I have just a cheap ebay one. I have not tried it with an ipad yet. I have heard they do not work with the apple products...SO....take it for what its worth. I never found the GPS in my android tablet or phone to lag, even at 70 mph on the highway. I bought the off tablet GPS for battery saving, and quick lock on!
Tablet or Garmin, what's your poison?
- Thread starter JBThompson
- Start date
Jeep or Tacoma
Explorer
absolutely puts garmin to shame, topo maps I have had 2 lowrance tough durable accurate nuff said
Retired Tanker
Explorer
Why not both?
I agree that my ETrex may be a little dated, but I can grab it off of the mount and take it with me if I decide to do some ad-hoc exploring on foot.
I agree that my ETrex may be a little dated, but I can grab it off of the mount and take it with me if I decide to do some ad-hoc exploring on foot.
JBThompson
Adventurer
I need to look into Offroad Atlas. I paid for BCN and put it on my Note 7 (hasn't blown up yet haha) and I'm still trying to figure it all out but my only real desire is to have all of the forest service roads and such.
We're also looking at getting the FunTreks SD cards for the Garmin but if I can figure out BCN (it's confusing as hell) we might skip it.
JBThompson
Adventurer
Ok well the G-Pad took a **** on me. I have been using it A LOT around our area and I noticed the GPS functionality was suffering. It started showing a bit of lag which has progressively gotten worse, it'll randomly rotate the screen as if I changed direction, and the icon doesn't line up with the road I'm on now. At one point the GPS indicated I was traveling west on the eastbound lanes of I-35. Sweet.
So I'm now going to be picking up another tablet. Christmas isn't too far away so I'll probably wait until some sales come around but I'm thinking 10" Galaxy. Might as well go big, right?
So I'm now going to be picking up another tablet. Christmas isn't too far away so I'll probably wait until some sales come around but I'm thinking 10" Galaxy. Might as well go big, right?
Jeep or Tacoma
Explorer
tablet or GPS
I have been trying to get used to the tablets. I have an lenovo 10 " and like the big screen. I am still making mistakes downloading topo and stuff. I am still learning it. as far as GPS goes. The lowrnace systems are head and shoulders above everything else I ahem ever come into contact with. They are dedicated to out doors and often waterproof weather proof and shock proof enough to be used in the baja racers. You get parlayed data. In my old chevy truck i had a 10 inch lowrance hard mounted into he center console of the dash and it was awesome. But benighted dub___ that I am some times I had a suspension system put on the truck that was suppose to eliminate the torsion bars. But it was a total disaster, road like it had no travel inroad handling was horrific. You put onto brakes and you might as well close your eyes cause you had no idea what lane you were gonna need up is. So I got rid of the truck. Lawrence GPS is worth looking into but they are expensive and in my mind worth it.
I have been trying to get used to the tablets. I have an lenovo 10 " and like the big screen. I am still making mistakes downloading topo and stuff. I am still learning it. as far as GPS goes. The lowrnace systems are head and shoulders above everything else I ahem ever come into contact with. They are dedicated to out doors and often waterproof weather proof and shock proof enough to be used in the baja racers. You get parlayed data. In my old chevy truck i had a 10 inch lowrance hard mounted into he center console of the dash and it was awesome. But benighted dub___ that I am some times I had a suspension system put on the truck that was suppose to eliminate the torsion bars. But it was a total disaster, road like it had no travel inroad handling was horrific. You put onto brakes and you might as well close your eyes cause you had no idea what lane you were gonna need up is. So I got rid of the truck. Lawrence GPS is worth looking into but they are expensive and in my mind worth it.
Hillbilly Heaven
Explorer
Since you have used the Lowrance so much maybe you can answer a question for me. Can it do city and highway navigation as well? That is a lot of money to spend on a single function item that can be duplicated on other devices. Maybe not as rugged.
JBThompson
Adventurer
Lowrance is definitely not in our budget. I'm pretty set on using a tablet at this point. I'm still looking for the right apps to use but so far Maps.Me has been great for general navigation and it does have some forest service roads if I search for them. Not sure if it'll get me to them, but they show up on the map. For off road though I am still unsure but I'm just not a fan of BCN. I know a lot of people like it, I just don't think I'm one of them. The learning curve is pretty dam steep, which isn't helping the cause. My search continues.
I played around with one of the Lowrance 'Trophy Baja' units, and was pretty unimpressed. It seemed to be a hold over from circa 2005 - low screen resolution, slow to load/render and super clunky UI design and what appeared to be pretty sparse map data (although maybe there are better maps available). I guess if you have an open top jeep and and need something water proof it could be useful, but otherwise I am not sure why you would pick one of these - although even in that case it seems that one of the newer waterproof/rugged 'active' tablets would be a better option.
Jeep or Tacoma
Explorer
yes it can and it shows individual addresses along the way it also gives you distance as the crow flies
Jeep or Tacoma
Explorer
lowrance
That was not my experience but then did you have it hooked up withe receivers? It had built in topo that was way more accurate that the Garmin that i have used and still have but don't use. but I do admit the tablets are cool I have one just not as durable so far
That was not my experience but then did you have it hooked up withe receivers? It had built in topo that was way more accurate that the Garmin that i have used and still have but don't use. but I do admit the tablets are cool I have one just not as durable so far
Lord Al Sorna
Harebrained Scheming
I feel compelled to be a voice in favor of a Garmin or dedicated GPS unit. I have found that in ALL of my last 5 trips out I load a certain portion of huge-file topo map tiles for offline use to my tablet setup (Gaia and BT garmin reciever, no data). I usually go far outside the area I think we will be going and will be covered. In every circumstance, plans changed, we found something cool, and we drive outside the map. This renders my slick little tablet useless for its main intended purpose. Still keeps audible books playing, but I am relying on paper navigation at that point or my little Etrex 20 I use for hikes and skiing. It takes a long time to get those map tile files on a tablet, usually at night when I am dragging from a long days work and trying to prep the rig during the week. I'm over it.
I am drooling over the new Garmin and miss my old one. Seems perfect for so many activites and I can load 8 states worth of scale-able, reliable TOPO into the thing and just start driving.
I am drooling over the new Garmin and miss my old one. Seems perfect for so many activites and I can load 8 states worth of scale-able, reliable TOPO into the thing and just start driving.
in transit Pete
New member
i have only owned and needed the use of garmins, we are considering purchasing our first tablet to trial new apps and products one as a back up to the first one
fishEH
Explorer
Samsung Android tablet with AlpineQuest. Bigger screen, a fraction of the cost of a Garmin, easier to use than a Garmin, more options than a Garmin. Never had a problem with roads not showing up. There are more roads/trails on the AlpineQuest mapping than actualy remain nowadays.
For on road/turn by turn Navigation I'll use my phone with Google Maps.
The only advantage to using a Garmin is maybe it doesn't qualify as an "Electronic communication device" and maybe you play with it WHILE driving and not get a ticket? IDK
For on road/turn by turn Navigation I'll use my phone with Google Maps.
The only advantage to using a Garmin is maybe it doesn't qualify as an "Electronic communication device" and maybe you play with it WHILE driving and not get a ticket? IDK