Need GPS recomendations

[Lisa Truck Gypsy]

I'm looking for a GPS unit for my truck for my adventure to the Mojave Desert. Anyone have any favorites out there? I don't want to spend a lot of money and want to keep it simple.

 

[DuneElliot]

If you have a fairly modern Smartphone you could download one of the apps that works as a GPS; there are several good ones out there.

 

[John61CT]

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?pid=297711#pid297711

 

[highdesertranger]

be careful with GPS's. they are great but they can also get you in trouble. are you an experienced desert traveler? the phone GPS's are lacking without cell service ad there are many areas in the Mojave that have no cell service. the cheaper GPS's don't differentiate between a dirt track road and a improved dirt road. what I am trying to say is if you are unfamiliar with off road desert travel do not rely on a GPS. I have never seen a phone or a cheaper unit that I would rely on. just saying. highdesertranger

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

What you need is this:

https://www.amazon.com/Mojave-Natio...96200677&sr=8-1&keywords=map+of+mojave+desert


Or one of the other publications shown on this page . . .

 

[Ballenxj]

What you need is this:

https://www.amazon.com/Mojave-Natio...96200677&sr=8-1&keywords=map+of+mojave+desert


Or one of the other publications shown on this page . . .

One thing about it, these will work even if the satellites won't. 
 And I don't think my phone is as smart as they tell me it is.

 

[BobBski]

Ditto HDR's comment.  A GPS is a great tool but are not the end all, be all.  Having said that I wouldn't travel without one.  As a retired truck driver I've used one for years and have tried several makes and models.  To me Garmin beats all others hands down in the high end units.Presently I use a Garmin Dezl 570LMT  https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00R..._SY340_QL65&keywords=garmin+dezl+570lmt&psc=1

It does just about everything...operates while on the move by voice command to to find what you want, blue tooth connects to my cell phone for voice command calling.  All kinds of options in trip planning, live traffic reports around major cities, free Lifetime Map Updates and I could go on.  

 

[BobBski]

Here's a screen shot of my route for tomorrow.

 

[rvpopeye]

I have lived on the road since 1981 and started trying GPS navigation in the early 2000s.
A GPS has given me so many wrong directions away from big cities and Interstate highways I can't trust one .
I went back to only relying on paper maps.
Delorme Atlas is a good one available for each state you want to go to. $20-25 each
Also a US atlas like the Walmart Rand McNally under $10.
And then there are area maps like the one OP linked to.

 

[BobBski]

Safe and accurate navigation requires a tool box of instruments to include a good map a great cuppa.  A good accurate compass is another.

 

[highdesertranger]

x2 on the real paper maps. I study the paper maps then use the GPS as a supplement. if the GPS wants to send me in the wrong direction(which it does) I know. I have seen the smart phones off by many, many miles without a cell signal. one time I was in a bar in rural Nevada(imagine that). the bartender was telling a story to some locals about some tourist that came in and asked, "is this the shortcut to such and such" the bartender said, "yeah if you have 10 ply tires". boy they all got a kick out of that, they were all laughing. it seems someone's GPS sent them that way. as a note the road got extremely rough past the bar if the tourist were to continue on their "shortcut". highdesertranger

 

[DuneElliot]

  the phone GPS's are lacking without cell service ad there are many areas in the Mojave that have no cell service.  

This is simply not true. There are plenty of GPS apps that can be used without cell service. Yes, you have to download the maps beforehand when you DO have service or a wireless internet connection, but apps like Gaia, Backcountry Navigator, Alpine Quest and many others are very much usable without a cell signal. Either I, or others I know personally, have used the three above extensively and reliably in the backcountry where there is no service.

 

[highdesertranger]

I know you can use them without cell service but from what I have seen is without cell service, sometimes the are inaccurate by miles and the are slow. as in slow I mean sometimes it takes a long time to get a lock. my buddy has an iPhone I can turn my GPS on, get a lock, save the location and turn it off before he gets a lock and when he does it has been off by miles sometimes. we have verified this because when we get back to camp we compare on my mapping software. once one of his way points said we where on the other side of a valley more than 10 miles from where we actually where. like I said before you must be careful with any GPS(phone or dedicated) imo it's best to use them as a supplement not as a primary navigation tool. I have another story about some backpackers using their iPhones for navigation but I will save that one for another day. highdesertranger

 

[LoupGarou]

I've been using a Garmin handheld GPSmap 62s. I do my route planning using Garmin's BaseCamp software. Both have served me well, even on trips into Mainland Mexico.

You can't beat a device that can show you where your at, point you with directions to where you want to go and if you have tracking turned on and displayed, where you've been all at the same time.

 

[DuneElliot]

I know you can use them without cell service but from what I have seen is without cell service,  sometimes the are inaccurate by miles and the are slow.  as in slow I mean sometimes it takes a long time to get a lock.  my buddy has an iPhone I can turn my GPS on,  get a lock,  save the location and turn it off before he gets a lock and when he does it has been off by miles sometimes.  we have verified this because when we get back to camp we compare on my mapping software.  once one of his way points said we where on the other side of a valley more than 10 miles from where we actually where.  like I said before you must be careful with any GPS(phone or dedicated) imo it's best to use them as a supplement not as a primary navigation tool.  I have another story about some backpackers using their iPhones for navigation but I will save that one for another day. highdesertranger

iPhone...'nuff said!

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

3X (or is it 4?) on paper maps and compass.  Learn how to use them, not only for navigation but to figure out where you are on a map with just the map, compass and your eyes.  Then you can be confident in using GPS; knowing when it is leading you astray.

I use GPS for two things:

1. iPhone Maps for getting verbal driving directions on the highway (I don't have a decent navigator to tell me where to turn, the beagle always leads me to the nearest butcher shop)    I have found it to get confused when out of cell tower range.
2. Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx for documenting a hike, marking picture sites, giving me miles and elevation changes when hiking.  And on one occasion getting me back to my camper when thick fog obscured the trail.

As for the best GPS; it depends on what you want to use it for.  I use the iPhone because I have it.  Don't have to buy (or deal with) another electronic gadget.  It has been good for me in the places I have used it (cities mostly).

The Garmin is good for hiking, as it is a convenient way to document my trips and as a secondary source of information.  It works in the truck, but is not made for that so it is awkward to use for highway navigation.

 -- Spiff

 

[John61CT]

Android gps and mapping apps are better than iPhone.

Navmii is another works fine worldwide offline, also has the option to use What3Words, very cool for easy sharing of precise waypoints, @7x7' resolution.

 

[akrvbob]

I love my smartphone navigation in towns, but I have zero confidence on any GPS designed for road use once you hit the dirt roads. They won't just waste your time they will send you out on bad roads you can't possibly get through and put you in danger.

I was a campground host in the National Forests for 4 years, and whenever we hosts would get together we would talk about the stupid things we've seen people do following GPS into the backcountry. DON'T DO IT.

 

[highdesertranger]

x 10,000 Bob just gave y'all great advice, heed it. highdesertranger

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

The big problem with gps and backroads is a lot of back (dirt) roads aren't actually roads at all, just trails carved in over time by atv's horses, dirtbikes, jeeps, old logging roads, power lines, pipe lines, etc etc etc. So there wouldn't be any reason a gps company would include them on their software as they don't even have a name. So whether it gets reception or not, it's info is likely inaccurate. I do a lot of exploring on old logging roads in Maine and when my GPS is running, it thinks im in a large field. No road outlines in sight.

Edit: I should add my hiking gps unit knows a lot more of the logging roads than my car gps does. I use all of them.....car gps, handheld gps, google earth, and good old paper will never let you down...map books, atlas's, and the best if you're really out there topographic maps for the area you want to explore are worth their weight in gold.