Product Review: Rand McNally OverDryve 7 RV GPS

As RV owners, trip planning is more than just plotting our course on a road map. And as big-rig RV owners, we appreciate having the best tools to help us navigate safely. If you pull a large fifth-wheel or travel trailer, you need to look out for low clearances, narrow and windy roads, and road obstacles. Any one of those can spell disaster. Which is why we recently tested the Rand McNally OverDryve 7 RV GPS.

The Big Oops

When we bought our first RV in 2014, a 44- foot Cyclone toy hauler, we failed to follow very sound advice from other big-rig RV owners. Buy an RV Global Positioning System (GPS), they said! We learned the hard way that Google Maps does not have big-rig driver’s best interest in mind. And sometimes it's inaccurate for even a tiny smart car.

If you pull a large towable, not using a RV-specific GPS is a huge mistake. Luckily, we escaped disaster. But save yourself the grief of a near accident by getting your RV-specific GPS right away.

For our first model, we bought the Rand McNally RVND 7735LM. It had all the basic functions we were looking for in an RV-specific GPS. But after five years, we were ready to research newer options.

Did Someone Say "Upgrade?"

We got the opportunity to try out the Rand McNally OverDryve 7 RV through TechnoRV. This particular RV GPS is one of the latest and greatest today. And, let me tell you, this one is a huge improvement!

After testing it for approximately two months and approximately 2000 miles, we've put together enough data to give our product review. We've broken down our review into pros and cons of our new Rand McNally OverDryve 7RW.

Pros

• The Rand McNally OverDryve 7 RV is lightning fast to lock onto a satellite and has an amazing rich color display. There is a suction cup that mounts to the windshield and then the GPS head mounts magnetically to the suction cup for quick dismounting and remounting.
• This GPS can connect via Bluetooth to your cell phone, allowing you to check traffic and weather conditions on your route. You can also use it to find fuel and rest stops. You can play music through it and connect via an internet search function just like a cell phone or tablet. You will need Bluetooth to enable this function.
• There is a built-in dash camera, eliminating the need for an external camera. It also has a built-in compass and altimeter, which are both handy, accurate, and can be programed for the specifications of your RV. You can track and log your route of choice and determine fuel costs and consumption. Additionally, you can track your RV maintenance. It also has the ability to program favorite types of routes and points of interest.

There are several other features that make this RV GPS useful, but since we want to be transparent in our review, we have also included a couple features that were not as positive.

Cons

• The OverDryve unit did not come with a written manual. There is a basic setup card that lacks detail in explaining all the functionality of the unit. We had to conduct some of our own research to learn about the GPS  to become comfortable using it.
• The print size is small and the details for the summary of turns on the route makes it difficult to read without putting on reading glasses, which we don’t wear while driving.
• The unit creates a challenge when programming your route, so knowing the specific street name is a must. We found plugging in the latitude and longitude coordinates is the best way to load some of our destinations.

Final Thoughts

Even with the cons of the unit, we love the Rand McNally OverDryve 7 RV GPS. The more we use it, the more we love it. The added features make it a great tool, not only for navigation but also for other tablet options.

As seasoned RV travelers, we still choose to follow-up use of the Rand McNally OverDryve 7 RV GPS by verifying our routes in our Trucker's Atlas. But overall, we are confident in its ability to safely navigate us on our desired route.

This article was written by Dan & Lisa Brown of Always On Liberty.