What's The Best GPS For RVers?

Written by Lynnette on August 27, 2007 | Comments (1)

At this point we drive an RV only on occasion. (Jim is transporting another RV from Indiana to Canada as we speak.)

But we have friends who drive RVs a lot. And we definitely plan to do more of it once we find "the RV of our dreams".

Recently, one of our RV friends asked us: "What's the best GPS unit for RVing?"

My first reply was "the Harman/Kardon GPS unit we currently own."

We love it. But in fairness, it's really not designed to accommodate the needs of trucks or RVs.

By that I mean... on our last RV trip through Minneapolis, we decided to swing a last-minute (as in: "There's a sign... let's go!") to the Mall of America. But we nearly lost our rolled-up awning, took out a few tree limbs, and beat the antenna up a few times when we veered off course and tried to get ourselves back on track.

Why? Because the GPS said to take downtown streets -- and most of them were down narrow (and low-clearance) side streets!

What we really needed was a GPS unit that showed "truck routes".

Our Misfortune Is Your Good Fortune

This little incident has led us to seek out a better -- more RV-friendly -- GPS unit (at which point we will move the Harman/Kardon to our Jeep!).

Truth is, if we knew we were going to stop at this particular mall, we could've (and should've) just programmed the Harman/Kardon unit for the mall, rather than for our long-term destination, and the route would've been mostly highway, meaning there would have been no "incidents".

But since we had already diverted from our normal route and got off the highway on our own, the best we could do was re-program the GPS on-the-spot and redirect it to the Mall of America from this point.

The only problem: It didn't know we were in an RV and we simply couldn't swing some of the roads and U-turns it was asking us to do. We got in quite a pickle. And wasted a lot of time.

So we began to search for a better GPS -- one for RVers who are traveling the world in a motorhome.

Here's what we've learned...

The Best GPS Units With RV-Friendly Features

RV-friendly GPS units are those which enable you to follow "truck routes" to avoid sharp turns, U-turns, narrow roads, and dense urban streets whenever possible ...among other things.

Here are the best GPS units that RVers will appreciate:

#1 Garmin Nuvi 660
Some RVing friends of ours who travel across the U.S. and Canada a lot use this one... and they love it! One of the best things about the Garmin Nuvi 660 is that you can program custom points of interest (think: "personal favorites" or "frequent destinations"). That is a feature that's hard to find. Plus, the Nuvi 660 has turn-by-turn voice directions, among other things. Overall, this is a great choice for RVers.

Some reviews & ratings for the Garmin Nuvi 660:

RV & Camping Supplies Road Notes

GPS Magazine

CNet Video Review

GPS Lodge

#2 CoPilot SmartPhone or Laptop Version
I've heard this one ranks quite high among truckers and RVers. It's probably been around the longest -- as far as GPS units with truck units goes. It's great because it notifies you of things like 12'6" and 13' Height Restrictions, Propane Locations, Campgrounds and Wal-Marts, among other things.

The best thing about the CoPilot is, it's available in several different "varieties"... to meet the needs of almost everyone!

#3 Tom Tom GO910
A few RVers (whom we don't know personally) have recommended this particular GPS unit. In general, Tom Tom's SatNav package is excellent.

All GPS Units Mentioned In This Article:
Harman-Kardon GPS Info

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1 Comments

GPSguru said:

The nuvi has a neat feature for people always in the car. You can create a tourguide that plays automatically based on proximity to a location. It's great for historic sites. We never have time to stop, but love to listen as we drive. I found hundreds available for download here http://www.geotourguide.com

October 1, 2007 9:58 PM | Reply to this Comment