Tablets for navigation.

[tubbsisland]

That's a couple curious iPad issues. I use my old iPad 2 and I run all day with a Dual 150 NOT plugged in at all to exercise the battery and I still have plenty of battery left. Its kept on the mount without the need for a case and I've never had the need to run the screen at full brightness because it's not mounted close to the windshield. I've never had an Apple device overheat or otherwise fail. Hell, I have a first gen iPod mini that still works somewhere around here. I'm not trying to praise Apple products but I've had/still have a bunch of them and they've been bulletproof.

You obviously don't live anywhere hot haha. Apple devise overheating is a common thing out here. 20 minutes in front of the AC and you're normally good to go. I've had it happen to my phone just sitting on the trans tunnel on my E30

 

[Cam_Cam_Tech]

We have been testing iPad and navigation software for awhile now, here is my assessment.

There is no true replacement for a dedicated GPS unit. I personally run a Lowrance HDS-5m in my 2008 Tacoma and it is still my primary navigation device. I recently added my iPad mini to the mix running an app called LeadNav with pre downloaded satellite images and paired it with a Dual SkyPro bluetooth GPS receiver. The Lowrance is always more accurate to exact location, faster updating and being hardwired into the trucks electrical more reliable. Its never had a heat issue or system failure. The iPad has over heated on multiple occasions, battery life even when plugged in sucks and tends to be off in terms of exact location. That being said it has been a great tool to be able to use the sat maps to preview a road or pick out a potential campsite in advance and for the most part is a reasonably reliable GPS and could serve as your primary as long as you have a back up dedicated unit in case of failure which is what I will be doing in my 2017 Tacoma Build. My backup there will be an older but Garmin Montana hand held.

View attachment 8954

Sweet setup man, I'm with you on the accuracy and speed of the unit. I run a Lowrance 5m as well with predefined maps of western states as well as baja file, all from PCI.
I was going to mention the LeadNav guys but deleted my post. I met them last year in Ensenada and were super cool at showing me their product and software. I was just thinking of adding a ipad mini with their software next year for the extra detail in the sierras/baja that lowrance doesn't give me.

Side note, you going to the 1000 his year? Will be chasing again, its my 4th year doing it for Wide Open.

 

[tubbsisland]

Sweet setup man, I'm with you on the accuracy and speed of the unit. I run a Lowrance 5m as well with predefined maps of western states as well as baja file, all from PCI.
I was going to mention the LeadNav guys but deleted my post. I met them last year in Ensenada and were super cool at showing me their product and software. I was just thinking of adding a ipad mini with their software next year for the extra detail in the sierras/baja that lowrance doesn't give me.

Side note, you going to the 1000 his year? Will be chasing again, its my 4th year doing it for Wide Open.

No 1000 for me, I got asked to go by a couple teams but I'm finishing up my last semester of school after living the Van Wilder program for a few years so that takes precedence this year.

 

[TreXTerra]

We have been testing iPad and navigation software for awhile now, here is my assessment.

There is no true replacement for a dedicated GPS unit. I personally run a Lowrance HDS-5m in my 2008 Tacoma and it is still my primary navigation device. I recently added my iPad mini to the mix running an app called LeadNav with pre downloaded satellite images and paired it with a Dual SkyPro bluetooth GPS receiver. The Lowrance is always more accurate to exact location, faster updating and being hardwired into the trucks electrical more reliable. Its never had a heat issue or system failure. The iPad has over heated on multiple occasions, battery life even when plugged in sucks and tends to be off in terms of exact location. That being said it has been a great tool to be able to use the sat maps to preview a road or pick out a potential campsite in advance and for the most part is a reasonably reliable GPS and could serve as your primary as long as you have a back up dedicated unit in case of failure which is what I will be doing in my 2017 Tacoma Build. My backup there will be an older but Garmin Montana hand held.

View attachment 8954

Uh, are you not worried about catching a GPS in the face if the passenger airbag inflates?

 

[tubbsisland]

Uh, are you not worried about catching a GPS in the face if the passenger airbag inflates?

Truck is completely caged, all airbags have been removed. Thought that would be pretty easy to identify with the intercom mounted in the factory air bag location...

 

[TreXTerra]

Truck is completely caged, all airbags have been removed. Thought that would be pretty easy to identify with the intercom mounted in the factory air bag location...

Lots of cars have them come out of the top of the dash, behind that panel. Since I don't own that model, it seemed reasonable to assume it used such a system. Especially since Toyota has extensively used that type of deployment in the past.

 

[tubbsisland]

Lots of cars have them come out of the top of the dash, behind that panel. Since I don't own that model, it seemed reasonable to assume it used such a system. Especially since Toyota has extensively used that type of deployment in the past.

I understand that, but leaving air bags in a vehicle with a full cage is pointless, let alone dangerous. The entire system has been removed, still trying to think of something fun to do with the un exploded bags

 

[RiverCityDave]

That's a couple curious iPad issues. I use my old iPad 2 and I run all day with a Dual 150 NOT plugged in at all to exercise the battery and I still have plenty of battery left. Its kept on the mount without the need for a case and I've never had the need to run the screen at full brightness because it's not mounted close to the windshield. I've never had an Apple device overheat or otherwise fail. Hell, I have a first gen iPod mini that still works somewhere around here. I'm not trying to praise Apple products but I've had/still have a bunch of them and they've been bulletproof.

My experience with Apple has been similar, one time since I've owned them my iPhone has told me it was overheated and needed to cool down, and that was laying in the grass on a hot Texas summer day.

You obviously don't live anywhere hot haha. Apple devise overheating is a common thing out here. 20 minutes in front of the AC and you're normally good to go. I've had it happen to my phone just sitting on the trans tunnel on my E30

I use mine in a military environment so I'm not buying the kid gloves treatment thing, however I will accept that your environment might be rougher in that race truck. I just take a few basic precautions advisable for all non hardened devices, like keeping them out of direct sun, etc. My battery never drains when plugged in, but that's a function of the power provided by your USB device, and if you're using a 2 amp converter you're going to drain. Mine are hard wired.

BTW, I dig your IG and FB, i was about to order one of those flannel hats... but they arent on your store page yet :(

YMMV

 

[tubbsisland]

My experience with Apple has been similar, one time since I've owned them my iPhone has told me it was overheated and needed to cool down, and that was laying in the grass on a hot Texas summer day.



I use mine in a military environment so I'm not buying the kid gloves treatment thing, however I will accept that your environment might be rougher in that race truck. I just take a few basic precautions advisable for all non hardened devices, like keeping them out of direct sun, etc. My battery never drains when plugged in, but that's a function of the power provided by your USB device, and if you're using a 2 amp converter you're going to drain. Mine are hard wired.

BTW, I dig your IG and FB, i was about to order one of those flannel hats... but they arent on your store page yet :(

YMMV

Thanks! Shoot me a PM and I'll get one set aside for you.

Its not easy or really feasible to keep my Ipad out of direct sunlight and you want it mounted as high up as possible to keep your eyes up and on the road. My 2017 will have a much different setup

 

[ArmyofMike]

I am toying with the idea of adding a stand alone GPS Unit for my Jeep, but wanted to see if anyone had a recommendation for an inexpensive/cheaper Tablet that could be used. I am looking for a smaller unit (9"?) that would work on my dash.

Any recommendations or experience would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[1Louder]

I am toying with the idea of adding a stand alone GPS Unit for my Jeep, but wanted to see if anyone had a recommendation for an inexpensive/cheaper Tablet that could be used. I am looking for a smaller unit (9"?) that would work on my dash.

Any recommendations or experience would be appreciated.
Thanks

Ram mount or installed in your dash?

Search some of the other threads. An Android tablet would be the most budget friendly. Just make sure it has a built in GPS and I would get an SD card to store offline. App. There are lots of off brands, and hacks but if you aren't familiar with them I would stick with a popular brand like Asus or Samsung. There are a plethora of cheap $100ish tablets but I don't think they are a good long term solution.

 

[Lifestyle Overland]

I am toying with the idea of adding a stand alone GPS Unit for my Jeep, but wanted to see if anyone had a recommendation for an inexpensive/cheaper Tablet that could be used. I am looking for a smaller unit (9"?) that would work on my dash.

Any recommendations or experience would be appreciated.
Thanks

The Samsung Tab A would fit the bill quite well, in my opinion.
These come in 7, 8 and 10.1" units.

 

[ArmyofMike]

Thank you @stringtwelve and @1Louder for the feedback. I will mount on dash, perhaps window mount on driver door side. I may actually perooze Craigslist for a used model on the cheap....or on the way back to work from lunch, I thought, why not just dedicate my old S3 to my GPS in the vehicle?

 

[expeditionnorth]

not sure if anyone here has seen the Magellan TRX Gps ~ http://www.magellangps.com/Outdoor-Navigation/Magellan-TRX-Off-road-GPS-Navigation

with this beast I could part way with my tablet, though its pricy

 

[Lifestyle Overland]

Totally digging the app features... I may have to add this one to the arsenal.

"Access to over 44,000 designated OHV trails from forest and public lands; with more being added"

 

[expeditionnorth]

Totally digging the app features... I may have to add this one to the arsenal.

"Access to over 44,000 designated OHV trails from forest and public lands; with more being added"

I have a review in the navigation topic area on it you may want to check out

 

[VCeXpedition]

I'm trying out the Samsung Tab A, so far pretty happy with it, I have it in the Otterbox case which gives it a more robust feel and fit's into my Ram Mount in my car.
I haven't heard any mention so far of the app "BackCountry Navigator". I purchased the Pro version after playing with the free one for a while. Gaia is another alternative but I heard very favorable things about BCN customer service and update.
I've been getting BCN's updates by e-mail and they're actually helpful and informative to a noob like me!

I also heard that Hema Maps, which is getting a lot of market exposure because of their uber-cool vehicles roaming around 'murica these days, but it seems to only be available to iPad, and the users I've heard have more than a few complaints.

To date, a very budget-friendly tool. Would like a Magellan Explorist though.

I am also planning to add the inReach Explorer before my next big trip, and I heard there is some cross-functionality between Android and Delorme but I haven't followed up on that well.

 

[1Louder]

Hema is available on iOS and Android but Android has several major bugs which Hema has failed to resolve since its 1.0 launch. It is also a much maligned port of Gaia in its current form. I will say Gaia support is equal to or great than anyone else out there. I'm on the beta team. So I see no reason to use the Hema App.

Because I am mostly an iOS guy I can't speak about BCN.

IMHO dedicated GPS hardware devices are dead in the water.

 

[JKUOverland]

I running a 8" HDMI TV on a Ram Mount connected to a iPhone via a lightning to HDMI. Even though the iPadmini would work also, its another device plus additional service plan. Of course my TV screen is just for viewing and all actions must take place on the iPhone. The Gaia app provides all the info necessary for my level of overlanding. I still have the factory GPS as a back up as well a Garmin hand held.

 

[Scott]

Great thread.. I am looking for a dedicated GPS tablet for the truck.. And I was looking at the $50 irulu 7" tablets.. I'm now seriously considering the Samsung a tablet.. Looks like a really nice tablet for the money