GPS... which one do I need?

[hdossett]

Is there a good GPS unit that is good for 4x4 back roads, and street driving.

If I'm twenty miles into the woods, I need to find my way out! And If I'm downtown, I need to know where the turn is for my next destination!

Which is a good general purpose unit?

Harold

[BryanL]

Let's see, your description indicates a need for routing, breadcrumbs, flexible waypoint definitions, user map ability for topographic and backroads, and good poi availability.

See GPSmagazine.com as one resource. GPS Passion forums is another.

You could go with a simple GPS device to plug into a netbook and then use a good mapping program from DeLorme or you could look for a PND (personal navigation device) that has a good developer's API so you can find maps and additions put together by others.

What you probably don't need is traffic subscriptions, bluetooth, and other such things.

The Garmin Nuvi 755 I recently acquired does OK with the topo maps from gps file depot and google maps track conversion using GMapToGPX there is a lot of good information for doing things like this with Garmin units. The biggest problem I've encountered is the need to set the routing preferences to 'off road' when I get to NFS trails and other Nevada highways not found on the usual maps.

[GaryKD]

Hi Harold,
Consider listing how you want to find your destinations. Once listed, make a priority and get the GPS that finds places based on how you want to find them. Some samples are:
1. address
2. name (sometimes called Point Of Interest or POI)
3. telephone number
4. latitude & longitude
5. intersection (crossing roads names)
6. ability to mark your current position (so you can get back to the RV)
7. specific Interstate highway exit number

Also consider screen size and if you want to carry it with you or leave it in the vehicle.

[Bill Adams]

If you have blindly wandered around the woods and you want to find your way home it is unlikely that any GPS will do anything more than tell you to get to a known road and it will guide you from there. If you plan to drive into the woods and then retrace your route to get back out again you can get a GPS with the "breadcrumb" option. It will keep track of your route in so you can find your way out.

[Jim Stewart]

I have a 10 year old Garmin Handheld that allows you to mark your starting point and then start walking. It can trace your exact route until your "lost". Hit retrace and it takes you back to your start point telling you when to turn and in which direction and when until you get back to where you started. It's still pretty cool. We use it on a boat in the Florida Keys where all the little mangrove islands start to look alike and can be very close together. In parts, it looks like the moving swamp grass in The African Queen movie.

I found one at Amazon.com, Garmin no longer makes this model, but I'm sure they and others make newer better devices. It's no good for on the road GPS, but maybe two good single purpose units are better than a single combo unit.

Amazon.com: Garmin eTrex Handheld GPS: Electronics

[wa8yxm]

I"m going to not even comment on one for 4x4 off-road type use

For a motor home I like the size of the screen on my laptops.. So any laptop based GPS system (You can get several maping programs bundled with a USB GPS for around 50 more than the program by itself) is my recommendation.

That said. some software is better than others.