What NAV unit do you guys recommend?

[T4RUSAF]

Hey guys so I have a road trip to take going to TX in 2 weeks but I am taking my commuter not the 4runner (which has factory nav). So, in hopes of knocking out two birds w/ one stone what unit do you guys recommend that I get that has great coverage of the states, priced somewhat reasonably, and I guess can load maps or plot trails, etc. that you guys are always talking about downloading? Any insight would be great!

Jason

[Cruiserhead]

Garmin- except they don't have MAC software yet (this year I hear). Besides being in the dark ages with that, they are great.

Andries will tell you which model- his is nice

I have the Quest which is great for the price but I am wanting a bigger screen and faster refresh for offroad. Onroad, it's fine.

For on-road only, I think there are some great options by other less-well known makers like TomTom & Lowrance... or is it the Lowrance TomTom? hehe I don't know!

[T4RUSAF]

So, are their special types of units that have more off-road plotting than on-road and visa-versa? This whole trip will be onroad and when i dont need it my gf will use it on-road too. But when off-road I want to map my way in/out. Is there a unit that does both? Or will I find a unit that will lean more to one feature than the other?

[Cruiserhead]

certain garmin units (and other companies of course) will do both. You need to find a nav that will read TOPO maps (topographical). Garmin has detailed topo maps on discs you can buy + the road maps that usually come with the unit.

Many Nav units are road-only. (Probably the bulk of the market obviously.)

They dont do topo and only limited "breadcrumbs" if at all (trace your steps offroad, so you can trace your 'footsteps' back- but no maps).

[Dealmaker]

This is what I have and really like...
Garmin 276C
http://www.garmin.com/products/gpsmap276c/

[T4RUSAF]

Cool thanks fellas. Looking at the Garmin website made me realize that I have alot more researching and reading to do. Their are a TON of units out there. Thanks for the input though!

[kdubz]

For indash I think Eclipse is the best. They make the factory navigation for Toyota and keep making better and better models. The Eclipse models are better than the Toyota factory models because they are newer versions and you can find great deals on ebay for them.

http://www.eclipse-web.com/avn-index.html

For non in dash Garmin is definately the best. I don't have alot of knowledge as to the best newer models but I know Garmin is the best hands down for non in dash GPS.

[AlexJet]

Garmin StreetPilot 26xx/27xx.
Great units, very friendly menu and easy to operate, big display.
I have StreetPilot 2720 and I like it alot.

[Mikestang]

Do the eclipse units have off-road abilities as well?

[kdubz]

Do the eclipse units have off-road abilities as well?

From what I can tell from their website looks like no (as far as topo maps).

So Garmins will be much better for offroading.

[Cruiserhead]

This is true, the eclipse is a fantastic unit. I have seriously considered it except that, as kdubz says, no topo features. It does have limited 'breadcrumbs' features but that is not really useful for offroading & finding trails. It's good if you get lost... hehe

However, the eclipse is still a great unit.

Alpine has the "blackbird" gps that ties into a in-dash system. I am not all that familiar with it but another one to look into...

Dealmaker's suggestion of the Garmin 276c is good- that one is very impressive.

[T4RUSAF]

yeah I was looking at the new alpine blackbird and pioneer's version as well as clarions. But they all don't have the topo feature. Kinda hard pressed cuz I want the 'topo' features but majority of the time (~85%) will be used on-road by my gf. I am worried that the garmin one might be not as user friendly for her as well.

[aMiR904]

what about the valor nav systems, i am about to install one in a couple of weeks. its the valor 670.

http://www.valordvd.com/product/productinformation.asp?pmodel=Navigation&productid=NVG-670WT

its comes with the ipod cable, tv tuner antenna, 2d/3d maps, sd card reader, bluetooth built in, all kinds of other features, ive seen it in person, its a pretty good gui too.

ill try to document the installation process and post if anyone is interested.