garmin gps

roy2

Well-known member
im looking for a up to date garmin gps. ive been reading in here about them but they are older post unless im reading them wrong.2017 2018 ones any way i have a garmin 760 lmt now. it is 6 years old we have had good service with it. but its staring to let us down some now not giveing us the right exit numbers and slow to giveing us new directions to follow. we depent on this gps were ever we go. i know it messes up sometimes not very often. so you guys out there what one are the best for you it is for our 5 th wheel. also seen some new ones with a bridge height on them that would be nice for a new one to our 5th wheel is 13.3 kinda high.thanks for your help.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Our 760 is about the same age. I update the maps and software at least annually. It's chugging right along.

You might give Garmin a call before replacing it.
 

travelin2

Pennsylvania Chapter Leaders-retired
I echo Dan. Ours is at least that old. If you’re doing routine updates you really can’t blame the Garmin. I’ve noticed a few blips but nothing earth shattering. I suspect it’s the database “garbage in, garbage out”.


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CoveredWagon

Well-known member
What Dan and track in said. I have the 660 mpg lmt, just a smaller screen. I update maps and software just before our travel season starts and pretty good. Yeah it's done me stupid a couple of times, but not too often,.
Your 760 should have a place to input height, width, length and weight. It's not perfect but. I just ran into a situation where Miss Garmin (I won't tell you what we really call it. ) but it announced a bridge ahead at 13' 5 ". I told DW we might have to do some lowering of the rig as I've measured it at 13'6" and no place to turn around. Well got to the bridge and slowed way down so,I could clearly read 15'5" 😩
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Btw, I used to get bad exit #s going to Buck Creek RV Park off I-20 in Texas. And over a period of 18 months, the answers changed but were always wrong. The problem was that at the correct exit, the road that crossed back over the highway had a weight limit in the map data that was incorrect. Based on the weight limit, the Garmin was routing me around that section of road.

I also recall being on a road with signs warning of a low bridge ahead. But my route had a turn just before the bridge. The first time on that route was worrisome.
 

wdk450

Well-known member
I have had both an older and newer Garmin GPS give me info like 2.6 miles to the intersection you turn at, and as I go through what I thought was a preceding intersection, they suddenly revert to telling me the turn is 0.1 miles behind me. This has happened at the same rural location on both units. I have learned to keep my eye on the illustrated route map which WILL indicate the turn at the proper place if the distance to turn is screwy.
 

roy2

Well-known member
thanks for all the help guys ill give garmin a call. i seen a few of the new garmins i do like the bridge warning on them since i am so high. im good out here in ca when i decide to go back east to fla thats when ill have to look a lot better at the bridge heights signs. this garmin has been realy good to us . i had a older one years ago we used. we used that one when we first started rving. then i tryed a different kind that didnt work out for us we went back to the garmn.thanks again guys.
 

mlpeloquin

Well-known member
There are a lot of bridge clearance data that is not in GPS units. I have purchased clearance data form LowClearances. http://www.lowclearances.com/faq.html Just download the data in the format for your GPS unit. I edit it in excel to remove all the heights that I will clear and then download it into the GPS. Works well. Before I did the edit, I had a warning for every bridge!
 

wdk450

Well-known member
All the GPS users out there may be interested in the POI (Points Of Interest) Factory website with free downloadable files that you can add to your GPS. I have all Thousand Trails Campgrounds, All Walmarts, and a file of about 14,000 campgrounds in the U.S. There is a downloader file on the Garmin website for these files to add them to your Garmin unit. http://www.poi-factory.com/
 

CoveredWagon

Well-known member
There are a lot of bridge clearance data that is not in GPS units. I have purchased clearance data form LowClearances. http://www.lowclearances.com/faq.html Just download the data in the format for your GPS unit. I edit it in excel to remove all the heights that I will clear and then download it into the GPS. Works well. Before I did the edit, I had a warning for every bridge!

I've had no luck updating the data base. I purchase lifetime. Customer support is non-existent .😡
 

roy2

Well-known member
All the GPS users out there may be interested in the POI (Points Of Interest) Factory website with free downloadable files that you can add to your GPS. I have all Thousand Trails Campgrounds, All Walmarts, and a file of about 14,000 campgrounds in the U.S. There is a downloader file on the Garmin website for these files to add them to your Garmin unit. http://www.poi-factory.com/
thanks id like to do that with thousand trails. now all i have to do is to figure out how to do it. i do wish i was a little smarter useing the computer. for this stuff. il figure it out. i like this and the one with the bridges down loading it. thanks again
 

Meonen

Member
im looking for a up to date garmin gps. ive been reading in here about them but they are older post unless im reading them wrong.2017 2018 ones any way i have a garmin 760 lmt now. it is 6 years old we have had good service with it. but its staring to let us down some now not giveing us the right exit numbers and slow to giveing us new directions to follow. we depent on this gps were ever we go. i know it messes up sometimes not very often. so you guys out there what one are the best for you it is for our 5 th wheel. also seen some new ones with a bridge height on them that would be nice for a new one to our 5th wheel is 13.3 kinda high.thanks for your help.

Do you need 2020?
 

carl.swoyer

Well-known member
I gave up on Garmin.
To many times it sent me where I should not have been

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jayc

Legendary Member
I have a friend that just ordered the newest Garmin 785 with the 8" screen and all the bells and whistles. He tried to set it up and finally gave up and returned it. He said it required a map update (on a brand new unit!) and then the instructions were very confusing and he gave up. He bought it online, not from Garmin direct.
 

Bobby A

Well-known member
I've had no luck updating the data base. I purchase lifetime. Customer support is non-existent .😡

Wow !!
A few weeks back I was having trouble getting the updates, I called Garmin customer service and they were FANTASTIC !! The gentleman helped me out, he even stayed on the phone with me the whole time until all the updates were completed and made sure the Garmin was working properly. I have nothing but good things to say about Garmin service. Sorry your experience wasn't as good.
 

mlpeloquin

Well-known member
I've had no luck updating the data base. I purchase lifetime. Customer support is non-existent .��

I have not read the entire thread, but you must have the proper format for the Garmin or other brand GPS unit that you have. They are down loaded and new POI, points of interest, in the software. It does work. I have done it for our Garmin and our Rand McNally GPS units. I purchase the Rand McNally because the new Garmin was a total joke. I contacted Garmin, very friendly, and had me up date the firmware, but it did not help. Routed us everywhere but where we wanted to go several times. Told us to go four miles back to get on the interstate on the frontage road when the entrance was just 350 feet in front of us or less several times. The bridge clearance was in it so we continued to have it on, but used my IPhone with Wase to get us to where we were going. Repaired the old Garmin by replacing the LiPo battery. It works well, but the new one, even with all the updates is still a piece of junk.
 

carl.swoyer

Well-known member
I have not read the entire thread, but you must have the proper format for the Garmin or other brand GPS unit that you have. They are down loaded and new POI, points of interest, in the software. It does work. I have done it for our Garmin and our Rand McNally GPS units. I purchase the Rand McNally because the new Garmin was a total joke. I contacted Garmin, very friendly, and had me up date the firmware, but it did not help. Routed us everywhere but where we wanted to go several times. Told us to go four miles back to get on the interstate on the frontage road when the entrance was just 350 feet in front of us or less several times. The bridge clearance was in it so we continued to have it on, but used my IPhone with Wase to get us to where we were going. Repaired the old Garmin by replacing the LiPo battery. It works well, but the new one, even with all the updates is still a piece of junk.
We did 8500 miles with the rv atlas. Not one problem. Garmin said " we buy maps from multiple sources"
So they buy junk resources and sell it to us.

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mlpeloquin

Well-known member
We did 8500 miles with the rv atlas. Not one problem. Garmin said " we buy maps from multiple sources"
So they buy junk resources and sell it to us.

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

It is not the map info that is the problem. Once close enough, say 50 feet or less, it will find the entrance. It is the algerhythm generated by their software that is faulty. It just cannot find the proper destination or the most efficient path to a destination.
 
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