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Gps Units For Rv Campers
By Ben Watson
Whether you are pulling a pop up or driving a class a, knowing where you are going is important. It can be hard at times to be carefree with a forty foot RV. In recent years trip planning got a whole lot easier with
Computerized street atlases and units. The carefree RV experience was better than ever if you were ready to plunk down a few hundred dollars.
Now prices begin much lower. manufacturers have low-end models beginning at around $200. Despite the low price, most of these units still manage to boast a lot of the most helpful features. Every receiver that I looked at had spoken directions. Although the low-end models use terms like turn right, instead of turn right on elm st. Almost all the units have features like rerouting. Higher priced units add other options such as bluetooth support and up-to-date traffic conditions. But the most important item for many Rvers is a POI database that includes RV Parks and Campgrounds and other RV services.
Any receiver can get you to a RV Park if you already have a destination. Just type in the address and follow the instructions. That is great if you have a planned itinerary. But what about those days when your plans change unpredictably? The hot dog you had for lunch isn’t sitting well, the motorhome seems to be running a little hot or you just spent four hours browsing through an antique store that wasn’t on your itinerary. You could pull out the RV Park guide, figure out where you are and look for a new place to spend the night. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just ask your receiver to find the nearest RV Park? Although improving, vehicle manufacturers haven't fully embraced this niche.
One of the biggest names in units is Garmin. I looked at every they offered and not one that
I saw had any categories in their POI database
related to RV Parks or Campgrounds. I was unable to try out a Cobra Nav One GPS, but their 4500 model does have categories for camping, propane and RV services. The low-end units from Cobra do not.Low-end vehicle units from Magellan lack a RV Park category and listings in their POI database. These choices were present in their more advanced units. However, I tried the Magellan 4240 and though it had RV Park listings they were incomplete, missing several campgrounds in my area. Tom Tom devices had the most complete line of unitswith RV Park databases already installed and ready to go. The Tom Tom one 3rd edition ($149) had campgrounds as a POI category and listed all the campgrounds in my area. Their more advanced units boast the same RV Park data.
There is an fascinating option for owners -- Update the POI database yourself. Most manufacturers have software on their website that will allow you do this. The software will permit you to keep your POI data up to date as well as add new POI databases. There are many databases available, some are free. Traffic cameras,
school zones, stores and restaurants are available individually or as bundles. For example there is a database of all the Dunkin Donuts stores in the US! There are also a couple RV Park databases available ($35-$45) . Article Source: Article Beam - a service of A1 Web Server Web Hosting Ben Watson is a lifelong camper and RV enthusiastHe is currently the editor ofThe Webs Best Camping Guide
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