Pros for my Garmin:
1. I have virtually all road maps of North America available to me. There is no way I or anyone else could acquire that many maps or carry them in any vehicle.
2. Iโm routed to destinations where Iโm not familiar with the roads.
3. I get advanced information on when to turn.
4. I get updated time of arrival, miles and other information which are reasonable accurate.
5. I get routing to multiple destinations.
6. A missed turn results in a new route or a map of the area to follow.
7. Iโm not picking up and trying to read a map while driving.
8. The device and its capabilities continue to improve.
9. My portable bean bag support has been used in numerous cars or carried in my pocket.
10. I can add points of interest obtained from the internet for destinations that interest me.
11. I added over a thousand points of interest for our Alaska trip (obtained from an area resident) that included a lot of potential sites to see or stop.
Cons:
1. Occasionally the routing is not accurate or optimal so some intelligence needs to be used when following a route.
2. There is a purchase price for the GPS and it needs periodic updating.
3. Paper maps are desired for me for the overall perspective of a route. I have acquired about 100 paper maps over the years.
4. The small display makes route planning somewhat difficult. I use M&S for route planning.
5. I find the built in GPS not user friendly when adding favorites or routes. So much easier for me to update my battery powered unit in the RV or home.
6. If you are familiar with your route or destination a GPS has limited value.
7. The points of interest on my GPS from Garmin are of limited value to me and I donโt know if current versions are better. Like a business address that is someoneโs house vs their store location.
8. Limited memory for points of interest and routes. Newer devices are less restrictive.
9. The routing back to my home was significantly less than optimal. Garminโs response was that it was complicated! Basic bugs are not complicated and I never notified them of other problems.
10. The Garmin recalculating (eliminated in newer units) is annoying.
Neutral:
1. The GPS has probably paid for itself in terms of no longer needing to acquire as many maps. The time and actual cost in acquiring paper maps does add up.
2. I havenโt found any single source of paper or electronic maps to be 100% accurate. AAA maps are excellent and you can find the street but determining just where the number is on the street may not be accurate or available. For a few blocks the number is not significant but if the street is miles long itโs often helpful to know how to get to that location.
3. I use a combination of aids including paper maps, S&T and Google Earth as needed.
2009 Holiday Rambler 42' Scepter with ISL 400 Cummins
750 Watts Solar Morningstar MPPT 60 Controller
2014 Grand Cherokee Overland
Bob
