7 Best RV GPS For 2021

7 Best RV GPS For 2021

RVing is fun, and the journey, as they say, is part of the adventure. However, the adventure should be in enjoying the scenery along that journey, not wondering if you are going to clear that overpass, safely cross that bridge, or be able to find your campground. If you have an RV, you need the best RV GPS. 

The problem with Google Maps

If you haven’t realized it already, Google Maps does not know you are driving an RV, nor does it know you aren’t driving at those posted highway speeds of 70 mph or more. Most RVers are driving or pulling their 9-13 foot high weekend getaways at a nice safe speed of 60-65 miles per hour. Any routes on Google won’t take either of those metrics into consideration.

The problem with most RV GPS

Truth be told, there are plenty of RV GPS units on the market. Most of them share one common problem: you have to enter each destination manually. For someone taking a very short trip with zero stops, it might be tolerable. For everyone else planning to make fuel stops, rest area stops, lunch breaks and more, a simple trip might have you entering data into your GPS multiple times a day.

Eventually you just give up. After all, your phone already has the address in it, and is conveniently offering to map and navigate it for you. Now you are back to the first problem again. Your phone does not know you are driving an RV!

What is the best RV GPS?

We rounded up 7 options for the best RV GPS, ranked from the least favorite option to the best RV GPS for your overall camping, RVing, and trip planning needs. 

7. Garmin OTR800, 8-inch GPS Truck Navigator

The Garmin OTR800, 8-inch GPS Truck Navigator sells for $599.99. As it’s model name (OTR) indicates, this is an over-the-road truckers GPS. For RVers driving 45-foot RVs and towing a vehicle or trailer, this does make a nice option. 

Pros: 

• Large 8-inch screen
• Truck routing ensures safe routes for larger RVs

Cons:

• High price
• Smaller RVs could get unnecessarily long routes
• No campground listings or trip planning features
• No lifetime maps
• Every destination must be entered manually

6. LONGRUF GPS Navigation for Car/Truck/RV

The LONGRUF / NAVRUF GPS is one of many extremely low cost, no-name RV GPS brands available. While this unit sells for $60.99, similar units floating around that $60 price point are available, with also similarly unknown brand names.

Pros:

• Price is very reasonable and affordable
• Lifetime maps
• 7-inch touchscreen

Cons:

• Price is too reasonable, you get what you pay for definitely applies
• Unknown brand means support will likely be questionable at best
• Suspicious reviews on Amazon
• No campground listings or trip planning features
• Every destination must be entered manually

5. CARRVAS 9-Inch GPS Navigation For Car & Truck & RV

While similar to #6 in its no-name/unknown brand status, this one is included due to its 9-inch screen. The thought is, if you are going to take a huge gamble at $60, why not take that gamble on a huge screen at $86.99?

Pros:

• Screen size is large
• Price is still reasonable
• Lifetime maps

Cons:

• Unknown brand means unknown reliability and support
• Mixed reviews
• No campground listings or trip planning features
• Every destination must be entered manually

4. TomTom Trucker 620 6-Inch GPS Navigation Device For Trucks

With the TomTom Trucker 620, you finally get a name brand. Unfortunately, it’s a brand that has waned significantly in recent years, at least in the RV GPS space. We found only this model, and at $289.99, it appears to be geared more towards trucks than RVs. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however.

Pros:

• Name brand means support shouldn’t be a problem
• On-board Bluetooth allows for hands-free and traffic updates via your phone
• Decent POI database for truck centers and fuel stops

Cons:

• Higher cost
• No lifetime maps – Annual map subscription is $64.95/year
• Screen smaller than other units in the same price range.
• No campground listings or trip planning features
• Every destination must be entered manually

3. Rand McNally OverDryve 7 RV GPS

Rand McNally’s presence in the RV GPS world has diminished significantly since breaking away from their Good Sam partnership. However, you can still find their units online for now.

This OverDryve 7 sells for $398.70. The OverDryve is basically an Android tablet with RV GPS features added. Rand McNally touts several other uses for their device. One has to wonder, do you really want or need movie streaming, games, web browsing, and texting on your GPS device? Doesn’t your phone already have that?

Pros:

• Large screen
• Lifetime maps
• Built-in WiFi for easy updates
• Built-in dashcam
• Some “Editor’s Picks” campgrounds included

Cons:

• High cost
• It does too much – Additional Android features can bring unexpected and untimely technical snafus to the table when not diligently kept up to date
• No trip planning features and very limited campground database
• Every destination must be entered manually

2. Garmin RV 780 GPS for RV

The full name of this Garmin RV GPS is the Garmin RV 780 GPS for RV and Camping Master Accessory Kit. With a 6.95-inch screen, this unit sells for $407.99.

The 780 offers reliable RV safe routing, which will keep your RV away from low clearances and bridges with weight limits. What the “Camping Master Accessory Kit” is, is anybody’s guess. Whether they are simply referring to the normal accessories you’d expect with a $400 GPS (mount, USB plug, screen cleaning kit, and memory card) or their limited inclusion of campgrounds, is not clear. What is clear is that this does not include lifetime maps, which normally run about $80 per year. 

Garmin has a history as a reliable but costly product. As mobile devices continue to improve and outpace the stand-alone GPS market, one has to wonder how much longer before stand-alone units disappear altogether.

Pros:

• Solid reputation, quality, and support
• Limited inclusion of campground data
• Limited route planning through additional download of Garmin BaseCamp

Cons:

• Price is not only initially higher, but there is an additional yearly expense
• 5-year cost could be as high as $800
• No true RV trip planning and all-inclusive campground database
• Every destination must be entered manually

1. RV LIFE Pro RV GPS App with RV LIFE Trip Wizard

The RV LIFE GPS & Campgrounds app is the only non-hardware GPS on this list. The GPS app, part of the RV LIFE Pro suite of RV trip planning and navigation tools, runs on any GPS-enabled Apple iOS or Android device.

The RV-safe GPS app uses your RV’s height, weight, length, and propane status to provide you with safe route options for your motorhome, 5th wheel, or truck & travel trailer combination. 

The RV LIFE RV GPS uses the same underlying map engine used by top worldwide brands such as Alpine, BMW, Toyota, and yes…Garmin. Currently at an introductory annual price of only $49.00, RV LIFE Pro includes the RV-safe GPS app for your mobile device, the premier RV trip planning tool RV LIFE Trip Wizard, and a web-based RV maintenance tool called RV LIFE Maintenance.

For the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on the GPS functionality of the app. With that said, however, we have to highlight what is possibly its greatest feature. The RV LIFE GPS app can read the detailed RV trips you planned on your laptop using the RV LIFE Trip Wizard website. Whereas all other best RV GPS offerings lacked any true RV trip planning savvy, RV LIFE Pro provides it in spades. 

Not only is the trip planning feature world-class, but when it comes time to hop in the motorhome or get in the truck, you never have to type in a single destination, if you don’t want to.

The RV LIFE GPS is not just a great ad-hoc standalone RV GPS, but it will also read your RV LIFE Trip Wizard trips and let you navigate to those destinations without having to type in a single address. Whether your trip is 3 days, 3 weeks, or 3 months, simply pull your predetermined trip up on your mobile device loaded with the RV LIFE app and start your journey.

Best of all, the campground data is sourced from CampgroundReviews.com, the most established and complete campground database available.

Pros:

• Cost – Current introductory price is just $49 per year and includes the entire RV LIFE Pro suite
• 7-day trial period allows you to try before you buy
• Unlimited lifetime, automatic maps – Your GPS is always up-to-date as long as the RV LIFE app is installed
• No data entry required – Trips can be read directly from the menu with no typing
• Full RV trip planner with tens of thousands of campgrounds, reviews, tips, and photos
• Device familiarity – you already know how to use your phone’s features
• Hardware lifecycle – your GPS is only as old as your latest phone
• Automatic sync with your pre-planned trips
• Trips can be planned on laptop, desktop, or tablet
• US-based company and support – A leader in the RV content marketplace

Cons:

• Screen size is limited to phone screen size
• Need to keep the phone visible or in reach

Conclusion

If you are tired of shelling out loads of cash for a stand-alone GPS and you need a better trip planning tool, RV LIFE Pro is the best GPS for you. Even if you aren’t a planner and you just want to hit the road when the mood strikes, at $49, the RV LIFE GPS is tough to beat.

Choose from over 20,000 campgrounds or enter your GPS coordinates directly and turn your phone into an RV safe GPS. Visit RVLIFE.com for more information.