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Old 03-23-2010, 12:15 AM   #1
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What kind of GPS do you use?

I wanted to start a discussion about GPS units, to see what people are using.

Do you have a Navigation system installed from the factory or an aftermarket?

I have owned three GPS units, and love each one of them, each for the specific needs. The first was a Garmin Vista, I used it for the Topo maps, it doesn't have auto routing, but was very accurate, I also used it as a supplemental navigation device when we are flying in the helicopter (I am a flight medic) it had a lot of geographical information not included in the on board flight system GPS.

My second is a Garmin Map 60 CSX - this too is a handheld item, many upgrades including autorouting, color screen. Excellent tool for mapping, geocaching, hiking, biking and kayaking, use it anywhere, anytime, accuracy is top notch, only down side is a small screen and not too user friendly for the non-techno-gizmo type. (Still my favorite, even above the next one listed) I have used this nation wide, in flight, on cruises in Mexico,

My third (prompted to get one for my wife) is a Garmin Nuvi 650 wide screen, again an excellent device, large screen, very accurate and quickly (2 seconds) recognizes when off route and re-calculates a new route. Very user friendly, millions of points of interest. However, is not very portable, can be used as such, but not by design.

Garmin also has excellent computer based maps, interfaces with the GPS units, and also has a feature to view the current screen in Google Earth. Very nice to see the satelite view of your intended destination.

I use RAM mounts for all of the GPS devices, they make any style of mount, for just about any type of techno-gizmo to mount to any type of surface, handlebars, kayaks, etc.

At work in the ambulances, they have Magellan GPS devices, absolutely no comparison to the Garmin, I will never buy one after owning the Garmin's, multiple problems, failures, slow to recognize off route, slow to re-calculate, and very difficult to actually find an address or point of interest that you are looking for.

So... what do you have and like?

p.s. I have no affiliation with Garmin or Ram, I just like their products
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Old 03-23-2010, 03:37 AM   #2
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I have 4 Garmin 750's. My wife and I have one and I gave my son and daughter each one for Christmas.
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Old 03-23-2010, 03:49 AM   #3
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Navigation came from the factory in my 08 F350. Never had one before. Dislike that if you punch in destination and go off route, it will keep telling you to u-turn instead of going from the route you're on. Couldn't figure out last year on the way thru Carolinas on 95 it kept telling me to get off at next exit???? Wondered where it wanted me to go!!! Wife likes watching miles to go and time remaining- that parts usually accurate. I'll have to ask my dealer, wonder if you are supposed to buy an updated CD to put in dash??? Wife doesn't do much driving, even at home ,so she doesn't want one.
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Old 03-23-2010, 06:11 AM   #4
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I've used a TomTom 510 for quite a few years. It's pretty basic but does the job when I'm driving my car. We had CoPilot Laptop Live 11 to use in the motorhome. DW liked it for the ease of use for points of interests as well as places to eat etc. It functioned well and gave you the ability to enter your vehicle height so as to avoid low overpasses and also propane restricted bridges & tunnels. Unfortunately the laptop I had it installed in fried. When I bought the new laptop it came with Vista 64 and it isn't compatible with it. It will work with Vista 32 but not 64. They haven't released any patches or newer versions. Now that Windows 7 is the latest I guess they'll be releasing a new one shortly. So currently I'm relying on the TomTom in the motorhome as well.
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Old 03-23-2010, 06:36 AM   #5
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I have a Garmin 2730 for my motorcycle and my car. Old, big unit but reliable.

The wife has a Garmin Nuvi 265W. A great unit. Very intuitive menu system. Battery powered so we can take it walking.

I also have a Garmin GPSMAP 76 an older unit with moon and sun phases and tide tables. Bought it on sale once and plan to use it when kayaking because it is waterproof and it floats. No auto-routing, no voice.

Also have the Microsoft Street and Trips GPS for my netbook but the Garmin units are more handy. It would be a good add on to have the software pop up historical and other notes on the places being visited.
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Old 03-23-2010, 07:07 AM   #6
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We have a Garmin 1690, our first Garmin lasted 8 years so we bought another one.
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Old 03-23-2010, 07:47 AM   #7
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I have had Several units. Loved & Hated them all. I had a Lowrance 500. It was a good unit for the time and still one of the best I've used, The biggest drawback was that is was big and heavy. Then bought a Garmin 660, It was a good unit but a little too dumbed down. The biggest problem I had with it is that it wouldn't do multi-point routing. Returned it and got a TomTom 720. It's a good unit but has some draw-backs.

Having said all that, the next unit I'll buy will be a Garmin 465T. The biggest selling point ot me (besides it being a Garmin) is it's designed for truckers. You can set your vehicle type, size and weight. You can even set restrictions. It'll do multi-point routing, you can add POI's you need and it'll even let you switch between car and truck mode easily. For towing an RV, this unit is almost ideal.
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Old 03-23-2010, 08:08 AM   #8
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I have the Garmin 260W. We have been using Garmin for 3-4 years and would by aything else. that being said I have never tried anything else.
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Old 03-23-2010, 08:39 AM   #9
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We have factory nav in the truck and car. I also have a Globalsat GPS measures about 1" X 1.5", no display. It communicates with my smart phone via bluetooth. The smart phone has Iguidance navigation software, same functions as the truck and car. It also has golf course software for the courses I play.
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Old 03-23-2010, 08:45 AM   #10
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I have Streets and Trips on my LapTop Which I like the best for the Big screen and the ability to see the whole route. But having the LapTop beside you is a little in the way
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Old 03-23-2010, 09:18 AM   #11
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Garmin 60CX for geocaching and mapping Jeep Trails, has one of the best receivers in the trees that I have ever seen. I also like to connect it to the laptop in conjuntion with Microsoft Streets and Trips for navigation. It gives me a nice 16" screen I can see really well from the drivers seat in the motorhome.

Nuvi for general street navigation (wifes GPS), Loaded with Diners, Drive-in's and Dives points of intrerest so we don't miss one

Lowrance 27C on the boat.

Been very happy with all units. At a recent 4x4 show we took a look into the cockpit of our friends rock buggy and I was amazed to find that he had a Lowrance unit very much like ours in the dash. I asked him why he had a "fish finder" in his 4x4 and he told me that Lowrance makes some of the best GPS units available, they are tough and sealed so dust can't get into them, and that the event planners for the Baja races they do hand out the courses on SD cards set up for use in the Lowrance. They just plug the card in a go. Very interesting I thought.
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Old 03-23-2010, 09:43 AM   #12
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as for gps systems , i tend to like magillian
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Old 03-23-2010, 10:05 AM   #13
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Garmin eTrex Lengend Cx here. Bought it mostly for hiking and biking. We've also used it to navigate on route but that's not it's strong suit. I download the routes and maps using Garmin software from the PC. I find that the Garmin map software (topo maps) are more than a little pricey!

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Old 03-23-2010, 10:26 PM   #14
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Garmin eTrex VistaC with nRoute and City Select software on the laptop.
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Old 03-23-2010, 11:19 PM   #15
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magellan road mate here very nice nothing fancy but get you where you want to go
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Old 03-24-2010, 12:24 AM   #16
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TomTom Go 300...about 4 years old and still goin' strong !! Updated maps and good to go !!
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Old 03-24-2010, 10:02 AM   #17
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I have a Garmin Nuvi 365 which is about 3 years old. Just purchased a lifetime map update for $99 so I'm hoping it lasts for a while. Been pretty pleased with the unit.
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Old 03-24-2010, 10:42 AM   #18
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We use the TomTom GO 930 and seems to work great for us.
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Old 03-24-2010, 03:20 PM   #19
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we just bought a '09 Suzuki SX-4 Crossover which comes with a removable Garmin GPS system. the Nuvi 760.
never had a GPS since i'm a map geek and prefer to do my own navigation.
but having this will allow us to take it in our TV on trips. i'll have to get a dash mount for it.
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Old 03-24-2010, 04:07 PM   #20
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I'm also a Garmin user with a Nuvi 650. Nice unit. I've tried almost all of them. The best for us seems to be the Garmin. The worst has been the factory installed GPS in my Avalanche. When I go from Buffalo to my daughter's house in DC it tries to send me over 150 miles out of my way through Erie and Pittsburgh. I once had a Lowrence that kept telling me to make a U-turn on I-81 coming from Philly to Buffalo. Never did figure that one out!
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