Quote: Certainly the GPS has it's drawbacks. It is basically a specialized computer and is dependent upon a current database. Roads are always being constructed and eliminated therefore an outdated database will make the GPS worthless for getting you where you want to be.
Remember that maps are updated in much the same way as GPS databases, and just about as often.
I, like others prefer to have both paper maps & a GPS. One big advantage of a GPS for those that travel & explore is that most GPSs have county level maps either built in or available - There are about 3086 counties in the US. If you want a county level map for each of them, you are going to have an awful lot of paper!
I pray tell who on earth would want "ALL" of them...
Us Geeks can never have enough gizmos.... Not only do I have GPS Mapping software and Paper Maps but also Googles Earth hooked to a GPS antenna with an Air Card Internet connection.
It makes driving at night a whole new experience, to be able to see the Google Earth satellite images being automatically updated as you drive along.
This past spring we had wonderful days in Penn. Amish Country exploring the back roads for hours at a time, never knowing where we were. When it was time to go elswhere we just pressed the button to the next desired point. To me it's not that simple with a paper map and I'm fairly good with a map.
I love our Garmin GPSs... have 3 of them and they have been great and the company is superb to deal with when you do have a problem... HOWEVER!!!!! This past weekend we went camping in WV and the Garmin tried to route us up a very small, partially completed road over the Dolly Sods area. I knew we were potentially in trouble when the thing said to turn left on "Public Road 19". It was night time, very dark, raining with a chance of snow. It took us an hour to re-route ourselves the correct 2-lane and get out of the wilderness zone. The nearest U-turn area was almost 10 miles away so we disconnected the toad and backed out onto the bigger road in the dark, hoping and praying a big truck or farmer wouldn't come blasting over the hill. A paper map would have been welcomed and we won't travel unknown areas without one again.
I used to fly a private airplane. I could not afford the fancy navigation gadgets so I had to use dead reckoning with paper maps. Do you know how hard it is to fly an airplane, look out for other traffic, time your distance to and from checkpoints, keep an eye on the compass, altimeter.... You get the idea. And having the wife along did not help, she was not trained in dead reckoning. Now they have the GPS in most airplanes. Oh, to be healthy and rich enough to fly again.
My point is that modern electronics are another aid. I often drive our MH alone. I don't know if I would try that without the GPS. Nothing like getting stuck on a dead end road with a toad. And it would be very unsafe for me to try to look at a paper map while driving. Our newest GPS is a Garmin Nuvi 465T. It is designed for truckers and RVers. So far it has been very good about not getting us into bad situations. Our previous GPSs would try to route us on dirt roads, etc. When in "truck mode", the 465T will try to route you on preferred truck routes, only deviating when there is no other route.
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