Enthusiast III
My tablet is wifi only, so I use Gaia GPS to download my maps at home or when tethered to my cell phone. You don't need cellular service for the apps to work.
GPS/Tablet
- Thread starter SteveR
- Start date
Pathfinder II
We use the DeLoreme app, Earthmate and you only need cell service or wifi when downloading maps. We stop at a business with free wifi to download maps we might not have and save our data. We went to the Sierras and made an unplanned side trip into an area we didn't have maps for so we stopped at McDonalds.
I have a Samsung Galaxy tab 10.1. I use the Gaia app and I download the portion of the map I need to use offline. Still has GPS location with no data.
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Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930AZ using OB Talk mobile app
@mattymais I would be very grateful for any help you could provide. I am looking for the exact same setup as the one that you have. Is your tablet the Ipad Mini 4 with an Otterbox Defender case? If so, I would be very grateful if you could provide me with the RAM part number for the tablet holder. From what I can see in the photos, it seems to perfectly hold the Ipad in place with hopefully no vibration. Thanks for your help. I eventually plan to install Gaia maps on it.I finally got my ram mount installed tonight. I had to modify it some by am pretty happy with it overall. Not that it's a huge issue or need, but my glovebox opens with it installed. Still playing with Gaia too
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Traveler I
I use a Samsung galaxy tab e 9.6 in a RAM mount with a Garmin Glo, running Gaia for offroad navigation, and Offline Maps & Navigation for turn by turn
Nice setup Blownincome! I was afraid to cover the airbags in the Jeep, that's why mine is over the radio...
Traveler I
I ran GAIA on a day trip last weekend, following a route I had created. Over the 9.5 hours using the GPS feature, I found that by my last waypoint, my iPad was down to 15%. I had it plugged into the USBs in my Jeep, and the device showed it was charging, it just could not keep up with the power use, I am assuming due to the constant GPS tracking.
Anyone had this issue and has advice on a better power source to keep my iPad charged?
Thanks in advance.
Anyone had this issue and has advice on a better power source to keep my iPad charged?
Thanks in advance.
If you are plugging in a USB plug into your 12v plug there are lots of options. I have this one and it works well. AUKEY CC-S1 Car Charger, Flush Fit Dual Port 4.8A Output for iPhone iPad Samsung & other - Black
Traveler I
I will have to try that one. I tried a couple I had, but when I plugged in the iPad, it showed "Not Charging". I then discovered 2 USB's in the center console that when plugged in gave the lightning bolt icon. It may have been that I was using an iPhone cable; when I pulled out a 6-foot iPad charging cable I purchased for work, the cable itself is a lot thicker than the one I was using. I'll give the USB plug you have suggested and the thicker cable a shot next time we are out!
Thanks!
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The issue is the ports don't have the higher amp output.m required. So the plug I showed solves this problem. If you ever install additional ports like what Bluesea offers make sure you get the higher output versions.
Enthusiast III
Apple doesn't make an "Apple-branded" car charger, however they sell a Belkin 3.4 amp (17 watt) car charger. This should keep you going while running everything...
I run an iPad mini with a Dual X-GPS 150 Bluetooth GPS antenna. My iPad has the internal GPS antenna but it is not sufficient for use in heavy foliage or terrain and at higher speeds. The external GPS puck gives me much higher fidelity and allows me to stay locked into satellites no matter how thick the forest. I also have a Garmin inReach device that can serve as a GPS antenna for the iPad but I tend to keep that in reserve for comms and as a backup, in case I want to jump out of the vehicle for travel on foot. The inReach goes pretty much everywhere with me when I'm wandering the world as a safety measure because I'm sure the one time I will need it is when it's safely in the powered mount in my truck a couple miles away. lol
For navigation, I primarily run MotionX. I find that MotionX gives me the best user feel and allows me to easily follow a route or make notes no matter what speed I'm running. This is especially handy if you are running solo or your co-driver isn't a great navigator. When I'm teaching someone to navigate, I can position the iPad so it's not visible to the passenger and it allows them to run paper maps while I drive and keep them honest. There is a lot to be said for having marked hazards or knowing what direction the next bend in the road will be. My secondary options are pretty much all of the other iOS mapping apps. The only map I don't currently own a subscription to that is a mainstream option is LeadNav. My buddies run it pretty extensively in their UTV's and trucks so I'm familiar but haven't seen the need to ditch MotionX for it just yet. It's an awesome capability and is getting better quickly but it is expensive and doesn't bring me the increased utility enough to jump in just yet. Gaia downloaded USFS maps, what3words, etc are great but none of them have the ease of use for navigation on the move that MotionX has. (Can you tell I'm a huge fan?)
For mounting, I use a suction cup Ram mount with the tablet resting on the dash. It's not fancy but the mount is rock solid and has held up to everything from weather extremes to jumping the truck. The GPS puck usually sits on the dash behind the iPad in the rubber base pad it comes with. I run a dual 12V adapter full time when using the nav because the setup will drain the batteries pretty quickly if you don't watch it. I always prefer to keep everything topped off in case I need to shut the car down and continue working or walk out of somewhere. Along with mounting, I have a couple of spare cables for the phone/ iPad and an extra higher output 12V adapter, in the case of failure. These stay in the console all the time because I've broken cables or forgotten my chargers and I travel ALOT. I also have a portable jump starter that will run the iPad for a long time if I need to walk home.
I do carry a full-size paper map option when I travel but it's usually a large scale that would be of little use in the backcountry unless I'm planning to be on foot. I stopped printing paper maps because I would invariably print them and lose them between trips to the same areas so I was just wasting paper and ink. It's so much easier to run a road atlas and a recreational atlas with more detail. The topo maps can be accessed digitally so many different ways that I just don't see the need for the hard copies anymore. I do download the maps to a phone in addition to the tablet and have egress options planned in every route, so I know where I can most easily access civilization should I lose the vehicle. Trip planning can be fun if you have a simple system and when it's all digital I can do it on the fly. Bringing the iPad into a restaurant isn't a big deal and I can usually grab their wifi to update maps if needed.
For navigation, I primarily run MotionX. I find that MotionX gives me the best user feel and allows me to easily follow a route or make notes no matter what speed I'm running. This is especially handy if you are running solo or your co-driver isn't a great navigator. When I'm teaching someone to navigate, I can position the iPad so it's not visible to the passenger and it allows them to run paper maps while I drive and keep them honest. There is a lot to be said for having marked hazards or knowing what direction the next bend in the road will be. My secondary options are pretty much all of the other iOS mapping apps. The only map I don't currently own a subscription to that is a mainstream option is LeadNav. My buddies run it pretty extensively in their UTV's and trucks so I'm familiar but haven't seen the need to ditch MotionX for it just yet. It's an awesome capability and is getting better quickly but it is expensive and doesn't bring me the increased utility enough to jump in just yet. Gaia downloaded USFS maps, what3words, etc are great but none of them have the ease of use for navigation on the move that MotionX has. (Can you tell I'm a huge fan?)
For mounting, I use a suction cup Ram mount with the tablet resting on the dash. It's not fancy but the mount is rock solid and has held up to everything from weather extremes to jumping the truck. The GPS puck usually sits on the dash behind the iPad in the rubber base pad it comes with. I run a dual 12V adapter full time when using the nav because the setup will drain the batteries pretty quickly if you don't watch it. I always prefer to keep everything topped off in case I need to shut the car down and continue working or walk out of somewhere. Along with mounting, I have a couple of spare cables for the phone/ iPad and an extra higher output 12V adapter, in the case of failure. These stay in the console all the time because I've broken cables or forgotten my chargers and I travel ALOT. I also have a portable jump starter that will run the iPad for a long time if I need to walk home.
I do carry a full-size paper map option when I travel but it's usually a large scale that would be of little use in the backcountry unless I'm planning to be on foot. I stopped printing paper maps because I would invariably print them and lose them between trips to the same areas so I was just wasting paper and ink. It's so much easier to run a road atlas and a recreational atlas with more detail. The topo maps can be accessed digitally so many different ways that I just don't see the need for the hard copies anymore. I do download the maps to a phone in addition to the tablet and have egress options planned in every route, so I know where I can most easily access civilization should I lose the vehicle. Trip planning can be fun if you have a simple system and when it's all digital I can do it on the fly. Bringing the iPad into a restaurant isn't a big deal and I can usually grab their wifi to update maps if needed.
Enthusiast III
I've been using my Nexus 6 and Backcountry Navigator Pro.
It took quite a bit of time to really figure out the app and found it shines in some aspects and I hate it in others. It's clunky, IME, and downloading map areas is a bit confusing and VERY slow. It does work, though, and I've grown to appreciate it just a little bit more every time I use it.
I'll be trying Gaia someday soon. I have a 10.1" tablet that doesn't get much use, I should see if it has gps...
It took quite a bit of time to really figure out the app and found it shines in some aspects and I hate it in others. It's clunky, IME, and downloading map areas is a bit confusing and VERY slow. It does work, though, and I've grown to appreciate it just a little bit more every time I use it.
I'll be trying Gaia someday soon. I have a 10.1" tablet that doesn't get much use, I should see if it has gps...
Influencer I
I hear ya on Backcountry Navigator (BN). I have been using for a few years now. I don't even run my old Garmain because I really like the maps I can upload in BN. I am running it on an old LG something or another that I inherited when my wife upgraded to a newer tablet.
I find that it does a great job showing where I'm at. It also does a great job tracking where I have been. It is fairly straightforward in looking around the map and zooming in and out.
I find the file management frustrating. I am not sure how much of that is Android and how much is BN. Rout creation is hard enough that I don't do it on the fly. Best to do some little pre-trip planning. Same goes for off line maps.
I think most of the other problems I have are just the frustrations with the tablet.
In this day and age I do love having a device that can multi task. I think the days of that dashboard space being taken up by a single purpose device like a GPS are long gone.
Now if Garmin would jump in and do a proper app that would be something. I have played with Magellan's attempt and found it very clunky.
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Influencer I
Looks like I may be wrong about Garmin. Just looked in the Play Store and it looks like they have some sort of back country top app now. I will have to give it a try.
Sent from my XT1650 using OB Talk mobile app
Sent from my XT1650 using OB Talk mobile app
That is the setup I use as well. I have a $59 Insignia tablet (best buy house brand) and it works quite well for navigation only.
Explorer I
Great iPad/tablet software suggestions, thanks! Will an old iPad 2 have enough horsepower to run app store software mentioned here?
I carry a Garmin Zumo (motorcycle) GPS as a backup, rock solid and its maps are good enough. I purchased and installed an SD Outfitters RAM ball kit into my new JKU this past week. It requires a bit of modification to the pax front grab handle but gives a rock solid RAM style mounting point. I have been bolting crap onto motorcycles for years with RAM stuff so I knew it would work well and I had some of the bits and pieces already.
Have an old tired iPad 2 (kinda like me!) that has been moved into the JKU, yesterday the kids and I took a drive and tested out Navigon, MotionX and Topo Maps. Navigon was unusable (and spendy!!!) and the other two seemed to work well enough. This was an old ipad using my iphone for GPS... I have since downloaded a metric ton of Topo Map topos onto the iPad and will top off storage with music.
Pleased with this installation - will see how it pans out over time...
I carry a Garmin Zumo (motorcycle) GPS as a backup, rock solid and its maps are good enough. I purchased and installed an SD Outfitters RAM ball kit into my new JKU this past week. It requires a bit of modification to the pax front grab handle but gives a rock solid RAM style mounting point. I have been bolting crap onto motorcycles for years with RAM stuff so I knew it would work well and I had some of the bits and pieces already.
Have an old tired iPad 2 (kinda like me!) that has been moved into the JKU, yesterday the kids and I took a drive and tested out Navigon, MotionX and Topo Maps. Navigon was unusable (and spendy!!!) and the other two seemed to work well enough. This was an old ipad using my iphone for GPS... I have since downloaded a metric ton of Topo Map topos onto the iPad and will top off storage with music.
Pleased with this installation - will see how it pans out over time...
Gaia GPS has a 7 day trial so download it and give it a try. I can get that trial extended for you if you like it. Personally I think it will be a bit slow but you never know!
Explorer I
Thanks 1Louder! Will check it out. Yeah overall it seemed a bit slow but if the iPAd can deliver moving topo maps then I would be happy. It will at least make a neat music source ;)
