Any motorhome owners on here? A couple of questions.

As some of you know we're about to make the transition from a boat to a motorhome. One of the things I would like to add is a dash mounted GPS with a fairly large screen. I've gotten really spoiled by the 11" Raymarine I have on the boat and would like to go with something a little smaller than that.

All I can find on Garmin's website is a 6.95". I already have a couple of that size in the cars. Given that the distance between the screen and my old eyeballs is going to be about twice what it is in the cars I'd like a screen somewhere between 8" and 11".

Anybody know of a company that makes such and animal?

Also, for you RV owners, does anyone know of any GOOD RV forums? I'm not looking for the ones where they bash the brand the other guy tows or drives, but sites like this where there is as good exchange of info.

Considering getting a "Phablet" type phone and mounting it in a holder closer to your seated position. It's pretty hard to beat Google Maps as a routing and guidance solution. Get an RV that accommodates Bluetooth through the sound system, and now you have guidance, music-on-demand (or podcasts or audio books) and hands free calling all in one.

There are general, brand based and chassis based RV forums.

iRV2.com is a general, non brand specific forum. Winnieowners.com is specific to Winnebagos. And sprinter-source.com is for Mercedes Sprinter based RVs.

David

iRV2 is the roadie version of TF. You won’t go wrong with joining that group.
https://www.irv2.com/forums/

Lots of GPS threads, including some fresh ones you can jump in on:
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f53/gps-or-not-gps-494631.html
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f59/rv-gps-494539.html#post5325897

Greetings,
Mr. GFC. Old eyeballs eh?

+1 for iRV2... it's a sister site to TF run by Social Knowledge. Set up very similar and very active.

Re GPS I started w a GPS software on a laptop but have switched to a self contained Garmin RV unit and like it a lot better. Phones and tablets work well for auto routing but I have been lead astray using them in the MH. The Garmin & other RV specific units let you set restrictions that help routing.
I tried various locations but prefer a close location on top of the dash so it is just out of my normal site line and easily reached for adjustments is best for me. I would not want it mounted on the windshield or too far away. I have seen some figured out a way to use the front TV for display but it takes some work arounds and I never saw the need for.

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Mr. GFC. Old eyeballs eh?

Click to expand...

Mr. RTF, do you know if RAM makes a dashboard mount for that?

I set up an acct with RVillage and put a photo of Beachcomber as my signature photo along with a short explanation. I didn't spend any time exploring the site because, quite frankly, my butt is still dragging from my last/final chemo treatment. It's 8:00p and I'm headed to bed. Today was better than yesterday, tomorrow will be even better.

Check out the Escapees RV Club.


https://www.escapees.com/tag/reviews/

I keep going back to WAZE on the smartphone for directions and traffic. If I wanted something bigger I'd look into an 8 or 10 inch android tablet. Either with it's own dedicated sim card or use the smartphone as a WiFi hot spot with the tablet connected thru it.
Something to consider with a bigger tablet is the mount is going to almost have to be screwed down somewhere because of the weight.

Mike

For the bigger motor homes your Atlas from Rand McNally is all you'll need when combined with a smart phone. You're not taking a big unit off road anyway.
.
For pickups or Jeeps, whether your preference is the Navigation Systems put out by Ford, Ram or Chevy the OEM installed systems are pretty good. We just finished traveling the back roads of CO where cell service does not exist. Google let us down but the Acura nav system kept right up. Now onto MT back country.

We're thinking of a pickup pulled trailer (Airstream maybe) or something like a Newmar motor home. Our take, with a smart phone and an OEM pickup nav system you'll do fine. For the true back roaders, the gold standard are USGS, Forest Service and detailed Atlas type maps showing where goat tracks are available.

But, beyond the simple stuff there are toys galore to help you get (un)lost. Marketing 101 guarantees it.

Tom, thanks for that info. I doubt we'll be doing much (if any) off road stuff with the motorhome. Some gravel road travel is likely but nothing where it's a 2-track trail. I'd bet that 98% of our travels will be on paved roads.. We want to see as many national parks as we can plus a trip up to Alaska.

I think for my aging eyes a ~10" screen would be the ticket. My eyes are still good enough that I was able to pass the eye test for my CDL so I have no problem driving.

The RV we're looking for will be in the 33'-36' range. Anything larger than that and you can't get into many parks and campgrounds.

Well Mike living in WA you're halfway to Alaska. At least for us last year, Sweetgrass was halfway at 2500 miles from home. Alaska is a wonderful trip in a motorhome but plan to spend lots of time in Canada also. We saw more wildlife in Canada along the road than in Alaska.

Try this:

https://www.campingworld.com/electronics/gps-navigation/gps-units


https://www.campingworld.com/electronics/gps-navigation/gps-accessories

Options instead of KOA:

https://harvesthosts.com/

A big screen could be a hassle and as dangerous as texting.

Road width is no hassle with a boat , you are not required to follow a lane 10-12ft wide at speed.

Even 30mph is 44 feet per second.

Our technique for finding an address in a busy location is a small tom tom style unit held on the top of the steering wheel.

It is much quicker to glance from the road to the small screen and back since the small unit is already in your line of sight.

If all you have is a TV sized screen it is safer to have the co-pilot count down the direction of and distance to the next turn.

If you are going to purchase a big RV , the better truck GPS will give height restrictions and road and bridge weights .

I use my apple ipad (9.5"?) dash mounted (removable), google maps, online or down loaded maps.

I used to have a 34' Class A RV, about 10 years ago. I belonged to rvforum.net and it was a pretty friendly group. I always avoided freeways when possible and took the smaller highways, if you do that you can quickly get away from cel service even today, so a dedicated GPS system is nice if you plan to get off the beaten track much.

Here is a link to an accounting of one trip we took

3000 miles; two weeks; 6 people; a 21 year old RV and a tour of the southwest (Read 23206 times)

"We want to see as many national parks as we can plus a trip up to Alaska. We want to see as many national parks as we can plus a trip up to Alaska."

If selecting a motor home a flat glass wind shield is preferred .

If a rock gets it on a road being repaired , flat glass can be had locally , a brand specific wind shield will be far longer to obtain.

Good info from all of you. Thanks, and keep the tips coming.

I think that one on the corner is a nice one. Have you stopped to see how much? Crusty has owned a few so I know his advice would be rock solid.

The one on the corner? Not sure what you're thinking of.

Can y'all 'splain dat for this poor, underprivileged boy?

The nice silver one in the lot by the marina

Having done the Motorhome thing back when gas was fifty cents, and you could actually park on the beach overnight in Jacksonville, St. Augustine, the RIckenbacker Causeway, or in the Keys, I strongly suggest you to now ‘do the math’ of how much it cost to drive just 300 miles, then add in Campground fees, the cost of tires, and propane (never mind the purchase price and insurance) and you will quickly see that you can stay in a 3.5-4 star Hotel on Priceline for half the price of just the gas to go 300 miles in a coach. The math quit working when gas hit 90 cents. You can rent a mini van (keep two bikes standing up, securely inside) from Enterprise (let them eat the wear and tear)for months at a time, drive 80 mph when you feel like it, park in hotel underground garages downtown (can’t even access downtowns in a coach) in Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, Las Vegas, New Orleans, NYC, Boston, etc. My wife and I go off (pre Wuhan) for months at a time (we carry rolling coolers with a one burner stove, our own coffee maker, etc) and my credit card bill averages only $3k per month all in. Unless you like meeting repair people in different locations (I see all the coaches waiting for service at the dealerships!) I strongly suggest not buying rolling troubles. Also places that big coaches can go-suck! The beauty of this country is on the blue dotted lines on the Rand McNalley maps, mountain passes from Durango to Ouray, along the Rio Grande from Terilingua to Presidio to Marfa Texas, the Winding Staircase Mountains in Arkansas, backroads of West Virginia, Idaho, and Montana. Those who’ve traveled the USA on Interstates haven’t a clue. Also don’t forget that many hotels like Double Tree, Embassy Suites, and others (Casinos in Nevada)have excellent free buffet breakfasts, and evening “meet the guests” buffets with free wine, and other beverages. Talking suites most of the time. Where do go? Just check what deals Priceline has and just go there. Like it? Then book for four more days. We wouldn’t had ever discovered Tucson, or Galleria Area of Houston if not for Priceline deals. Part of the fun is exploring. Just avoid Memphis! Go to Little Rock instead.
What do I know about motorhomes you ask? I owned a 1982 35’ Bluebird FC with a turbocharged 3208 with a custom geared rear axle that allowed a cruise of 100 mph back in 1986. And I sold 90 RVs in 1984. It’s where I got my ‘seed money’ to start buying boats, of which I’ve sold hundreds back when I was a dealer in Miami. But that’s a totally different story.
When coaches go electric (I mean they already have big gens!) I will buy one again, but right now in 2020, coaches get the exact same mileage as in 1978!

You can always adapt an Ipad (with its built in GPS) and Garmin road software,
or just use google map!

Try out RV Trip Wizard. It's an RV Life product designed for RVers and leverages the data from Campgroundreviews.com into a cool trip planner.

The mobile version can be accessed via the RV Life PRO app and you could display it on an iPad if you're looking for a big display.

I used a big truck model when we rved. A nice feature is vertical clearance programming. Check this Garmin out, but it looks like 7” is the max size.

Hi,
I would suggest getting a RV oriented GPS. It will know what type of RV you have and how big it is. It will route you to avoid low brigbes and other obstacles difficult for an RV to traverse. It will help you locate dump stations, Points, of Interest, water, etc.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/705997

They make a 10" Trucker version. Perhaps you could get them to load the RV software on there.

Lots of great info here.

I'll second (fifth?) the IRV2 website. Any time you have an issue (and there will be plenty), I google the issue and add IRV2. Usually the solution is right there.

We use (in our 40' Diesel Pusher towing a manual transmission Subaru) Google Maps as our Primary navigation tool. I find that I often look at the route options and sometimes pick the slower one with less distance - we are driving slower than a car (I like 67 mph on the highway) so sometimes the longer time/ less distance route is the way to go. Waze is great, but sometimes it takes you down some tiny little roads (dirt, potholes, low hanging branches, etc.). We tend to have one phone running Google Maps navigating and occasionally (especially when approaching big cities) open WAZE to check for accidents (Waze seems to pick up on issues quicker). Finally, we have an IPad where we check the ALLSTAYS app to make sure we have sufficient clearance (we are 12.5' tall) on our route.

Safe travels!

Better yet get a dedicated hotspot from ATT or Verizon for the vehicle! Mulitiple users can connect simultaneously and rates are usually less than using your cell phone.

As an example... AT&T Cellular Data Plans. The Roadlink C2 has access to special data plans for RV owners thanks to a partnership with AT&T. ... The "Unlimited Adventure" plan allows unlimited and unthrottled (but subject to network management after 22GB/mo) hotspot data for a full year for just $360 (only $30/month - but paid all upfront)

HiDHo said:

I used a big truck model when we rved. A nice feature is vertical clearance programming. Check this Garmin out, but it looks like 7” is the max size.

Click to expand...

They make an 8 and 10" version of that now.