Answered Question about GPS

[MarkMaxPayne]

TruckMap is good (height, lengths, trucker safe routings, fuel stops, rest areas, etc.), but last time I tried the mobile app it didn't have a android auto plug-in. Each trip I try it to see if they've added android auto support. They claim to support it now so I'll have to try again. Easy quick nav for trucker friendly fuel, parking, etc.

I use both RV Life Pro and Waze in parallel to the built-in NAV. I just cannot depend on Riverpark's built-in in solution not flipping things around where it'll randomly think I'm traveling in the exact opposite direction of travel. Yes, they have a firmware patch for that, but to use their super secret/hidden reset option you have to be pulled off the side of the road and fully stopped.

With RV Life running in parallel I can compare routines and have a fail safe. I do run Waze at the same time, but not for navigation. I simply have it running without a route planned to warn me in real-time about closed lanes, objects in the road, accidents, delays, vehicles parked on the shoulder, cops, etc. on my current road.

Best,
-Mark

 

[Rollin Ollen]

Got it! And I'd love to love this unit, but it's been unreliable since the first time I've used it. So if I've set it up incorrectly, please tell me how to fix it so that I can begin to trust it.

I really love the turn by turn guidance, and the amount of time it gives till the next turn, etc. And I keep it honest by downloaded and printing directions from RV Trip Wizard. Which is what I would suggest everyone do regardless of what GPS they are using. But that aside, an expensive device by Garman (the king of GPS) should work better than the 890.

I have the following settings:

• Vehicle is Motor Home
• 45'1"
• 45,000 lbs
• No propane
• Fastest Time
• Allow toll roads
• Avoidance
  • U-Turns
  • Carpool lands
  • Unpaved roads

If I'm missing something, please point me in that direction.

Below is an example of what I've come to expect from my 890. In the following example, you're coming from the top down, as indicated by the 1st green arrow. The correct route would be to turn left where the 2nd green arrow is, and follow that road to Hwy 40. Turn left and go to the destination. These are all very good roads, no construction, no obstacles, etc.

The 890 wants me to pass the correct road and go down to where the red arrows start. Turn left and then follow the red arrows all the way to the destination. This route takes you through the historic area of Ocala where the roads are quite thin, stop lights every couple of blocks, and really someplace you don't want to drive a 45' Class A towing an 18' truck. (Almost 65' in total length)

So will it get you there? Yes. Will it use the best guidance? Not in my opinion.

View attachment 27351


EDIT: The route is easy to duplicate. If you currently own or have access to the 890, program it to leave a destination north of the Silver Springs/Ocala area, and have it plot a course to Wilderness RV Resort. I'd be interested if your results mirror mine. If yours chooses the correct route, then it's mine that must be set up incorrectly.

I'm looking forward to any replies too. My settings are the same as yours (except for the actual coach dimensions of course). I do carry propane but if you allow that, it doesn't want to route you through tunnels or take ferries etc so I have it set for NO propane. I use google earth and google maps as well as the Garmin. My navigator (my beautiful wife) and I go over our intended route before we take off so we know which device to follow and know when WE want to make turn. Garmin is usually the worst giving accurate directions giving forewarnings. If there is a way to improve it's performance, I'm all ears (eyes)!

Darrell

 

[roxie]

Hi Roxie and others, if I can throw in my $.02, please. Personally I wouldn't use my phone as my primary guidance system, there are way too many variables to trust a very, very expensive camper on it. Use your phone as a supplement to a good RV GPS System. We too have chosen Garmin, we set all of the sizes, weights, propane in the system so it knows how to route w/o issues. I like Waze on my phone w/o a route for better up to the minute issues.
My suggestion is Garmin, they make a few different RV specific models in different sizes and price ranges.

Thank you for your 2 cents! Sounds like Garmin and phone app back up is the way to go. Appreciate everyone's input! Happy travels to all ...

 

[Buster]

Got it! And I'd love to love this unit, but it's been unreliable since the first time I've used it. So if I've set it up incorrectly, please tell me how to fix it so that I can begin to trust it.

I really love the turn by turn guidance, and the amount of time it gives till the next turn, etc. And I keep it honest by downloaded and printing directions from RV Trip Wizard. Which is what I would suggest everyone do regardless of what GPS they are using. But that aside, an expensive device by Garman (the king of GPS) should work better than the 890.

I have the following settings:

• Vehicle is Motor Home
• 45'1"
• 45,000 lbs
• No propane
• Fastest Time
• Allow toll roads
• Avoidance
  • U-Turns
  • Carpool lands
  • Unpaved roads

If I'm missing something, please point me in that direction.

Below is an example of what I've come to expect from my 890. In the following example, you're coming from the top down, as indicated by the 1st green arrow. The correct route would be to turn left where the 2nd green arrow is, and follow that road to Hwy 40. Turn left and go to the destination. These are all very good roads, no construction, no obstacles, etc.

The 890 wants me to pass the correct road and go down to where the red arrows start. Turn left and then follow the red arrows all the way to the destination. This route takes you through the historic area of Ocala where the roads are quite thin, stop lights every couple of blocks, and really someplace you don't want to drive a 45' Class A towing an 18' truck. (Almost 65' in total length)

So will it get you there? Yes. Will it use the best guidance? Not in my opinion.

View attachment 27351


EDIT: The route is easy to duplicate. If you currently own or have access to the 890, program it to leave a destination north of the Silver Springs/Ocala area, and have it plot a course to Wilderness RV Resort. I'd be interested if your results mirror mine. If yours chooses the correct route, then it's mine that must be set up incorrectly.

I don't think it's your unit Jim.

I put in a route from Ocala North RV Resort to Wilderness RV resort and got the red arrow directions you have listed above when I have "shortest distance" on. I usually use "fastest time" and it had a very similar route with the only change being getting off at Silver Springs Rd from I75. I put in a custom avoidance of downtown Ocala and it still wouldn't route me over FL 326. For some reason it really doesn't like that road.

 

[Jim]

Thanks for confirming that, Buster. The first time I came to this area I followed the 890’s directions, even though my secondary system (Maps) was telling me to turn on FL326. After spending some time in the area and getting familiar with the roads, I realized I had been taking an unnecessarily long route each time. Not to mention routing me through the old narrow streets of downtown Ocala.

As I mentioned earlier, this is just one example. I’ve noticed incorrect routing is fairly common with this unit. Others have reported no issues with theirs, but I have to wonder how often they've been led the wrong way and just not realized it.

 

[Neal]

IMHO, Garmin routes based on the params. You can't compare to Apple Maps, Google Maps, Waze, etc. You're driving a vehicle that has both height and weight limits that "car" maps don't take into account. You'd be surprised how many roads or small bridges can't take a 20+ ton vehicle. There is one near my storage unit, you'd never know if it wasn't for my 890 warning me of the 4 ton limit. Then there are options based on road types you allow, allow tolls, and other params as discussed. I'm not going to try and outsmart a device like this that is taking into account params I would find it hard to identify and route off of. If that 10-20 minutes is precious to you, that's your decision. Safety and not getting a big rig in a bad situation is my priority, I've been there far too many times from my errors, not the GPS. If you feel something could be done better and it's not serving you as expected, try reaching out to Garmin support. They've been great any time I asked them questions.

 

[Jim]

I'm not going to try and outsmart a device like this that is taking into account params I would find it hard to identify and route off of. If that 10-20 minutes is precious to you, that's your decision. Safety and not getting a big rig in a bad situation is my priority,

Yes, of course, Neal. That’s exactly why we expect these devices to perform within reasonable parameters, and why we pay the kind of money for them that we do.

But in that process, isn’t it reasonable to expect that we can actually trust the device to deliver the results we bought it for? Nowhere in their advertising have I seen the disclaimer, "We're Garmin, and our 890 gets it right some of the time. It's up to the you to figure out when that is."

If you feel something could be done better and it's not serving you as expected, try reaching out to Garmin support. They've been great any time I asked them questions.

I did. They were able to replicate the issue and said, "It appears to be something in the map, like a labeling of a route as unsuitable for the vehicle profile. This is something the map team will need to investigate further. I will report this situation. You can also report routing issues directly to our map team at the link here: Reporting Map Errors on Automotive Devices"

I think it's important to clarify that I'm not anti-Garmin, and I hope nobody takes it that way. My issue isn't with the company itself, but with the 890 specifically. The roads I've mentioned have been established for many years. In fact, Hwy 326 is home to a massive Freightliner facility and is regularly traveled by rigs much larger than mine. If the software is misidentifying this route, it's likely making similar errors elsewhere.

As you said, @Neal, "Safety and not getting a big rig in a bad situation is my priority." I feel the same way. That's why it's concerning that a device that's been on the market as long as the 890 is still providing inaccurate routing information.

The issue I documented is NOT and isolated occurrence, its a common occurrence. And that's not reasonable for a seasoned devise as the 890 is supposed to be.

 

[Neal]

I did. They were able to replicate the issue and said, "It appears to be something in the map, like a labeling of a route as unsuitable for the vehicle profile. This is something the map team will need to investigate further. I will report this situation. You can also report routing issues directly to our map team at the link here: Reporting Map Errors on Automotive Devices"

Excellent! I'm glad you did this to not only resolve an error for yourself but others that may go down this path, literally and figuratively. As a software developer myself I need to verify a problem so I can fix it and I'm glad you took that step.

I can't tell you "trust your device" - it has to earn your trust. I used the 770 prior to the 890 and jumped on the 890 when it came out and love the device and what it has to offer. I'm sure it's not perfect, we all have to be aware but fortunately I'm not on pins and needles when I use my 890 and manage the data it presents and have had no major issues to date, that I'm aware of.

Thanks to any and all that find issues and report them so they can get fixed. Garmin frequently pushes out both map and firmware updates. I don't know of anything better but that doesn't mean something out there isn't better. Fortunately my Pioneer AVIC-NEX dash radio also does RV navigation so it can back me up if needed but I surely will not use an auto mapping app for RV navigation. I do use Waze via CarPlay for hazards, po-po, etc. which compliments my RV navigation experience as others have posted they do the same as well.

Good on you for good trip planning to know the difference in right/wrong.

 

[AbdRahim]

I think it is favoring highway routes. If you choose to avoid highways, it may give you the desired route.

Yes when going down I 77 in NC to Fl, it always tells me to getoff at Lanftree road. Fortunately, I usually check the route with several sorces, before I leave, so I know to stay on 77.

Another alternative is to put in another waypoint along the path youwant to take, to force it to stay off the interstate.

There is an app called CoPilot that some truckers use but it is not free.

 

[osuallen]

The data the GPS uses is dependent on the various highway departments to report accurate information. Sometimes that does not happen. Years ago I was trying to set a route over Independence pass for a backpacking trip (in my suburban with an automobile Garmin). It absolutely would not route. Through lots of trial and error I discovered that at the summit about 1' of highway data was missing and as far as the GPS was concerned, the highway dead ended there from both directions.

 

[Rod]

Jim,
I suspect you have all parameters entered but, you didn't include the height of your rig when you listed in this thread. Don't know if that would confound your 890 or not? Guess it could be a faulty unit as well.

 

[Jim]

Jim,
I suspect you have all parameters entered but, you didn't include the height of your rig when you listed in this thread. Don't know if that would confound your 890 or not? Guess it could be a faulty unit as well.

Sorry Rod, but yes, on the configuration I did enter the height of the rig. Forgot to post that in the original post. But tech support simulated the start location and destination, and they got the same results. So they said that they are looking at it.

 

[pzookey]

Hello. Purchased 2025 Newmar Baystar. Looking for best GPS system for a motorhome. Looking for free app type that allows height to be considered. Any suggestions greatly appreciated !! Had a 40' 5th wheel for 11 yrs prior to buying this motorhome. Have been camping for 50+ yrs...pop-ups, tag along, 30' 5th wheel then 40'. Thank you for any suggestions!

Just a quick question, doesn't the Baystar have Navigation built in? I am asking as I just got a 2021 Baystar Sport that has nav built in. It is out of date and Rand McNally no longer supports it, but it is there. I know I can get the Nav n go sd card for the newer nav system that Newmar uses.

 

[JBright11]

My 2023 does not have built in Navigation.

 

[pzookey]

Must have been an optional upgrade?