Garmin has released their newest truck GPS for 2020 and they have made some big changes to their usual lineup of Garmin Dezl GPS models. The lineup comes with three different models. The models only differentiating feature is the size of the screen. These Caravan and Truck GPS models are available in Australia now.
Dezl LGV700 | 7” Truck GPS Navigator | $599 AUD | View what is included in the box on this page
Dezl LGV800 | 8” Truck GPS Navigator | $799 AUD | View what is included in the box on this page
Dezl LGV1000 | 10” Truck GPS Navigator | $1049 AUD | View what is included in the box on this page
Hardware Design and Actual Sunlight Screen Testing
So the big test is always how well these units actually cope in the sun. Usually, I'd be able to set these up properly, but I was pretty limited on space and angles, so the setup here is focused on giving you an idea of size in actual use and how they look in sunlight.
Out of the box, these units are a lot more focused on the almost edge-to-edge display rather than the previous iteration that had a chunkier more rugged feel to them. I honestly didn't really grasp how big the 10"" was until comparing it directly to the other sizes. This size goes beyond just a truck GPS I could see this actually leaning towards grey nomads who want a large GPS display for their caravanning or road-tripping adventures. This display is really only suitable to a truck or caravan cab, not my Subaru forester dash.
The LGV 1000 and LGV 800 have a little more than the LGV 700 out of the box. The larger models come with a screw-down mount and a 1-inch ball adapter with an AMPS style plate. You also get an adhesive dashboard disc. These models are designed to be mounted to the dash. The LGV 700 comes with a standard suction mount which obviously wouldn't cut it for the larger models.
That said there are mounts out double and even triple suction mount solutions out there that would work with this model if suction is the only option for you.
Features and Accessories
The new LGV models have Wi-Fi compatibility which means you can update your devices’ maps completely wirelessly. The maps included with these models all come with free map updates for Australia and New Zealand.
The big feature highlights for the LGV series are the following:
- Voice Assistant
- Allows for hand-free functionality for directions and spoken requests.
- Traffic and Weather Updates
- Pair with the Garmin Drive App to get live information for traffic and weather to allow you to change your route quickly to save time.
- Hands-Free Calling
- This is an extremely important feature to have considering the 2020 changes to Australian phone/driving laws
- Smart notifications
- Displays notifications from your smartphone to your display (when paired with Garmin drive app]
- Break planning functions to make the most of each stop
- Compatible with Backup Cameras from Garmin
In addition the newer models have a beefier processor in them allowing faster route calculation reducing the time spent waiting for the route to update in a traffic or weather situation.
Accessories
Currently the LGV series has accessories including a magnetic moutn with a video-in port, available here. There are also replacement dashboard adhesive discs and a powered magnetic mount without the video port.
You also have access to Garmin BC 35 wireless back up camera. There’s no traffic cable as such for this model as the traffic information is gained from your smartphone. There is the FMI 35 Serial Data Cable with an FM Antenna for fleet management but that’s a little outside of the scope for this article.
Special Truck Functions (that work in Australia)
Now the LGV units in Australia have the following truck specific functions
- Specialised truck routing
- Based on your truck size
- Popular truck route data
- Guides you on routes popular with dezl users
- Simple Truck Profile
- Truck and Trailer Services Directory
- Trucking POI’s
- Specialised Point’s of Interest and information for truck and caravan drivers
- IFTA Fuel Logging Capability
- HOS Violation Warnings
- Headphone Jack/Audio Line-out
- Truck-Specific speed limits
Summary
Overall there’s not a huge range of new features on these models so it’s hard to argue their worth upgrading but if you’re tossing up between the older dezl units or the new LGV series then it’s worth a look at how much a larger screen and beefier processing power could make your life easier.
FAQ
How to download drivers or update my GPS
Manual for the LGV 800/1000 – The American versions of these models is called OTR, this is the same model as the LGV.
Factory reset/hard reset
- Select Settings > Device > Reset.
- Select an option:
- To clear your travel history, select Clear Travel History.
- This option deletes all records of the places you have traveled. It does not delete saved locations or installed maps.
- To reset all settings to the factory default values, select Reset Default Settings.
- This option does not delete any user data.
- To delete all user data and reset all settings to the factory default values, select Delete Data and Reset Settings.
- This option deletes all user data, including your saved locations, recently found locations, and travel history. Installed maps are not deleted.
I’ve got the 700. I actually bought the 800 but it wasn’t compatible with a lot of Garmin’s existing mounts that all their previous truck sat-navs worked with so I sent it back (maybe the weight makes that impossible). I find that it’s more of a successor to the 580 than the 780; the screen has a poor resolution and it seems to offer a reduced feature set, with only two route suggestions (the 780 offered three) and no way to get rid of the annoying suggestions when you’re at one favourite location and have previously travelled to another. It seems that this is a cut-down entry-level model. I work for agencies and drive different vehicles every day or at least every week, so I need one that I can easily set up in any vehicle and the 800 didn’t seem to offer that; it appeared to have been designed to be fitted to one vehicle.