Off Road Navigation Question

When going on trips I have been just using my phone with custom google maps and when I go to off road parks I use Avenza. But as my trips are getting longer and more complicated I would like something that gives turn by turn because with my saved google maps I physically have to move the map around and constantly zoom in and out to make sure I don't miss a turn. And though my phone isn't small I would like a bigger screen.

What I am thinking of using is my Galaxy A9+ tablet with custom maps loaded on Gaia or Onx and mounting it to my Expedition Essentials dash mount.

So I was wondering hardware and software people use for navigation when off roading and overlanding. And how y'all make your maps.

 

Another option I'm thinking of is getting a Garmin Tread. I use a Garmin eTrex for hiking and a Garmin Edge for biking and though they aren't perfect they have served me well for years of navigating

 

I saw that OnX Offroad has added turn by turn navigation recently. I haven't used it yet, but I was happy to hear because I was doing what you were with Google maps, constantly zooming and moving around the map by hand on my phone.

 

put WAZE on your phone and plug it into the usb port

 

In addition to *always* having paper maps with me I use multiple electronic sources, all on iOS devices.

My primary planning software is GaiaGPS; I usually have the MVUM/USFS Roads & Trails/Private Land/Public Land layers up as needed over the Gaia Overland base map (I have all of those downloaded for the entire state(s) I'll be in to use off-line). I will also download the Satellite Feet map for specific areas I'm traveling on. I have that up on my iPad.

On my iPhone I use Mapy.cz (awesome and free off-line maps) with the Outdoors layer active - I have this up on my truck's display via CarPlay. GaiaGPS and CarPlay don't play well with each other, and it is nice to have two completely different sources of navigation up at the same time. I will say that there is no distinct winner between these two for accuracy. Sometimes both are right, sometimes one is right, sometimes both are wrong.

As a back up to all that I have Avenza on both my iPhone and iPad with the relevant geo-referenced maps for the off-road area I'm planning on being on.

I've been using GaiaGPS for five years now; the learning curve was a bit steep but I feel it is worth it. I will say that despite the brouhaha going on about Outside's addition of the social media stuff to GaiaGPS (that is easy to ignore and doesn't interfere with my usage) they have improved its stability significantly.

 

I use Gaia on a tablet. It offers turn by turn navigation and you can download the entire area where you will be going. Sharable maps/waypoints are always nice too.

 

I use everything; Inreach on a mini2, onX, Gaia, etc and still take wrong turns and find my self almost lost. I use what ever works in the moment …..it's usually a paper map. ;-)

 

Do you mostly stick to Minnesota? The last I looked, onx off-road didn’t have any maps for Minnesota OHV parks. Getting lost in the woods is half the fun though right?

 

My last trip I tried using Gaia but I waited too long to learn how to use it properly and just gave up on it.
I find my problem is, one, that I only do 1-2 trips per year and so I usually forget how to do everything by the next time. And, second, that finding and mapping interesting forest roads is difficult. Then when out there with no cell service I can't change my route, I know I really should download offline maps for that.
That is why I was thinking of using a Garmin, because I use my Garmin Edge all the time for biking. I make my route on RideWithGps or Trailforks and upload it easily to the Garmin then just push play.

Has anyone used the Garmin Tread or Overlander?

 

I have mostly been in Minnesota and western Wisconsin doing forest roads, but next year I am doing a massive road trip through Colorado, Utah, and Arizona so I definitely want better mapping.

Here in Minnesota, Avenza has been pretty good for Iron Range and Spider Lake.
I've only been to Iron Range twice and it's just a bit too hardcore for me. All the green trails are fine but the blue trails are just too much risk with no reward, maybe If my Tacoma wasn't my daily driver I would enjoy it more.

 

Speaking of your garmin edge, I rode my bicycle from St. Paul to the cabin in the Brainerd Lakes area and back. The total trip was about 360 miles (2 days up, 2 days down, 90 mi/day). I commando camped where I found space and carried everything except food which I got from restaurants. My bike and gear minus water was under 40lbs. I think that is the best way to bicycle tour IMHO. I could average 15mph on my entry level race bike with 23mm low rolling resistance tires fairly easily.

Although Ive owned an garmin edge, I’ve never had a bicycle computer with maps. The battery would not have lasted anyway.

I planned my route ahead of time very carefully using google maps then wrote it all down on paper and mounted the paper on the bag attached to my handlebars. I did have my iPhone along as well. There was no way to charge it though, so I rationed my use of it.

 

My impression of OnX is they spend most of their money on advertising instead of development. OnX was absolutely useless in Baja, and I wasn’t impressed with it last time I used it in Washington state either.

 

I love the Iron Range park. My profile pic is from the trail Money Talks (easier black). I’ve done many of the easier black trails solo. A few times I’ve bitten off more than I can chew but I have found a way out.

 

One of these days I would like to go back with a group of similar vehicles. The 2 times I was there I didn't see any regular vehicles on the trail, it was all sxs and heavily modded Jeeps, so I didn't want to follow them. And when I go there it is usually with a fully loaded truck with camping gear because I stop there on the way to or from the North Shore.
I have so many hobbies it's tough finding time for a dedicated weekend trip to just go off roading.

Usually if I have time I prefer going mountain biking because it's a lot cheaper to wreck a bike than a truck lol. That's why I usually end up at spider lake because it's so close to Cuyuna. Maybe I will need to go to Redhead then make time for Iron Range OHV park

 

I’ve been to Spider Lake and Cuyuna many times. My sister’s cabin is about 20 miles from Spider Lake. See my post above about my bike tour.

 

I use GAIA maps on my phone with a Garmin GPS67I as the redundant. It’s has as good of maps as GAIA, works everywhere as long as it can see the sky and has satellite messaging and SOS. Use it primarily when I’m on the motorcycle.

 

I have a Salsa Cutthroat and I've done Brainerd one way a few times, 2 days up. We used to go to Craguns on Gull Lake fairly often and I liked to bike there. I find my phone in airplane mode can last 10 hours recording strava and playing music. And the Edge can last well over 16 hours just doing navigation.
But I carry a small battery bank with me so I can easily use the Edge for navigation and my phone for music for 2 full days of riding. But I almost never go on rides that last more then 2 days so the battery bank has been plenty for me.

 

What routes have you taken to Brainerd?

On the way up I went from St. Paul to Cambridge to Mora, camped in an abandoned lot on the shore of lake Mille Lacs, to garrison, Crosby, and the cabin near Jenkins.

On the way down, I followed the great river road along the Mississippi passing through Brainerd and camped (possibly illegally) in a park on a bluff above the Mississippi in St. Cloud.

 

I was thinking of Garmin 67i to replace my ancient eTrex since they have them at REI and I'm about to get my dividend rewards.
That is kinda what sparked this, is do I want another handheld GPS and use a tablet in the truck or get the Overlander and keep the eTrex for hiking. Most of my hikes are day hikes in very well traveled areas so emergency messaging hasn't been a major concern for me.

 

Pretty much the same things you did.
Bloomington to Mille Lacs State park and camped there. And another time following the river up and camped in a park in St Cloud, though it was just to sleep so it wasn't like I was making a fire so I didn't feel too bad about the illegal camping.