navagation devices used on trips

gserve wrote:
Hi, I have a question for anyone that uses thier in vehicle navagation systems. I recently purchased a 2015 Chevy Silverado pickup with built in navagation system (8"chevy mylink). My question is do these systems work good? I have always used a Garmin (Nuvi 1300) on my trips seeemed to work well. What I liked the best about it was that if you made a wrong turn it would get you back on route without turning around (U turn). The Garmin had settings to select this option. Any comments on the mylink system would be appriciated.

Personally I would never pay for any "electronic navigation systems", they can and do error..

"Most" errors are harmless but in some cases the errors can put you into harms way (IE send you miles off the beaten path and you get stuck on a fire road or find yourself backing up several miles on a dirt road with no way to turn around)..

I would rather depend on the old fashion Paper method for my primary means of navigating...

Rand McNally Road PAPER Atlas

My DW downloaded Co-Pilot on her Tablet.. So far I am NOT impressed at all with it's accuracy and repeatability of locations/directions..

Use a paper map and your brains as primary method and electronic as a "guide" only.. Don't depend on the electronic method as you primary and SOLE means of navigation.

Can't find much of anything on mylink on this forum. I see you already have one rant answer.

We had a Chevrolet Equinox with that MYLINK system it was the worst and least reliable GPS unit we have ever used. I just turned it off and used a portable Garmin Nuvi which is much more accurate.

I always check with good old maps and double check the route I want now.

This is just my own personal experience.

I have a Garmin system as part of the U-connect in my 2014 Ram and I really like it. It is a live system so it never requires updates. It can respond to verbal commands so it's handy looking for gas or restaurants etc... while traveling.

We have the Ford Sync system in our Explorer and while it does seem to work ok, it is not intuitive or streamlined in it's use (IMO). I've been a Garmin user for 7 years and have been pretty happy with how they operate. The other drawback to the Ford system is you cannot punch in a route when travelling faster than about 3 mph. You can speak it in, but the system is difficult to use that way. Can get pretty aggravating and you might as well pull over and punch it in. I think they'll all get you there, and they'll all lead you astray if you let them. The difference is with a trailer on behind you, you might not like where you end up. Gotta take care in any case.

2oldman wrote:
Can't find much of anything on mylink on this forum. I see you already have one rant answer.

No that IS NOT a "rant".

It IS what used be known as "COMMON SENSE".

So far, the "Co-Pilot" does NOT or CAN NOT pin down MINOR RURAL LOCATIONS like where I LIVE..

So far it has put my house in a farmers field, a church parking lot, an abandoned train right of way and even more other places 1 to 2 miles away from my house..

It has wanted me to make turns where there are no roads and often the turns are into a field or someones yard to continue the trip..

Can't get it to route me the same way twice, often wanting to add many miles to the trip by sending me on little cow paths roads....

If that is good enough "precision" for YOU to work with that go ahead and use it.. You can call it a "rant" if you like but for me that is undependable and unacceptable.

Folks NEED to understand that these devices are NOT INFALLIBLE..

Hi Gserve. Have a 2015 Silverado 2500 truck with the navigation. I also always used a Garmin. Once I figured out how to program the MyLink navigation, I really like it. Just came back from a 3000 mile trip from San Antonio to Las Vegas and other points west and no problems at all with the navigation. One item that was confusing and I was worried about was whether the navigation would work without an On-Star subscription. I can answer that yes it does, so that was a relief. Overall, very satisfied with the system (on I turned off the nagging voice.....)

I haven't used a paper map in 15 years now. And we have traveled to every state and every province. So I can't agree with using paper maps.

PackerBacker wrote:
I have a Garmin system as part of the U-connect in my 2014 Ram and I really like it. It is a live system so it never requires updates. It can respond to verbal commands so it's handy looking for gas or restaurants etc... while traveling.

X2.

The 8.5 inch screen is awesome, has traffic and weather, and responds extremely well to voice commands.

Reroutes are fast and so far, accurate.

I have a navigation system in my 2007 F-150. I also use google maps because of the traffic data. I don't like a single point of failure and both have their place. Google maps tries to reroute you for one minute slower traffic which makes you chase your tail. Their algorithm is getting too cute and I use my truck system more - although I can't change an address on the fly or get traffic.

I agree on the validity of paper maps and I use them as a check and balance because google has really messed me up on crosscountries in rural areas. The catch is the paper map will too because when I'm that far off the beaten path, you need a really detailed map. My national atlas doesn't cut it and a tristate map doesn't necessarily do it either.