Does anyone use a nav system other than their phone in the car?

[rockfan4]

I will admit I've become somewhat dependent on navigation systems to get around.
The other day my wife found her Garmin and wondered if she should get rid of it. I said no, and now I have a good reason.

Friday we went to see a man about a horse, and not the euphemism. It was a farm near Dodgeville, but out a ways. We even had to drive a gravel road for a bit. Android Auto got us there just fine, brought us right to the driveway. But leaving was another story. Since we were out in the country, there was no phone signal. The phone knew what roads were nearby, but could not calculate a route. I backtracked as best I could, remembering we crossed a major highway about 10 miles back. I missed one turn but eventually got us back to the highway, and I knew enough to know which way to turn to take us to Dodgeville. Once we got closer to town we had a signal again and we were able to navigate. If I had the Garmin in the car, life would have been easier.

Before you stay "use a paper map", I have one in the car, but the wife can't read it, and I was too stubborn to pull over and look at it. We had a similar issue last month, we were driving down the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi on Highway 35, when all of a sudden we ran into a Road Closed sign for road construction. Too far to backtrack to Lansing, we followed the detour until we hit Hwy 61 and continued that way. It made us about 20 minutes late to visit the granddaughter.

[rwest]

I’m two years plus of no cell phone, but have a Tom Tom navigational device that works pretty well.

It doesn’t know about traffic or construction though- maybe if I uploaded map updates just before using it, it might have construction information if the construction is long term.

It seems to work okay for my needs.

[flatbutt]

My phone is better than the Tacoma on board system which is the worst ever.

[astrochex]

My Cayman map is accurate with roads in my limited usage. I have not used it for directions.

[JackDidley]

I put Waze on my phone 3+ years ago. The Garmin has not been powered up since.

[Brian 162]

My factory GM Nav. Is crap. It’s not user friendly. They stopped supporting updates 2 years ago for a 2017 vehicle.
The phone is my go to for navigation.

[Arizona_928]

Waze is very good but owned by Google. So there’s that. However, it lets users input road hazards and law enforcement speed traps.


IMO, the best nav are the ones not connected to the internet, as the traffic updates cause more pain than panic.

[dlockhart]

Just today..

[A930Rocket]

I use the iPhone maps around town and Waze on the highway. You can put the destination in via text or voice, unlike the system in my 2014 F150. What a dinosaur system.

[rockfan4]

Originally Posted by dlockhart

Just today..

I've been through there. My stepdaughter lives in Davenport, and usually we just take 61 back to Dubuque. One visit we had some extra time on the way back and took 84 up the IL side of the Mississippi.

I think the Garmin software is on my wife's laptop, and the Garmin is supposed to have lifetime map updates. I'll see if I can get it connected up and updated. The battery is probably shot in the thing, but it should work okay when plugged in. Hopefully we don't have too many more barn visits to do and she finds a horse that suits her.

Just to be clear, we'll use Android Auto whenever we have a signal, this is something to use when we don't. There's lots of hilly areas in Southwest Wisconsin where there's no phone service.
AA must be incorporating features from Waze, it now warns of speed traps and lane closures.

[fanaudical]

I refuse to carry a smart phone and have a couple of older vehicles without nav. I have a flip phone and a Garmin Drive 53 (which gets moved between vehicles and goes with me on trips for the rental car). It's been quite reliable. I can download updates to it with my PC. It's better than the nav system in my wife's Q3. It was very reasonably priced. I wish Garmin made double-DIN car stereos with this tech in it.

[GH85Carrera]

I have a Garmin 55 that I have mounted on the phone mount that I bought for my iPhone. Just unscrew the magnetic part, and a nice round ball is perfect to mount the Garmin on.

The Garmin 55 connects to the iPhone, so it is easy to find destinations. My biggest complaint of every GPS and phone app map is there is no "Keep me out of the ghetto!" option. On a recent trip back from the NE we were in St. Louis, and the GPS said I-44 is closed ahead. They were rebuilding the bridge. It re-routed us through south St. Louis with burned out buildings, burned out cars, and no businesses. The saving grace was it was Sunday morning fairly early so no one was up in that area.

So, yea, I use a real GPS on road trips to other states. I use my phone for local trips to places I have never been to.

[rfuerst911sc]

My S10 and both Porsche's don't have built in GPS so I use a stand alone Garmin . Works for me . My wife's car and my dually have aftermarket double din that use Android based GPS . They work fine also .

[GH85Carrera]

When my wife ordered her Macan, she did not get the nav expensive system. She did order Apple Car Play. Plug the phone into the centers console USB Port and the phone screen is displayed on the dash. She can run her phone from the dash display. Punch in the app of choice to navigate and it is all integrated. As long as there is cell coverage. A GPS works anywhere.

[Paul T]

I almost exclusively use google maps, it seems to be much better than any of the integrated systems in various vehicles. I haven’t had a garmin for probably 20 yrs….I could not live without a smartphone.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Paul T

I almost exclusively use google maps, it seems to be much better than any of the integrated systems in various vehicles. I haven’t had a garmin for probably 20 yrs….I could not live without a smartphone.

Like most of the members of Pelican, for most of my life I had no smartphone and I survived and managed cross country drives. Like you, I can't imagine giving up my smartphone. It is my brain add on.

[jhynesrockmtn]

I had a handheld Garmin for the motorcycle. I have not used that for years now. The long MC trips are a thing of the past. I only use the phone now, and given my insulin pump and glucose monitor run through the thing, I couldn't get rid of it it if I wanted to. It's most helpful when we drive to see my daughter. It can route me around Seattle traffic issues and did successfully yesterday. I hate Seattle traffic!

My 2024 F150 only has NAV if you pay the monthly premium for it. Same for their "Bluecruise" (highway hands free driving). Do folks with newer cars actually pay for these "enhanced" features? I don't, and FORD reminds me of it frequently.

[greglepore]

The issue is the one raised by the op. If you don't have connectivity when you start the route, a phone based gps won't calculate a route. It'll know where you are but lacks the ability to route from there.
We have this issue at home. We have no cell service here or for a few miles in each direction. We also have a cabin on the property we abnb. We have to warn guests that if they need gps to get where they're going to make sure they start the route before they leave our guest wifi (luckily pretty wide range mesh) or their route won't load.

[vash]

Originally Posted by rwest

I’m two years plus of no cell phone.

what??

I am shocked and in awe of you. wow!!

if you had to make a call...you borrow a phone? like in the movies?

[Paul_Heery]

It seems that no one in this thread is aware that you can download regions of Google Maps to your phone. The GPS function will work without being online and if you have downloaded the maps for your route, the navigation works fine.

A few months ago, I was in Joshua Tree National Park where there is no cell service. I was able to navigate to trailheads within the park and also find my way to exits without issue.