Garmin GPS

[LarryB]

My Garmin 2720 Street Pilot unit's maps are expired. When I tried to update to the North America 2010 version the Garmin web site stated that the 2720 unit is no longer available. I call Garmin, 42minute wait time on hold, and the "Support" person informed me that the 2720 is still supported however, if one updates to the current maps, the unit does not have the capacity to hold the entire upgrade and will only except a region, and as a bonus, the update will Dump all of the current map leaving one with basically a TOY useful only in a region:mad:

The Street Pilot was Garmins best at one time and I would like to replace it with an equivalent. Any suggestions?? In reading past posts about GPS it seems the Nuvi is less of a unit and routing is questionable, is this still how you Nuvi owners feel? How about TOM TOM ??

For now I will continue with the out dated maps and endure the reroute prompts.

Thanks for the inputs,

[Woody]

You might check out Delorme Topo - this runs on your laptop with a small Garmin receiver and gives you incredible info for planning and traveling. We also have a Nuvi but this does not give you situational awareness - ie: where you are in relation to the rest of the world.

www.delorme.com

[merle&louise]

Larry,

I have the Garmin 255 nuvi, and I really like it. It goofes up sometimes especially when looking for restaurants. As you know, restaurants open/close (fail and go out of business). It has some clitches, but I'll bet that they all do. For $200 - it ain't a bad deal. Rather than update it every year at $70 per year, I have decided to just buy a new 255 nuvi every 3 years. That way I get a new battery and battery charger, etc.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

As the resident technology grinch one of my best reasons for not embracing "technology" is about 3 minutes after you purchase the latest and greatest gadget (which takes the equivalent of 2 years to learn) it is outdated and superceded.

I still have a VCR and it still blinks 12:00.

[Gary & Peggy Stevens]

I still have a VCR and it still blinks 12:00.


Hey Jon, I can help you with your blinking VCR clock if you want?

I finally found something I can help Jon with on his bus that he doesn't know about. I FEEL GOOD about myself now.!!! :) :)

Gary S.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

You can set the clock for me Gary, and then show me how to use it.

[mikedee]

I have seen the Garmin Nuvi for truckers at maybe $299.00. Will not route you on non legal roads, low under passes, etc. I one got routed to a bridge in Panama City FL that had a 3T limit. Was on it before I knew what happened. Must have been mis-marked as I sail right across.

Dee later asked if we weighed more than 3T. I guess not.

[LarryB]

Thanks for info guys, I have to agree with Jon as to the Tech stuff, but its nice to know which lane is going to end and which one I should be in and how far from the exit I am with some of the anti-RV crowd out on the highways and byways working hard to NOT let you change lanes.

I use MS Streets and Trips for planning but like the real time map while on the road----my traveling companion is not good with directions or maps

MIKE; does the 'truck' version of the Garmin work OK when traveling in your car looking for places that one would not drive a big rig ?

[pwf252]

I also purchased the truckers Garmin I think its model 495T,sent me thru downtown Moultrie, Georgia. I assume the trees branches had grown considerably with no way for Garmin to know as it sounded as if someone was bowling on the roof. It happened to be around the holidays and to our surprise we accumulated a few strings of lights, but they had plenty strung throughout town so I don't think they missed them(at least not right away). Good news was a little rubbing compound and wax and good as new and we have bus decorations.

[HarborBus]

[QUOTE=MIKE; does the 'truck' version of the Garmin work OK when traveling in your car looking for places that one would not drive a big rig ?[/QUOTE]

I'm also interested in the answer to that question.

[flyu2there]

Larry,

All sage advice however I do believe these things are very much like printers.....the ink cost's as much as a new one. Personally I buy one at Costco every year, in the low 100 dollar range, then give it away the next. You always have a current chart (map) and don't have to go through the drill of updating a device that is probably already out dated. Option two, a bit more costly is a Garmin 496. This is an airplane model that works in the sky, on the roads and if you like, on (not in) the water. Best part about the 496 is the XM weather which updates every 4 minutes, for a bus, it's like having a very good color radar that spits out cloud tops, all that stuff. See some purple on I-70 while you are on I-70 and its 50 miles ahead...perhaps a wise idea to stop. XM wants a fee but its worth every penny.............. Air Gizmo's makes a panel mount so that you don't have a carbunkle on your dash. Just my opinions

[LarryB]

Sounds good John, Dispatch doesn't talk to ya on this thing do they?
I like the idea of hanging on to my stuff as long as it is supported but, time to make a change.

[rfoster]

I just recently purchased the Rand McNally TND from Amazon and used it on the Lobstah Fest trip to Maine. It was in combination with the Garmin Nuvi that needed an update. The screen is Large and easy for old eyes to see and the speaker is big so you can hear the instructions. I am pleased with the results so far.

It did not always agree with the Garmin on instructions, I elected to following the Rand and got to the desired destination without hiccups or winding up in an 8' tall tunnel or 3 ton bridge- which in the New England area could be easy to do.

But, One trip out is not an adequate test for me.

You never hear the words: recalculating

Two hour battery life, rest stops, truck stops, Walmart, already plugged into it and a lot of other useless information.

Did I say it had a big screen?

I used my Gov't stimilus check to buy it.

[HarborBus]

Roger, keep us posted on your comparisons of the two systems. I currently have a Garmin Nuvi 760 the maps are out of date and the unit will no longer take a charge after only 13 months, talk about designed obsolescence. In a call to Garmin they would be happy to send me a refurbished unit for $99.00 as my unit is one month out of warranty. I'm happy with the operation of the unit but I'm looking for one where the company isn't so hard line on there policy.

[michaeldterry]

I love my Garmin 1350T! It provides me with a wealth of information, including lane prompts for upcoming turns. The display is large and it has several useful options. https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=134&pID=37706 <- Here's link to the product page on Garmin's site that gives the specs.

This model can currently be purchased on amazon.com for less than $150.00 ($199.99 direct from Garmin).



Some of the features include:

Voice prompts (e.g. "Turn right in 500 ft.")
Speaks street names (e.g. "Turn right ON ELM STREET in 500 ft.")
Lane assist (guides you to the proper lane for navigation)
Speed limit indicator (displays speed limit for most major roads in the U.S. and Europe)
Where Am I? (find closest hospitals, police & gas stations, nearest address & intersection)
ecoRoute™ (calculates a more fuel-efficient route)
Qwerty or ABC keyboard (choose keyboard layout)
Custom POIs (ability to add additional points of interest)
Photo navigation (navigate to geotagged photos)
World travel clock, currency & unit converter, calculator
Garmin Lock™ (anti-theft feature)
Touchscreen
Route avoidance (avoid highways, tolls etc.)
Auto re-route (fast off-route and detour recalculation)
Choice of route setup (faster time, shorter distance, off road)
FM traffic compatible (receiver and lifetime traffic included)
I actually use the digital speed indicator display on the GPS screen to monitor my speed rather than the analog speedometer gauge in the dashboard - it's much easier to tell exactly how fast you're travelling and it's much more accurate (it helps me stick to Jon's recommended 62.5 mph!).

From the Garmin 1350T product page:

Go Beyond Navigation

Navigation is just the beginning. nüvi 1350T saves you gas and money with ecoRoute (http://www.garmin.com/garmin/cms/us/services/ecoRoute) — a green feature that calculates the most fuel-efficient route, tracks fuel usage and more. The 1350T includes many travel tools including JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more. With photo navigation, you can download pictures from Garmin Connect™ Photos (http://connect.garmin.com/photos) and navigate to them. With its "Where Am I?" emergency locator, you always know your location. Simply tap the screen to get your exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and intersection, and the closest hospitals, police stations and fuel stations. The 1350T features Garmin Lock™, an anti-theft feature, and is compatible with our free Garmin Garage (http://www.garmin.com/vehicles) where you can download custom custom voices and vehicles. Enhance your travel experience with optional plug-in microSD™ cards.

[Denny]

I use the Rand McNally TND that Roger is referring to and I think it is superior to the previous 3 Garmins that I have used. In addition to a lot of trucker items - on duty, off duty- it also has a maintenance schedule section.

[Ray Davis]

Having just purchased my wife a new car, she will be taking the GPS that we currently use, and I'm looking for a new one to use in my car, and the bus. I came across this link talking about various truck gps systems, which includes a couple of those mentioned above.

http://www.truckgpsstore.com/trgpsre.html

Ray

[Devin W]

Route avoidance (avoid highways, tolls etc.)


Michael,
Does that route avoidance feature also allow you to factor in low clearance or bridges w/weight limits? I saw earlier in the thread that there is a Nuvi for truckers that appears to do that -- have to investigate.

[Devin W]

Having just purchased my wife a new car, she will be taking the GPS that we currently use, and I'm looking for a new one to use in my car, and the bus. I came across this link talking about various truck gps systems, which includes a couple of those mentioned above.

http://www.truckgpsstore.com/trgpsre.html

Ray


Nice link, Ray! Thanks -- I should have read further down the thread.

[michaeldterry]

Michael,
Does that route avoidance feature also allow you to factor in low clearance or bridges w/weight limits? I saw earlier in the thread that there is a Nuvi for truckers that appears to do that -- have to investigate.

Devin, I don't think that the route avoidance feature on my model gets that "granular", but I will check it later today and report back here if I find out different.

[Gary Carmichael]

As a backup to my GPS I use the old paper maps available at all or most State welcome centers,they are up to date and gives you good info! I just don't trust the gps. you can end up in some shady and dangerous places.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

The use of a GPS for me comes under the heading of "a neat thing to have, but not a substitute for common sense".

Unless the GPS is updated prior to a trip its data base is out of date and can cause issues. Going further, all of us that have a GPS already know if we miss a turn or choose to not follow instructions from the GPS it starts "recalculating route" and then the instructions just get absurd. The GPS will try to get you to make U turns or to turn at places it is impossible to turn in a car much less a bus.

Prior to a trip into new territory I program the GPS, get directions from Google or another on line source, refer to my latest map, and if I am really concerned about where I am routed I do that Google thing where I can see how things look at street level. That all may be overkill, but for the most part it keeps us out of trouble, and when on local streets where there can be surprises like bridges and low clearance limits I can usually avoid those.

What I cannot understand is how we ever managed without a GPS, cell phone, being connected on the computer, having satellite TV, or POG.

[BoaterAl]

Jon, I can remember the day when I paid $1600.00 bucks for the new VCR to watch movies at home. That was my first VCR and as big as a carry on suitcase. Spent some time getting it to show the movie through the TV ? Yes, it did blink 12:00. Boy were we liv"in large with a VCR.
Jon, your messages are rather short lately, will we assume that this is the back to the regular size but will move back to the super size again ?
AL

[merle&louise]

No one navigation aid should be solely relied upon to travel. On a recent trip, Karen and I were traveling thru Rapid City, SD. We got to a 4 way intersection: the GPS said turn left, Microsoft Streets & Trips said turn right and a large sign indiciated for us to go STRAIGHT! The GPS is 2 years old, Streets & Trips is 2005 version, and the sign indicating for us to go straight was a brand new paved road (fresh dirt on the shoulders). The Rand McNally travel atlas actually showed the left turn or the right turn would be acceptable.

I like my GPS for actual navigating thru a busy city. I like Streets & Trips for planning out a trip; inserting push pins for things that we want to see. Louise likes the travel atlas because she can see the "whole picture" at once. So we use all 3 when we travel. We also like Jon said use good common sense.

[Woody]

Tuga

I still think that a laptop display showing the "whole" picture is the way to go
.
Joanie and I have a small Garmin which frequently tells us other than the "truth" whereas with the laptop using the Delorme program with online updates shows you the whole truth and tells you where, in relation to the rest of the world, you actually are. Must be a kick back to 2000 hours of navigating around the world in your Air Force that makes me want more info.

[merle&louise]

Tad,

Good to hear from you. Glad you like your Delorme software, I tried it once and it is very good.

How is your coach running? Are you guys coming to POG 9 in Kerrville? If so, we hope to see you and Joan.

[Woody]

Hi Tuga

Fortunatley the gallery is doing extremly well so we are tied down here and will not get west.

Hopefully someone in Florida can organize something like we had at Port St Lucie last winter and look forward to seeing you there, wherever.

The coach is doing well so far and going in for a full 5000 mile service next week plus the pre buy we should have had when we bought it.

Why don't you organize something in New Orleans. We need to exercise the bus, it's only 731 miles.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Jon, I can remember the day when I paid $1600.00 bucks for the new VCR to watch movies at home. That was my first VCR and as big as a carry on suitcase. Spent some time getting it to show the movie through the TV ? Yes, it did blink 12:00. Boy were we liv"in large with a VCR.
Jon, your messages are rather short lately, will we assume that this is the back to the regular size but will move back to the super size again ?
AL


I have short messages because nobody is challenging me to opine. That and the fact I have a home project going on that involves moving dirt from some property I own down to the house so I spend my days now driving a dump truck and running a backhoe and Bobcat. The dump truck has been my latest project and I am giving it a good workout and it is getting the job done.

My VCR still blinks 12:00, I have no clue how to operate the sound system in the house, and just when I got the DVD (or is it DVR) blue tooth or blue ray or blue something comes along. Our sound system still has a cassette player in the stack. Of the ten or so TVs we have only one is plasma and high definition, every other one is one of those honking big sets, all of which work 100% of the time which is more than I can say for the one plasma TV.

But the important thing is we need to see Maddie the Wonder Dog. We are on Rauchy #3 and #2 used to be our bus buddie. Ed and Donna, Gary and Peg, you guys and us are all Schnauzer owners. There may be more we don't know about. We don't bring ours with us because we also have a Lab mix and between the two we would not be welcome in campgrounds. Rauchy has a big mouth and barks at anything that moves and Shadow follows right along. So we put them in the spa when we travel. Some time we will share a story about Rauchy(#2) the Wonder Dog.

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Talk about thread creep, this one has gone to the dogs :rolleyes:

JIM:p

[BoaterAl]

Our Maddie (the wonder dog) has traveled very well in the motor home (about 10 years) and we take her most of the time. Hitting the pot holes does scare her and usually wakes her up snoozing in front of the A/C vent. She did become aware that when the click from turn signal goes on it means rest area and she heads for the door. That was the case on the Country Coach. The new bus turn signal is quiet. I really don't mind taking Maddie as more then once she picked up on things going on during the night at camp grounds, Wal-Mart lots, rest areas. Mary Ellen has said that Maddie travels better then I do because Maddie doesn't talk back. Must be a message there...do you think. ?
AL