issues, including several nights each in Toronto, Montreal, Portland Maine, Cape Cod, Newport RI bay front (amazing), Boston, Chicago and Minneapolis St. Paul. We prefer state and national parks of course and only once stayed at a KOA near Las Cruces NM that was not pleasant on our first trip home from the dealer.
Recent trip to Victoria BC via ferries was great and we actually overnight in the downtown harbor parking lot for $12 that was a short walk from the restaurant, even our friends staying in nearby hotel were jealous and shocked by the beautiful bay view and location. Sorry for the off topic bragging but we cannot imagine traveling without the apps!

[LB_3]

When we have time to prepare for a trip we plan our route on a PC with google maps then add the weighpoints into the Garmin trip planner. When we have less time, we use the phone to double check the route. Works reasonable well. But it did try to send us down a road that was closed for construction recently. We didn’t have real time traffic updates running at the time so perhaps that would have caught the error. We used google maps to reroute us.

But the Garmin is the preferred peripheral device when driving.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by c21bill

Not being familiar with the 660 or 770 or any of the others mentioned in this post, I would pick the Garmin RV 760. ....

The 770 replaced the 760. The 760 has been discontinued, I believe, and is only available in residual supply.

[Air99]

Originally Posted by amirm

I bought this neat mount where you put a magnet behind the phone and the other end on a vent. This way, I just slap it on and off on the mount so it is no bother to take the phone off when we leave the car.



What we haven't done which you have is to leave permanent marks for where we have been. Starting to forget some of the good campgrounds we have been to.

I used the same powerful magnet mount, with a thin metal patch glued to the back of phone that is undetectable under its protective skin, super slick. I ran the USB-Lightning connector from the Kenwood to a portable 10,000mAh charger then run another connector to the phone, allowing it to stay on regardless of ignition key position, to keep the map info and music going continuously (very important [emoji12]) and the battery pack stays virtually fully charged.
I used pins and labels for all locations I found useful, from golf courses to water tap locations (very hard to find ones in primitive campgrounds, same for dump stations) for future references. Icons for map are limited, ❤️ and ⭐️ and [emoji1021] only but you can label them anything you like.
From the Google map menu, you can then click on Saved locations to show only what you want so it won’t clutter up the map, such as golf courses, very handy! The ability to save locations easily makes it my go to app since I don’t have a copilot or navigator and zero help from my wife or the cat!

Saved labels

Saved locations

Saved golf courses

[FlyFishinRVr]

Originally Posted by Air99

I use Google map on my iPhone 7+ to plan all our trips, use Google Earth to scope out day and night parking, use Yelps for places to eat, use Google search “10 Best Things To Do” for each city we are visiting, then mark them all down on the map app with labels so I can just touch on them and go.

The one problem with this approach, and IMO it's a very big problem, is Google maps knows nothing about possible height or weight restrictions along the chosen route. This is why I always enter my route on both my phone AND my RV GPS. I follow the route provided by the phone (usually Google maps), but I always check the route given by the GPS to see if it's deviating from the phone route due to one of these restrictions.

FWIW, I have the Fusion RV-IN801 that comes in the '17 and newer Interstates, and actually find it to be pretty good. Having said that, Fusion has since been bought by Garmin, who seem to be marketing the Fusion line as "marine entertainment" products. The troubling part is if you follow the links from Garmin to Fusion you won't even find the RV-IN801. To get to it for things like support and updates, you have to know the direct URL (https://fusionentertainment.com/life...upport/updates). As a result, if you don't already have the RV-IN801, I wouldn't recommend it because it may not survive under Garmin leadership.

[c21]

Here's my setup for my RV760. I have it installed on a Proclip mount with a swivel, just to the left of the dash compartment. It's a very convenient location, easy to view and adjust. You can even swivel it so the passenger can view/adjust it. I have a 3 way 12v splitter in the dash cubby from which I power the Garmin + a radar detector and TPMS Monitor which are to the left of the steering wheel. The rectangular piece which is tie wrapped to the mount is the traffic antenna which is integrated into the Garmin power cable.

[InterBlog]

Following up now, as I'm finally attempting to customize my Garmin. Last year I just got familiar with using it. Now I'd like to make it customized to my needs.

My biggest cross-country solo P.I.T.A. last year was having no navigator to deal with changes of plans on the fly. As long as I stuck to my daily pre-determined waypoints, everything was fine. But if I wanted to change my Cracker Barrel or whatever daily end point because I felt I had the energy to drive for one or two more hours than planned, I'd have to pull over and do research on where that next stop might be. That process ate so much time that it sort of defeated the attempt to push onward.

I've joined the online site called POI factory to begin looking for GPS datafiles. Has anyone else done this kind of thing, and if so, do you have pointers or advice?

Also, if you have done this with your GPS, do any of these data files slow down or foul your device? The Walmart data file has 6,810 locations. Is the GPS going to choke on the likes of that? I'd like to perhaps trim it down.

Mostly I'm hoping to upload:

(a) Walmarts (east of the Mississippi)
(b) Cracker Barrels (all)
(c) Cabela's (all)
(d) MB service centers (all)
(e) Rest stops (all)
(f) Probably Flying J's (east of the Mississippi)
(g) Maybe Loves (?)
(h) Maybe Camping Worlds (?)

[Tincampers]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Following up now, as I'm finally attempting to customize my Garmin. Last year I just got familiar with using it. Now I'd like to make it customized to my needs.

My biggest cross-country solo P.I.T.A. last year was having no navigator to deal with changes of plans on the fly. As long as I stuck to my daily pre-determined waypoints, everything was fine. But if I wanted to change my Cracker Barrel or whatever daily end point because I felt I had the energy to drive for one or two more hours than planned, I'd have to pull over and do research on where that next stop might be. That process ate so much time that it sort of defeated the attempt to push onward.

I've joined the online site called POI factory to begin looking for GPS datafiles. Has anyone else done this kind of thing, and if so, do you have pointers or advice?

Also, if you have done this with your GPS, do any of these data files slow down or foul your device? The Walmart data file has 6,810 locations. Is the GPS going to choke on the likes of that? I'd like to perhaps trim it down.

Mostly I'm hoping to upload:

(a) Walmarts (east of the Mississippi)
(b) Cracker Barrels (all)
(c) Cabela's (all)
(d) MB service centers (all)
(e) Rest stops (all)
(f) Probably Flying J's (east of the Mississippi)
(g) Maybe Loves (?)
(h) Maybe Camping Worlds (?)

Have you tried using voice commands? You shouldn't need to load any POIs. Just tell it to find you a Cracker Barrel (there is a specific way to do this). It should bring up a list with the distance (as the crow flies). You can then select the one you want and it will ask you if you want to start a new route or add to the existing one.

[Tincampers]

On our recent trip, I decided to use an Android 7" tablet and an off-line map app. All that worked great, except for one thing. The tablet battery could not keep up with the drain even though it was plugged in and charging. Around 2 pm each day, it would conk out exhausted from it's duties.

So, back to square one looking for another solution.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Tincampers

Have you tried using voice commands? You shouldn't need to load any POIs. Just tell it to find you a Cracker Barrel (there is a specific way to do this). It should bring up a list with the distance (as the crow flies). You can then select the one you want and it will ask you if you want to start a new route or add to the existing one.

My Garmin is as dumb as a rock. I'm amazed at how crude the functionality is. It does poorly with voice. It does poorly with typed addresses. It does poorly with re-routes. It can't get me from League City to Pasadena Texas reliably (about 10 miles) without being double-checked. Seriously, it screwed up the route to Discount Tire ten miles away. I don't have a prayer of having it find me a Cracker Barrel in New Jersey unless I pre-load that info into it.

It excels at doing exactly what it's told to do in advance. It excels at displaying what's already in it. The way to stay sane is to program it. That way, it is not required to think.

[InterBlog]

The user interface is rather opaque, but it could be cool if I could figure out how to program it.

It can, for instance, be trained to shout out when one is getting close to a Cracker Barrel or a Chipotle or a Subway. There are 2,338 Chipotles and 22,215 Subways in the database. I'd no doubt be driven out of my mind if it shouted out every time I passed a Subway, LOL, but I basically live on those three restaurants when I'm soloing.

[wachuko]

Originally Posted by Tincampers

Have you tried using voice commands? You shouldn't need to load any POIs. Just tell it to find you a Cracker Barrel (there is a specific way to do this). It should bring up a list with the distance (as the crow flies). You can then select the one you want and it will ask you if you want to start a new route or add to the existing one.

We did this in our recent trip when we decided to just keep driving home instead of stopping at the last campground. This is in the Fusion unit. It was nice to be able to add the destination and just move it up between the last and previous point...and just watch it all reorganize and provide updated routes.

So it worked well for us. We still have Waze in our phone to check just in case... I tried installing Waze in the Fusion unit but was not successful doing so...

[Tincampers]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

My Garmin is as dumb as a rock. I'm amazed at how crude the functionality is. It does poorly with voice. It does poorly with typed addresses. It does poorly with re-routes. It can't get me from League City to Pasadena Texas reliably (about 10 miles) without being double-checked. Seriously, it screwed up the route to Discount Tire ten miles away. I don't have a prayer of having it find me a Cracker Barrel in New Jersey unless I pre-load that info into it.

It excels at doing exactly what it's told to do in advance. It excels at displaying what's already in it. The way to stay sane is to program it. That way, it is not required to think.

Probably that East Texas twang you have going there...

[WhereStream]

To save data I preloaded all the maps ...

Air99 — Could you please explain how this is done?

I attempted to download Google maps, but I could grab only a small area.

Is there a way to download the maps, say, for an entire state at a time?