Wanderlodge Gurus - The Member Funded Wanderlodge Forum

I am looking at giving my self a early Xmas gift,(Guy code for I don't want the wife to Know about this just Yet). I have narrowed it down to the Garmin Nuvi 205W, and the Magellan Roadmate 1412. I like the 4.3" wide screen on these units, and they are currently on sale at roughly $150. The Magellan has maps of the U.S. and Canada, while the comparable Garmin only covers the lower 48 + Hawaii & P.R. Both carry a 1 Yr. P&L warranty. Would like to hear from any of you who own one or more of these things. Need input on the pluses and minuses of both units. If you had a bad experience with oneor the other, would love to hear how either of these companies took care of you. Thanks, George Burke 1977 FC31 Charlotte

I have the Garmin Nuvi 350 and love it. Very accurate and easy to
use. The "Deck of Cards" size makes it easy to carry by its self,
and the car mount works very well. It has many options, Address,
Cross streets, and even Lat & Lon co-ordinates. (Have to try that in
the Jeep when off road in the center of nowhere) Any problems and
the factory tech support very good.
I wouldnt worry much about the bit larger screen, as I seldom watch
the screen on my 350 Several years ago, I had (& still have) a GPS
nav unit to use with my laptop, but the Garmin is better..
Just need multiple power ports in the vehicle when the Garmin,
CelPhone, MP3 Ect Ect Ect are used at the same time :-)
Jack Smith
1973FC31
SoCal

--- In WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com, "George Burke"
wrote:
>
> I am looking at giving my self a early Xmas gift,(Guy code for I
don't want
> the wife to Know about this just Yet). I have narrowed it down to
the Garmin
> Nuvi 205W, and the Magellan Roadmate 1412. I like the 4.3" wide
screen on
> these units, and they are currently on sale at roughly $150. The
Magellan
> has maps of the U.S. and Canada, while the comparable Garmin only
covers the
> lower 48 + Hawaii & P.R. Both carry a 1 Yr. P&L warranty. Would
like to hear
> from any of you who own one or more of these things. Need input on
the
> pluses and minuses of both units. If you had a bad experience with
one or
> the other, would love to hear how either of these companies took
care of
> you. Thanks, George Burke 1977 FC31 Charlotte
>

George,

I bought a Garmin Nuvi 250 a couple years ago, took one trip with it and got my money back. It put me on the wrong side of the road when looking for a fuel station in the middle of the night. But I went back and got the Garmin Nuvi 650 and I couldn't be happier with it. First of all you MUST have a big screen 4" or larger. Second, the Nuvi 650 has a WAAS receiver that puts you within 3 meters of the location on your screen. It has never steered me wrong. It also has a battery so you can take it with you. TheGarmin 650 is discontinued by newer models, but I would recommend making sure you have a WAAS receiver in whatever model you get.



Here's the link to GarminWAAS http://www8.garmin.com/aboutGPS/waas.html.

Brad Barton 00LXiDFW bbartonwx@...

---

To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
From: gnburke@...
Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:51:00 -0500
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] GPS 4.3" Widescreen

George:

Have you considered the Garmin 7200 Street Pilot? This is a
discontinued model but there are still lots for sale. 7 inch screen,
2009 software, designed for trucks and RV's. WE bought ours online in
August for $450.00. Originally they were way over $1000 and now can be
had for around $300. I love it. No software to load. USA and Canada
maps. Lots of features. We had one of the small screen units and I
hated it.

Bruce

1988 FC35

I  have a Magellan Roadmate 3050. It's satisfactory as GPS devices go... The maps are sometimes not as up-to-date as I'd like, but I suspect that's a problem with any brand. (The caution is, take the advice of the GPS with a grain of salt, but watch the highway signs to make sure there hasn't been a change. Most problems I've had with mis-direction appears to have occurred where freeway ramps were rebuilt sometime in the past couple of years (based on the "new looking" concrete/pavement, etc.).

Two notes;

With either Garmin or Magellin the accuracy of the database (and the
instructions you get) are totally dependent on the software not the
hardware. Especially with the discount and discontinued models, its
very important to find out what version of the maps it comes with and
what FREE UPDATES you might be entitled to.

WAAS works very well in any area where there is cell phone coverage
but is useless in the wilds of Wyoming for example. Far more
important than WAAS is what generation receiver hardware the unit
has. 2nd generation receivers are still widely available on the
discount racks and don't offer close to the same performance as third
generation units. Garmin is particularly tricky about hiding what is
in their units. The test is pretty simple: third generation receivers
can obtain a "fix" most places indoors or under heavy trees. Second
generation receivers lose satellite reception under heavy trees.

Regards,
GPSGary
84FC35

Two notes;

With either Garmin or Magellin the accuracy of the database (and the
instructions you get) are totally dependent on the software not the
hardware. Especially with the discount and discontinued models, its
very important to find out what version of the maps it comes with and
what FREE UPDATES you might be entitled to.

WAAS works very well in any area where there is cell phone coverage
but is useless in the wilds of Wyoming for example. Far more
important than WAAS is what generation receiver hardware the unit
has. 2nd generation receivers are still widely available on the
discount racks and don't offer close to the same performance as third
generation units. Garmin is particularly tricky about hiding what is
in their units. The test is pretty simple: third generation receivers
can obtain a "fix" most places indoors or under heavy trees. Second
generation receivers lose satellite reception under heavy trees.

Regards,
GPSGary
84FC35

Also, you can check out consumer ratings and reviews of all sorts of GPS devices at several different websites. I was considering a TomTom, but after looking at some of the reviews, I went with Garmin. And through FMCA, Good Sam and Camping World, there aresome GPS devices programmed for RV's although I don't know whether they're all that different.To me, accuracy is #1 because I hate makingU-turns.

Brad Barton 00LXiDFW bbartonwx@...

---

---

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Adding to my frustration, shortly after going round with Magellan to
get the update CD, I received an ad from Best Buy (or someone like
that) offering a Garmin unit for about $5 more than the update CD
cost. Had I known what I was going to have to go through working with
Magellan, I'd have just tossed out the Roadmate 3050 and bought the
Garmin unit.

Funny, had I not had the major hassle getting the upgrade CD from
Magellan, I'd have rated the GPS a "very satisfactory" -- but it was
their dismal service for the secondary sale that really soured me on
them. (Frankly, I don't know that Garmin is any better ... but I
hardly think they could be worse!)

BTW, as for the wide screen, I'm not sure it's that important. The 4"
or so screen on my unit is plenty for the information that it
provides. If I really need maps, then Google Maps or MapQuest
(online) are the better choices, viewed on my laptop screen.

Pete Masterson
'95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42
aeonix1@...
On the road at Lockhart, TX



On Nov 29, 2008, at 10:04 AM, Joyce and Richard Hayden wrote:

> Thanks Pete. I was considering a Magellan product at Costco but
> will now buy a Garmin. I was at first looking at a Garmin but the
> guy at Costco seemed to be more in favor of the Magellan and that’s
> why I was considering it. I guess he had never had to deal with
> them. Thank again for the first hand info.
>
> Dick Hayden - '87 PT 38 - Lake Stevens, WA
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Pete Masterson
> To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Saturday, November 29, 2008 8:54 AM
> Subject: Re: [WanderlodgeForum] GPS 4.3" Widescreen
>
> I have a Magellan Roadmate 3050. It's satisfactory as GPS devices
> go... The maps are sometimes not as up-to-date as I'd like, but I
> suspect that's a problem with any brand. (The caution is, take the
> advice of the GPS with a grain of salt, but watch the highway
> signs to make sure there hasn't been a change. Most problems I've
> had with mis-direction appears to have occurred where freeway ramps
> were rebuilt sometime in the past couple of years (based on the
> "new looking" concrete/pavement, etc.).
>
>
> However, the Magellan customer service leaves a LOT to be desired.
> After a year of ownership, (and having had the GPS 'freeze up' due
> to location/map discontinuities), I decided to update the maps.
> This required getting a CD and installing new maps in the GPS
> memory. Magellan had the most difficult, annoying customer service
> system. You had to "prove" you owned one of their GPS by providing
> serial numbers just to buy the $#@^ map CD. When I attempted to
> make the purchase on their web site, it gave me an error message
> (turned out the site was being "updated") and then the web site
> delivered a message "If you're having difficulty ordering, please
> call this number: 800 xxxxx". When I called the number -- and went
> through the irritating series of press this and press that and
> waiting and waiting, I finally got a resident of Bangalore who
> barely spoke English. I was informed that they were not allowed to
> take payment information and could not place the order.
>
> Several days later, I had to go through and repeat the online order
> process (the ONLY way to order) and FINALLY, I was able to
> successfully order the Update CD. Once received the CD required
> more hoops to go through to ensure that I was not "stealing" the
> data (enter the serial number of my unit AND a code number from the
> invoice).
>
> I will never buy anything from Magellan ever again. I suggest
> others do likewise. Go with the Garmin Nuvi -- but make sure that
> it is compatible with your computer, if you ever wish to interface
> with it or update your maps.
>
> Pete Masterson
> '95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42
> aeonix1@...
> On the road at Carlsbad, NM
>
>
>
> On Nov 28, 2008, at 9:51 PM, George Burke wrote:
>
>> I am looking at giving my self a early Xmas gift,(Guy code for I
>> don't want the wife to Know about this just Yet). I have narrowed
>> it down to the Garmin Nuvi 205W, and the Magellan Roadmate 1412. I
>> like the 4.3" wide screen on these units, and they are currently
>> on sale at roughly $150. The Magellan has maps of the U.S. and
>> Canada, while the comparable Garmin only covers the lower 48 +
>> Hawaii & P.R. Both carry a 1 Yr. P&L warranty. Would like to hear
>> from any of you who own one or more of these things. Need input on
>> the pluses and minuses of both units. If you had a bad experience
>> with one or the other, would love to hear how either of these
>> companies took care of you. Thanks, George Burke 1977 FC31 Charlotte
>
>
>