vehicle GPS, Ipad or tablet

Coyotejunki

Coyotejunki

Well-known member
OK, I am pretty new to this stuff. I am looking into getting an IPAD or tablet, most likely with GPS. Then I hear GAIA is the app to get. Anyone running this? Also do I need anything else to run this stuff when I am out and about? Does this run on it's own or will it need to hook to my phone and use up my limited 2 gigs? I am still unsure how all this works. I have only used my old Garmin.
 
Your old Garmin is probably still your best bet. Depending on exactly what you really want to do.

I use the crap out of nav while out and about. Last few years, using a tablet. I MUCH prefer a real, dedicated gps unit, but the ones I'd consider worth having for my purposes are just stupid expensive. I like the Garmin chart plotters though, if money were no object. That's what I used for a long time, until it died a few years ago. Same unit you see in a lot of bush planes.

Anyway... Even though it's what I use, I'm not a big fan of tablet for nav, partly because all of the apps suck. You'll have to find the one that sucks the least for you. Gaia could have been the one for me, but it was too buggy and kept locking up so I had to abandon it. Have tried a bunch, don't love any of them. Have pretty much settled on BCN though. It's stable and it works. Raster maps are crap, but that's pretty much the only game in town for nav on a tablet. The Delorme app had great potential, uses vector maps, but a couple of really annoying flaws I just couldn't live with. Can say the same for all the others I have tried which is a few.

On the hardware, just be certain you get built in GPS. Up until recently, that meant iPads were a no-go, but they finally started offering them with built in GPS. Android is a lot cheaper though and if it's mainly for nav, no reason to pay up for an iPad. And the iPad used to have another huge weakness for nav - no external/removable storage. Whatever is built in is all you get. Android you can use cheap SD cards to expand storage. I have a 128GB card in my nav tablet with 120GB of maps on it. That would get expensive in a hurry storing that much map data on an iPad. There are ways to get around it now, but they are clunky compared to just popping an SD card in a droid tablet.

You'll pay up for a good screen with high res, but the best droid tablets actually have better screens than the iPad. Up to you whether that is worth it or not, but it will make a big difference in the nav experience, so I did pay up. Currently running a Samsung Tab S w/BCN. Like I said, don't love it, just the least sucky tablet nav I could come up with for my purposes. Tablet nav is still sucky though. But it works.

20180324_Maze_Camping-65W.jpg


- DAA
 
iPads have had gps in them for at least 8 years as I got my first one about then. But not every model had gps. I had a 64g and used it to fly all over the United States. Very detailed charts of the entire country could be stored on that 64g with lots storage left over. A dedicated gps is a good way to go but all it can do is navigate while the iPad can do many other tasks. Gaia is a great app I use often . You download maps to it when you select which areas you want. Download thru a WiFi to save data plan. Xhunt is another great app which shows who or what agency controls land.k
Any new iPad will have at least 128g of storage as I think that is the least offered. You can preserve data plan and significant purchase cost if you get a WiFi only iPad. You can download all you need when near WiFi. I believe they still sell WiFi only iPads. You may be able to buy a used or refurbed iPad that is able to do all you want pretty reasonably. I know nothing of the android versions of tablet,but they may also suit your needs.
 
Ps I had a 2g data plan for quite a while and never went over using my iPad extensively on my cellular plan. The cellular iPad will be set up to share data plan with your phone. For many of us it is a good way to utilize the unused portion of our datplans.
 
I have several iPads in the house that don't have GPS. None of them are more than a few years old.

The WiFi only units do come with GPS now, but that is a relatively recent change. Not sure exactly when, but a few years ago when I was deciding on a tablet for nav, iPad was out of the running, as only data units had GPS and were much more expensive, and I have zero use for data on a tablet. That, and the storage was a deal killer for me.

I can assure you that you can still get a brand new iPad with only 32GB or 64GB too...

128GB of total storage wouldn't be nearly enough for my tablet nav needs, but if it's enough for yours, that's all that matters. But if buying a refurb, do be aware that it might or might not have built in GPS depending on how old it is and it won't be of any use for nav if it doesn't. At least, it wouldn't be of any use for nav for me. There's almost never any cell signal anywhere I want to use nav.

The iPad mini is just the right size for me for a nav tablet, the others are all just too big - but that will be different for everyone and the vehicles and mounts they want to use. It has a good screen. I think they are all 128GB, which might be enough for some people. Price on them isn't too bad either. If you are an Apple person, I think the new minis would make about as good a nav tablet as anything, if you can live with the small storage or don't mind the clunky ways of expanding it.

- DAA
 
gaia was the first app I used because I already owned an ipad with cellular/gps on it. that tablet is only 16 gig and it would not hold much maps. a couple years ago I switched to a samsung tablet and BCN. way better than gaia. way better!! also 128 gig cards get filled when I download about half of a state. its not unheard of for me to hunt 4 states in a year.

I will say apple makes way better quality tablets than samsung does. to me samsung tablets are somewhat disposable. my first ipad has seen over 4 1/2 years of hard use. 2 broken screens and still runs decent.
 
DAA. Interesting to see 32 and 64g ipads are still available. None of the retailers in our area offer them or stock them. I suppose for most applications they might be quite limiting. Price is much better though.
 
Back
Top