Has anyone mounted a GPS to their truck? I would klike to add one, but don't know which model I want. I know I don't want a hand-held.

 

I voted YES, but my GPS is a handheld. It is a Garmin GPS II+ and about 6-7 years old. It has the ability to lay horizontal (the screen graphics can flip 90°), so I have a strip of Velcro on the GPS with the mating Velcro on my truck, Bronco, and snowmobile. It can also accept a remote antenna with a magnet that can stick to the top of the cab (helps reception greatly), and cigarette lighter adapter because GPS's suck the AA's hard at night when the backlit display is on.

Other than having a larger, easier to read display, I have never seen the advantage of a permanetly mounted one.

 

I currently have a handheld Garmin I use on trips. If I were to mount a GPS in my truck, it would be the Garmin Meridian Gold. You can pick up the whole kit for under 450 if you shop around. Comes with Topo, Street, upgradable memory (comes with 16mb I believe), 12V vehicle adapter, and windshield/dash mount kit. Do a search on mysimon.com and find the best deal. Just my .02 worth.

 

Graymonster...I read your post again...are you looking for a permanant in dash model? Just want to verify after possibly placing foot in mouth

 

I have a Lowrance LCX 15MT that I use on my boat but can double as a vehicle GPS. It's a sonar/gps, but can be full mode of either. It has a 7"x7" 460x320 display. Lowrance sells the auto kit for it. You would need to mount the bracket and either use the LCG-128 receiver from your boat (magnetic mount) or order a seperate one (couple hundred dollars or more). It's a puck sized receiver with a magnetic base that will clamp to the roof of your pickup. The cable would have to either come through a window or have a bulkhead installed, or you could just put the receiver on the dash and mount the unit on the floor between the seats. The only problem with that would be that you cannot reach it to change settings, zoom in or out, or set waypoints.

I also have the hand held Garmin GPS Plus V and it works just fine. The only problem I have with it is that any decent dash mount will scar the dash if it's ever removed, and some require screws. Those that use velcro are useless, as the velcro will stay together, but the strips stick to neither the dash nor the unit.

 

I have a Garmin V. It can be used as a handheld or mounted, that makes it easier to use with a computer.

 

I installed a Pioneer Nav Package, and it is unbelievable!!! The updating is instanteous, extremely accurate. It uses touch screen or voice commands. Check it out.

 

I had to vote no on this but was wondering how well your GPS screens9handheld or permanant) show streets while driving.

I have never seen a smaller GPS work. I use one a lot at work but the screen is probably 10-12 in., similar to a laptop. Depending on how much you are zommed in or out you can see all the street names. The view might be something similar to Mapquest or other online direction sites.

Simply put how easy are they to use? And how accurate have you found them to be with the backroads?


Thanks

 

The screen works well when driving. *But* the driver shouldn't be operating ANY gps while driving. You even get a warning when it boots up. These things can be more distracting than 3 cell phones. I have for of them and using them for work, from 4x4, ATV and on foot.

P.S. Other than for work, only use one on rare occasions. Then again, I like having it just in case.

 

If you have a laptop, try the DeLorme Earthmate GPS receiver, and map software. The laptop and this GPS package has far more capabilities than any hand held unit!!!

 

Most good handheld units have a computer link allowing them to be used in conjunction with a lap top. Garmin has various mapping capabilities, Urban, Topo etc. under the MapSource name. It is also compatable with GIS programs such as ArcView, ArcGis by ESRI. The sky is the limits. . . literally

P.S. The only way to beat a good Garmin is to go with something like a Trimble which will cost almost as much as your car.

 

I have the Garmin V Deluxe. It isn't mounted in my truck yet, but that is only because the truck still has to be made & delivered! It's a great hand-held gps that comes with maps of the entire US. It's auto-route capabilities are great are pretty decent.

I bought the gps mainly for on my motorcycle, but have found it quite useful when trying to navigate an auto through an unfamiliar city. I anticipate that it will also be quite useful when on off-road hunting trips!

 

Garmin handheld also-------------Dont wrech while lookin at it

 

Yup, thats what I run, and I pipe my mp3's from my laptop to my stero as well

 

I'm definatly planning on getting one. Whats a good one at a reasonable price with a map feature?