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What GPS to Buy


Snowbunny
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Hi Snowbunny,

We have a Garmin Nuvi 550. A lot of the other riders use this model. It is made for motorcycles so it stands up to the vibration and weather.

We got ours thru GPSCITY.COM

I just looked and it is in there for $239.95. You will also need the power cable and a ram mount. If you do a search in QuebecRider there is a lot of info on the different units.

You're a good girlfriend to get him a GPS! :good:

Jack & Sandi :)

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I have used a Garmin Zumo for the last 3-4 yrs and love it. It too is made for motorcycle use and is water/temp proof. I have used it in all Quebec conditions and never had any trouble. I have the Quebec trail maps loaded and it's sooooooooooo..nice !!!! Has a nice big touch screen, built in MP3 player and picture viewer via the SD card slot. I can be cruising down the trail listening to tunes while photo's of my loved ones scroll thru the slideshow. The unit's buttons were designed to work even with gloves on and for the most part that works great.

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I have used a Garmin Zumo for the last 3-4 yrs and love it. It too is made for motorcycle use and is water/temp proof. I have used it in all Quebec conditions and never had any trouble. I have the Quebec trail maps loaded and it's sooooooooooo..nice !!!! Has a nice big touch screen, built in MP3 player and picture viewer via the SD card slot. I can be cruising down the trail listening to tunes while photo's of my loved ones scroll thru the slideshow. The unit's buttons were designed to work even with gloves on and for the most part that works great.

I couldnt agree more ! I have had the Zumo 450 and now the 550, ( 450 was stolen from truck in Montreal during pedal bike tour a few springs back )and it works awsome. Was up in Jan and the 2 Nuvo's in the group kept shutting down when it got real cold,no problems with the Zumo

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I have the Nuvi 500 which is the same as the 550 but doesn't have the bluetooth. The GPS works good however I hear that the 600 series you can build trips on your computer and then load them on to the GPS unit. This would be a nice feature to have.

The one thing that I will say is the maps you buy are far more important then the GPS unit.

I ran the SledGps maps 2 weeks ago JUNK stay away from this product it is CRAP you will want to take the GPS and throw it in the first lake you see.

This pat weekend I ran the trakmaps and they seem pretty good. My only complaint so far is that if the trail is re rooted and you are running off the trail for say a mile it cancels out your trip. This is a real PITA when its cold and you have to go back in and reprogram a route which is next to impossible while driving.

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I have used a Garmin Zumo for the last 3-4 yrs and love it. It too is made for motorcycle use and is water/temp proof. I have used it in all Quebec conditions and never had any trouble. I have the Quebec trail maps loaded and it's sooooooooooo..nice !!!! Has a nice big touch screen, built in MP3 player and picture viewer via the SD card slot. I can be cruising down the trail listening to tunes while photo's of my loved ones scroll thru the slideshow. The unit's buttons were designed to work even with gloves on and for the most part that works great.

No problems as long as you remember where your locking key is! And the mount does not freeze. Zumos have a weird way of saving tracks too. I guess you pay your dues learning the quirks with any GPS though.

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I have the Nuvi 500 which is the same as the 550 but doesn't have the bluetooth. The GPS works good however I hear that the 600 series you can build trips on your computer and then load them on to the GPS unit. This would be a nice feature to have.

The one thing that I will say is the maps you buy are far more important then the GPS unit.

I ran the SledGps maps 2 weeks ago JUNK stay away from this product it is CRAP you will want to take the GPS and throw it in the first lake you see.

This pat weekend I ran the trakmaps and they seem pretty good. My only complaint so far is that if the trail is re rooted and you are running off the trail for say a mile it cancels out your trip. This is a real PITA when its cold and you have to go back in and reprogram a route which is next to impossible while driving.

I have a NUVI 500, that i have used in Canada for the past 4 years

You are able to build routes and load to the Nuvi 500, utilizing Mapsource software and the quebec trail maps.

I cannot speak to the capability of the 600

Schooter

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My Nuvi 550 has worked at -36F, no issues. I would love the Wide Screen Zumo's, but 3X the price!

I am assuming it was the cold that was shuttting down the Nuvi's, but they both went down around the same time of day. My first Zumo was a gift for installing a heating boiler in My Brother-in-law's house. After that was stolen it was hard not to get the same GPS

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You can build trips and load them into the 500 and the 550, very easy.

I have the Nuvi 500 which is the same as the 550 but doesn't have the bluetooth. The GPS works good however I hear that the 600 series you can build trips on your computer and then load them on to the GPS unit. This would be a nice feature to have.

The one thing that I will say is the maps you buy are far more important then the GPS unit.

I ran the SledGps maps 2 weeks ago JUNK stay away from this product it is CRAP you will want to take the GPS and throw it in the first lake you see.

This pat weekend I ran the trakmaps and they seem pretty good. My only complaint so far is that if the trail is re rooted and you are running off the trail for say a mile it cancels out your trip. This is a real PITA when its cold and you have to go back in and reprogram a route which is next to impossible while driving.

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Hi Snowbunny,

As far a I am concerned, I love my Nuvi 550. The 550 comes with the North Atlantic road maps. The 500 comes with the USA road maps. The Garmin units, all accept third party softwares, that feature alone makes the difference. I have had the unit on my sled for 4 years and never had an issue. If you go back to some of the older posts, there are directions and links to the Quebec trail maps for the Garmin units. I have also used posted routes, and made trail maps for my own use through mapsource. I use it on the ATV, in the truck, and on the motorcycle as well.

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I have the Nuvi 500 which is the same as the 550 but doesn't have the bluetooth. The GPS works good however I hear that the 600 series you can build trips on your computer and then load them on to the GPS unit. This would be a nice feature to have.

The one thing that I will say is the maps you buy are far more important then the GPS unit.

I ran the SledGps maps 2 weeks ago JUNK stay away from this product it is CRAP you will want to take the GPS and throw it in the first lake you see.

This pat weekend I ran the trakmaps and they seem pretty good. My only complaint so far is that if the trail is re rooted and you are running off the trail for say a mile it cancels out your trip. This is a real PITA when its cold and you have to go back in and reprogram a route which is next to impossible while driving.

On the fly routing makes my 60CS go haywire so I don't even try. What I do is create a Route on the comp, convert it to a Track and load the Track with it displayed on the map. That way as you meander off and on the "route" you can see your planned itinerary in the color of your choice.

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I am very happy with my Nuvi 500, good in temperatures and ease of use.

If I had a reason to change in the future( i do not right now) I would select the Nuvi 550,

Since I do use it in the truck without the Canada Roads, for some reason it loses it's way in the Quebec city area while using it in the driving mode, I know the 550 does not because the individuals I have traveled with have the 550 and we did a side by side comparison.

Schooter

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  • 2 weeks later...

I bought him a Garmin Nuvi 550. I order it online for $209 from here http://www.gpscentral.ca/products/garmin/nuvi550.html It arrived the next day for an extra $10. He hasn't downloaded any maps yet.

He got quite the kick out of this post:

Yes Ray, we are all wondering. She got all this help from all these guys and we are waiting to hear if she bought a GPS or did she get the whole package with the 2013 SkiDoo XS with the optional GPS mount?

Jack

Jack - He had his chance in Mount Laurier this year BRP was there with the new sled line up to try out. Lucky for him- I know what he really needs. We were at the truck dealership on Saturday- a GPS also looks really nice in a brand new truck! Pretty sure he won't mind driving his 50th Anniversary 600 E tec one more year.

Thanks for the help guys!

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