X2^^. I'll just add that many folks on the forum (including us) use the Garmin RV GPSs with good results. Rob
[MENTION=20676]BeerBrewer[/MENTION] some of us use the Garmin RV devices and find that they mislead with infuriating frequency.
I have posted here about the problems we've had with ours but Advanced Search isn't finding the post(s) to provide links for the OP.
We have the both of Garmin's most-recent RV GPSs and we also have the company's trucker GPS they were selling a year ago (no longer on the web site... they're dropping models quickly.)
All of the devices have misled us, especially the two RV GPSs, by giving us routes that were anywhere from a few miles to more than 60 miles longer than they needed to be. These erroneous routings have *not* been the result of the devices' claimed ability to route around trailer-unfriendly routes, in fact they have most often occurred when we were using the devices in "car" mode.
Just a few weeks ago I was going to an Einstein's bagel store on East Fowler Avenue in east Tampa... a very major and long-established thoroughfare. The GPS instructed me to turn left off Fowler, go south 1/4 mile, go west 1/4 mile, and then come back north 1/4 mile to Fowler where the store was located. When I got there I saw that I could have just gone to the intersection and turned left to the store, saving 3/4 of a mile of driving.
After about 1.5 years with these three devices I now have as many as two dozen such experiences. Most have been just a few miles wrong, a couple have been significant. We've also found that speed limits reported by the devices are very frequently incorrect, especially in Florida. Better this year than last year, but still not reliable.
The devices are updated as frequently as possible in the hope that these frustrations would go away. They have improved in 18 months but not gone away, still regularly loopy.
We now almost never rely upon them by themselves. My Ford truck has a built-in GPS, and my wife uses Google Maps, so we often have 3-4 GPS sources at work to ensure that we actually do take the best route. The alternatives often save us from quite-stupid advice by the one or two Garmins we are running at the same time - very occasionally even the two Garmins don't agree!
As for the devices' claimed ability to avoid restricted roads, low bridges, etc. that might impede travel with a trailer, I have no problems to report myself but have read about others online (maybe here?) in which the device guided the owner into a low bridge or a dead-end road. I therefore don't rely on them for that aspect either. Caution is needed while planning and driving.
Finally, we have not found that the RV resort databases and searching features in the devices are much use at all. It's sometimes interesting to see the campgrounds appearing on the display for the road ahead, but as a means of searching and selecting resorts/parks that meet our criteria in a destination area they're pretty useless... a number of iPhone apps and Google Search are far more useful for finding places to stay.
Last time I reported these problems here a couple of guys hurried to say how good the devices are. Note that I'm not shilling for anything else; this isn't a tear-down rant inn favor of something else. I haven't tried other competitors and have read harsh criticism of them too. I've owned the latest and greatest Garmins for years and until recently found them to be excellent.
Further, despite my complaints I would not get rid of the 3-4 Garmin devices I have now - not all of them anyway. Garmin's displays are large and clear, live-driving instructions are more timely, understandable and specific than those of my truck's GPS and sometimes of Google Maps, and the Garmins do a great job of displaying upcoming turns in a clear way and in plenty of time to prepare accordingly. Definitely a good tool, but don't embrace all the claims about them and be ready to double-check them when you're starting a journey of any significant length.
