This is gonna get moved

narcodog --

TOPO Screen dump of the USFS, BLM and State Parks POI I have for MT, ID and WY. Used for planning



Once arriving in the area figuring where to go (spotted bear CG circled red)



Detail level around Spotted Bear CG



two more zoom levels left. Still adding POIs as I explore further so I can find the place again.

narcodog wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Hi narcodog,

If you have a smart phone try using the gps mapping feature on it.

no smart phone

Probably only works where there is a cell signal. A GPS will work pretty much anywhere. Im happy with the Garmin products. Costco is a good bargin source, and sell the latest models. Get one with free lifetime map updates. I find the traffic feature useless and turn it off. You can get a 6 inch screen for around 200 and a 5 inch around 125 with lifetime maps.

I got rid of my windshield mount a long time ago and replaced it with a laptop based navigation system. The main reason was offline use, the large screen, inexpensive updates and ease of importing / exporting / overlaying data, plus synchronizing with a handheld GPS. I use both the Delorme Topo and Street Atlas products.

Microsoft Streets and Trips was a good product, but they are leaving the business in mid 2015.

You can download for free, drawing overlay files from various websites by searching for "POI" (points of interest) where someone else has already done the work for you.

Aside from POI Factory, I like the Discovery Owners Association site. They have a section with lots of RV specific overlay files, specific for various devices / programs, along with instructions how to use them. I used so many of their files that I gave them a file I had created for all the ski areas in the western US and Canada.

Alternately you can call/email various agencies and they often have lat/lon coordinate files that you can use to create your own overlay files. Note - some of the USFS / BLM lat/lon coordinates on their sites are not correct, so if you are planning to go way out there, a quick look via google earth before leaving is prudent. As is stopping by the district ranger station and asking about the latest road conditions and their thoughts on your route.

My Tomtom is a 910 and according to their site it is obsolete. I have a strong suspicion the the battery is about gone and they do not have a replacement. The program that is in has no portal for adding POI's and the POI's for CG's are just commercial campgrounds. I have upgraded the maps and POI's several times and it still does not show places that I go to. In fact there are streets in city's that it gets lost. Especially Raleigh, NC. My wife's smart phone was able to find her Dr's office and Tom was in never never land.

The I always carry paper maps and FS literature to find some of the places I want to go to in the back country. But I would like my GPS or the equivalent to take me there. Especially if I don't have the necessary maps for the location I'm headed to. Since I fish in the mountains of WY, MT and ID and live in the east I don't always have paper to guide me.

Shoot I have parked in a YNP CG site and it didn't know where I was.

That's why I asked for suggestions here.

We were on the road for 78 days this past Aug Thru Oct and got to sites with the paper maps. One was a FS CG above the Big Hole in MT, Twin Lakes very pretty place but Tom had no idea where it was.. Same with Spotted Bear on the South Fork of the Flathead. It's a combination of finding a place then knowing how far we to go to get there.

I'm still a believer in Pocket Earth. Installed on Jeanie's ipad, It has gotten us thru terrible city traffic and enlightened our navigation of the outback.
http://pocketearth.com/
You can download the whole world if you want to, map wise.
The significant difference in P.E. and GPS, once you download, there is no internet connection involved, no connection of any kind. You can follow along your route with an arrow curser and the maps are in layers; interactive, even way out beyond internet coverage area. This is important difference in mapping programs for the off-road campers. Different things appear at different levels as you tele in and wide out. For the price it cannot be beat. Well, maybe if they pay you to take it could be beat. National Geographic's wonderful mapping software was put out of business by the Pocket Earth people and Nat Geo dropped their support of their very expensive mapping software upon P.E.'s unveiling. I need to upgrade our 1st gen to the 2nd generation, which I read has some clarity upgrades. If you have an iMac, Ibook, or iphone, the price is right.
It would be good to have a critique on all the current mapping programs for us off-road XTC types. Maybe on roads and routes, which, unfortunately doesn't get much traffic from us hard core TC'ers.
I have no affiliation with P.E. and paid the same price you will pay. 8<)
jefe

67avion wrote:

2oldman wrote:
This probably won't be moved, considering there are already 2 fuel price threads, a TPMS thread, and how to make toast.

LMAO!

x40 LOL

Silversand is correct.

If you also want free POI's to load onto your TomTom, go to POI Factory and download the proper files, plug the TomTom into your computer and follow the prompts to keep updated.

Then like Rockihillmanor said, just make sure those POI's are showing up when you drive down the road. I went to http://www.ultimatecampgrounds.com and downloaded and installed the "phelps" file and also the ultimatecampground file and I'm set to boondock anywhere

Are looking for a hand-held or vehicle/laptop system?
I like my Delorme Topo USA for use on my laptop in my truck, and I also carry an old Garmin unit for shorter trips on foot.

2oldman wrote:
This probably won't be moved, considering there are already 2 fuel price threads, a TPMS thread, and how to make toast.

:B

....can you load GPX files into your TomTom via computer ?

If so, you can load the entire GPX forest service polygons (as tracks) into the existing GPS, and there you go.

I always update my GPS with Forest Service vector boundaries (essentially, polygons, or a track, made up of tens of thousands of connected points to form the National Forest service boundary of any single Unit). The USFS inventory is a massive one, well over 2 gigabytes in size.

What I do specifically is:

-using the USDA Forest Service data portal, here--> I draw a polygon around a single Forest Service boundary I am interested in, and select: shapefile as the file download.

-using a shapefile to GPX converter, I convert the shapefile into a file any GPS can read: .GPX

-I then connect my GPS (or several GPSes to my laptop, and copy that GPX file into the appropriate folder inside the GPS

-then, I turn the Forest Service layer on inside my GPS so it shows up on my GPS screen.

I believe that certain specialized GPS data vendors (like National Geographic? Or, LeadDog Consulting) sell National Forest Service boundaries State by State in their software packages (as a part of a larger thematic endeavor). However, if you want the entire contiguous USA Forest Service boundary files for GPS, this could get costly ! Does anyone here know of one massive single GPS file encompassing all the USFS inventory ??

I've often thought of extracting every USFS boundary, and packaging it for GPS as a stand-alone layer...one day!

Silver-