ZUKIWORLD Online | Suzuki 4x4 Editorial and Forum
ZUKIWORLD Discussion Forum => Adventure (Let's GO WHEELING!) => Topic started by: zookracer on October 20, 2009, 07:05:45 PM
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I've been kicking it around for a year or so but I want to pick up a nice little GPS for use mostly while out exploring and Wheeling. I haven't decided at all what kind or make so I think I need some help as I know nothing about them yet. I want something I can mount in the rig on the dash but pull out and go hiking with. I need one that has maps because sometimes I'm in the middle of nowhere off road and need to know where the closest road is. I'd like long battery life for when it's pulled out of the rig and I'd like it to have excellent reception so it doesn't lose it's signal in the woods. I'll be a new user so I don't need all the expansion stuff I read about and all the fancy crap I'll never use. I know a couple fellow wheelers have them so I think this is the best place to start asking before I talk to any sales people. What do you guys think? What make should I go with? I've read about some being inexpensive to get then cast a fortune to get the software. What kind of features would suit me best for wheeling? I do stuff like go to Rubicon and I'd like to do Fordice and such so I'd like remote locations and topography. with creeks and hills shown so I could see where I want to go. Let me know your thoughts please before I make a purchase I wish I wouldn't have. And being a rookie I'd like as cheap as possible to start with. I could have used one at the Powerfest to find camp again.......got there eventually though!
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i run two. ones a garmin nuvi 250 (basic 3.5" road gps) picked it up for $200 cnd. its great for roads and its loaded with tons of places for fuel, food, and tons of businesses.
other is an older garmin handheld. older black and white screened unit. has topography, rivers, lakes, etc. it tracks my progress where ever i go in case i get lost.
i got the older unit from my father in law who use to hunt where we use to go wheelin, so there were tons of trails that he had marked out. I'm just getting some new trails punched into it where were wheelin now.
it works for what i need. and i didn't break the bank getting it.
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mike5721947 - Strangely enough, that is almost exactly the same setup I use. Except I upgraded to a Nuvi 750 for the FM Transmitter. :D
One of the nice things about the Nuvi series is with a patch they can load Topographical maps. They aren't waterproof though, so my old GPS IV still has a place on the dash of my SJ. But for the Tracker it is hard to top the Nuvi for simple navigation. Now if only saving trips and custom trails was easier in the Nuvi...
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i have the Lowrance iFinder Explorer It's has been a great little unite it you get the mapcreate to go with it you can map out your trip on our pc and load too your gps
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I also have 2 units; I run a Garmin Nuvi 750 on my windshield and a much older handheld Magellan eXplorist.
I carry the magellan for search and rescue with the fire dept. because it is waterproof. It only has major highways in it, but it works great for coordinates. I have also used it connected to my laptop with microsoft mappoint software; this gives spoken turn by turn directions and always worked fine. I havent used this feature in several years, and never did try it with any other mapping software...
The Nuvi 750 has been awesome for me. It has an expansion slot for a SD card, and the ability to play MP3's. I actually use it frequently as an MP3 player when I'm not in my own vehicle. It also can download traffic data and reroute away from congestion, however that is a service with a monthly fee that I have never used. It has been quite durable; it endured one car crash that totalled my wife's XJ, has been dropped many times, spent days in my pockets, fell off of the windshield several times during a trip up to Alaska (the alcan highway is incredibly rough), and even got left out in heavy rain for almost 4 hours with zero lasting damage (the touchscreen didn't work until it spent a few hours inside a bag with some desiccant). The points of interest that it comes with can be very handy, but I have noticed that they are nowhere near complete. It often misses gas stations and stores that have been around for a long time, and lists some that have been out of business for more than 10 years. However, If I had to assign an accuracy number to it I would say 95% so it is still very useful and I do rely on it occasionally. It does do a great job of providing directions, but there have been 4 or 5 times where it took me down a dead end road or the wrong street. In these instances, it does work to simply pull up the map on the touchscreen and find your way to your destination manually. One feature I never thought about until I owned it was the speedometer screen; it has a dedicated speedometer and trip odometer that has large digits; this is perfect for that rig with oversize tires or deep gears and a speedometer that is off. It is also very useful when you're in a country with speed limits and distances with metric units; just change the GPS to metric, and you can just ignore the speedo in your dash. Battery life was about 6 hours when I first purchased it, but it doesn't last more than 2 or 3 hours now. Still quite useful...but don't rely on it for a week-long hiking trip. The signal sensitivity is great...it only loses service in multistory parking garages and long tunnels. No problem in the woods or urban jungle.
A few things to look for when you're buying a GPS:
- Does it have TTS (text-to-speech) capability? If not, the voice in the GPS won't be able to speak road names
- Does it have an FM transmitter? If not, make sure the speaker is loud enough to be heard clearly over road noise, or you can hook it up to a line-in on your stereo. My Nuvi 750 works fine with the fiberglass hard top on my sami, but if the top is off there is no way it can be heard unless it goes through my stereo
-What maps does it come with and what can be loaded into it, and what is the cost of these maps? Many GPS units only come with US maps, and limited or no canada or mexico maps (at least they did a few years ago when I bought mine). Just make sure it has maps for the area you will be driving
-if you're going to be geocaching, or following somebody else's GPS track, make sure you can upload waypoints from your computer into the GPS. Coordinates can be entered manually, but it is very time consuming.
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There's another one that can serve as a multi-purpose unit and still be waterproof. Garmin makes a handheld unit that can be dash mounted for use in a vehicle, has topographic map capability, has models that can be downloaded with updated or city maps, has FRS/GMRS two way radio capability, and is relatively inexpensive. It's called the Rhino and they start |removethispart|@ about 150 bucks US and go all the way into the 700 dollar range. The more expensive ones have more features and color screens which may not be what your interested in, but the less expensive model has all of what you need using a black and white screen while not killing your budget. It's a good product, a good price, its very rugged, dependable a hell, and very hard to beat. I have used this one (a Garmin 110) since they came out a few years ago for hunting, off-roading, fishing, and hiking with no problems or complaints so far (and I'm a hard man on equipment). Best 150 I have ever spent.
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mabe consider a different route.
i've been using a gps receiver that plugs into my laptop and topo software for offroad navigation.
no good for hiking.
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I have a Garmin Rino 540HCx. It is about $500 but it also has a 2 way radio built in plus a lot of other goodies.
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I use an older Garmin Etrex Vista, handheld with a windshield mount. It also has topo ability, but you have to purchase the map disc. worth it though. A year ago my wife got me a garmin Nuvi 750 for Christmas, and have been using that as well. The two work very well together. I like keeping them both running ,especially when the wife and I are our geocashing. With the Etrex, you can just grab it and get out and walk since it's designed as a hand held to begin with. Both seem to be very accurate, with the exception that sewersuk noted about the outdated stored info.
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I have a Gramin Nuvi 265WT, and a hand held Garmin Etrex legend.