[Fulltiming]

On Christmas Eve, I received my new Garmin Dezl 760LMT. This unit was released 12/17/12. I finally got feeling well enough to go out to the coach and play with it for a few minutes with my Garmin 3790. First, let me say that a 7" GPS is BIG. My 3790 is a 4.3" and it looks like a toy compared to the 760. Finding a place to put it in a car could be a challenge.
   
Secondly, this unit does NOT support an external GPS antenna but neither did my 3790. I put the 3790 and the 760 on the center console and fired them up from a cold start. It took about 2 minutes for the 3790 to lock onto enough satellites to display a green signal. I moved the 3790 over and put the 760 in the place where the 3790 had been sitting to the start up test and plugged the 760 in. It took about 1 minute 15 seconds for it to display a green signal. The location of the 760 in the above shot is where each GPS was located during the start up period. Later, I will try to determine how far back into the coach it will be able to lock on to the satellites.
   
I have the 760 set up for both a Truck profile and an RV profile. So far, I don't know if there is any difference between the two. The symbol at the top of the opening screen above shows which profile you are running (Car is a third option as I recall.) Each allows input of height, width, length and weight and whether you have a trailer. Truck also has a hazardous materials option.
I put in downtown Spearfish, SD in each unit. They came up with similar but slightly different routes (note the ~20 mile different in distance to destination). In the photo below, you can see that on a residential street, the 760 doesn't have any truck route information. It also doesn't have any information on RR-620 which, as a number of you may remember from the Austin Mini Rally, is a major road that does show as a truck route in the 2012 Rand McNally Motor Carriers Road Atlas. That is not a good sign.
Although you only have a choice to display 2 pieces of data at the same time (bummer), information included in the right hand display is % grade. Not sure how it gets that information but it could be interesting.    
Below is a shot of the search for nearest truck stops
   
and nearest rest areas
   
When you have your smartphone attached via bluetooth, you can also see on screen the current weather
   
Traffic is in the area is also available through the built in receiver.
   

I will add more as I get a chance to play with it.

[Express1]

Me LIKE!

[rheavn]

I'm very interested in your continuing critique as you continue to use it. Thanks...............

[Chester Stone]

I am especially interested in how far back in the coach it will lock on and is the screen readable on a bright sunlight day. I would buy one in a minute to replace my Rand McNally if it had an external antenna.

[Fulltiming]

Chester, about where do you mount your GPS and I will try to set mine up in that location and test it in the next day or two. As far as the screen being readable, I have turned the brightness down to 92% on mine since the colors were washing out in the daylight with overcast on 100%. When this front moves through I will check it again but I don't think screen brightness is going to be an issue.

[Chester Stone]

Michael, I have had to mount mine up above with a hood to block out the sun, thus I need an external antenna. Now that I have it up higher, I like the location. Attached are photos showing how I mounted the Rand McNalley.
   
   

[Fulltiming]

I will try setting it up as close as I can get to the same location and see what happens.

[Fulltiming]

Chester, sorry about the delay. First, the disclaimer: my coach is older with a different front cap. Now the results. I took my Dezl 760 out to the coach and placed it as close as possible to the location shown in your photo. I show 5 bars (maximum gps signal strength) in that location. That is the same signal strength I got with the GPS on the center console. The only major difference I see is that I do not have the metal panel behind my overhead cabinet that you do.

[Chester Stone]

Michael, thanks for the test. I am tempted to give it a try. I can always change locations if I can see it on a bright day. Not so with the Rand McNally, but I understand that Rand McNally has an upgrade that is brighter.

[Fulltiming]

I have heard that the Rand McNally 7720 is brighter. My biggest complaint so far with the Dezl is that a number of roads that show up in the Rand McNally Motor Carrier Atlas as truck routes (don't know if the 7720 recognizes them), show up on the Dezl as "Truck Accessibility Unknown". Other than that, I am pleased. I drove to Georgetown yesterday and both my Android Google Navigation system and the regular Garmin showed taking some residential streets to get to the destination which was on the southbound service road (I was traveling North). The Dezl had me go to the next exit and come back down the service road which would have been a far better route in the RV.