Do you travel with a GPS in your RV?

[markopolo]

Another poll

Do you travel with a GPS in your RV?

[Whiskyecho]

yes - MS S&T '07 on a matte-screened Toshiba Satellite laptop - mounted atop a home-built laptop pedestal.

[Ms"B"Haven]

I use Microsoft Streets and Trips on my laptop to plan trips. I use a Garmin 650 GPS when traveling.

[dutchduo1990]

No we don't. I can't afford all these new toys. My Walmart atlas does just fine in the wife's hands.

[dave_in_delaware]

I don't have my RV yet, but seeing as how I like to plan my trips out in advance, I'll just rely on Google Maps, online maps, hand-made sketches I'll do myself, turn-by-turn directions, etc, like I've been doing for my all my trips....

I do CADD/GIS for a living, so I prefer to do it myself.

It's more fun to actually make the maps than it is to just read them.

[Whiskyecho]

I enjoy having the laptop/MS S&T program "going" the whole time I drive.

It offers so much more than simply showing a route - I like to zoom out to see what a larger area (than just the highway I'm using) has to offer.

We use it for pre-trip planning and then we usually look at what the next day has to offer and make changes to the "plan" when we feel like it.

It's invaluable to quickly see how far it is from point to point & present position to destinations.

When we don't make reservations for camping we use it in conjunction with references such as KOA's directory, motel guides, State and National Parks books.

We use it at home to map businesses or residences to which we intend to go - have it installed on our Desktops and print hard copies.

I simply really really like using it and wouldn't consider traveling without it. Matter of fact, when my old laptop (Compaq running an old(er) version of S&T was unable to upgrade to a new ('0 program, I purchased a new laptop and use it only for S&T (& checking & sending e-mail while on the road)

[Davydd]

A GPS is more than just a map and directions. I wanted to make a reservation for a restaurant 175 miles away. When I called the restaurant the GPS said my arrival time would be 5:18 PM. So I figured I was going to need one more rest stop and made the reservation for 5:30. We walked in at 5:29. They are pretty accurate in that regard and I like the comfort of knowing when I can expect to arrive someplace.

Another thing is you can find lodging, recreation, points of interest, food, etc., as you are driving and you can do so locally to where you are or at your destination. The local list at where you are constantly changes with exits and distance so you can find something very fast. In Cincinnati at the spur of the moment we decided we wanted to try some Cincinnati chili and boom! at the next exit was a Skyline Chili restaurant. One minute later and we might have missed it.

Since the GPS also records your exact speed (important since a Sprinter is off on the speedometer) you can fine adjust your cruise control. Also, since the GPS gives you average speed, downtime, etc., you can collect data and information on your driving habits to do trip planning ahead of time.

[dave_in_delaware]

Oh, I realize GPS is more than maps/directions....

For the hard-core, someone could record all the major way points of a trip using the GPS, including Lat/Long coordinates AND elevation, and download that data into a CAD/GIS program (or maybe use google Earth somehow) and actually plot and draw your route, right onto DOQQ aerial photography or DRG rasters....

Import other "base layer" data (State outlines, County boundaries, municipality lines, rail and roads, State Parks, even dump stations and RV parks, etc etc etc...) and you could have a VERY nice (and accurate) RV-centric map and database (which would blow the "visited States" sticker thing away). Add links to the way points to open up website homepages, link a point to a folder of related photos on myspace (or whatever you use), set up a real-time location-based map system for your friends and family to track you on your journey (so they know you're OK)... I mean, the potential application, fun, even "high-tech-iness" is never ending!

Maybe someday I'll use GPS in my RV, but I'll need to get my RV first, THEN worry about my laptop and setting up all the related gadgets.

[Davydd]

You hardly need a computer. The inexpensive TomTom and Garmin GPSes can do just about everything. Heck, we use ours all the time in our other two vehicles, especially when going to addresses we've never been. You hardly need a B to justify owning one. My wife was using it on her job as a home care nurse.

[dave_in_delaware]

Well, for what I want to do in my B I do need a laptop. My B will also be my mobile office, as well as an entertainment "center." I plan on a laptop for playing games, watching movies, receiving TV, playing mp3 lists, and the GPS, as well as CAD/GIS. I want to keep the laptop in the "back" for passengers to watch movies on, plus have a touchscreen at the driver's seat for the GPS, maps, and an interface to the B's computer, for mpg, trip info, battery levels, etc...

That's after I win the lottery, of course. But it's my dream for now.

[g1g]

I like to have it with me but my laptop has been giving me problems lately so I am forced to do without at the time.

[RS 38-40]

I marked No on the poll because we don't use a GPS to travel with -- BUT thats not to say I don't have one . When I'm driving I don't have time to mess with it and my wife doesn't understand it . We use the good old Wal Mart road atlas . Maybe I'll get a chance to do a little Geocashing with it . The main reason I bought it was to record the speed of my Radio Controled Airboats .

[Bruce Campbell]

Yes! Wouldn't leave home without it!

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by RS 38-40

I marked No on the poll because we don't use a GPS to travel with -- BUT thats not to say I don't have one . When I'm driving I don't have time to mess with it and my wife doesn't understand it . We use the good old Wal Mart road atlas . Maybe I'll get a chance to do a little Geocashing with it . The main reason I bought it was to record the speed of my Radio Controled Airboats .

When you mentioned geocaching you clued me in that perhaps your GPS is a handheld field GPS and not an auto GPS? If so, there is a world of difference. Auto GPSes like the Garmin Nuvis are not designed to do geocaching but they are about as simple as putting in a street address or selecting a site from a database list (restaurants, lodging, attractions, etc.) and touching go.

I have the Garmin Nuvi. I also want a field GPS to track our hikes and kayaking. I'm hoping the latter with a smart phone with GPS built in. Maybe an iPhone.

[pete]

I also use my Laptop as GPS. I like the Delorme Street Atlas USA. I use it for pre trip planning and for following as I drive. I do not usually let it tell me where to go but us it mostly as a moving map. It is nice to be able to jump off of the highway in traffic and work my way through the back roads. I can find Kansas without a map so I often just tag the final destination and use the GPS for the last mile.
Pete

[hardybob]

they've gotten so cheap that anyone can afford one. you never ever get lost if you have one. so if you want to take off through the countryside not knowing where you are, "dorothy" will know and will lead you back out to civilization.

[born2camp]

Never used one before.

[Mike]

Has anyone tried the voice/speech recognition types? I'm looking at a Garmin nuvi 855 from
Walmart. It doesn't have lifetime traffic, but it could be added for about another $120, so I'm told.
Comments, experience, anyone?

UPDATE:
I bought the Garmin nuvi 855 with V/R and a lot of other bells and whistles, C$164 from Walmart
USA. Picked it up and after a bit of testing used it last trip around the north and west US.
Worked very well, and had very few problems. Once you get the hang of the V/R, you can run the
thing hands free fairly effectively and easily, however it doesn't have cell phone bluetooth. I hardly
get or make any calls from the car anyway.
I like it, and now wouldn't be without one, especially if I don't know the area I'm driving to/in.

[g1g]

I don't have a dedicated GPS. I do have Delorme maps w/GPS but rarely used it and now since the laptop isn't working it looks like never until I can get a new one.