GPS recommendations

[dodge man]

If you have cell service when you start a trip and then lose it, the navigation will continue. The picture will lose all the detail, just a line for the road you are on, but the directions will continue.

 

[RickB]

If you have cell service when you start a trip and then lose it, the navigation will continue. The picture will lose all the detail, just a line for the road you are on, but the directions will continue.

That sounds too much like listening to my wife.

 

[Ford850]

That sounds too much like listening to my wife.

"I told you! You should have turned back there!!"

 

[Ford850]

If you have cell service when you start a trip and then lose it, the navigation will continue. The picture will lose all the detail, just a line for the road you are on, but the directions will continue.

Many years ago I decided to try using GPS on my cell for the first time, rather than my usual paper mapping for my trip. It was working pretty slick and I was proud of myself for embracing new technology. Then, within a few miles of an unfamiliar area that I planned to rely on the GPS the most for exits and interchanges, I drove under into a weather front that was completely overcast and raining. My phone screen locked up and had the "searching for signal" type message. I panicked and focused on the phone trying to get it to recover while I missed my exit, adding about half an hour to my trip. Phones have improved a lot since then.

 

[TractorGuy]

My last Garmin (don't remember what model) came with 1free map update. It got us lost to the tune of a couple hours on two different occasions. When I went to cash in the update it didn't have enough built in memory and I had to add an SD card. Not that big of a deal but just saying.

I think it's still buried in the center console of the wife's car.

 

[saxnbees]

I use my cell phone and the app Here WeGo. It used to be called Here maps. You do not need a cell signal to start a route and I find the maps to be more accurate in our rural area of Maine than the other alternative apps I tried. If you are going to a place where cell service is spotty, you can download maps for a state, a region, or the entire country to the phone ahead of time. I bought a wire to connect my phone to the power in the car, either USB or cig lighter depending on the car. Then I bought a small gismo that hooks onto the air vent fins to hold the phone at a level I can see at a glance. Turn the brightness up on the phone and you are ready to go. You may need to add a memory chip to the phone if you want to preload a lot of maps. As a bonus, you can use the same phone to provide your favorite music, take pictures, etc.

 

[oosik]

Garmin is the way to go. With lifetime map updates. I have Garmin in the Taco Wagon( 2018 Ram Power Wagon ), on my motorcycle ( BMW R1200 GSA) and one hand held. The hand held is for when we strike out into the bush.

The principle use for the two in my vehicles. Gives advance verbal notice of upcoming road(s) where I will have to make a turn off the beaten path.

I've had my hand held for over 14 years now. Still on the OEM battery - still functioning as well as brand new. BTW - I've successfully installed numerous software upgrades on this handheld. The handheld has had 14 years in my adventures with Geocaching.

 

[dodge man]

We still keep a atlas in our vehicles. The gps is good but it’s not perfect.

 

[RickB]

We do too. Sometimes you just need to see the big picture. It’s not unheard of to program a particular waypoint in a route specifically to guarantee a certain way of getting from point A to B.

 

[Grumpycat]

Wife's been bugging me to do a road trip, we're figuring on taking it next year and I was considering getting a GPS. Usually I just go with a road atlas (and still plan to use that over the big picture) but they don't show much detail beyond the state/federal highways.
I've seen off brand ones on Amazon for fairly cheap money? Any experience with these? How do they compare to a Garmin? Don't want to spend a lot on something that we probably won't use that much, but also want something that's gonna work.

I don't have (or want) a smart phone, so that option is off the table.

Trust me, at any price there are few GPSs better than this 7" refurbished Garmin for $110. I own two. I also own a $700 Garmin Zumo 595. Much happier with the DriveSmart 61 NA LMT-S. The 595 does some motorcycle things the 61 does not but that is all. The 61 will update itself if you connect to WiFi.

Price good through September 6, 2020.

Garmin DriveSmart 61 NA LMT-S 6.95" Refurbished GPS w/ 1 Year Warranty

 

[Grumpycat]

We do too. Sometimes you just need to see the big picture. It’s not unheard of to program a particular waypoint in a route specifically to guarantee a certain way of getting from point A to B.

You are a glutton for punishment if you try to compose a complex route directly on a GPS. I often plot 100 mile routes cross country with over 40 shaping points to force the route to the roads I want to take. I use Garmin Basecamp. I don't have much love for Basecamp's interface or reliability but I've figured out how to make it work until Garmin replaces this ignored software.

On the fly I will tell the Garmin to route to the destination and leave "automatic recalculation" turned on. If it tries to send me on a road I know I don't like I simply go the way I want then the GPS reconsiders and figures how to get there the way I'm going.

When using my carefully crafted routes I turn recalculation off because slightest deviation from the route can cause the GPS to throw everything away in favor of a new path of its choosing.

 

[RickB]

Adding a single waypoint to an existing route is easy and does not require me to have additional software.
As always, there are more than one way to accomplish things, just as there are more than one way to get places.

If I had 40 waypoints surely I would be looking for other solutions.

 

[Grumpycat]

Adding a single waypoint to an existing route is easy and does not require me to have additional software.
As always, there are more than one way to accomplish things, just as there are more than one way to get places.

If I had 40 waypoints surely I would be looking for other solutions.

Editing routes on Garmin GPS is clumsy. However one can ad hoc set a destination then set another destination then be asked if this is a new route or should be added to existing as next destination? One can build a hand crafted route this way so long as one knows enough in advance to add the waypoints from destination first working back to the start. Goof and start over.

 

[RickB]

Editing routes on Garmin GPS is clumsy. However one can ad hoc set a destination then set another destination then be asked if this is a new route or should be added to existing as next destination? One can build a hand crafted route this way so long as one knows enough in advance to add the waypoints from destination first working back to the start. Goof and start over.

Yeah. I think at this point I have it down. Been using them for heading for 20 years.

 

[Oaktree]

Trust me, at any price there are few GPSs better than this 7" refurbished Garmin for $110. I own two. I also own a $700 Garmin Zumo 595. Much happier with the DriveSmart 61 NA LMT-S. The 595 does some motorcycle things the 61 does not but that is all. The 61 will update itself if you connect to WiFi.

Price good through September 6, 2020.

Garmin DriveSmart 61 NA LMT-S 6.95" Refurbished GPS w/ 1 Year Warranty

As it turns out, I decided on the Garmin Drive 61 USA LM which is almost the same thing...$119 new from Amazon. Should have it end of next week.
Thanks for all the info!

 

[grsthegreat]

i have the Garmin Drive 61. it does not have wifi capabilities. which is fine by me.

 

[Oaktree]

i have the Garmin Drive 61. it does not have wifi capabilities. which is fine by me.

Wifi isn't important to me, don't have it at the house anyway, why pay extra for something I'll never use. Figure it's easy enough to do updates thru a computer.

 

[grsthegreat]

Actually, i looked at instructions on my garmin61, and it does not have wifi, but apparently there is a model-of the 61 that does. Weird. Why not give it a different number. Anyways, i dint use any bluetooth junk. Not in house, not in car.

Dont want my gps communicating with my phone. I do use wifi in the house. Need it to get hulu and netflix on tv, to use my ipad, etc.

Personally, ill never use any 5G device. Dont trust it. Dont need it. Im now retired so i dont need to use phone fir business any longer. I dont play gaming online, dont need to stream anything any faster.

The only thing i wish for is for Ziply to bring fiber to my place, which they say is on the way. Its cheaper than the system i use now

 

[sandman2234]

I run a Garmin 580 series in my truck and really am not as happy with it as I thought I would be. I bought it for the speed limit warning capabilities because the company I work for has very strict speed limit termination policy. Wander into a speed zone at 15 over twice willl get you terminated. 10 over 3 times will get you terminated. Five over will get you put on a company wide email list and if you stay on that list, it will cost you your safety bonus. Needless to say, they take speeding serious. I run the Garmin and my phone almost all the time just to keep an idea of what they think the speed limit is and 1 to get me to where I am going. The truck GPS wants to take roads way out of the way, on routes I know that there is a better way. I watch the speed limit signs and laugh at the GPS because it is almost always wrong when on anything less than an Interstate, and even then it is suspect! The phone is wrong alot also, but not as much. Getting the speed limits to match roads accurately requires a lot to get it right and apparently whoever is writing the software or doing the work to put Garmin technology together isn't doing the work or doing it correctly.
As far as using a GPS to take me places, as others have mentioned, make sure you check it with a map before you start out!!
David from jax

 

[grsthegreat]

i dont know , my garmin 61 hasnt got me lost yet. speedd listed match signs pretty closely. when i do repairs on some of our very "rural" roads, they dont even post the address of the house, much less the street signs. i think some of these nutters think the government cant find them if they dont post their address. but i can find them with the Garmin.