Do I need a GPS in Alaska?

[scomike]

I am planning a trip from Victoria BC to Alaska and was wondering if I need a GPS Navigation unit for use in Alaska? or is it map friendly enough.

thanks

[okgc]

chiefneon wrote:
Howdy!

If you have a smarthone or a tablet with gps capibilty I would suggest using Co-pilot app. It also has a RV setting you can use. Maps are downloaded to you device so you don't need a data signal.

Co-Pilot gps app

"Happy Trails"
Chiefneon

FWIW- If you own a Kindle the Co-Pilot app is FREE

[sue_t]

My handheld "trail" Garmin etrex units both have good accuracy. I just don't rely on the mapping of roads or trails. And we never rely on the routing features. That would have us turning down roads that became overgrown decades ago.

Topography doesn't change much over time and that is our primary need, for when we're in the backcountry.

[joe_b_]

A few years back I read an article by some northern professor talking about the accuracy of GPS units in the north. The article was well above my pay grade, but he did mention, that in Alaska, almost all roads/highways are built in the bottom of valleys, hence no high passes like the lower 48, so for planned accuracy, your GPS unit has to be receiving the signals from 3 different satellites by direct line of site. In some of the valleys, at different times of day, you may not be getting 3 good signals for the expected 10 meter accuracy. Now this is not a problem when flying or boating as you are not in a valley. He also mentioned that reflected signals off the mountain slopes, beside your road can confuse your GPS unit, as they are arriving later than they should. However with all that verbiage, I think poor mapping in the GPS units is mainly to blame, for any location errors we run into.
Plus the accuracy of the units go up with the usage planned. Most vehicle GPS units are in the under $200 range, move into the marine series and the price jumps to closer to $1,000 and get into the aircraft Garmin Gps/etc/etc untis and the sky is the limit, easily into the $20,000 range per unit.

[Trackrig]

I live in Alaska, drive all over the place, will be in Fbks. in a couple of days and so on. Besides driving, I use them all over the place on my snowmachine and off hunting. I never have accuracy or satellite access problems with my GPS'. GPS' don't operate off of equator satellites low on the horizon like satellite TVs or Globalstar sat phones.

Bill

[Veebyes]

Besides Anchorage & Fairbanks it is not like there are a whole lot of roads to make wrong turns on in Alaska.

Yes the GPS is useful but being so far north its accuracy is often very questionable. The GPS is one of those things that you get used to having & wonder how anybody ever found their way around without them before.

[scomike]

thanks, good tips.

[sue_t]

scomike wrote:
...RV parks. Do they all have fuel stops?
Other suggestions would be welcome as well.

Not all commercial RV Parks have fuel stops. Some do, some don't. Best advice is to keep your tank on the top half as much as possible. It isn't uncommon for a gas station to run out of fuel or for a business to close mid-season with no warning. If you're passing a gas station and your fuel tank is at about half, stop in and fill up.

As well, carry enough cash to fill your tank. On occasion the debit/credit systems go down and if you don't have cash, you don't get fuel or might not be able to pay for other items you need. Even in Whitehorse, it happens often enough that I always have enough cash with me to grocery shop for the week.

[rag-ftw]

We used the Garmin 760 last summer during our trip and was mostly pleased with the performance. Map database was very accurate. Screen size was very good. It does do some peculiar navigation tactics when you are in the RV mode in that it sometimes tries to avoid left turns and will not go down some roads that it determines are not suitable for an RV! No rhyme or reason to this it just happens sometimes! Overall we were pleased with the RV760. The POI database is HUGE, with campgrounds and fuel stops being very accurate. The RV760 would not be suitable for use on a hike. It is pretty large and battery life appeared to be around an hour.

[chiefneon]

Howdy!

If you have a smarthone or a tablet with gps capibilty I would suggest using Co-pilot app. It also has a RV setting you can use. Maps are downloaded to you device so you don't need a data signal.

Co-Pilot gps app

"Happy Trails"
Chiefneon

[scomike]

Thanks all for the input, I think I am going to get a GPS and now need to research which one would suit my needs. The Garmin RV 760 looks like a good unit with a nice size screen and some useful information on it like RV parks. Do they all have fuel stops?
Other suggestions would be welcome as well.

[lonnie4801]

3 trips to Alaska and every Province in Canada. WOULD NOT LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT.

[PA12DRVR]

FWIW...

I used a Garmin 495 in the -12. Probably use about 30-50% of it's capabilities in the air. It also has Marine capability (I use 5% of that) and auto capability (0% since I tend to know the roads in AK). However, the 495 (as posted by Sue) is very useful for following Forest Service Trails, seeing where the stream goes, deciding to walk on the ridge or in the valley, etc. When I fly somewhere and don't want to take anything else, I simply pop the 495 out of the dock and use it as a handheld...world's most expensive handheld GPS.

I also have a Garmin 62 something that I use when driving or going somewhere where it is either not convenient or too risky to take the 495. I have no interest in points of interest, but I've downloaded most of the available Alaska topos and other maps and having the GPS is handy to sense check all of the above and/or some general guidance in certain towns in Alaska.

[sue_t]

The GPS maps for the north are typically out-of-date. But then so are the print maps, if you're a stickler for accuracy. It isn't uncommon to have the GPS demonstrating that you're driving cross country, far from the highway. And there are few POIs for the north; apparently just not a priority for the GPS map developers.

But then we don't use our GPS to find our way on the highway. Because we do a lot of backroads and goat trails, the GPS is most useful for the topography. If we're rattling along a trail, I can tell how far it is to the lake's edge and how much elevation we'll be losing on the way there.

When we explore on foot, the GPS is also handy. Came in handy while kayaking an obscure lake in Northern BC too, we were able to get some folks pointed back in the right direction after they became disoriented.

If you plan to stick to the highways and main roads, print maps will do the job just fine and be more accurate than the GPS mapping.

For Northern BC, get yourself the applicable Backroad Mapbook. It is accurate. Their GPS mapping is also very good. I know...I used it when it first came out and then let them know corrections. They took the data, updated, and released a new GPS map SDHC card. They also gave me a lifelong subscription to updates. The rumour mill tells me they're working on a similar edition for the Yukon. Looking forward to it!

[chiefneon]

Howdy!

I use our GPS constantly to find RV/campgrounds, Walmart,etc... We had a emergency with one of our pets and glad we had the GPS to find the veterinarian. Many uses for a GPS.

"Happy Trails"
Chiefneon