advice on GPS anyone?

[Chevmeister]

I want to get a GPS for my truck and RV. It needs to be portable, and perferable one i can upgrade the maps in. Who has what, and how do they like it. I made a wrong turn in my RV on sunday, and its not something you can turn on a dime.

[Justin]

How portable do you want? Handheld? Or just easy to move from vehicle to vehicle.

If you are looking for handheld, I'd recommend Garmin's Venture CX

[Azzy]

Buying a refurbished Garmin Streetpilot i5 right now... borrowed one on many occasions, and have used quite a few other setups, and at 180 used, they are huge bang for your buck.

Downside is the screen is a bt small, however, the voice prompt is very good and the directions are sharp.

[netw0rkpenguin]

Rhino 120 for on the go and hiking, magellan 1000 in the car. Assorted garmin cards and sleeves for PDAs and netstumbling.

Go play with them in the store, also look on geocaching boards and forums. Whatever you decide on your best bet as far as accuracy, durability and usability is something built by garmin.

I used them in the field for real time geolocation and for mapping. A descent garmin unit makes anything else look like a cheap toy.

[Chevmeister]

It just has to be portable between vehicles. Mainly I need directions, and a larger screen. Sometimes I need to see where I need to be because I cant take my RV down some roads, light bridges, and low clearance. it would be nice to be able to use it as a detailed map when the computer doesnt see the 10' clearance sign.

[netw0rkpenguin]

There is a trade off between power consumption, screen size, color and durability. It all comes down to your needs. The rhino 120 is super rugged. It has a monochrome LCD and has been through snow storms, rain storms, hiking in the desert and wadding across swamps with me. It is sealed well enough that I don't worry about it in the woods. The screen is a tad hard to read in the car because of the size.

The magelan 1000 has a touch screen, large color LCD and sits in a high end car. I use it to drive up to boston and when going some place I have no idea how to get to. It has an MP3 player and about 500 other features you don't need in the woods.

Try checking out magellan 800. It is almost like the 1000 but doesnt have 3d map feature, slower processor and smaller hard drive. It is also a lot cheaper.

[Steve in PA]

I have a handheld Garmin, 60CSx that I use for geocaching, hunting and driving. I love it. I have topo maps as well as road maps loaded on mine.

[cseibles]

yes just got one i love it... got it for a gift best thing yet. where did you go to load the maps.

[RandomTask]

Garmin 60CSx does it all in a nice package with good ergos.
I got my 60CS the week it was introduced over three years ago and it has seen a lot of action in some ugly weather on my motorcycle. I use it all the time in my truck too.
I use a RAM mount and power cord on both vehicles.

[XD45]

go on ebay and get a refurbished one.. i just got a tomtom 700 on there for 160 i love that thing... still came with a 1yr factory warranty