Vehicle GPS Navigation Units - which ones are best?

[frater secessus]

But yes, I can see that it will do you no good if you can't get a cell signal. 

Google maps will let you download mapsets to the device for offline routing:  [menu] | offline maps |select your own map

I just did the Quartzsite area, and it took 35MB of space on my sd card:



So one could grab the data at a free wifi point and google maps would use the data thereafter.

 

[tav-2020]

I just did the Quartzsite area, and it took 35MB of space on my sd card:

Cool! Thanks -- have you used it for boon dock road finding? accurately?

 

[bigsallysmom]

I've got a Garmin 50LM and have had it for five years or so. I don't know if the manufacturer has made any big changes over the years.
It shows the track the vehicle is taken and after a while my travels around home show a muddle of paths. I can't save or delete individual tracks. To get rid of those I have to reset the device which means I lose all the tracks and addresses I've inputted.

 

[tx2sturgis]

 To get rid of those I have to reset the device which means I lose all the tracks and addresses I've inputted.

All you have to do is go into settings and turn off 'trip logging'. 

I have two of my Gamins handy, the menu looks different on each one but look in the settings for Map or Map Layers. 

Look for Trip Logging.

Then just click to turn it off.

 

[frater secessus]

Cool! Thanks -- have you used it for boon dock road finding? accurately?

No, but in general I mark places using lat/long or google maps (desktop), then let gmaps get me as close as possible.  Then start looking.  I do this with geocaches, too.

 

[frater secessus]

I've got a Garmin 50LM
...
I can't save or delete individual tracks.  To get rid of those I have to reset the device which means I lose all the tracks and addresses I've inputted.

The 50lm will connect to a PC as a USB device;  you can browse, deleted, add stuff at will. 

There's also a garmin updater that will run and see if there are updates.

 

[frater secessus]

All you have to do is go into settings and turn off 'trip logging'. 

I think that would turn off new tracks but not clear old ones.

 

[NoMadYesHappy]

Wow ... good stuff here.

I've traveled all over the US for work, and used nothing but my cell phone for getting me from the airport to the job site. Most of it has been big city travel, but a sizable portion took me into some really remote areas. My company phone's Verizon was hands down the best service, my personal Sprint device limping behind at a woefully inadequate distance.

I got where I needed to go every time. 100%.

The one shortfall was navigating in areas where there was no cell service. Totally hosed. I was always in a rush to get baggage, get my car, find the hotel and get to bed before 4am in the morning, so I always neglected to download a map of the area. DOH!

I'm really liking the $100 unit at Best Buy that someone up there posted. Now I can pass out whenever I want to, even at 4am, and still have map. I am a NoMad YesHappy camper!

 

[tx2sturgis]

I think that would turn off new tracks but not clear old ones.

Well, it does clear the 'tracks' off the screen....and stops further logging, (I think). Not sure but I can do some testing. I have a few million miles with these things, but never dug into that part much, I just always left it turned off. 

If a person was using one for driving, walking or hiking in unfamiliar areas, it could help them retrace a path back to a starting point. And no, these are not really designed for walking but they can be used that way for a little while, altho the battery life is very short when not plugged in.

 

[NoMadYesHappy]

I went looking at Best Buy [always a dangerous place for me to go ] for a stand alone GPS unit ... not much to offer me there.  I would like some navigation redundancy [to back up my phone] and, I would like something that has the ability to connect to a remote backup camera via something like Bluetooth.  I saw one in the "deep" lineup of offerings at Best Buy [with as much sarcasm as I can muster: there were only  3 versions from two manufacturers] that advertised "built in" camera, but that sounded more like something my phone has rather than the ability to connect via Bluetooth [or?] to a remote camera.  I would like lifetime maps, POI, track storage, long/lat input to nav to, couple bells, a few whistles, have about 300$ earmarked for the nav [I might go 500$ if it's really, really shiny and Amazon releases its grip on my account!].  My questions are ...

• Is there a gps/nav system out there that has backup camera integration?  Bluetooth?  Two camera channels, one for looking at the hitch, one for a view behind the trailer would be ideal.  I guess I could get two discreet systems, but having one display in my field of view instead of two would be nice. 
  
• What is "Foursquare Data"?
  
  
• Is there something that will communicate/integrate with Google maps [or?] on my phone to create a sort of "hybrid" data source using both downloaded maps and real-time cell network data to use the best of both sources?

Thanks in advance! 

 

[speedhighway46]

Here is my perspective on stand-alone GPS units:

Rand McNally: very sensitive to over voltage, like when you are cruising down the highway and your alternator is pumping out 14.4 volts. Results are non-responsive touch screen and many lockups. Avoid unless you are a saddest.

Garmin: high quality, never a problem. I have the 7” model intended for commercial trucks and large motor homes. I also have the back up camera option; works great.

Tom Tom: I have two older, small units. Work great but I really don’t use them much any more. I have read that Tom Tom provides the mapping and route software to at least one of the major auto manufacturers.

If I were to buy another unit it would probably be the largest and the greatest and latest Garmin.

Just my opinion . . .

 

[safarivan]

I have an old garmin nuvi200 that someone gave me. with the internet I was able to find a current map for it without paying any subscription AND there were programers who had cusomized the firmware for these units that made it do tracking and replay etc. the features foun on the most expensive ones. it took some study but I figured out how to flash the custom firmware and have been very happy with this unit.

you can probably find one used somewhere for next to nothing and they work pretty well as they are but if you have the desire and time, you can update them quite a bit. after the updates I am able to take out the SDcard and put it in the PC then transfer the tracks I went into garmin mapsource, basecamp, and google earth and look at my routes, change them up and save them back. can also load new POI into it.

its amazing what you can do with info from the internet these days!