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Sled Dog
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Got a new sled, 850X.  It does not come with the compass function my 1200 had which I really liked.  I normally lead and sometimes its nice to know your heading in the right direction!  I looked into getting a Marlin Quest compass but they are $150.00.  For that kind of money I may be better off just getting a GPS.  Not sure.  I would only be using it in Quebec.  2 trips planned this year.  Been there many times and have never really had any problems using maps.  But I had some questions and thought I'd post up for you experts!

What would be the best for my needs?  Do they have the Quebec trail system that is downloadable?  How accurate is it?  Easy to see during the day?  Easy to mount on an 850X?  Any pros or cons you guys can come up with?  Cost?  How do they work in the cold?

Thanks.  I'm going to start my own research but thought this would be a good start.

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Well if $$$$$ is the big issue then your cheapest solution is to load the IMotoniege app on your smart phone and use that.

Another option relatively cheap and given you’ll be riding in Qc just twice a year. gpscity.com buy an inexpensive gps and load the Tilou and Biscuit Quebec trail map into it. You’ll find the link here on QR in the gps trail map thread. Mounting also available at gpscity.com

If there’s more room in your budget then there’s the Zoomo, the Montana or the GPSMap cx.

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22 hours ago, Sled Dog said:

Got a new sled, 850X.  It does not come with the compass function my 1200 had which I really liked.  I normally lead and sometimes its nice to know your heading in the right direction!  I looked into getting a Marlin Quest compass but they are $150.00.  For that kind of money I may be better off just getting a GPS.  Not sure.  I would only be using it in Quebec.  2 trips planned this year.  Been there many times and have never really had any problems using maps.  But I had some questions and thought I'd post up for you experts!

What would be the best for my needs?  Do they have the Quebec trail system that is downloadable?  How accurate is it?  Easy to see during the day?  Easy to mount on an 850X?  Any pros or cons you guys can come up with?  Cost?  How do they work in the cold?

Thanks.  I'm going to start my own research but thought this would be a good start.

The info's a little dated but see page 8 from this link.....

You can probably get more details regarding powering a device etc on Dootalk's GPS forum (my example in the link above was a '14 800).  At the time I used an automotive GPS with QB trails from Trakmaps.  https://www.trakmaps.com/en/  I had no issues in below 0F temps with the screen.  And I thought the GPS I used was big enough to be functional while riding.

I found the Trakmaps maps to be very precise. I didn't expect it but I was looking at the GPS a lot while riding as it'll show upcoming turns (major and minor).  Amazing how much detail was provided.  

 

 

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Good info.  Already I'm realizing that spending $150 for a compass is not a good idea when I can get the that Garmin Nuvi for $110 on Amazon!   And it appears I can get the trail system downloaded so that is good.  Peace of mind kind of thing.

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On 11/28/2017 at 10:01 PM, Sled Dog said:

Good info.  Already I'm realizing that spending $150 for a compass is not a good idea when I can get the that Garmin Nuvi for $110 on Amazon!   And it appears I can get the trail system downloaded so that is good.  Peace of mind kind of thing.

I just use a cheap garmin nuvi. I bought a 30 dollar mount and screwed it the the glove box lid. The mount came with everything to hardwire straight to the battery. I run the freebie maps they talk about here. I did buy the trak maps but I end up using the freebies most of the time. They have the water crossings.  I bought the northeast maps from gps trail masters. If it snows or rains I put a zip lock bag over it or put it in my pocket. It has not failed me yet. There are more expensive options but the cheap way works 

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Did you get a specific Garmin Nuvi?  How did you mount it?  I have an 850 with the battery in the back.  May be able to get a wire from battery up to dash...

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1 hour ago, Sled Dog said:

Did you get a specific Garmin Nuvi?  How did you mount it?  I have an 850 with the battery in the back.  May be able to get a wire from battery up to dash...

I thinks it’s a 2597. I will look tomorrow. As for the mount I found it on the garmin site

https://www.gpsnation.com/garmin-nuvi-powered-mount.html?fee=14&fep=2041&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiOjB773q1wIVjbjACh2PpQ78EAQYByABEgIG3vD_BwE

i had to drill 3 holes all the way through the base of the mount because the quick release catches won’t hold. I will try and get pictures tomorrow. The downside is you really can’t use the glove box cause the mount hits the windshield when you open it.  If you have a low windshield it may not be an issue I don’t know.  

Edited by SkippyDoo
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11 hours ago, markusvt said:

The solenoid is easily accessible, no need to go back to the battery.

Good point.

 

10 hours ago, SkippyDoo said:

I thinks it’s a 2597. I will look tomorrow. As for the mount I found it on the garmin site

https://www.gpsnation.com/garmin-nuvi-powered-mount.html?fee=14&fep=2041&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiOjB773q1wIVjbjACh2PpQ78EAQYByABEgIG3vD_BwE

i had to drill 3 holes all the way through the base of the mount because the quick release catches won’t hold. I will try and get pictures tomorrow. The downside is you really can’t use the glove box cause the mount hits the windshield when you open it.  If you have a low windshield it may not be an issue I don’t know.  

That would be great!  Thanks.  No biggie about the glove box.  Not used much anyways.  I have the medium windshield.

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This is my first year running a GPS, so I can't say much about the actual functionality yet, but I did do a lot of forum reading and have my system mounted and ready to go.  I always end up being the navigator and that usually means taking off a glove and pulling my phone out of my pocket.  I think this will be a lot easier.

Here's my set up...I just got a new to me 2017 850x.  I bought the glove box extension from BRP for $99.  That was easy to mount.  I also bought the BRP double USB outlet.  You can also get a 12V outlet.  They just screw into the regular glove box in the front.  You do need to take the hood off (six torx screws)  and then there is a factory accessory plug that it just plugs right into.  I think it came with a splitter too if you are trying to run a heated shield or something else.  I then bought a used Garmin NUVI 56LMT from ebay and a RAM cradle.  Drilled two holes in the front door of the extrension and used the supplied nuts and bolts to mount the cradle.  Drilled a larger hole in the appropriate spot for the power cable.  I am not too worried about sealing the holes because the are tucked in behind the GPS and cradle, but may do that at some point if necessary.  I downloaded the free Quebec maps to try it out and they seem to work, but I do plan on purchasing the northeast package from GPS Trailmasters as I try to ride all over the place. 

Two side notes... the NUVI I purchased is not waterproof, but it seems like most people who run similar ones don't have any issues.  I have seen some info on ways to waterproof it DIY using silicon on the screen and I do plan on doing that.  The second thing I learned after purchasing all of that is that when the NUVI is plugged in via USB it goes into computer transfer mode rendering it inoperable.  The supplied 12V will power it fine, but I installed the double USB instead.  I did find a company that makes a USB cable that uses some magical power to charge and power the NUVI as if it was the 12V cord.  That was $10 I think so I dodged a bullet of having to switch out the outlet.  With this set up you can access the glove box easily and I will be able to charge my phone in there too.  The front door flips down from the top and nothing is in the way. 

If you have any questions on how I did this, let me know and if needed I can dig up links as needed.

 

IMG_2202.jpg

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So here are the pics of my setup. First off the mount appears as it’s one piece  but it’s not. The upper part detaches from the lower base. However. It isn’t strong enough latch to hold the gps on. First bump it falls off.  I had to trim the glovebox lid underneath. If you look you can see what I cut out. It needs to be as close to the latch as you can get it. If it’s too far forward the gps hits the windshield. Also the upper portion of the mount had to be drilled to put the machine screws all the way through. Use the holes in the support plate as a guide. The holes go through the circuit board but they don’t interfere with anything. I put dialectic grease between the upper part and the base where the contact pins are.  I bought a new glovebox lid for my sled to trade it in. They are 10 bucks. New sled is an XS also and I don’t know yet what I’m getting next maybe gen4 I don’t know yet. So at some point I will have to do this again. It seems like a lot but it took me about 2 hours to put it all together including running the wires to the battery. The only thing extra I did was add a 2 pin deutsch connecter to the wires to remove the hood easier. But it’s not necessary. You can unplug it from the glovebox lid. All in all  I have less than 200 into the whole setup. Add the trak maps which are also not necessary and I’m at 300. I have not waterproofed it. I just put a zip lock bag over it. If it’s real bad I put it in my pocket. I don’t rely on the gps like I used too anyways. 

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