Vehicle G P S

[campingcop]

Looking to buy a GPS for my TV.  Would like some advise about the Garmin or Magellan.  

If you use either one how do you like it and what don't you like about it.

Thanks in advance.

Soon to be the owner of a new TV, will have to change my sig.

[ForestCreature]

You're going to loose the great adventure of getting lost! :sombraro:
 
 Guess that means next time you're an hour or so ahead of us, we won't get to the CG first

[PopupSgt]

Looking to buy a GPS for my TV.  Would like some advise about the Garmin or Magellan.  

If you use either one how do you like it and what don't you like about it.

Thanks in advance.

Soon to be the owner of a new TV, will have to change my sig.

I currently own a GPS and wouldn't travel without it.  The first model that we owned was the Magellan.  The problem with this model was the POI's (points of interest).  There were only, I believe, 2 million POI's.  After having this model only a very short time, we took it back to Costco and purchased the Garmin 320, the 330 is the HD model.  The model I have does not have the HD inside, the information is loaded through a PC, onto the GPS, and into a SD card.  I like this feature due to if something was to happen to the HD, then it would have to be sent back to the manufacturer.  With the SD model, if the card was to go bad, pitch it and buy a new card.  Also you can purchase updated CD's from the company to keep up on the latest POI's and routes.  The Garmin model has 5 million POI's and I have yet to find any local hot spots, or even eateries when camping.  I have heard good things about TomTom, but have never used this model but it seems to be getting rave reviews.  Just my 2 cents.  

[tlhdoc]

Harvey we have the DeLorme system that we use with the laptop computer.  What are you getting for a new TV?  Tell your DW I said hi and I miss seeing you guys.

 
Corey where have you been?  Miss you guys too.

[AustinBoston]

I have heard good things about TomTom, but have never used this model but it seems to be getting rave reviews.  Just my 2 cents.  

I just wish they'd called it something other than TomTom.

Austin (who's first name in real life is Tom)

[campingcop]

What are you getting for a new TV?

Just picked up a 2006 Chev.Silverado 1500 4WD(loaded).  Santina picked it out,it was on their storage lot.  She liked the color.  Blue Slate (I think)

[PLJ]

My wife is a marriage and family therapist. She is driving all over the Twin Cities to client homes. I was tired of her calling me at work for directions on Mapquest. It didn't help that by the time I had found out where she was she had driven another 10 miles  :eyecrazy:

So for Christmas (October) I bought her the Garmin Quest. Our marriage is now at peace    Amy loves her GPS big time. Now she never gets lost. Directions are acurate. It is easy for her to use and program. In unfamilliar areas she can find restaurants and other points of interest very quickly. If she hits traffic then she can safely jump off freeways and the unit will quickly recalculate a new route. She hasn't had glare issues. Loading the detailed maps from the desktop/laptop to the unit is a breeze. Routes are calculated very quickly. The quest is small enough to be portable for walking trails or around city streets.

My only gripe about these is that the maps are out of date. I wish as new construction was performed and streets realigned that they got updates out much quicker.  

If you look at Amazon.Com you'll see tons of reviews for all kinds of GPS units and price ranges.

[CAPEd CODger]

Harvey we have the DeLorme system that we use with the laptop computer.

 

I use a similar set-up. The biggest problem is the fact that a laptop in the front seat with everyone else takes up valuable passenger space.
So guess what, that's right, it gets left at home most of the time, or in the carry case in the trailer.
I'd honestly prefer to have a dedicated GPS on or better yet, in the dash of my truck.

My $.02
Bob

[PopupSgt]

Harvey we have the DeLorme system that we use with the laptop computer.  What are you getting for a new TV?  Tell your DW I said hi and I miss seeing you guys.

 
Corey where have you been?  Miss you guys too.

Tracy, sorry for being out of the loop.  Going to college full-time has kept me extremely busy, plus of course I work full-time.

[chasd60]

I use a similar set-up. The biggest problem is the fact that a laptop in the front seat with everyone else takes up valuable passenger space.
So guess what, that's right, it gets left at home most of the time, or in the carry case in the trailer.
I'd honestly prefer to have a dedicated GPS on or better yet, in the dash of my truck.
 
My $.02
Bob

I use my laptop with ALK Technologies LaptopLive 9 software. My Ram has a huge center console and the laptop rests there nicely. I use teh ALK software instead of the Delorme because the ALK software has a couple of nice user selectable options. The options are
1. RV Routing which avoids routes with U-turns and highways with a bridge clearances of less than 12'6"
2. LP Gas restrictions which routes you around tunnels or other roads that do not allow LP gas.
3. Customizable speed settings, this allows you to create several different speed profiles and select which one you are going to use for each trip. I have one for towing and one to use when I am not towing.
 
You  can select or deselect these for each trip.

[johnny5]

I use the Garmin C330. I drove from NY to Mobile, AL, worked in Mississippi for a month after Hurricane Katrina and drove back. Never a problem. Updates can be downloaded and the entire US is already in the unit when you turn it on. Oh, it really simple to operate as well. I use it regularly driving metro NY (not that I need it) and New England with great results.

[Billy Bob]

Hi everyone. I'm new here and new to PU camping but I do have some experience with Automotive GPS. I researched this long and hard and the best I found is the Lowrance iWay500c. It has over 5 million POI and it ALSO has a MP3 player built in so you can download all your music into it. I have used this unit since September and I am REAL happy with it. Here is where I got it and it was one of the lowest prices. They beat Cabela's by $200 and I had it in 3 days.

http://www.shipdog.com/product.asp?i=LOWIWAY500C&ref=shopping&sku=11236

[campingcop]

Thanks for all the information and input.  Bought a magellan 700 only used it for a short trip but it seams to work ok.

Oh got what I think was a good deal on it $425.00, its was the last one in the store and they are not getting any more.

[LBRATT]

We have two types, a non-maping GARMIN GPS 12, and a GARMIN Quest II with base map. The GPS12 is great if you have a map program on your PC and can get the coordinates off that. I used it to go from the Los Angeles area to Ennis Montana with pre-programmed waypoints from the maping program. Most programs, like map quest will give you the Lat/Long. The Quest II base map is great and I have used it from the California central coast to Phoenix. It is amazing how much base memory is in this unit. One thing I do not care for is the Topo program that Garmin makes. The Delorme Topo is far better and user friendly. One thing you have to do is get ALL the accessories in the beginning. So many times, you wish you had a bracket or something. I have two of the communication/ power cables for each. One for the car and one for the connection to the PC and power. I purchased a small power supply from Radio Shack with a power port like the car. You will be more inclined to use it if it is less hassle. All we have to do is just carry the GPS unit. The GPS store is a great on line source.

[SkipP]

I have a pretty slick TomTom (sorry Tom:D) program that works with my Palm Zire 72. It has a Bluetooth GPS receiver and uses SD memory. It's served us well for the last few years and my only complaint has been that the power cord will work it's way loose and the Palm will lose it's memory with little warning. Then it has to be hot-synched with the PC to restore the information on it.

Sooooooooo, today I was in Target. Walked past the automotive department and there, on the shelf with one of those eye-catching red clearance stickers on it, was a Magellan Roadmate 300. Hmmmmmmm. It's not the top of the line model but it still offers a lot of cool features. Figured $209.98 wasn't too bad of a deal so it's sitting here on the desk!
 
Gotta take a trip and try it out now!