Ask About Gaia GPS!

[1Louder]

For those of you that have never been Premium members, Gaia is offering a free 1 month trial! If you didn't think a 7 day trial was long enough now you have no excuse to not give Gaia a try! :)

Here's the link:
https://www.gaiagps.com/premium/?PROMO=MVUMPROMO

 

[Teh_Viking]

Perfect timing, I was going to use an android tablet but I borrowed a ipad mini for my trip. I imported some routes into Gaia and they seem to be working well so far. I Also have some seperate KML's for Places to see and where to camp that are imported from google earth. Can the color of the way points be changed like the routes can?

 

[1Louder]

Perfect timing, I was going to use an android tablet but I borrowed a ipad mini for my trip. I imported some routes into Gaia and they seem to be working well so far. I Also have some seperate KML's for Places to see and where to camp that are imported from google earth. Can the color of the way points be changed like the routes can?

Premier members can customize the waypoint icons as seen below.

Sent from my iPhone expect typos, grammatical errors, and any other invalid excuse.

 

[1Louder]

A fellow member sent me a PM. I don't mind PMs but I also feel strongly that these questions should be asked and answered in the public area. While not all of the information may pertain exactly to everyone the questions asked are fairly common. So here's the questions and answers I provided below. My goal is to point folks in the right direction but always reference official help files from
Gaia. Thanks


Question:

Hello sir, hoping you can point me in the right direction. My GPS usage plan started here a month ago or so when my son and I decided to take a wheeling / road trip from Regina SK Canada to Moab Ut for a few weeks.
I have never used GPS before at all, And this seems to be a steep learning curve. We do not have internet access/cellular data while south of our border. So i purchased a new top line Ipad mini wifi version, along with a Dual brand xgps150a dash mount gps receiver. Also purchase the Hondo Garage mount for the dash of the Tacoma. It all works flawlessly BUT i have absolutely NO idea what to do with it. Haha. I've tested here in Canada but was amazed that i needed to download a map just to use it and track down to gravel roads around here.

Not sure what maps to use, what to download, what quality/depth of maps etc. The iPad is strictly for GPS use as we'll have other electronics with us. It has good memory we can load up with maps.

Any help and direction to head in to learn would be great. Perhaps a certain how to video etc. I really am lost with where to start... It's quite overwhelming.

Answer:

1. For Gaia you can easily pre-download all the maps you need. If when arriving to your destination you think you are missing something just find some free wifi. In Moab the visitor center and McDonalds have free wifi. I'm sure other places do as well.

2. What trails do you plan on exploring in Moab? Once you know the trails you should try to find GPX tracks which highlight the route. You won't get turn by turn but you can see the course line and they are easy to follow.

3. Map layers my favorite are the USFS 2016, NatGeo (need a premium subscription for that) and any of the general topo layers like USGS topo.

Gaia has good support files to show you how to download maps, import tracks, record tracks, create waypoints, etc so I would encourage you to go there.

As for Moab it is going to be hotter than hell so Plan accordingly. Make sure you have too much water, shelter etc. If you look up the Utah BDR route it shows a really nice scenic section you can run in the east side of Moab. Takes you from just to the south up into the mountains and then down through Upper Onion Creek. That is a great, generally easy trail.

- Chris

Here are some sample maps layers. Remember that a given layer may not be available in certain areas. These examples are from the Moab area. I highly recommend the Utah BDR route and the section Monticello to Dewey Bridge.

NatGeo! New favorite layer where available. USFS 2016 is my other favorite but they are not available for many sections around Moab.

Standard USGS Topo

NatGeo expanded view

Gaia Topo

US Topo Base Map

Recommended trail
https://www.gaiagps.com/public/lyweHTpkAEDAGcs4VB2qTjfA



Sent from my iPhone using OB Talk

 

[The other Sean]

Also, 99% of coffee shops have Wifi. For the cost of a cup of coffee, you can sit and download maps all you want in anytown north America.

 

[CO_Tacoma]

I'm traveling from Colorado to Banff, AB in about a month and am trying to get my nav figured out. I have an iPad mini wifi-only that I was planning to use as my primary GPS. I won't have cell access north of the border, so I was hoping to download all of the maps I'll need. Is there an easy way to download this volume of maps? What zoom level do you recommend downloading at?

 

[1Louder]

I'm traveling from Colorado to Banff, AB in about a month and am trying to get my nav figured out. I have an iPad mini wifi-only that I was planning to use as my primary GPS. I won't have cell access north of the border, so I was hoping to download all of the maps I'll need. Is there an easy way to download this volume of maps? What zoom level do you recommend downloading at?

If you have created tracks you can download the maps along the track. Otherwise you have to manually download the areas you want and save the maps for later use. Zoom level 15 is very high. You just have to see what meets your needs. You can scroll when downloading to see the storage required based on the different zoom levels.

Don't forget since you have a wifi only iPad you will need an external Bluetooth GPS to get the app to work.


Sent from my iPhone expect typos, grammatical errors, and any other invalid excuse.

 

[CO_Tacoma]

If you have created tracks you can download the maps along the track. Otherwise you have to manually download the areas you want and save the maps for later use. Zoom level 15 is very high. You just have to see what meets your needs. You can scroll when downloading to see the storage required based on the different zoom levels.

Don't forget since you have a wifi only iPad you will need an external Bluetooth GPS to get the app to work.


Sent from my iPhone expect typos, grammatical errors, and any other invalid excuse.

I created a route on the Gaia website, so I'll try downloading that tonight. Thanks for the response.

Ah, I guess I thought the iPad had GPS built in. Apparently not on the wifi-only. Any recommendations for a GPS adapter?

 

[Craig M]

If they had the Nat Geo Trail maps for Android I would buy it, as both of my tablets are such..

 

[1Louder]

I created a route on the Gaia website, so I'll try downloading that tonight. Thanks for the response.

Ah, I guess I thought the iPad had GPS built in. Apparently not on the wifi-only. Any recommendations for a GPS adapter?

Dual GPS worked well for me

 

[1Louder]

If they had the Nat Geo Trail maps for Android I would buy it, as both of my tablets are such..

They do. That is a feature of the subscription and not the app.

 

[Craig M]

They do. That is a feature of the subscription and not the app.

Their site confuses me then. So you can pay for the Nat Geo maps on Android, they just don't come free?

This is what I was looking at:



https://help.gaiagps.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003524587

 

[1Louder]

Their site confuses me then. So you can pay for the Nat Geo maps on Android, they just don't come free?

This is what I was looking at:

View attachment 27582

https://help.gaiagps.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003524587

For now the Android app is a paid app. This will likely change in the future. If you buy it you will get credit for the base subscription for at least a year when that happens.

Premium subscribers get additional map layers, regardless of the app, including the NatGeo layer.

$29.99 a year




Sent from my iPhone expect typos, grammatical errors, and any other invalid excuse.

 

[Craig M]

For now the Android app is a paid app. This will likely change in the future. If you buy it you will get credit for the base subscription for at least a year when that happens.

Premium subscribers get additional map layers, regardless of the app, including the NatGeo layer.

$29.99 a year

View attachment 27583


Sent from my iPhone expect typos, grammatical errors, and any other invalid excuse.

But did you see what I posted? It says the Nat Geo Trail map is IOS only. Can you confirm otherwise? The cost of the App and Subscription is nominal, but I woudl primarily want either for that specific map layer. I don't mind paying for it, but my condition is that I want that specific layer on my Android devices..

 

[1Louder]

But did you see what I posted? It says the Nat Geo Trail map is IOS only. Can you confirm otherwise? The cost of the App and Subscription is nominal, but I woudl primarily want either for that specific map layer. I don't mind paying for it, but my condition is that I want that specific layer on my Android devices..

I did. The screen shot I posted is from an Android phone showing the available layer. I haven't tested it fully because I rarely use my Android phone and when I do it has a million updates to do prior to me using the app.

Check with Gaia for an official answer. It may be an error in the app. Not sure. I did see the help file is from today though.

 

[Craig M]

I did. The screen shot I posted is from an Android phone showing the available layer. I haven't tested it fully because I rarely use my Android phone and when I do it has a million updates to do prior to me using the app.

Check with Gaia for an official answer. It may be an error in the app. Not sure. I did see the help file is from today though.

Oh, haha, I assumed that was your iphone you were posting from. Cool.. Worth an email to them I suppose.

 

[1Louder]

Oh, haha, I assumed that was your iphone you were posting from. Cool.. Worth an email to them I suppose.

I talked to Ashli from support and she said YES with the premium subscription NatGeo is available on Android. Hope that helps.

 

[Craig M]

I talked to Ashli from support and she said YES with the premium subscription NatGeo is available on Android. Hope that helps.

It does, thanks! I ended up spending a few bucks on Backcountry Navigator to try it out. It's ok. I will try out Gaia this weekend.

 

[Pilotamis]

Is it possible to use the app with a MacBook rather than an iPad or iPhone?

 

[1Louder]

Is it possible to use the app with a MacBook rather than an iPad or iPhone?

There is a cloud version for planning purposes but not for vehicle use. Technically possible? Maybe, you would have to pair a GPS to your mac and see if it would work. I think you would be much better off buying a iPad mini or Android tablet.