Cost no limit GPS

[LIG4X4]

I'd like to get an off-road only GPS.

I already have the MyGig unit which is good enough for the city.

My other cars all have GPS so I don't care if it's not movable to other vehicles.

Must have:
- rugged (at list for rain)
- easy to read in sunlight
- large screen (5"-8")
- external GPS antennae
- detailed topo maps (24,000) with trails and breadcrumb feature

Like to have:
- external video input (use as rear view screen)

So far I like the Lowrance Baja 540 or 840 and Garmin 7200.

Any opinions, experiences with any of them?

Any other ones I should consider?

[jsmoriss]

Any other ones I should consider?

Lowrance 9300 HD. :-D

js.

[LIG4X4]

Lowrance 9300 HD. :-D

js.

Looks like a marine device.

Did I get it wrong?

[Ben Hedrick]

One word: GARMIN

I have a 376C which has Topo, BlueCharts (water navigation), all US Street navigation and Live XM Doppler Radar and weather! GARMIN's 376, 378, 476 & 478 and all excellent units and with the XM weather bonus, you'll wonder how you drove around without it.

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=148&pID=325

http://thegpsstore.com/Garmin-GPSMAP-376C-GPS-with-XM-WeatherAudio-P770C78.aspx

Also, this units is small enough for dash mounting and it doesn't block your view. I can take a picture of mine and post it, if you're interested.

Ben

[rwamf]

I'd like to get an off-road only GPS.

I already have the MyGig unit which is good enough for the city.

My other cars all have GPS so I don't care if it's not movable to other vehicles.

Must have:
- rugged (at list for rain)
- easy to read in sunlight
- large screen (5"-8")
- external GPS antennae
- detailed topo maps (24,000) with trails and breadcrumb feature

Like to have:
- external video input (use as rear view screen)

So far I like the Lowrance Baja 540 or 840 and Garmin 7200.


Any opinions, experiences with any of them?

Any other ones I should consider?

Have not seen any that have a video input, but I am sure it is coming.
The Baja 540 is an upgrade to the 480c to which I am familiar with, I know that they share most features and may be video input is an option now?? It is a nice unit but comes with no detailed mapping, It does have a High res 480x480 screen that is very easy to see in the sunlight, The Mapcreate software is very nice Topo, ( buy it with their Card writer as that is the only way to get the maps to display on the 540) and looks much nicer than the Garmin Topo, The road date is older but the Screen and topo display is 100% better than the Garmin units, It does not do any Auto routing and it only has an external antenna. so you will be dealing with more cabling etc.
Best bang for the buck is the Lowrance Iway 600c, It comes with a high res screen 480x640 and comes with complete US topo maps , marine Maps and up to date NavTeq Street maps, Does auto routing, water proof and no extra cables to mess with, You can plug an external antenna to it if needed, It does Tracks much better than any Garmin also, Garmin units only will allow you to save either 15 tracks @ 750 points each or some units will save 20 tracks at up to 500 points each, The Lowrance units will save up to 100 tracks at up to 9999 points each, ( more points = better resolution) You can also save them to the internal memory or in the case of the 540 to the SD card, But unlike the Garmin units you can also import them back into the unit without a PC, you can not do that with the Garmin units, Not only can you change the color of individual tracks you can change the way they look , from a faint dotted line to a bold solid line.
Garmin units are not the only thing out there, Lowrance has quite a few advantages on them especially with track handling.
I have saved quite a few large track files so when I go to an area I can load a large file 50 to 75 tracks all at once into the unit and display all the tracks, very cool, With a garmin unit you need to filter down all your saved tracks to 500 points and load them with a PC, and even then you can only load 20 tracks, that sucks when you go to Colorado and I have 51 tracks.

[CAOKKIE]

Look at the Garman Rhino.

[rwamf]

Look at the Garman Rhino.

Since when does the Rhino have a 5" screen?

[LIG4X4]

Have not seen any that have a video input, but I am sure it is coming.
The Baja 540 is an upgrade to the 480c to which I am familiar with, I know that they share most features and may be video input is an option now?? It is a nice unit but comes with no detailed mapping, It does have a High res 480x480 screen that is very easy to see in the sunlight, The Mapcreate software is very nice Topo, ( buy it with their Card writer as that is the only way to get the maps to display on the 540) and looks much nicer than the Garmin Topo, The road date is older but the Screen and topo display is 100% better than the Garmin units, It does not do any Auto routing and it only has an external antenna. so you will be dealing with more cabling etc.
Best bang for the buck is the Lowrance Iway 600c, It comes with a high res screen 480x640 and comes with complete US topo maps , marine Maps and up to date NavTeq Street maps, Does auto routing, water proof and no extra cables to mess with, You can plug an external antenna to it if needed, It does Tracks much better than any Garmin also, Garmin units only will allow you to save either 15 tracks @ 750 points each or some units will save 20 tracks at up to 500 points each, The Lowrance units will save up to 100 tracks at up to 9999 points each, ( more points = better resolution) You can also save them to the internal memory or in the case of the 540 to the SD card, But unlike the Garmin units you can also import them back into the unit without a PC, you can not do that with the Garmin units, Not only can you change the color of individual tracks you can change the way they look , from a faint dotted line to a bold solid line.
Garmin units are not the only thing out there, Lowrance has quite a few advantages on them especially with track handling.
I have saved quite a few large track files so when I go to an area I can load a large file 50 to 75 tracks all at once into the unit and display all the tracks, very cool, With a garmin unit you need to filter down all your saved tracks to 500 points and load them with a PC, and even then you can only load 20 tracks, that sucks when you go to Colorado and I have 51 tracks.


Thanks for a great review.

I didn't like the Iway as its not really an offroad unit.

I expect to use the unit mostly with the top off and in direct sunlight and I heard that the 540/840 screen is superb in sunlight.

Do you know what resolution are the topo maps (24000 or 100000?)

Right now I am leaning towards the 540, the 840 seems a little too big.

[rwamf]

Thanks for a great review.

I didn't like the Iway as its not really an offroad unit.

I expect to use the unit mostly with the top off and in direct sunlight and I heard that the 540/840 screen is superb in sunlight.

Do you know what resolution are the topo maps (24000 or 100000?)

Right now I am leaning towards the 540, the 840 seems a little too big.

http://rwamf.com/xog/iway600c.jpg
Direct sunlight, is not bad,

The resolution is not the issue with these type of Topo as the resolution is not fixed as with USGS maps, so as you zoom the data is readable and clear, That is the difference between Raster maps and Vector Maps, I prefer the Vector style maps of which the mapcreate is.
What is a Digital Raster Graphic?
A digital raster graphic (DRG) is a scanned image of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) standard series topographic map,

[LIG4X4]

http://rwamf.com/xog/iway600c.jpg
Direct sunlight, is not bad,

The resolution is not the issue with these type of Topo as the resolution is not fixed as with USGS maps, so as you zoom the data is readable and clear, That is the difference between Raster maps and Vector Maps, I prefer the Vector style maps of which the mapcreate is.
What is a Digital Raster Graphic?
A digital raster graphic (DRG) is a scanned image of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) standard series topographic map,

Since both the iWay and the 540 cost the same, have the same screen size, and I presume run the same software/maps, etc. can you give me your opinion on why chose one or the other?

[eDiveBuddy]

Panasonic Toughbook CFU-1

gizmodo.com/5019515/panasonic-toughbook-cf+u1-pricing-and-specs-of-the-rugged-little-intel-atom-umpc

[rwamf]

Since both the iWay and the 540 cost the same, have the same screen size, and I presume run the same software/maps, etc. can you give me your opinion on why chose one or the other?

No you can find the tigergps.com/lowranceiway600c.html Iway much cheaper, and you do not have to buy maps, they are included, not so with the 540 and even then the tigergps.com/lowrancebaja540c.html 540 will only allow you to run the Topo maps , you can not buy the up-to-date Navteq maps to run on the 540.
The 600c has a much nicer user interface and you can set up on-screen overlays much better than on the 540, the 600 has a very cool "Auto Zoom" that is speed sensitive very cool, and the ability to switch map sets at any time,
IMO the 600c is twice the GPS and is cheaper to boot
The sensitivity of the receiver is much better also, it has a newer Chip that will lock on faster and will stay locked in fringe areas ( heavy foliage, trees etc)
They really don't have the same screen as the 540 has a square screen 480x480 where as the Iway uses a wider 640x480 screen, both measure 5" diagonally and both are very nice, The nod in the sunlight has to go to the 540 as it is not a touch screen as touch screens seem to have a tinted screen.
The 600 will do auto routing and the maps have much more up-to-date POI's ( points of interest) millions more in fact, so it is a no-brainer for me, as having spent time with both, the Iway is a much nicer package IMO

[Flyin'Squirrel]

here's a stupid question;

do these 'offroad' gps's do regular city street tasks too?

[rwamf]

here's a stupid question;

do these 'offroad' gps's do regular city street tasks too?

Which ones?
The Lowrance 600c and XOG are street units that do great off-road, Garmin Street units suck off-road, and most Garmin GpsMap series do both also

[doojer]

Cost no limit? Then I'd go for one of these.... :yup:

https://store.trimble.com/OA_HTML/ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?section=13960&item=191847

[Ryanm]

I'm not exactly sure what I can post here since all the vendors involved are not sponsors. The Garmin 496 is simply an outstanding solution

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=156&pID=6426

The XM weather with NEXRAD weather data is incredible. There are several pilot websites that also offer some unique mounting solutions for the unit. At some point I'm going to install a more permanent mount in my Jeep rather than the auto-mount. The nice thing about the 496 kit is it comes with everything you need in the package.

You also get topo maps

Here's the link to the cost for the XM weather
http://www.xmradio.com/pdf/existing/weather/grd_subscription_pkg.pdf

Mods, I apologize in advance if I'm posting too much info here with non-sponsors.

[doojer]

FYI, you are free to post what you like-- we just request that you not use direct links to non-sponsors.

Thanks!

[LIG4X4]

Cost no limit? Then I'd go for one of these.... :yup:



can't follow the URL, can you specify the units?

[LIG4X4]

here's a stupid question;

do these 'offroad' gps's do regular city street tasks too?

yes, most of them do.

the iWay 600 has superb city features.

[Flyin'Squirrel]

oh cool :thumbsup:

[jgarner]

Garmin Colorada 300. I have one it works great on and off road. I have the Street Navigator, Topo and Inland lakes SD cards. I am prepared whatever the course maybe.

[Littlejon]

I am waiting on the Delorme PN-40. Looks like it will be one of the nicest all around systems out there. You can do topo maps, hybrid maps, etc...

[LIG4X4]

I am waiting on the Delorme PN-40. Looks like it will be one of the nicest all around systems out there. You can do topo maps, hybrid maps, etc...

the problem with both this one and the colorado from garmin is that they are designed for a backpacker, where weight and size are important, thus have very small screens and are not easily controlled while in a car.

I'm looking for a full size one, permanently installed in the jeep.

[Littlejon]

the problem with both this one and the colorado from garmin is that they are designed for a backpacker, where weight and size are important, thus have very small screens and are not easily controlled while in a car.

I'm looking for a full size one, permanently installed in the jeep.

Northridge has a Cobra GPS that looks like it is very nice for in the car. I haven't really looked into that one much yet though.

[rlabbott]

Garmin has announced a new unit that has my interest. The Nuvi 5xx series. See 'whats new' on their site.
It is a nuvi, waterproof, touch screen (best for on road poi hunting), and has Topo ability... This looks like the perfect blend for a on/off road unit.

I also own a Garmin 396 for flying (as a backup to the G1000 equiped aircraft I fly.) If you're a weather junkie, you can't beat the XM weather feed for NEXRAD, Cloud cover mosaic, forecasts, etc. But, where this information is critical for flying... it's mostly a very pricey toy for driving (although I love it.) Personally, If if didn't fly, I would have a hard time justifying the expense of the 396/496 unit, plus the cost of the XM subscription ($25 or $50/mo, depending on service level). But it's a really nice do every job unit. Street maps, topo maps, marine maps, and weather, and superb sunlight readable screen. On the downside, this unit is so expensive... I worry about it getting stolen from the Jeep.

We also have two Garmin nuvi 200w's in the family... super cheap and great for traveling, particularly rental cars. (At $199, if they're stolen, it's like losing 3 tanks of gas.) The soon to be available 5xx series looks like it will be the case of a nuvi, but designed for both street and topo data. I think their site projects the retail price around $500, which usually means you can get it for 20% less than that.

So, for me, I'm waiting till fall to see how this new series looks. (Like I need another GPS anyway... "addiction" ) Happy shopping!

[LIG4X4]

Does anyone have experience with the Garmin StreetPilot 7200? Especially off-road.