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Perry Mack photos
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Story & photos by Perry Mack
Arguably the greatest invention for travelers has been the GPS. No more maps that can never be refolded, and drivers who are at the mercy of their navigators (spouses) getting car sick (and they ensuing arguments).
A couple of years ago Rand McNally (makers of those unfolded maps) recognized the digital future that was hurtling at them and that RV’ers had special needs that they could address. The RV GPS was born.
Their latest iteration is the Rand RV Tablet 80. As the name suggests, not only is it a Godsend GPS for RV’ers but also an android tablet.
On the GPS side there is a long list of terrific features for the RV’er including trip planning with multi-stop options, warnings for speed limit changes, upcoming road hazards like sharp curves, estimates of toll costs on routes, and the ability to choose alternate routes.
There are millions of points of interest like RV parks and campgrounds, national parks, restaurants, gas stations, banks, and more. One of my favourites is the current and predictive traffic information; so you can best decide which route to take, and when to leave. And I have to mention the built in Atlas. Call me old fashioned but sometimes I like to look at a map, especially when it’s one I don’t have to fold and it can be updated. Free.
Two huge features for the cost conscious RV’er is the lifetime map update. I have a perfectly good TomTom GPS I don’t use anymore because the maps are out of date (with exits that no longer exist and new roads that do) and I’m too cheap to spend the $50US every few years to update them. The Rand RVT 80 also allows you to view fuel prices on the map to help you decide where to stop for fuel.
There are some features I don’t think I’ll ever use but might be useful to the new RV’er and techno aficionados including RV checklists, fuel logs, and multiple views of your route (3D, heading up, north up).
And then there are the features that could make this the perfect unit for you. If you have an older RV without a GPS, dash cam, and back camera, the 8” screen, built in dash cam and the ability connect an optional back up camera, will provide a single display for all your driving needs.
If you don’t already own a tablet – now you will. You can take pictures and video, check emails, and with the tens of thousands of apps for Wi-Fi enabled tablets like this (when you are connected to the internet), you can search the web, read books, check the weather, play games, watch movies, track your health, listen to music, do your banking, … you get the idea.
If you owned the previous Rand 7730 and/or currently use an android phone/tablet, the transition to the new RVT 80 will be natural and intuitive. If not, then I suggest you give yourself a few days to play with it before you go. Set up your email, load the apps you want, import your contacts, plan your and personalize the many settings like sounds, voice, views and vehicle. Perhaps, heaven forbid, you even view a tutorial included on the device.
The RV 80 has a magnetic mount so your co-pilot can easily remove it and use it for entertainment; communication (email, social media), extra GPS searches or learn how the thing works because you bought it the same day you left on your trip.
But you can’t get the best of everything in one device. The camera and video aren’t as good as many new smartphones and there is no forward facing camera (think Skype, Facetime and selfies). The 8” screen isn’t as enjoyable as a full sized tablet (iPad has a 9.7” screen) and the battery life is pathetic. It has Wi-Fi but is not cellular capable nor does it have connectivity like Bluetooth.
For the techno savvy RV’er you could get an Android tablet, dash cam, load apps providing much of the same information, for less money, But it won’t be anywhere near as convenient or easy to use. In a retail sea swimming with GPS devices, Rand has packaged a useful set of products that makes a good GPS unit (and more), for most RV’ers, and a great unit for many.