gps for dummies

[2K1TJ]

I'm looking at getting a reasonablly-priced GPs to put in the Jeep. The probalem is, I don't know much about them, so it's difficult to compare them and shop around. Which ones should I look for, and what features do I need for all-around wheeling and traveling purposes?

For example, I read a thread recently that said that their particular model didn't work offroad. This would be a deal breaker for me.

Any other features that I want or don't want? Can anybody recommend a specific model or brand? I'm not really set on a budget. I was hoping I could get a decent one for $200-$300.

[Audiophiliac]

A big enough screen that you can see it without straining is important to me. For offroad use, something that is "dustproof"...maybe even water resistant would be nice....and one feature a lot of guys like it the ability to mark where you have been....(I think its called bread-crumbing?)...so if you get lost, you can follow your tracks back out.....just some thoughts.

I am probably going to mount a laptop in the Jeep and use a USB GPS solution. :) As well as play my tunes from it.

[driley]

I am no GPS expert but with the Garmin units, there seem to generally be two categories of units to consider. There are the street navigators that are primarily targeted at in vehicle use with features such as large screens, text-to-speech directions, touch screen menus etc. I like these but there is one down side to consider. You cannot load the topo maps on most of these units, so they are not all that useful off-road. I believe that most of the navigations units come with all the street/hwy level maps included.

To use the topo maps, you need one of the general purpose units that are designed for hiking, biking or use in the car. Many of these still display turn-by-turn driving directions on the screen but do not have large screens or even audible driving directions. With the general purpose GPS units, you need to buy street/hwy maps separately as the maps that come with the unit are not of sufficient detail for all but major hwy navigation.

I will probably buy the Garmin 60Cx. In addition to the GPS unit, I will need to buy the street level and topo maps, as well as a Micro SD card, 12-volt adapter and some type of bracket to mount it in the car. This will probably cost around $500 all together.

[b1pig]

most all of the GPS handheld hiking/biking/topo-capable units will be dust proof, water resistant to about 3m deep and float... sorta.

Again, almost all of them will have the state routes, US routes and interstates on them. Their accuracy is debatable, but the GPS info is ALWAYS accurate. I have used my old Magellan alone, in combination with an old laptop and my laptop alone with the newest Streets/Trips and USB GPS (Pharos) module. All with great success. Ofcourse the laptop is pretty much useless for Geocache or similar stuff. The old Magellan is great for that, but the base maps suck horribly.

I am gonna just save up my dough and get the "Jeep" GPS that mounts on the dash. It seems to me to be the best of both worlds. When docked, it serves great as a Nav unit giving audible directions. Undocked, great as a handheld. Its made by garmin... so we'll see.

[2K1TJ]

Anybody have a TOMTOM or Mio?

[valleyofthegun]

I am happy with the Garmin 76csx. I bought it for a decent price but all the extras - like maps - add up. I really need to spend sometime with the software too.

[brne4x4]

Personally, I love my Garmin Quest.

Its water resistant (down to like 3 meters i think). Screen is pretty good size. I take it out to the desert a lot. Im actually shocked at how many of the larger trails show up on the regular US software it came with. I know you can buy different software too that will show more.

Its very easy to use. It creates a trail from where you have been. I've used it so many times to find my way back to camp on long days on the trail.

One of the greatest things about it is its size. I can take it with me in my pocket and change how it gives me directions (based on whether Im walking in a crowded city, driving, in a taxi etc etc).

Plus, I have recently been to a motorcycle rally I worked at. They had a Garmin booth there, and I talked to the guy there. He says the quest is really pretty powerful for its size and versatility.

It also is the same unit as the Jeep Trail Guide.

I just bought a brand new 4 door Sahara (really excited btw) and at the garmin booth they said If I can find someone who can sell me just the docking station part and wiring, that I could use the existing quest that I already have. The normal Trail Guide setup is like $800.

thegpsstore.com sells the quest brand new for like $370 (some places sell it cheaper refurbished by Garmin).

It also works great for around town (the car adapter (that it comes with, and it also comes with a house charger and the software and the cord to plug it into the computer). The car charger has a built in speaker that gives u turn by turn instructions (can be turned up nice and loud and is very clear).

Hope that helps.

[kretinus]

I have a Garmin Street Pilot, I'm fairly surpised at the accuracy of the map for this area, right down to the dead end river roads.

It can't do bread crumbing, but I was able to download POIs for it which gave me the location of most of the nature areas and reserves right down to obscure county parks.

[Egmont]

Here is one:

http://www.ecost.com/detail.aspx?EDP=%2035597599&Source=ewb070107A

[DisposableHero]

You can't really go wrong with any of the major brand GPS units these days, they all rely on the same satellites that the Air Force put up there, and therefore very similar tech.

Personally, I'm a fan of Garmin. I have the Nuvi 360 for navigating around road trips, and I've been looking pretty seriously at the Rino units. I was trained on something like the e-trex, and it worked great (same thing our boys over in the sand box are using).

[pikejd]

I have always used the Garmins for hiking and Military work. However, for auto nothing beats the Lowrance I-Way 500 or 600. The screens on EVERY other GPS is about 2.5 freakin inches. You cannot read them. You need to be able to glance and get back on the road. In addition, Lowrance won the Best New Auto technology award at SEMA!!! TWO years straight. Lowrance came out of nowhere to stomp Garmin and Magellan for auto use. Trust me I love my Garmin. Used my e-trex Vista in Iraq. Awsome! Auto too darn small. I mounted my Lowrance I-way 600 on the dash where Jeep shows their 2 inch screen Garmin. Nuff said!! -Jimmy

[2K1TJ]

I ordered a TomTom One. I'll report back soon how it works out. :cool:

[K9Jeeper]

Dude, for $179 bucks, you cannot beat the Mio C220. I picked one up 2 weeks ago, and am VERY VERY impressed with this unit. Anyone looking for one, I believe Circuit City has them at that price now. Otherwise, look on Ebay. Read the reviews though so you know if it's for you or not.

[Hip2u77]

I ordered a TomTom One. I'll report back soon how it works out. :cool:

While I don't own the TomTom One a quick read about it makes it sound like more of a street GPS.

You said you wanted something for off-road also.

IMO, there are very few choices that work good for everything. I've got a Garmin Quest and I'm quite happy with it.

It works for fine on road, off-road, blue chart (for marine use), Topo maps, is waterproof, will run for 17+ hours on a charge and if you choose to. . . it works with the factory Jeep Trail Guide mount. (Yes, the mount is waaaaaay overpriced, but it looks nice, the speakers are clear & loud, and no more using the power port.)

$225 for a Quest on ebay.
$250 for the mount and wiring harness.


Finally, one of the things that I like best about it. I can sit at the computer and plan the routes, or when I get back from a trip I can load the tracks (Bread crumb trails) in Google Earth and see where I was.

I'm leaving Saturday night for a trip to Colorado and maybe Moab. As I type this I'm in the process of mapping out some of the trails, Ghost towns, etc., in MapSource. (The software that comes with the Quest.) Once I'm done I'll just upload it all to the Quest.

(See, unlike a lot of GPS units, the Quest / Quest 2 will hold 50 routes, so I just make xx days worth of routes. Each day will have all the trails, scenic drives, POI, etc. that I plan to hit. I have 90% of the vacation mapped and ready before I leave the house.)

[dougr5150]

I also have the Garmin Quest I and it works great for offroad use. Granted the screen is a little small but I just use the window mount/charger it came with and put it almost right behind the steering wheel so it is easy to see. The bread crumb feature is a must for off roading it makes it so easy to find your way out or tell when you have been down a trail before. And like Hip2u77 said you can hook it up to Google Earth and see exactly where you have been or you can use GE to plan a track (I think that is what it is called) then send it to the GPS. There is also a nice free program at (http://jdmcox.com/) that uses the images from terraserver.microsoft.com to show you where you have been.

I used the jdmcox software to create this picture, it is zoomed way out but it shows the entire days drive.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p155/dougr5150/misc/After.jpg

[Mage]

Do any of these GPS systems work with macs?

[dougr5150]

Do any of these GPS systems work with macs?

You would have to check the manufatures web page, but I would think they would but not sure.

[driley]

Do any of these GPS systems work with macs?

From most reviews I have read of Garmin units, they do not support Macs.

[brne4x4]

$225 for a Quest on ebay.
$250 for the mount and wiring harness.



Hey. Did you also find the harness on ebay? I need to get me on of those

[2K1TJ]

This is the type of info I was looking for. I read tons of reviews on the net, but rarely did I find one that was writen by an offroader. The factory-written descriptions told me little that I needed to know. I'll play with it a day or 2 and if it won't fit my needs, I'll return it.




While I don't own the TomTom One a quick read about it makes it sound like more of a street GPS.

You said you wanted something for off-road also.

IMO, there are very few choices that work good for everything. I've got a Garmin Quest and I'm quite happy with it.

It works for fine on road, off-road, blue chart (for marine use), Topo maps, is waterproof, will run for 17+ hours on a charge and if you choose to. . . it works with the factory Jeep Trail Guide mount. (Yes, the mount is waaaaaay overpriced, but it looks nice, the speakers are clear & loud, and no more using the power port.)

$225 for a Quest on ebay.
$250 for the mount and wiring harness.


Finally, one of the things that I like best about it. I can sit at the computer and plan the routes, or when I get back from a trip I can load the tracks (Bread crumb trails) in Google Earth and see where I was.

I'm leaving Saturday night for a trip to Colorado and maybe Moab. As I type this I'm in the process of mapping out some of the trails, Ghost towns, etc., in MapSource. (The software that comes with the Quest.) Once I'm done I'll just upload it all to the Quest.

(See, unlike a lot of GPS units, the Quest / Quest 2 will hold 50 routes, so I just make xx days worth of routes. Each day will have all the trails, scenic drives, POI, etc. that I plan to hit. I have 90% of the vacation mapped and ready before I leave the house.)

I also have the Garmin Quest I and it works great for offroad use. Granted the screen is a little small but I just use the window mount/charger it came with and put it almost right behind the steering wheel so it is easy to see. The bread crumb feature is a must for off roading it makes it so easy to find your way out or tell when you have been down a trail before. And like Hip2u77 said you can hook it up to Google Earth and see exactly where you have been or you can use GE to plan a track (I think that is what it is called) then send it to the GPS. There is also a nice free program at (http://jdmcox.com/) that uses the images from terraserver.microsoft.com to show you where you have been.

I used the jdmcox software to create this picture, it is zoomed way out but it shows the entire days drive.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p155/dougr5150/misc/After.jpg

[Hip2u77]

Hey. Did you also find the harness on ebay? I need to get me on of those


http://www.jk-forum.com/showpost.php?p=103127&postcount=24

[brne4x4]

http://www.jk-forum.com/showpost.php?p=103127&postcount=24

THANKS! Now I just have to talk my wife into it.. and the lift... and bumpers... and rock sliders... :D