Vehicle GPS Units

[Oldgringo]

It's that time of year and I want a present. Who knows anything about, or can recommend, a GPS for our truck? We travel widely and, on occasion, want to know where we are and how to get where we're going. OTOH, we always end up somewhere.

Walmart and Academy will have GPS units on sale on Black Friday and I might just take my chances on being trampled...if the pice is right.

Thanks you all.

[hheremtp]

There all about the same, my advice to you is treat it like a new gun, go to the store, play with the demo and figure out witch one fits you the best. The best brands out there are the Garmin, Tom Tom and Magellan. You can also look at amazon.com they have a wide selection and have some very good user reviews of the different units. I have a tom tom and I like it. It's not the one with every bell and whistle on it, but it works well. Asking what unit to get is like asking what gun to buy. Hope this helps.

[Oldgringo]

There all about the same, my advice to you is treat it like a new gun, go to the store, play with the demo and figure out witch one fits you the best. The best brands out there are the Garmin, Tom Tom and Magellan. You can also look at amazon.com they have a wide selection and have some very good user reviews of the different units. I have a tom tom and I like it. It's not the one with every bell and whistle on it, but it works well. Asking what unit to get is like asking what gun to buy. Hope this helps.

Thanks, you're probably right. I have a GPS/Fishfinder on our boat and a Lowrance H2Oc i Finder but I want one of them talking units. You know what I mean, Vern?

[hheremtp]

There all about the same, my advice to you is treat it like a new gun, go to the store, play with the demo and figure out witch one fits you the best. The best brands out there are the Garmin, Tom Tom and Magellan. You can also look at amazon.com they have a wide selection and have some very good user reviews of the different units. I have a tom tom and I like it. It's not the one with every bell and whistle on it, but it works well. Asking what unit to get is like asking what gun to buy. Hope this helps.

Thanks, you're probably right. I have a GPS/Fishfinder on our boat and a Lowrance H2Oc i Finder but I want one of them talking units. You know what I mean, Vern?

I like the ones that actually speak the street names, if you can try and spring for one of those. Just play with a couple, they all take you from point a to point b, the real difference is how you enter the info into the unit. Good Luck.

[USA1]

I like the ones that actually speak the street names

Mine has celebrity voices. Currently I have Mr.T's voice saying "I pitty the fool that doesn't turn left on Maple street"

[hheremtp]

I like the ones that actually speak the street names

Mine has celebrity voices. Currently I have Mr.T's voice saying "I pitty the fool that doesn't turn left on Maple street"

Try the Yoda voice, it's funny for a while, after that it gets annoying.

[dicion]

I recommend the Garmin Nuvi Series from personal ownership and experience.

I've tried many of them, and in my experience, the Tom Toms I've played with that friends have owned, generally lacked the add-on features that the Garmins I have owned had.
Granted, I never buy the 'low end' of anything, and these were midrange TomTom's my friends had.

I have not, however used the highest end TomToms, so they may very well meet the Garmin Nuvi's features.

[Oldgringo]

Thanks guys,

I was kinda' thinkin' a GARMIN NUVI 265WT. My truck and cellphone both have Bluetooth and this one has Bluetooth and traffic something or another. So, what does all that mean?

[dicion]

Thanks guys,

I was kinda' thinkin' a GARMIN NUVI 265WT. My truck and cellphone both have Bluetooth and this one has Bluetooth and traffic something or another. So, what does all that mean?

Basically, you can sync your phone with it and have a hands free speakerphone in your car :) Legal to drive through school zones with :)

Also, traffic will receive traffic info over radio, and show it on your GPS map, and suggest alternate routes.
Basically, say There is an accident 10 miles ahead, with traffic backed up. It will show it on the map, and recommend you choose an alternate route, which it can do for you if you consent.

[FL450]

Blue tooth will allow your gps to speak directions thru your truck speakers,
Tom-Tom gives you more advanced user options and will tell you what lane to be in on the freeway for your exit or split, also Tom Tom has user updated corrections you can download for free.
Garmin has fewer user selectable options keeping it simple (KISS) but has a better points of interest data base(POI).
They are both good units

[MoJo]

I have a Garmin nuvi 200 gets me from point "A" to point "B" and back with little drama. Remember to get lost you need a map to REALLY get lost you need a GPS!

[Oldgringo]

Thanks. Mrs. Oldgringo asked how much do they cost and when would we ever use one?

Ain't that just like a woman?

PS:

She's probably right.

[hheremtp]

Thanks. Mrs. Oldgringo asked how much do they cost and when would we ever use one?

Ain't that just like a woman?

PS:

She's probably right.

Leave it to the wife to get all practical.

[ELB]

I have a Garmin Nuvi 750, and I REALLY like it. As with anything, they could have done a couple things better, but it works very well for a vehicle navigator.

Random observations:

- Voice announcement of streets and turns: Some units do not have any voice capability, some simply say "turn Right" or "Take exit," some give complete street names "Turn right onto Court Street." Mine does the entire name, but I have not found this to be a must have. In fact, most of the time I turn off the voice and sound alerts. I would not pay extra for this feature.

- It is usually very fast to pick up its position when turning on, and has a very sensitive antenna. I was surprised to get a position within a minute inside a parking garage at the Phoenix airport right after I got of the plane. I worked in the GPS Joint Program Office for the Air Force in the early 90s, and these puppies have come a long way since then.

- My unit does not have Bluetooth (altho there is/was one just like it that did have it) because I read that routing your phone thru the GPS speaker didn't give you great quality, and it wasn't all that important. I am glad I skipped this.

- My unit DOES let me run the voice and sound thru my car or truck speakers (it broadcasts on the am dial), but this is not terribly helpful -- the unit's speaker is good enough and running it thru the car radio just ties up the radio.

- I find it very useful locally as I use it quite a bit on VFD fire/first responder runs. Altho I generally know where I am going anyway, it provides great cross check, especially when people do not mark their houses with street numbers. The GPS street number location is some times off a bit on the more rural roads, but 95% of the time it is close enough, and this really helps at night. I also like that I can instantly get nearest street address, crossroad, hospital, and GPS coordinates by tapping the little vehicle icon. The coords come in handy when we set up a temporary LZ for airlife helicopters. I especially like knowing the crossroads and hospitals when traveling in a strange place.

- I find it extremely useful when traveling in strange (to me) areas. Recently I have been on trips to Colorado and Arizona, and it was great for both getting around, and plotting routes to things, especially estimating times. We backed everything up by checking the paper map (don't leave home w/o a map and compass!) but it is excellent for navigating on the move. Even tho I lived in San Antonio for awhile, when I now go back, I find it useful when heading to places I haven't been before. Not so much for finding a location, but for having a better idea of what's around me, quickly finding alternate routes.

- The traffic services are generally subscriptions (i.e. you keep paying money) -- if I lived in a high congestion zone like Los Angeles I might get it, but since I live in the sticks I usually could care less.

I have not used TomTom or Magellan, but I can highly recommend Garmin. As I said, I was in the GPS realm back in the early 90s ,and both Garmin and Magellan were players then. Garmin came out with the first really pocket-size GPS, and I used it in the Middle East (and Scott Grady used the same model to help get his butt out of Bosnia when he got shot down), and it was a very good piece of work (still have it, as a matter of fact). Garmin has a good history.

Keep an eye on Amazon -- they often have great deals on GPS units, and you don't have to get mobbed at the mall...

Good hunting.

[Rex B]

Garmin is the primo brand these days.
TomTom is the non-techo brand, but they work.
I have a 2-year-old off-brand that works just fine.

Currently I use TomTom on my iPhone. Based on that I'd probably recommend that brand for intuitive software.

I'd avoid Magellan. they seem to have lost their way.