Phone GPS

My wife and I throw everything in the back and go get lost. Most fun you can have with clothing on.

If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong.

pconroy328 wrote:

two travelers wrote:
Wonder does Google Maps have an option to give you voice directions, speed and time to destination on our smart phone?

Yes, mostly.
Google Maps give me directions and time to destination, but I can't recall it ever speaking or showing me my current speed.

I have an older Android phone - a Samsung Galaxy S5. My kids have cheaper Android phones ($20 Alcatel to $50 Huawei) and they all do the same.

I have the same phone S5, Yes it speaks and calls out your turn by turn directions, you just have to turn up the app volume to hear it, it does not show current speed but who needs that anyway, I use my speedometer for that.

One nice thing (or bad thing depending on your feeling about spying) is Waze monitors your travels and uses them. For example it knows when there is a traffic jam because everybody running Waze is having their speed reported back to the system that tracks everybody and can show traffic slow downs. Other GPS apps do the same, but they are relying on speed sensors on the freeways and they aren't as accurate. I think Google maps does the same as it shows traffic backups in red even on surface streets where there are no speed sensors so it has to be getting it's info from people running the app. I've found Waze to be more accurate. Sometimes Google maps shows a backup even long after it has cleared.

Yup lots to see on interstates sometimes even POI's. And for the record the GPS knows nothing but position. The computer within and the data bases know it all by comparing positions. MS google was bass actwards today saying right turn when the turn was left, but only part of the time. Haven't used Waze in a couple weeks but I didn't think it accessed PIO files, something new?

LEN

OLYLEN wrote:
Ill keep my GPS unit and use the phone as a backup. Hell I can use the phone to watch TV too or even heaven forbid make a hands free phone call. Ever ask Wase for the next rest area or KOA.

LEN

I didn't try WAZE, but yes, once I set a route I could ask and it would show rest areas and KOA's along my route. It showed some other POI's as well just as your GPS would but there's really not much Google Maps or WAZE cannot do.
If bridge height is a concern of yours then stick with a stand alone RV GPS or use a standard GPS and add the low bridge clearance add-on. This has not been a concern for "me" in the last 17 years of travel (250,000 miles) but I don't travel back roads that much unless I have scoped out the route in advance.

A smartphone app like CoPilot with offline maps is a good choice and their RV app is even better to keep us away from places we shouldn't be. Waze and others like them are social style apps and I guess I'm too old of a dude for that. I don't like them rerouting me to a non-RV style roads and showing my location in relation to another Waze user. I'm sure that's just me!

Also get a truckers atlas and follow your GPS route. I have found doing that at the start of each days drive is a good time for that.

My iPhone 5s works well and we travel all over the west.

No, that's not what Waze is for, but my resident GPS on the phone knows them all. Because it's a GPS

Ill keep my GPS unit and use the phone as a backup. Hell I can use the phone to watch TV too or even heaven forbid make a hands free phone call. Ever ask Wase for the next rest area or KOA.

LEN

You can download maps for Google Map program too:

Downloading Google Maps