Latest on GPS?

[MaryAnn]

Planning a cross country trip this summer with many stops. The last road trip I took, a friend pushed his Garmin on me and it was very useful. However that was five years ago; reviews on Amazon of today's Garmins say they are crap and surprise you with an additional $30 required after you get it home to make your computer talk to it. Doesn't sound like something I want. Wondering what people are using that works. I have a cheap smart phone but want something like the Garmin I used that will talk to me so I don't have to look at a map. Input from the TNFJ wanted!!!

[MaryAnn]

I have a mac. What the people had to pay the $30 for was software for their computer. I don't know if I can even use a mac for that. My half-smart phone is a Moto G. But I do want something that talks to me.....and was hoping to find something way less than $240. I'll be going to Virginia for a couple of weeks in June, then north to NY state and then across the northern US stopping wherever the heck I want to. Have a fairly substantial list of friends to visit, but also would like to see some national parks, not sure how easy it will be to get an RV spot.

[alloybrass]

I also recommend Waze. It's free, it's owned by Google, and it has three big features that I find very useful (and that Apple Maps and Google Maps do not have):

1.It's a community driven information system, meaning that people up the road from you will identify hazards like stalled cars, heavy traffic and police.

2. You can program in your final destination, and if you want to take a side trip, for lunch or gas or an attraction, you can add a stop, then continue on your way.

3. It will warn you of traffic tie-ups and re-route you to save time.

I used Waze on a recent trip from Minneapolis to West Virginia and back and was very impressed it. I plugged my phone into the "cigarette lighter" and was able to keep it powered up the whole way. It saved me the cost of a ticket more than once and saved me time by routing me around a highway accident. It also helped me find a nice lunch spot off the Ohio Turnpike.

The one place it fell down was when navigating to a hotel in Rockford, Illinois. It got me within 30 feet of the driveway of my hotel, but in the wrong parking lot. I was able to overcome this, however.

Try installing it and using it around your home before your trip. If you like it as much as I do, you'll save a lot of money.

[Tubaryan12]

+1 on Waze. I don't find it as easy to use as google maps, but the information (traffic, accident and police warnings) makes it worth using.

[Rick F]

One thing to remember is that if you're going to use a free or cheap app (like Waze) on your phone to navigate, you need cell coverage. Even though smart phones have a GPS chip, you still need cell coverage for it to work. BUT there are apps like Garmin and TomTom that cost around $50 or maybe less, that will work independent of cell coverage using the built-in GPS chip.

I have a TomTom GPS that has lifetime free map updates and free traffic. I've had it now for about 4 yrs and it works pretty well. A TomTom Via 1515M with free map updates runs about $120. It has good reviews too.

Hope this helps.

[gwwilk]

I think Garmin GPS units are hard to beat. Here is one with a 5" display for less than $100 with lifetime maps that has over 1000 reviews with an aggregate rating of over 4 out of 5 stars. Click on the 6" for its price. You can also select the desired base/lifetime maps/lifetime maps & traffic options to see comparable prices.

People encounter problems with GPS units when they don't drive initially in familiar territory to learn how the unit works. When I first got my new garmin I took it out of the box to Michigan and missed an important turn because I wasn't familiar with how its instructions differed from my older Garmin. I suspect a lot of complaints about Garmins are caused by similar user unfamiliarity.

[Ricko]

+1 on Waze - but also agree about getting lost without cell signal.

You can find many used Garmin models on Shopgoodwill.com - many with the lifetime maps option - look for a model with LM in the model number. You can usually get one for less than $20

[bort]

I've used both TomTom and Garmin without issue.

Rick is right, cell phone GPS is only good where you have cell coverage. I'm always surprised where it still drops out (random places) or sparsely populated places between major cities (no coverage in Wisconsin for a large area between Madison and Minneapolis).

That said driving cross country isn't hard. Just need to know some basic geography about who sign to follow to the next city.

10 years ago, my brother and I drove from Baltimore to Los Angeles for the hell of it. Rented car, no map, and pre-GPS and fancy phone. We eventually bought a US road atlas, but still only minimal directions. Oh, the **** we saw when we got lost...! Wouldnt trade that for anything!

I also drove from NYC to Minneapolis, round trip, about 6 or 7 times last year. I have a built in GPS in my car, but barely used it, just to find the hotel at night.

Ditch the phone, ditch the GPS mostly, and enjoy all of the great places and hellholes that this country has to discover when you get lost. I cant wait to go on another long drive, staying put makes me a little crazy!

[alfredr]

I'm not lost, I'm exploring!

The first time I drove through Mexico to Guatemala, thirty plus years ago, I only had a Rand McNalley U.S. road atlas for map. Somehow I missed Mexico City in the dark. That was okay.

[MaryAnn]

I've always been a map user. But especially now that I am in my dotage and not as capable of multi-tasking as I used to be, making correct interchange moves in an unfamiliar big city borders on being dangerous. I also can't memorize five steps ahead like I used to, and just drive.

For the cell phone apps, do you not need a data plan? While I have a smart phone, I have a dumb phone plan that is unlimited talk and text for $12 a month (Republic Wireless,) but no data unless I am in range of free wifi. I think I do want a GPS satellite unit rather than a cell phone app. Thanks for all the input. TNFJ scores again!