Can anyone recommend a decent gps for off road travel in the USA?

rock hounder

Which lowrance model are you using I have had the baja which got sold with my h-3 and a 7 inch screen which got sold with my chevy silverado. I really like their products post some picture of your set up.Thanks
 

aluke0510

Adventurer
I use the Lowrance unit with the 6 inch screen. It is primarily used to nautical navigation, so has full 3-D underwater features shown, Google Earth style. I bought a map of the western united states,, on micro sd card, it is super cool in that it shows all the tiny elevation details, even so detailed that even though it does not show smaller roads as colored lines or callouts(it DOES show major roads and all interstate and local highways and county roads), it shows so much detail in the ground that you can actually see the lighter and shadowed shapes which match up to graded road surfaces, culverts, and even shapes of buildings and structures! Super super awesome, It is shaded in realistic ground/mountains colors, so it really looks like a simple version of Google Earth in terms of color detail, with the addition of the crazy detailed topo, which I really must assume is a result of a radar from space generated map in terms of elevation detail.

We do a lot of offroading to get to specific old mines, or mineralized areas of the desert, where there are no roads to, and it is awesome to be able to see and identify washes, obstacles in the path, etc, all on the gps topo virtual generated view, before we get there... i WOULD SUPER RECOMMEND IT IF YOUR MAIN USE IS TO GO WHERE THERE ARE NO EXISTING ROADS, IN MOUNTAINOUS OR RUGGED AREAS.

Just did some searching on this. Very interested from a photographers perspective it seems incredibly useful. Being able to get a good idea of terrain, especially in respect to what could block sunrise/sunset in an area you are unfamiliar with. Does this have Forest Service and BLM roads on it? Or is it mainly a topi map that shows you where you are in respect? I hear the Lowrance units are the best for bright light, something that could be encountered with a Jeep and no top... Thoughts on that. I know my laptop screen can become unreadable so couldn't imagine a tablet having a very suitable screen for those conditions.
 

F350

Observer
FWIW - I've used a simple Garmin 1300 and it has all of the forest service/blm roads mapped that I've been on. My issue is it's hard to look ahead and figure out how to get someplace from where you are.

I've got a Garmin eTrex 30 with the topo maps but it's simply too small. Great for hiking/hunting.

I then moved to a Nexus 7 (gen2) with Back Country Navigator. It worked well. Size was nice. What I didn't like was the widescreen and downloading maps were a pain. I couldn't get all of the area I wanted.

I'm now using an iPad (fullsize) with cellular (Need the cell chip for the gps) and it's been great. I've been using "you need a map" app and it's been great any place in oregon I've been from the coast range to way east. The screen is big enough to see a lot of area and makes it easy to pick roads and routes. Waypoints are easy to mark. The maps have good topo and it's free. I'll probably ante up for the paid version which has more detail but less states. I put the ipad in a life proof case so it's sealed from the elements. So far, for my use, it's been the best fit. my 2 cents....
 

srserl

Observer
I use to use Delorme's Laptop GPS system. It allowed me to sit down and actually develop to waypoints for my trip sitting in my office. It's great if you have the space and a power converter to operate a laptop. I seem to remember it wasn't very expensive either. You can't get it to automatically choose the offroad route, but if you set up the waypoints on the route it will route you that way.

Actually, the Delorme Topo North America (laptop gps system) WILL calculate a route for you, even on 4x4 trails (if present in the software). Normally, it will not route you on back roads and trails, but there is a setting to tell it to include trails in routing. I don't have my laptop here at the moment, or I would tell you where the setting is located.
 

MagicMtnDan

2020 JT Rubicon Launch Edition & 2021 F350 6.7L
Bad Elf or Dual GPS Receiver?

I'm using an iPad Mini with cell service but want to buy an GPS receiver for use out in the desert, etc.

Any feedback on the Dual XGPS150A versus the Bad Elf 2200 GPS Pro?

The Dual unit is less costly and the reviews seem favorable (lots of pilots and boaters are using these external GPS units so there's plenty of info on them).

Bad Elf 2300 GPS Pro+ at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Elf-2300-Barometric-Altimeter/dp/B00MOBTNZG

Dual XGPS150A at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Dual-Electronics-XGPS150A-Universal-Bluetooth/dp/B006M49G80
 

matthewp

Combat Truck Monkey
I'm using an iPad Mini with cell service but want to buy an GPS receiver for use out in the desert, etc.

Any feedback on the Dual XGPS150A versus the Bad Elf 2200 GPS Pro?

The Dual unit is less costly and the reviews seem favorable (lots of pilots and boaters are using these external GPS units so there's plenty of info on them).

Bad Elf 2300 GPS Pro+ at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Elf-2300-Barometric-Altimeter/dp/B00MOBTNZG

Dual XGPS150A at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Dual-Electronics-XGPS150A-Universal-Bluetooth/dp/B006M49G80

Have you looked at the Garmin GLO? I use one with my iPad Mini and am very happy with it.
 

Tominator

New member
Just purchased a Garmin Zumo and love it so far. It's really designed for a motorcycle but works well in a vehicle also. Loaded it with the Garmin topo for the ENTIRE state of Colorado and Utah. No more fussing around with different apps and downloading maps of areas we want to explore. It also show's 3d terrain. Not real crazy about Garmin's Basecamp PC interface however.
 

NGUDE

Observer
I'm using an iPad Mini with cell service but want to buy an GPS receiver for use out in the desert, etc.

Any feedback on the Dual XGPS150A versus the Bad Elf 2200 GPS Pro?

The Dual unit is less costly and the reviews seem favorable (lots of pilots and boaters are using these external GPS units so there's plenty of info on them).

Bad Elf 2300 GPS Pro+ at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Elf-2300-Barometric-Altimeter/dp/B00MOBTNZG


i recently went through the same decision between the DUAL vs the BAD ELF. based on some very convincing negative reviews on the quality of the dual unit, went with the bad elf.

it seems to be very good. records up to 200h of tracks internally before you have to dump it to storage. has thermometer / altimeter / barometer and gets a lock relatively fast from cold state.

my ipad has cell/gps, but i got this to use when i'm out where cell doesn't exist. a constantly searching phone dies very quickly. i'm able to put the ipad/iphone into airplane mode and continue navigating using gps. battery life is great on an ipad/iphone in airplane mode :)
 

MagicMtnDan

2020 JT Rubicon Launch Edition & 2021 F350 6.7L
Thanks for posting your input. I haven't seen the negative info on the Dual...yet.

My iPad Mini has cell/gps too but I'm out in the desert a lot and don't often have signal.
 

MagicMtnDan

2020 JT Rubicon Launch Edition & 2021 F350 6.7L
Don't know what "module from eBay" is?

Looking for Bluetooth GPS receiver reviews; here's what I've found:

This one rates Dual unit above Bad Elf's unit
http://www.mypilotstore.com/mypilotstore/Aviation-GPS/Bluetooth-GPS.asp

DUAL unit reviews:
http://www.gpscity.com/reviews/dual-xgps150-universal-bluetooth-gps-receiver

There are very few reviews or head-to-head comparisons that I've been able to find. There are other reviews for each product on Amazon and other locations but not comparisons.



Info on GPS receivers:
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/GPS_Receiver
 

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