Garmin RV 780

[dandick66]

If anyone is looking to buy the Garmin RV 780, it’s on Amazon today for $270.  That’s a really good deal.  

[Tom Cherry]

5 minutes ago, dandick66 said:

If anyone is looking to buy the Garmin RV 780, it’s on Amazon today for $270.  That’s a really good deal.  

WOW….that’s a deal.  Many of us, way long ago, caught Garmin is a “price list” error and bought them for less than half of the regular price.  Add back in the 6% Prime VISA rebate….not bad.

Thanks

[donbouv22]

That’s a very good deal I think I paid $390.

[klcdenver]

Thanks for posting.

[Tom Wallis]

Thanks for the heads up. I just ordered it. I'm assuming you are recommending it.

[timaz996]

Thank You, just order one,

Tim

[mmartinhouse]

Thanks for the info

[Craggar]

What are your thoughts about it for those who own it? I was going to order one but read a bunch of the bad reviews and didn't know if it was that good. The majority of the reviews were good but still quite a few that most had the same complaint about the routing it would give.

[birdshill123]

I had the 780 and think it is second class. Quite different than the  larger units. I bought it when my 770 ( the best ever) went bad. Fooled around with the dead unit and called Garmin. They sent me a replacement n/c. I sold the 780

[jacwjames]

Does anyone know if this comes with Life Time Maps?

Nothing in the description about it and IMHO if it doesn't come with LTM's it's not worth buying.

[willbo777]

Yes, it has lifetime maps.  And by the way we are pleased for the most part with our 780.  A glitch now and then that won't allow us on some roads, but we just push through and it fixes itself.  Very rare occurrence.

[dandick66]

I posted this yesterday just to let everyone know about the great price on Amazon.  Prime day is over, so the price is back to $399.  
I own the DEZL 780, which is the trucker’s version.  I bought it as a refurbished unit for a real good price.  The only difference is my model does not have RV parks info in the database.  That’s not a concern, because if I’m looking for an RV park I use the internet and call the park. I’ve found that some campgrounds will have a note on their site about using GPS.  Some say, “don’t follow GPS, use this road, etc”. 
I use the GPS as a “guide”.  It’s great for trip planning and it does have traffic info.  I always use Google Maps in addition to the GPS when planning a trip, and I try to never go anywhere that I’m not sure of.  I have a 44 ft motorhome with a TOAD.  I don’t want to be stuck somewhere.  Also, you enter your length, height, and type of vehicle in the GPS.  It routes you around roads with low clearance or restrictions.  Having said that, I live in The Tidewater area of Virginia and when I take the Colonial Parkway the GPS goes crazy.  The Parkway is restricted to cars and buses, no commercial vehicles.  Also, if I take the Jamestown Ferry it goes wild.  For some reason the GPS database has the height restriction wrong.  I can live with that, because I’m familiar with the area.  The bottom line is I never completely trust the GPS solely.  

[timaz996]

As far as I know GPSs get their information on roads from municipalities and if that info is off so is the GPS.

Tim

[Guest Ray Davis]

6 minutes ago, Tim-AZ said:

As far as I know GPSs get their information on roads from municipalities and if that info is off so is the GPS.

Tim

Reminds me of a sight I saw recently.  It was a small car with Google signs all over and it had tripod bolted to the roof with what looked like a couple of spinning cameras and maybe a gps.  Theses things may be common in some parts of the country but down here in the back woods it was a site to behold.  I suppose that is how they have a picture of everyones property.    Taking pictures at 50 MPH,  mind boggling stuff to old country folks.  You just can't hide anymore,  big brother is a;ways watching.

[birdshill123]

Garmin gets their GPS data from a mapping company. Sometimes I have seen the name of that service on certain gps units. Rand Mcnally has a new provider. But often the data is at least a year old. If the data provider has info from a road that had detours due to construction that data will remain. The info is not perfect. You need to verify if uncertain. Even Goggle maps has some bad data. For 3 years they send people in one Canadian city down an unfinished country road. Some gps complaints are due to the owner not changing his settings. You can have the unit not send you on a ferry. Or stay on major  roads. Even avoid freeways and toll roads. Google maps is great if you are in your toad. But their software does not allow you to avoid residential streets.

[jacwjames]

Well, I didn't purchase the Garmin 780 that was on sale on AMAZON. 

I have a Garmin 760 that works fine but was considering getting a newer one and keep the old as a spare.   I haven't had any real problems other them some instances when it doesn't provide alternate routes in construction zones. 

[Craggar]

I didn't buy it either. I downloaded TruckMap awhile back and am going to try that with my IPad on my trip back east next month I guess.

[Yoaks5]

We looked at it but in the end didn't either. We've been thinking about getting one but decided to give our rv life trip wizard a try first. We recently signed up as members and down loaded the app. It comes with GPS maps that you input your rv size and driving preferences into and it provides rv safe routes. Been playing with it driving locally in me car and it seems to work fine. Very similar to how Google maps works. Some of the comparisons I saw some people liked it better than their garmin. Neither were perfect but better than nothing.