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Review on 🚍 Garmin RV 785 & Traffic: Advanced GPS Navigator with Built-in Dash Cam for RVs, 7" Touch Display & Voice-Activated Navigation by Bill Howard

Revainrating 3 out of 5

Not ready for prime time

This RV GPS is a mixed bag. I would have sent it back if I found any imperfections, but I was traveling and couldn't find the packaging. My previous Garmin devices were much better at marking lanes - I missed a turn in the St. Louis turbulence where ramps diverge from both sides everywhere. This device also can't tell which lane I'm in - it even shows me on the interstate if I'm more than 50 feet away on the front road. It's just not as accurate as other units. I've also found that all the bells and whistles that I find useful are only available because they're Android apps. That's right, this device is NOT what they advertise as a GPS-optimized Android tablet (I don't like Android and would buy a different device if I knew). In order to use some of these other features, you need to be running other apps and not just get them along with the main map display. On the plus side, he found routes that didn't use tight roads, tight corners, or low overpasses that my RV couldn't negotiate. I was surprised at how often it had the wrong speed limits for the roads we were driving - I figured Garmin would be better at keeping up with the changes. I don't use a camera to record my trip because I don't accept Google's terms of service, which grant them the right to copy and use the video at any time and in any way (including selling) at their own discretion. So this feature is useless for me. That was the only reason I spent the extra $100 on this model instead of the next cheaper Garmin RV GPS. I think Garmin still has a lot of work to do to bring it up to the standards (location and course accuracy) that characterize their earlier non-Android GPS devices. They had to do this before releasing it to the public.

Pros
  • Still happy
Cons
  • Weight