off road GPS

[SVRACER01]

thats right folks, another GPS thread. lol
so the wife wanted to get me a GPS that would show me things like fire roads and class VI roads. research has shown that i am most likely looking for a topographical map on a GPS. Garmin has the eTrex stuff and a Topo map is $100.
has anyone used anything like this? id hate to blow $300 on a gps and maps only to find out it doesnt have what i want.
or, is anybody using something else/similar.
the idea of this is to find and route some roads for my dirt bike.

[Phat Twin]

Look into the Trail tech GPS. I am not sure what maps you can download for it, but I am not even sure that any company has class VI roads or even trails mapped out. This unit allows you to load other maps into it, so if you find a site that has such plotted GPX files, then you are in business. I used the Trail Tech GPS to plot current trails and information when I went on "Secret" rides so I could easily find said trails once again. Good Luck.

[Stromper]

A Garmin Oregon a walking GPS can/will accept topo 24 maps
All PUBLISHED trails are on there... like DEP park trails
There is a RAM mount for them (use batteries micro USB is shit)

It will also do road guidance and tracking so you can make your own maps routes

accepts both basecamp and tyre gpx

Leave a ball on the streetbike and good to go for about 6 hous on rechargeables

[SVRACER01]

just checked that out. i like the set up but checking the maps they offer, there is no fire or class 6 roads. i didnt see any in NH at all actually.

[SVRACER01]

A Garmin Oregon a walking GPS can/will accept topo 24 maps
All PUBLISHED trails are on there... like DEP park trails
There is a RAM mount for them (use batteries micro USB is shit)

It will also do road guidance and tracking so you can make your own maps routes

accepts both basecamp and tyre gpx

Leave a ball on the streetbike and good to go for about 6 hous on rechargeables

some of what you just typed is japanese to me. by published trails, do you mean hiking trails, off roading trails or both..maybe something entirely different.

[e30addict]

just checked that out. i like the set up but checking the maps they offer, there is no fire or class 6 roads. i didnt see any in NH at all actually.

You can pull topo maps off the net, you don't need to run Garmin's. Nice thing about the Oregon is that will run street maps and you can also use tracks from people that found some fun stuff off the beaten path so to speak.

[Stromper]

The 24 topo I have has the hiking trails I assume part of state recreation
Like the hiking trails up Mt. Greylock or Mt. Washington

I would usually assume that that dirtbikes are not invited.

I do believe it has ALL roads that are on a geo survey government map which at one time
had any path troops could march down

T hear in the north now lets ATV's on the snow mobile trails and they may be on a trail map

I looked at basecamp with topo and they show old abandoned roads usually as trails

[Garandman]

I have a Garmin Nuvi 500, probably five years old. It came with topo maps, but also can do on-road routing, is waterproof and has a replaceable battery.

Found that trails and Class IV roads don't show up by default. You have to go in and change the "Map Detail" setting to "Highest" but then it works great. Probably available pretty cheaply on eBay. you,need an mc mount.

Buying new, I think most people go for the Garmin Oregon series.

[gregp]

I have an E-Trex 20 that I bought about 2 years ago for $200. Now, they can be found for $150. Mine has been acting very strange after the latest update. It is no longer reliable and is unable to connect to my computer. I spoke with a Garmin rep, and they told me how to perform a "hard reset", but the process will not work. The only other options are to send it in for an $85 flat rate repair, or buy another one.
It worked great for 2 years - but I am now thinking about buying an Oregon 650t - just for the larger screen and the camera. On my E-Trex 20 I was using free maps from GPSfiledepot.com

[markbvt]

You can pull topo maps off the net, you don't need to run Garmin's. Nice thing about the Oregon is that will run street maps and you can also use tracks from people that found some fun stuff off the beaten path so to speak.

What Mark said. I've been using an Oregon as my motorcycle GPS for about 6 years now, and it's great. Flexible feature set, and it can display a wide variety of maps (you can have multiple maps installed simultaneously and turn them on and off individually at will). You are not restricted to Garmin maps. There are lots of free topo maps available, and if you look hard enough you can even find really useful custom maps. For example, a fellow NESRian created a custom map of all Vermont Class 4 road data (the equivalent of a NH Class 6); it works as an overlay for a regular street or topo map.

The Oregon also has excellent track-handling capabilities (ie, recording, displaying, and following them). And if you install routable street maps (Garmin City Navigator; don't know if there are routable free ones available yet -- last I checked, which was a few years ago, the Open Street Maps-derived maps weren't able to support route calculation), it's an excellent "how do I get there from here?" GPS too.

The Montana series is similar to the Oregon, but larger, with a higher-resolution, brighter screen and a rugged powered mount available for motorcycle use. More expensive though, of course.

--mark

[Stromper]

My micro USB on my Oregon went south after use on the streetbike

They replaced the unit for 60 quick so I believe common also got obviously upgraded electronics

With the screen light OFF (daytime fine) unit will run all day on eneloop rechargables unit benefits from periodic rebooting

[markbvt]

My micro USB on my Oregon went south after use on the streetbike

Yeah, a lot of people have had that problem. Mine has been fine for six years because when I got the Oregon, I immediately got an extra rubber cover for the mini-USB port and cut a hole in it slightly smaller than the mini-USB plug so when passing the plug through the hole, it would form a seal to keep out water. This has the added benefit of holding the plug stable, avoiding the failure many have experienced.

One of the big advantages of the Montana is that it has the powered rugged mount, which delivers power through pins that press against small metal plates in the Montana's back. The Montana itself remains waterproof.

--mark