Gps Receivers For Rv Campers |
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| By Ben Watson | ||||
Computerized street atlases and GPS receivers. The carefree RV experience was better than ever if you were ready to plunk down a few hundred dollars. Now prices begin much lower. GPS manufacturers have low-end devices beginning at around $200. Despite the low price, most of these receivers still manage to boast a lot of the most useful features. Every gps device 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 receivers have features like rerouting. Higher priced receivers add other options such as bluetooth support and up-to-date traffic conditions. But the most important item for many campers is a POI database that includes RV Parks and Campgrounds and other RV services. Any GPS device can get you to a RV Park if you know where you are going. Just type in the address and follow the instructions. That is fine if you have a planned itinerary. But what about those days when your plans change all of a sudden? The burger 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 directory, 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 gps device to find the nearest RV Park? Although improving, vehicle GPS manufacturers haven't fully embraced this idea. One of the biggest names in GPS receivers is Garmin. I looked at every GPS 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 receivers from Cobra do not.Basic vehicle GPS receivers from Magellan lack a RV Park category and listings in their POI database. These choices were present in their more advanced receivers. However, I tried the Magellan 4240 and though it had RV Park listings they were incomplete, missing several RV Parks in my area. Tom Tom GPS devices had the most complete line of receiverswith RV Park databases already installed and ready to go. The Tom Tom one 3rd edition ($149) had RV Parks as a POI category and listed all the RV Parks in my area. Their more advanced receivers boast the same RV Park data. There is an fascinating option for GPS owners -- Update the POI database yourself. Most GPS 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 Krispy Kreme shops in the US! There are also a couple RV Park databases available ($35-$45) . |
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