Garmin DriveSmart 55

[JEBar]

well, our Garmin Dezl 760LMT that was purchased back in Jan 2013 has failed .... in speaking with three different folks at Garmin's customer support, they all said that something inside our Dezl no longer recognizes an effort to update its map software .... that failure directly affected us three times during our recent trip from NC to SD and back .... all three time we were trying to locate a place in an area of new construction .... after telling our current needs/wants in a GPS today, which have changed considerably since 2013, all three support reps recommended we consider their DriveSmart series .... after a good bit of research and reading we chose their Garmin DriveSmart 55 and Traffic, GPS Navigator with 5.5” Display, Simple On-Screen Menus and Easy-to-See Maps ===> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M98Z8DD?ps ... ct_details ..... it cost just under half as much as our Dezl and was literally overnighted to us by Amazon .... first impression is favorable .... installing all of our saved locations did take a while but with Garmin still using basically the same system as we are used to, doing so wasn't a problem .... it is considerably smaller than the Dezl which did work well in our Sportchassis but blocked to much of the view out of the window of our Chevy 1500 .... with us switching the GPS between 3 different vehicles, its really nice that the new model 55 used all the same dash and windshield mounts we purchased for the Dezl ,,,, looking forward to seeing just how well it works

[markiver54]

Interesting Jim. Is there an advantage to having it vs cell phone GPS? accuracy, info etc.?

[Shakey Jake]

I have a Garmin but don't use it anymore. My Mazda came with it's own GPS system. It seems to work well so far. I've got the Garmin in the trunk incase I ever need it.
Jake

[markiver54]

I have a Garmin but don't use it anymore. My Mazda came with it's own GPS system. It seems to work well so far. I've got the Garmin in the trunk incase I ever need it.
Jake

Yes, my 4Runner has built in navigation as well.

[Hatchdog]

Crickey Jim, what’s next?

[JEBar]

Interesting Jim. Is there an advantage to having it vs cell phone GPS? accuracy, info etc.?

first of all, my flip phone doesn't have a GPS option .. ..

second, when we are traveling we use Maureen's Iphone for other things

third, Garmin's units have served us well for decades

[markiver54]

Interesting Jim. Is there an advantage to having it vs cell phone GPS? accuracy, info etc.?

first of all, my flip phone doesn't have a GPS option .. ..

second, when we are traveling we use Maureen's Iphone other things

third, Garmin's units have served us well for decades

Makes sense. I understand completely. Sounds like it's the best option for you.

[JEBar]

earlier this afternoon we had to drive to a nearby town .... mounted and used our new Drive 55 for the first time .... biggest observation, the much smaller screen is going to take some getting used to .... its very clear but the print is mighty small .... voice info also very clear .... vehicle speed changes color when it goes about 4 mph over the posted .... it really works well with our Chevy 1500 .... so far, so good

[Sir Henry]

I’m looking for a new one that has voice commands. My one in the Ford works perfect but is approaching 20 years old and can’t be updated anymore. I have a big one for my Class A motor home but it’s overkill and takes me on truck routes.

[dave77]

I made a trip to a town I've not been to before and just used the google map app on my phone. Worked OK, I would have been lost a couple of times without it. I can see where a stand alone unit would be much better but I don't travel enough to justify getting one.

[JEBar]

we've now used the new GPS in three different vehicles .... I'm getting used to its much smaller size and have learned how to adjust the display to where its pretty easy to read road names and other info .... the more we use it, the better we feel about it

[JEBar]

just got off the phone with Garmin Customer Service .... based on past experience I called them to help me remove as much useless (to me) data possible that comes loaded on the GPS's hard drive .... things like many, many different languages, voices, vehicle icons, keyboard options and such ..... doing so clears space for new mapping data and storage of other info (like saved places) that we do want to save .... the fellow I spoke with was very pleasant and patient .... he was a pleasure to work with

[JEBar]

the battery in our Garmin DriveSmart 55 failed during our recent drive from NC to SD .... worked just fine so long as it was plugged into 12V so that's the way we used it for the rest of the drive to SD .... once things settled down to where I knew we wouldn't need it for a few days I called Garmin .... they listened and sent me a return shipping label .... today we received the replacement about 2 weeks later ..... using Garmin software on my computer, installing all of our saved locations along with navigation preferences and special notes literally took seconds ..... as one who has had to save all that info by hand in the past, that really is a nice advancement .... haven't tried it yet but have no reason to believe that it won't do a good job

[daytime dave]

That's pretty good customer service.