Crappy GPS's

You are probably right, Hank. Google maps might easily be better than Garmin. But again, if you have inconsistent coverage, that doesn't work. The point we agree on is that the one in the truck could be better.

 

Agreed... and Googles strength comes from its weakness. It is constantly updated and reflects changes fast but only does that because it's always pulling the data from the net. I do agree also I'd rather have Garmin in my taco than the current gps.

 

Google maps. Seriously, even apple thought they could do it better and quickly backtracked. Garmin would be fine as well. I don't understand why they try and reinvent the wheel for no reason whatsoever.

 

Likely Garmin would have cost more?

 

I would think that developing your own inferior system would cost considerably more than outsourcing it would. You can buy a pretty nice after-market vehicle GPS for under $150. If Toyota bought them by the thousands, they'd probably be a fraction of that cost. The GPS is part of a large add-on package in the Toyota so you really don't know exactly what you are paying for it, but i would guess it makes up several hundred dollars of the value of that package.

 

I use my phone and Gmaps in my truck, but I usually try the GPS on any longer trip. Without fail, it (entune) generates a trip that is significantly worse. I will probably wind up going with a head unit that supports android auto in the future. It would have been no big deal for them to have gone with a HU that supports both carplay and android auto. I'm just glad it was "free". If I had paid for this as a desired option, I would have wished for a refund. A travel atlas would have been a better option.

 

How could anything cost more than the ridiculously expensive factory system?

 

I meant cost to Toyota... considering how clunky the gps is I'm assuming they went as cheap as they could, and it's just one facet of the overall entune system... thinking on it I guess they bought a package and were likely looking for quantity of features to "sell" it better.

 

I personally like my GPS it gives me more details about the road, it re-routes fairly quickly and one time I was off-roading and I got lost (unknown trail and I was alone at night rookie mistake) I just sat there with no service thinking how the hell am I going to get out of here but I just pressed go home on my nav and it took me all the way home even while off road and new every turn I could take and not take perfectly.

 

When you are out away from a phone signal and need that crappy GPS you will appreciate it. We also like both Google Maps (and it's on the fly re-routing for faster routes) and Garmin units.

 

I'm not sure anymore, but I know aftermarket Pioneer units used to use Tele Atlas. My old AVIC-D3 shows a ton of off-road trails, but not all of them and not with a great degree of accuracy. For a while Toyota was using Tele Atlas as well in their factory navigation units. Don't know if they still do or if/when they stopped.

 

I found the voice training helped a lot for me.

For anyone doing back country off road navigation but doesn't want to shell out the bucks for a Lowrance system check out Leadnav Systems. They have an iOS app and are currently working on Android. I'm hoping to do some beta testing for their android app on my desert trucks.


http://leadnavsystems.com/

 

My Kenwood system with Garmin works great! I've had it in two Tacomas, and it comes in handy while traveling in unfamiliar territory.

 

Yup

I'm due. My truck is 3 years old and I need a map update to my nav system. I "personally" don't mind the nav in my truck but I think I'm one of the few. It has always done well on trips and we go off road often in Colorado and the major trails are on there so that works fine. If I really need to get specific I've got a handheld GPS (not phone) with a topographical map and if things go really bad I have a actual map of where I'm at.

 

For all the reasons stated above is why I still use a PAPER map. I took a 1500 mile trip, got the paper map out wrote down all the turns stuck it to the dash. Done, no fiddling around while going down the road. Oh, and no wrong turns

 

It's funny how old school can sometimes still be the best option. I never rely on anything electronic. I made that mistake one time and it damn near cost me my life. When we got Thermal Imaging Cameras on the FD about 12 years ago they were great. You could actually see where you were in a house full of smoke instead of being completely blind. But... we were still taught to do a right or left handed search and never leave contact with the wall or a tool hooked to a opening. I got complacent and started relying on the camera and sure enough one failed on me in the middle of a room. Complete black. I was lost and it was my fault for not doing what I was supposed to do. Luckily I found an opening and got out. But I never made that mistake again.

I always have a map in the truck. I get a complete updated book almost every year of the trail systems in Colorado. If my GPS goes out in my truck or the handheld goes out I still have a way out.

 

I agree that paper maps are great. I always carry a DeLorme Atlas of my State and the two neighboring States in my truck. They will outline every turn in every backroad fairly well. But they are hard to read when you are driving, and if you don't know where you are when you begin looking at one they can be of diminished value. But still very much worth having.
I hear some people say that their in-truck system will help them out on back roads. Mine sure won't. A forest service road makes it appear that you are driving cross country with no road. I wonder if the map Toyota uses use has more detail in some parts of the country?

 

I am a geography major with courses in GIS and GPS applications. I have a fancy screen in my truck with a little fancy map on it that I don't have a clue or care to know how to use.

I do the above before every trip... have a door pocket full of maps, a road atlas, and a compass, even though there is one in my rear view mirror. I recently took a buddy on a trip to buy my cap. He thought the post-it note with directions stuck to the GPS screen was a pretty slick idea.

 

Yeah, I'm with you guys... I tried my Nav. unit today and it "sucks bigtime" compared to my $99.00 Garmin... It doesn't show detail like lakes and rivers... The lake I live on is like a 1000 acres and doesn't exist in the freakin' nav unit....

Total junk...

I'm setting my old Garmin up for my next excursion...!!