advice requested .. GPSr for motor coach?

[+poksal]

Ok, I would like definitive answers on which GPSr to get for my motor coach. Please provide accurate information based on your actual experience. (not necessarily in a motor coach) … (but, PLEASE refrain from third person hear say)

 

Please tell about what software you use and why, and where to get the software at a good price (legal only).

 

Please, tell of any problems you have had with particular units.

 

Please tell if you tried one unit and changed to another for a reason, and what the reason was.

 

Lots of detail and data would be appreciated. URLs, pics, Markwells, and Yahoo groups are welcome.

 

I’m most likely going to make this purchase soon and would like to make the wisest choice.

 

Please feel free to e-mail me if you are willing to MS Word a long informative, narrative.

 

Also, please e-mail me if you have any strong opinions that flame a pictular brand strongly rather than do it here. Be sure to provide definitive reasons, and recommend an alternative.

 

Part Two:

We would like to know if it is better to use a laptop and some GPSr add-on with software. Please advise on this subject if you have an opinion with experience and a recommendation.

 

THANKS

 

** The worst suggestion of a life time may be the catalyst to the best idea of the century, don't fail to listen to suggestions.

 

[This message was edited by poksal on January 26, 2003 at 06:29 PM.]

[+CCrew]

Get the Streetpilot III. It's portable so you can put in in a toad, it has voice so you don't have to watch it, and it doesn't get in the way like a laptop. We got into Geocaching after having bought the SPIII, and now have it and a Vista.

 

I've used Travroute Pocket Co-Pilot, and Mapopolis on a PDA with a Navman reciever, and a laptop with both Streets & Trips and Rand McNally with a Pharos mouse GPS. The Streetpilot beats them hands down and only needs the City Select maps it comes with, nothing more.

 

We've used it all over the eastern us, and it's never led us wrong. Compensates for low bridges, truck access, weight restrictions when routing in "Truck Route" mode. Truck and trailer I'm 57' long so I can't afford to get in too tight a spot. Never failed on me unless I ignored it!

 

Hope that helps

[+Brown Dwarf]

We've been happy with the Garmin V Deluxe package. No more nonsense with separate unlock codes for different regions. I'd put a Lowe active antenna on top to get better reception. We got it just before a week touring the Olympic Penn. Performed flawlessly, giving us a great route from Canada directly to our hotel in Seattle, getting us around Seattle, and getting us to our hotels along the way. Well worth a look.

 

Strengths:

 

1) Very good maps of the whole US and some key parts of Canada;

 

2) Good database of points of interest, including restaurants and motels. [We are often out puttering around -- and use it to find a good place to eat nearby.]

 

3) Autorerouting when you accidently -- or deliberately -- don't follow the suggested route.

 

Although I still prefer the Garmin 12XL for fieldwork, the V is far more helpful in the car

[+CCrew]

It's a nice unit. I looked at it long and hard. I had the following issues with it though...

 

1: Much less memory than the Streetpilot III. Since many of our trips were longer distance it would require reloading maps mid-course. I've gone to FL and back from VA and was able to load all the needed maps. I have a trip loaded now from VA to Yellowstone and back, and can *almost* get the whole trip on. Right now I have 4 full states loaded with room to spare. SPIII also has changeable memory cards, V doesn't I believe

 

2: Marginal screen at a distance. Much better screen on the SPIII. Much easier to see, especially at night. My eyes aren't what they used to be.

 

3: No Voice Prompting. In my case I may need to get the rig across lanes of traffic, SPIII starts talking to me usually 2 miles before a turn that it's upcoming. I can then keep my eyes on the road instead of the unit. May seem trivial to some, but if you've driven a large RV rig around, you feel for the tractor trailer drivers out there. People cut you off at will, you have enough to deal with just driving.

 

Not knocking the V, it's a nice unit. Uses the same maps as the SPIII. Unlock once on either and you have the whole country if you buy the Deluxe unit.

 

Sometimes a majority only means that all the fools are on the same side

[+Prime Suspect]

I'd go with a laptop loaded with Street Atlas. More information than you're ever going to get with a stand-alone unit. Really big screen. Voice prompts both ways. It will call out turns. And you can control the program with voice input.

 

[+Grouchy & Pebs]

If you already have a laptop, I would go with the Delorme setup http://www.delorme.com. I use the Earthmate GPS +/- $100, Street Atlas 2003 and Topo USA, +/- $50 each, you can update every year with a cost. It has a voice (with loaded software) and will inform you of the upcoming turns, ETA to stops and ETA to finish. You can also use voice or the "F" keys to get information while moving. You can create your own routes or use the one furnished by the search engine for shortest or quickest. Street Atlas also lists some campgrounds, not all but some. If you have connection to the internet, you can also get road/weather conditions for the route. The only time I have ever lost lock on the satellites was when going through tunnels or something overhead for a long periods of time. I also have a hand-held for geocaching. I use the Delorme to get close with the vehicle than switch to the hand-held to find. I think the setup works great for the price.

 

This is the only one I have tried so I can't compare it with others. I already had a laptop and really didn't want to spend big bucks for a stand-alone GPS system for routing directions while traveling. This works for me and I don't have to stop and ask for directions ever again...

 

Grouchy & Pebs

 

"If all is not lost, where is it?"

[pdumas]

I use a laptop loaded mapsourse metoguide and a streetpilot III, I started with a gps III then a streetpilot and just 8 months ago I got the streetpilot III with auto routing. We take long vacation in a van and with 128 meg chip I can cover most of the USA, If I need more info I just down load from my laptop. I've have also topo maps in my laptop that I download to the III when I need to.

[+BrownMule & Jackrabbit]

I only know Garmin and I also own a Motor Home. The only Garmin that has a suitable screen to view while traveling down the road and is autoroutable is the Streetpilot III. (period) and it is autorouting and it has voice prompt so no need to look at the screen most of the time. If you are using the gps to navigate down the roads this unit is the safest and really only option if you want to be able to see the screen without having a wreck and want outorouting capabilities.

Don't buy the unit locally though. It is 750.00 on the internet at a number of sources and 999.00 at the local stores. I really enjoy mine.

 

________________________________________________________________________

Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way, you'll be a mile from them, and you'll have their shoes.

[+Brown Dwarf]

As others have noted, the V memory _is_ limited. The problem is compounded by how slow it is to load maps. As I understand it, adding even one new map to the V requires reloading the entire set, a process that takes better than an hour on my machine. OK, if you are spending most of your time in one area, but ..........

[+Kodak's4]

quote:

---

Originally posted by poksal:

Ok, I would like definitive answers on which GPSr to get for my motor coach. Please provide accurate information based on your actual experience. (not necessarily in a motor coach) … (but, PLEASE refrain from third person hear say)

 

---

 

My family traveled heavily for four years in motor coaches, crossing North America four times, hitting US state except Hawaii and every Canadian province except Newfoundland.

 

The first two years, we used a Garmin GPS 40 (back in the bad old days of selective availability). The GPS 40 was a pretty primitive unit by today's standards but was still an assist. We supplemented the GPS 40 with a Toshiba laptop running Delorme MapExpert (the predecessor to Street Atlas) and Delorme Map'n'Go, as well as Microsoft Streets. The patch antenna on the GPS 40 got rotten reception inside the coach, so we installed an amplified Garmin external antenna, which worked great. Those two years were spent driving without a toad, in a 34 foot coach.

 

The next two years we used a Garmin GPS III, which includes a primitive basemap. Again, we augmented it with Delorme software (a series of different versions of StreetAtlas and Map-n-go.) on the Toshiba laptop. The GPS III got fine reception so we didn't use an external antenna. Those two years we pulled a toad, and it was really nice to be able to just grab the GPS and put it in the toad.

 

Of those four years, I think we actually hooked the laptop to the GPSR three or four times. It's just too hard to read the screen, fiddle with the controls, etc. over the road, and the info is just not presented well. To really use a laptop, you need a copilot, and if you have another person, then you don't really need the laptop.

 

Based on that experience, if I were repeating those travels (oh, please, let me repeat them some day!) I would with no hesitation at all use either a StreetPilot or a GPS V. If you plan to travel widely, you will need some computer to let you download different map sections into the unit.

 

My call would be to buy a StreetPilot, whatever the very nicest one is, with the very best display. I cannot express how much stress we could have avoided if we had had autorouting, and

advance warning of turns, ESPECIALLY driving a 40' coach and pulling a toad.

 

I don't know of ANY other GPS receivers except the aftermarket car navigation units that could touch either a SP or a GPS V in terms of offering the feature set you will find useful, and I expect that you'd find that the aftermarket car units are not price competitive even to a SP III and an inexpensive laptop.

 

Final note: I would not consider doing any extensive traveling in a coach without a mapping GPS (with autorouting) especially if pulling a toad. It's just so nice to be able to drive down a street, knowing it's not a dead end that will force you to stop, unhook the dinghy, turn it all around, and then drive out.

 

[+ESFKids]

I use a gramin GPS V in my jeep cherokee sport 4door. I have it mounted using a RAM mount above my rear view mirror. It is perfect in size and function. True the memory is slightly limited but I still have a great deal of northern NY loaded into it. abd that is all I need on a given day. Also if you know where you are going you can load the exact route into it ahead of time and the map memory isn't an issue. However since this unit it a handheld as well the screen is not huge. FOr me it is ideal when i check my rear view mirror i check the GPS as well havent any problems like this. But if you are mountingn it farther away maybe the StreetPilot is a better idea.

[+Renegade Knight]

The V is a good unit for both Autorouting and Hiking. It is a compromise for that function. The Street Pilot III (uh oh this is an opinion based on using the V and not the III) is larger and more cumbersome but is better suited for the purpose of use in a vehicle for reasons described above.

 

If you want both a hiker and nav aid in one GPS use the V. If you want mostly a stand alone nav aid with a separate hiking unit the SP III/Vista as suggested is a good combo.

 

If you are interested in good software for a laptop, that's entirely different. Then you can get a cheap GPS and plug it into the laptop and go off your software. I'm am still working on getting my GPS/PDA with MS Streets and Trips up and going like I want and don't have the experience you need for good answers.

 

Wherever you go there you are.