GPS?

[ericw.]

Fun fact... I put the deposit down on my JTRD on starlink at Lake Como, at the top of Poughkeepsie Gulch after doing "The Wall" in my Wrangler.

Salesman said it's a first time selling a car to someone that's on top of a mountain.

Sponsored

 

[bd100]

Garmin units (and maybe TomTom as well?) are now using maps based on Open Street Map. I think this is true of our recent in-vehicle Garmin nav update as well.

In many cases OSM has better maps of off road paths and hiking trails than Google does. Pull up openstreetmap.org and compare to Google maps for the same national forest areas some day. Google has the reviews and photos and satellite views and traffic and every little coffee shop, but misses a lot of the small trails.

Anyhow, navigating the back woods with a recent Garmin map works better than some may expect. It may be necessary to tell the unit to allow navigation by these tiny roads, though, otherwise you may be routed some round-about way by the paved roads.

 

[Thunderspud]

It may be necessary to tell the unit to allow navigation by these tiny roads, though, otherwise you may be routed some round-about way by the paved roads.

Only half-joking, but I have often wished Waze/Google Maps would take the "Avoid Highways" toggle on turn-by-turn directions a bit further and add a "Prefer Dirt/Gravel" option as well. Not like we have shortage of Forest Service Roads in the half-dozen National Forests that surround us down here. I usually just drive and get lost, but it would actually be pretty nice to set it, forget it, and have it route me through 100 miles of unmaintained roads to get a beer that's 15 minutes away by interstate.

 

[Deleted member 57233]

Mobile sat phones have been unaffordable for decades, is what you meant to say.


And you can use Starlink any way you choose to. It's only $5/month for unlimited "standby mode" which will give you enough bandwidth to text and wifi call (capped at 500Kbps) .. You could even download maps with that.

My starlink mini runs 24/7 on top of the Jeep.

Sounds like your process is sorted out sufficiently for your needs.

Enjoy the outdoors how you want to. We only hate the people that don't pack out their trash.

No, I meant what I said. Mobile satellite Internet has been around for decades. At cheaper prices than starlink. Starlink just upped the bandwidth for a premium price so you can stream 1080p video while living the #vanlife 30 yards away from the Yellowstone lodge wifi.

 

[sarguy1941]

It’s been a very long time since I bought an aftermarket GPS setup.

……riding roads less traveled by society…… Are they public roads? If they’re not public roads (listed on a map or in google- per say), they probably won’t be in an aftermarket GPS maps.

There’s probably another App for those types of roads/trails.

Just make sure you have the ability to download updated maps freely and easily (thru your home computer or even wifi/bluetooth).

I run the garmin overlander. Has all the topo and road maps for the US.

 

[sarguy1941]

Really? I connect mine to my PC with a USB cable, use the app on the PC and update my maps. Piece of cake.

The Garmin has wifi. I do map updates by hitting an icon on the screen. Way easiers than 20 years ago.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

The Garmin has wifi. I do map updates by hitting an icon on the screen. Way easiers than 20 years ago.

Now that we finally have wifi and Internet that works, time to upgrade?

Sponsored