OT: Question for road trippers -- standalone GPS?

[eippo1]

So every year or so my wife, pupper, and I make the long trek down the east coast to visit my Dad in NC or SC (he lives in both places). The past few years, I've just used Waze which has worked fairly well, but is generally not helpful in the cases of "what is directly around me?" and "or crap there's something up ahead and I'm in the middle of nowhere with no signal." The maps still work, but updates etc aren't good.

So does anyone here still do long trips and do you still use a Garmin or other standalone GPS in addition to your phone? Thinking of getting a Garmin Drivesmart 66.

[bigbill]

I use my phone through the radio to navigate and find things when I travel. I can use voice commands "find diesel fuel," "find restaurant," etc.

[p nut]

What do you mean by “something coming up ahead”? Like speed trap? Construction zone? Accidents/heavy traffic? A stand-alone won’t notify you of real-time traffic alerts either.

I used to use a Garmin. Now our current car has navigation. We don’t ever use it. Especially on familiar routes when we go visit parents or other family members. I guess it could be helpful to know rest stops or fuel/food, but road signs are a-plenty. And 95% of the time, we have reception.

[eippo1]

Originally Posted by p nut

What do you mean by “something coming up ahead”? Like speed trap? Construction zone? Accidents/heavy traffic? A stand-alone won’t notify you of real-time traffic alerts either.

I used to use a Garmin. Now our current car has navigation. We don’t ever use it. Especially on familiar routes when we go visit parents or other family members. I guess it could be helpful to know rest stops or fuel/food, but road signs are a-plenty. And 95% of the time, we have reception.

More like useful things to know and also what is ahead. Waze does a great job saying that you should reroute, but not why. Sometimes its a reroute because there's a traffic light which ends up being way more hassle than it's worth. Other times it's a legit backup with a solution and it doesn't really tell you which scenario.

[Dude]

Google Maps allows you to download maps so with no signal it will still work. The GPS signal always works, meaning you'll always have a blue dot. The offline map then maps the offline map to the blue dot.

[rnhood]

Google maps on your phone is the best navigation imho. It also provides info on many stores, restaurants, etc. it may not be perfect however, I have not found anything better for my use. I do sometimes wish for a larger screen than the cell phone provides.

[charliedid]

Google Maps