GPS Guidance

[Midnightburn]

Guys,

I am a complete newbie when it comes to GPS units and what they offer.

Can you experts out there answer some of my basic questions to help get me on the right track? I apologize if some of my questions are very green, but I will openly admit that I don't know a thing about all the options and/or plans offered. It is extremely confusing to me. I hate fluff and clunky software. I will not tolerate advertisements popping up on the unit (seems there are some now that indicate this is the case).

Here is what I am looking for:

I am looking for a unit that I can mount securely on the dash of my Willys wagon. 12 volt compatible. Able to withstand off-road bouncing and extreme temp changes.

I really want one with a large screen that's easy to read.

I need standard street maps, but also topo maps for back country travel. Routing would be cool too. Voice navigation?

Questions:

Do all GPS units that fit my needs indicated above require a monthly charge?

When they say "preloaded cards" does that mean that the card must be purchased with preloaded data (ex: topo maps) or can I load my own topos on the card and transfer it to the GPS unit?

Is an external antenna required?

Are there other functions that you guys find to be absolutely necessary for any serious GPS toting back country traveler?

I appreciate any guidance you can give. Specific unit recommendations are greatly appreciated too.

Thanks!

 

[ThomD]

No GPS that meets your needs requires a monthly charge. Subscriptions are for current traffic & weather condition feeds.

"Preloaded cards" mean just that. The maps come on a card, instead of coming on CD or D/L from the Internet. If you want to load your own topos, that's probably not the direction you want to go. OTOH, you can buy preloaded cards with topo maps (limitations apply as to map detail, etc).

External antenna may or may not be required, but probably not. Some vehicles (GM?) have funny composition for the glass.

For back country, the ability to load predefined routes and download your routes for sharing, is probably good.

 

[David_in_TX]

I recommend Garmin. They have many models to choose from, look at their web site and read the model descriptions.

http://www.garmin.com/garmin/cms/site/us/

 

[Mike.rider]

other than the screen size the Garmin Nuvi 500 works great and meets the rest of your criteria, mine has been fantastic!

 

[Midnightburn]

Thank you guys for the guidance. There is an amazing labyrinth of different units that all seem very similar. A guy at work said that if they don't specifically claim that they accept topos, then they probably don't. Not many do make that claim that I can see. Topos are a big part of what I will need.

Plus, word of mouth recommendations carry a lot of weight and keep the rest of us from making the same mistakes over and over.

Thanks again.

 

[modelbuilder]

The garmin topos are horrid. The normal street maps have more back country roads than the topos.