When RV’ers hit the road, they generally head away from home on unfamiliar routes. While the long stretches on major highways are easy enough to navigate, travelling through cities can be a challenge - the local drivers understand the road signs, and know where to change lanes to prepare for an exit because they travel that road on a regular basis, but these interchanges are often confusing to a visitor who doesn’t know whether to go straight through or turn off at an intersection, and an RV requires extra space for lane changes in heavy traffic, and that often requires significant advance preparation. A bad decision can mean that you miss your exit, resulting in an unplanned detour that can take you many miles out of the way.

With the availability of affordable Global Positioning Systems, RV travel has become much easier. The system relies on some pretty impressive astrophysics, but in practice, you can take advantage of the GPS network without any mathematical effort. Some years ago, the American government invested in a system of 24 satellites orbiting 11,000 miles above the earth to make it easier for their armed forces to find their way in foreign lands. Each of these satellites is equipped with an atomic clock that keeps extremely accurate time and broadcasts this information to receivers on the ground.

The receivers on the ground calculate the amount of time taken for the signal to arrive from four or more satellites to develop a triangulation indicating the exact location on earth of the receiver mounted in a vehicle or carried by a person on foot. Originally, the information transmitted included a fudge-factor so that the enemy could not use the system with any accuracy. Since the relaxation of world tensions, this misinformation has been removed from the system so that now we ordinary individuals can use the system with a low cost receiver to find our location within 3 metres (ten feet).

This has been a godsend to RV’ers who need to know exactly where they are when travelling in unfamiliar areas. Locations like campgrounds, service stations, banks, restaurants, shopping centres and many others are easily located, often with voice instructions telling you what turns to make to arrive at your destination.

Today, recreational sailors, farmers, soldiers, airline pilots, hikers, off road bikers, and many others besides RV’ers can use in-dash GPS systems, stand-alone portable systems, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), or laptop based mapping programs to know exactly were they are. If you were lost in a blizzard, it is important for the rescuers to know how to find you. If you have travelled off-road on your mountain bike, it is important to know how to get back to your start position instead of having to retracing your path.

Manufacturers of new cars, SUVs, trucks and RVs report that the most often requested option is a GPS mapping system. Considering the price of a new vehicle, the GPS is a drop in the bucket, but to achieve the optimum performance from your unit, it is a good idea to investigate the specs of the receiver to find out whether it has the map content that you need in the areas where you plan to travel. Many RV’ers find it frustrating to learn that some of the stand-alone GPS receivers that can be dash-mounted have more detail of local streets and roads in the USA than in Canada.

For years, Canadian mapping information was closely held by the government who charged extremely high fees to license its use by private companies. As a result, mapping systems only would show the major roads and streets in Canada. That is past history now, as low cost computer programs are available with the smallest detail required by RV’ers. Today, units that have built-in map data from a company called NAVTEQ have better Canadian detail. NAVTEQ believes that the only way to build a highly accurate map database is to drive the roads. They have 575 field analysts who continually collect, verify, validate, and update all of the pertinent road network, attribute, and points of interest information to create the most accurate navigable maps in the world.

Before we leave on a trip, it is possible to do some advanced planning on a home computer of what roads to take that will allow us to see attractions that are close to the area, and also allow us to calculate approximate costs depending on the inputs we use for fuel prices, travel times, and speeds. If we don’t want to travel in a certain area or on a specific road, we can avoid these by simply logging out the route with the cursor on our computer.

If you are planning to purchase a new tow vehicle or motorhome, your GPS options are usually dictated by the vehicle manufacturer, but for those who already own their vehicle, there are several companies offering stand-alone units that can be installed by the RV’ers as an aftermarket addition.

Here is a selection of units currently available on the Canadian market.

Garmin’s new StreetPilot C-series features an intuitive touch screen interface – designed to make GPS navigation easy for everyone. Selecting a destination is straightforward and requires only a limited amount of input from the user. The C-series provides premium in-car navigation capability with automatic route calculation to any destination and turn-by-turn voice-prompted directions along the way. The C-series offers all of the functions of a premium in-dash system at a fraction of the cost.

The StreetPilot C-series also allows users to choose between a three-dimensional navigation view, or the more traditional “bird’s eye” overhead view. The new 3D navigation perspective lets drivers see an uncluttered view of what’s down the road, and gives visual and voice-prompted turn-by-turn information directly on the unit’s map page.

For the ultimate out-of-the-box convenience, for about $350 the StreetPilot C330 comes pre-loaded with highly detailed MapSource® City Select® street data of the entire United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The database features industry-leading five million-plus points of interest — including hotels, restaurants, gas stations, ATMs, and attractions. Map data is provided by NAVTEQ™ – a world leader in premium-quality mapping. This is a unit that you can easily move from your RV to your car for trips after you reach the campground. Garmin products are available in many Canadian Tire Stores.

The new StreetPilot c330 joins Garmin’s comprehensive line of automotive GPS navigators – from the full-featured StreetPilot 2600 series to the compact and versatile Quest™. With its intuitive operating system, the new StreetPilot c-series is designed to attract new customers to the Garmin line – those who haven’t yet experienced the ease, convenience, and peace-of-mind that comes with automotive GPS navigation.

For the high-end GPS shopper, the $1,250 Garmin StreetPilot 7500 features a seven-inch screen that is more readable when mounted on top of the dash of your motorhome or truck. It includes dead reckoning sensors to track your progress when the GPS signal is blocked when you are in tunnels or crowded urban areas. The optional traffic services and weather information provided by XM Radio will be available in Canada in the future. The StreetPilot 7500 includes an internal MP3 player, XM Radio, and audio books compatible with www.audible.com. (Page Top)

The Magellan RoadMate 300 North America offers affordable GPS for any car. Turn-by-turn voice and visual guidance and simple menus on the latest touch screen technology make navigation easy. You can load the maps you need to the 110 MB free memory or with your own Secure Digital plug-in card. It is an affordable unit that is easy to use with a 3.5-inch color touch-screen.

Driving navigation has never been easier than with a Magellan RoadMate.Use the simple touch-screen menu to enter any address or select from hundreds of thousands of points of interest and easily navigate to virtually any destination. Get turn-by-turn voice and visual directions as you drive. When travelling in the USA, traffic reports are available. Bluetooth® wireless technology and built-in microphone let you make hands-free calls with your Bluetooth-enabled phone. Advanced turn-by-turn GPS guidance directs you around traffic. Approximately $350.

Alpine Blackbird The newest Portable Navigation Device (PND) available, the Alpine Blackbird (PMD-B100) is small, portable, and offers more than just standard navigation. Easily move your Blackbird from your RV to a car! Its sleek black aluminium design is small enough to fit in your jacket pocket! Plus you can connect Blackbird to a docking station, PMD-DOK1, allowing it to be fully controlled through an Alpine 2006 touch screen AV head unit, such as the IVA-D310. Use the Blackbird alone, or use it through your AV dash mounted unit – it’s up to you!

With map coverage across United States and Canada, you can go where you want, and Blackbird will guide your way. View 6 million points of interest locations on an anti-glare 3.6” LCD touch screen. Alpine’s exclusive Graphical User Interface (GUI for Drivers™) screen graphics deliver easy-to-understand, at a glance on-screen driving directions, as well as simple and easy to use menus and controls. Blackbird is the only PND with built-in radio data system (RDS) traffic tuner, so it will alert you to road incidents and road congestion levels. (Subscription required).

Get turn-by-turn navigation with maps of USA and Canada. Over 6 million POI (Points of Interest) locations and 7 POI map icons help you find whatever you’re looking for, whether it’s the nearest gas station, restaurant or bank; even if you’re in an area you’re unfamiliar with.

The MIO C520 is a 4.3-inch widescreen GPS with multimedia player and a 2 gigabyte on-board flash memory, for about $375. The screen allows you to see the full map and a selection of route information beside it. This means that you can easily identify route information without quitting the navigation function. You can choose the information that you want to display such as your next four manoeuvres, local points of interest, speed camera locations, route and timing data. Hands-free calling with your Bluetooth enabled phone allows you to keep your hands on the wheel when making calls. The system automatically switches from navigation to phone mode every time you receive a call.

TomTom’s GO510 has an easy to use 4-inch wide LCD touch-screen that gives you smart design and easy to use navigation at your fingertips. For about $450 it doubles as a hands-free car kit using Bluetooth® technology, so you can make & receive calls as you drive with just a touch of the screen. It also speaks some 36 languages in over 50 different voices with detailed maps of the United States and Canada on an SD card.

TomTom ONE combines ease of use, portability, touch screen technology and an elegant, unmistakable new design. Drivers can enjoy the benefits of a TomTom ONE immediately, thanks to TomTom’s award-winning navigation software pre-installed. This means there is no need to download complicated software, just start it up. TomTom ONE comes with the complete maps of US and Canada, for about $375.

The Lowrance iWay600C has a 5-inch color TFT touch-screen display that is super-bright with a backlit screen and keypad that enables superb readability even in bright sunlight. The built-in GPS + WAAS receiver/antenna tracks both 12-parallel channel and WAAS signals for greater accuracy down to 3 metres (10 feet). It updates your position every second. Frequent position updates are important as you drive in unfamiliar country, since you don’t want to be past the turn before your GPS updates your position. About $750, at retailers and on-line.

The V7 Navigation 1000 from RV Gadgets is an attractive navigation solution that offers a very good ratio of price to performance, especially with the new and very reliable navigation software facilitating cross-border travels through Canada and the United States. It has a 4x3-inch touch screen with maps loaded on an SD card. The navigation software is easily understandable, and the user interface is not only attractive but also fast and simple. For safety and convenience, the V7 has a voice prompt that lets you know when to prepare for a course change, and if you decide to take a different road, the unit automatically recalculates the best route in a matter of seconds… it also tracks your location to within a metre in the areas where we tested the unit.

In addition to using the V7 for navigation, you can listen to MP3 and MP4 files, or store and view your JPG image files. The unit comes with a 1 Gig SD card, pre-loaded with maps and four games, so that you can get on the road immediately – or you can copy the maps from the CD provided with the unit, add them to your own SD card which you can load with your own music or photo files, and use the 4 Gig card in the GPS unit – capacity of the SD expansion is 4 Gigabytes.

The V7 Navigation 1000 is available on-line for $199 from www.rvgadgets.ca. (Page Top)

Laptop-based GPS systems

Some of the laptop-based GPS systems offer lower cost to the RV'er who already owns a personal computer, since you are only buying the program and the GPS receiver, and not the display. It is important to note that the laptop must be secured to the vehicle in some way, so that it is not damaged, and does not become a projectile in the event of a sudden stop or change of direction. There are a number of laptop mounts available, which may be suitable for your vehicle, or you can improvise, but don’t use the laptop unless it is securely attached to the vehicle.

For motorhome travel, where you can strap the laptop to your dashboard or engine console, this provides the largest of the GPS screens available – limited only by the size of your laptop. Several of the systems offer voice prompt navigation when installed on a laptop running Microsoft Windows XP or newer operating systems, but older laptops running Windows 2000 usually work fine except for the lack of the voice component.

One of the more popular programs comes from Delorme, a company that has been publishing maps for years, and published its first CD Rom version in 1991. Street Atlas 2006 USA contains more than 4 million places of interest, 268,000 additional streets and roads, highways, and exit ramps, and address-to-address routing on a CD-Rom. It has a split screen system showing detailed GPS position and overview maps. You can use your cursor to minimize either screen if desired. One advantage of this program is the high contrast screen option for night driving and the voice prompts telling you about the next turns on your planned route. When tracking with “GPS Auto Zoom” brings up in-close detail on upcoming turns. Delorme cartographers are constantly updating their base of map information in both USA and Canada. They make their own GPS-accurate data instead of licensing map information from a third party. This allows them to include customer revisions in future releases of the program. At this time, road detail in the USA is excellent, but only major roads in Canada are shown. By investing in map making that is now underway, Delorme will have better Canadian content in the future.

Rand McNally has been a trusted source of maps for many years and originally had their own computer based map program. Today, they are distributing CD-ROM Map programs by Delorme and National Geographic. National Geographic has a reputation for excellent travel articles and detailed maps in their magazine. Not only does it have thousands of points of interest, but also many photos, video clips, and driving tours. We were disappointed with the detail in the National Geographic maps of Canada since we had come to expect the same excellent detail as in the maps they publish in their magazine.

CoPilot Laptop 10 by ALK software allows you to plan a trip, especially when you have the small GPS receiver plugged into your USB port. It automatically sets your starting point, and you can tell the program which roads that you prefer or ones that you wish to avoid. CoPilot is a program that has a 3D map display and turn arrows that highlight the way ahead. The program offers very detailed maps for travel in the USA, and a code unlocks the Canadian information. The voice prompts help as you drive along so that you don’t always have to watch the screen as turns come up. The program offers customized trip routing, with a feature that allows you to avoid certain roads, and choose roads that you prefer.

Microsoft’s Streets & Trips program uses mapping information from Navteq, so it has excellent detail on Canadian and USA roads and streets. It allows you to easily plan your trip and track your location in real-time. During planning, if you don’t like a section of road that the program chooses, simply click on the selected route and drag it to where you would prefer to travel. The program will automatically recalculate your trip. The program has new voice prompted directions to provide hands-free guidance. For Canadians who travel in the USA and have kilometre per hour speedometers, when you set the system to miles per hour, a window shows on the screen on the left side with the exact speed in miles per hour. This should help prevent a speeding ticket. The program has enhanced maps of both US and Canada with the ability to show gas stations, ATMs, campgrounds, shopping centres, and other places of interest. It’s up to you what type of information you want shown. You can download construction zones with free online updates, and you can easily see upcoming turns with an automatic magnified view. If you miss a turn, you can click and drag the route so that it automatically updates to get you back on track. To prevent you from looking into a bright light on your dashboard at night, you can choose a lower brilliance and higher contrast on the screen to combat eye fatigue. You can also create a breadcrumb trail to see where you have travelled. Microsoft has included Pocket Streets on the CD-Rom so that the program will operate on your personal digital assistant or cell phone.

When you combine Microsoft Streets and Trips 2007 with a GPS receiver, like the Deluo GPS model from www.rvgadgets.ca, your laptop becomes a large-screen GPS unit that is ideal for use in a motorhome, or on your navigator’s lap in a smaller vehicle. Activate the GPS information pane and your laptop’s voice program, and you’ll always know the answer to the question “are we there yet?”

For more details visit the websites at:
Alpine Electronics – www.alpine.com
Garmin Int’l – www.garmin.com
GPS Central – www.GPSCentral.ca
Lowrance – www.lowrance.com/iway
Navteq – www.navteq.com
RV Gadgets – www.rvgadgets.ca
TomTom – www.tomtom.com (Page Top)