Saturday afternoon at the December
Dogwood Rally nine members shared their GPS stories and products each
used on the road. Two members are just starting to use GPS for
navigation and one is looking to purchase a GPS. The level and
variety of GPS’s was interesting. Members had different goals for
using GPS including routing to avoid tolls, low bridges and of course
not getting lost. Stories of dead end roads and gravel roads on a
Louisiana Delta helped the new users to understand there are more
reasons for using a GPS.
Carl uses a plug in GPS to his laptop
and the software from Trailer Life, Richard uses similar a GPS and Co
Pilot software (trucker type). Others use a stick-on mounted GPS
(all in one) without a Laptop. David just purchased his first GPS
and was wise enough not to follow all the directions included.
Streets and Trips, Magellan, ON Star, Garmin, Tom Tom and DeLorme
rounded out the list. All seemed happy with their product and
features. Dennis and I will continue our interest in finding a
Stick-on GPS we can down load routes created by mapping software.
Running both a GPS and a Lap top may cause conflict in the cockpit
of the RV. Some members have the advantage of a co- pilot who
navigates while the driver makes the turn.
Recommendations for
others:
- Purchase lifetime maps with the device.
- Research both mapping software and GPS models that accepts route files, mps or .gpx
- Update your stick-on GPS device with the latest software version. They have made improvements to navigation and what’s coming up at the next exit.
Richard gave us a
tour of his high tech system. GPS aside, how about your web site
that shows your location and a view of the coach and road. We had
lots of fun learning from one another and plan to do the same next
year at Dogwood’s Christmas rally.
