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Navigation info request

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Celt:
 As much as it pains me I'm considering leaving most of my 18th century technology and getting a off road navigation system. As much as this chaps my backside and my love of a map and compass it may not be a bad idea. What I'm requesting is information on your experiences with different systems. Some things I do not wish to do is:

1. Spend a ton of money (Under about $300).
2. Have a monthly subscription.
3. Have to constantly buy and load maps into the system.

 What is desirable:
1. Easy to use without having to have all manner of resetting settings that you already set, pushing buttons and the like.
2. Have it easily removable from the vehicle is a definite plus.
3. Sending text messages would be a plus but not absolutely necessary.
4. Big enough screen to be able to see everything without having to constantly zoom in and out.
5. Be able to download the trip and save it on my home computer.

  I might be chasing a unknown dragon here with all those requests but I know that a lot of you guys run many different systems so I would appreciate your input on what you use or have used. This would be mainly for off road use but some on road navigation would be helpful but not 100% necessary (I still love my maps). What I'm not interested in so much is a cell phone app. I hate cellphones and hate trying to fool with stupid apps and trying to keep the phone charged while running. When I turn off the pavement the phone gets shut off and tossed somewhere in the vehicle as they are a mobile leash. I'm not interested in telling the world where I am or what I'm doing. Drives me nuts sitting around a campfire and seeing people fooling with their cell phones. Any suggestions would be super appreciated.

G.B.H.:
I'm with you on this. I use maps and my hiking GPS. The screen is so small though that I am constantly stopping to get a better look. I wish I could volunteer some helpful information but I'm in the same boat.

CVXTERRA:
Let me start this off by saying I am probably not the most qualified to speak on this... so I am going to go ahead and speak on this.


I mainly use GPS for hiking and trip planning. I spent a fair bit of time looking into the best option for a handheld GPS/NAV unit that had everything I desired. After weighing all of my options I actually went with an app for my phone. The reasons were simple. I already owned it, it is a pretty high end piece of tech, it's GPS capabilities are pretty comparable with modern stand alone GPS, and if using for GPS alone the battery drain is really low.

While the phone screen is pretty small, one account lets you long in on any device. iPad, computer, laptop, phone. So if you're running a tablet mount in your X then you will have a decent size screen and decent location services.

 The app I use is Gaia GPS. They have a premium service for about $40/year, less if you buy a 5 year plan. I know I know, subscription plans suck, and they used to sell the app for $20 with lifetime, but I think the sub helps them continue to update and add new layers and sat images. This will come with all the nat geo maps, all their satellite overlays, topo maps, as well as a bunch of overlays for hunting, public/private lands, and they are really starting to get into the off road nav aspects of it. I have tracked and planned hundreds of miles of hiking thorough this app and have been pretty impressed with it. I will say that it is more geared for hiking, but the overlays should serve you well. 


To sum it all up, if you already own a capable device, using its existing GPS/NAV features with a powerful app like GAIA GPS might be a good bet.

hope this aimless rant helped a bit more than it hurt  ;)

LINK to their site    https://www.gaiagps.com/premium/
ALSO,
This seems like there will be loads of helpful stuff in it, but I DID NOT read it!   https://www.overlandbound.com/forums/threads/ask-me-about-gaia-gps.6959/


-CVX

steve c:
Buddy, let me start this off by saying I'm not calling you a dummy.

But, for dummies like you, something like this would be pretty sweet.
 These are idiot proof and seem to work very well for people. 

Specifically, this yougin' would recommend the following:

TRX7 (comes with charging cradle, ram mount etc)
or
TR7

The MSRP on Magellan's site is high.  These units can be found online for less and are sometimes on sale. 

JFanaselle:
For ease of use, I'm definitely going to second Steve's recommendation. The interface on these units is about as easy as navigation gets. Unfortunately, it's a bit out of your price range, but you are asking for a little too much with those features at a $300 price point.

The only real way to stay within that price point would be to use an inexpensive tablet with an in-vehicle mounting system (I'm personally using a RAM setup), and use an off-road navigation application such as Backcountry Navigator. A decent tablet with the proper functionality would run about $100, the application is a one-time purchase of about $25, and you'd spend about another $50 on the mounting hardware. Trouble is, the application is not very intuitive at all, and although it's VERY capable for our needs, there's quite a learning curve associated with using it to accomplish everything you are after. Plus, you have to download maps ahead of time (they're usually free, but there are also some paid sources if you choose to use them) into the memory of the device, so that you can access them in the middle of no where with no internet signal. Per your original post, it sounds like this is something you're looking to avoid.

Edit: I didn't realize the TR5 and TR7 are both under $300. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

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