topo maps

No you don't have to erase the old topo Map.

Adding the new Topo Map will overwrite the old gmapsupp.img map in the Nuvi.

If you wanted to load the new Topo map on the SD CARD then you would have to erase the old topo map on the Nuvi internal flash memory. This would be the GMAPSUPP.IMG file in the GARMIN folder.

This is beacuse you can have gmapsupp.img files bothe in the Garmin and on the SD Card at the same time. An both will be loaded upon boot-up.

Also note that you can't add or remove map segments already contained in the pre-generated mapset. You'd have to rebuild the mapset in MapSource, adding or removing the map segements and then generate/send the mapset back to the GPS. This has always been the case with Garmin units and how maps are added/removed as far back as my eMap.

There ARE ways around this but that would require a whole other topic/tutorial.

thanks to the both of you for your help,that helped me out i dont know what i would do with out this site

Would like to purchase, but would hold off if an update is coming by Spring. Thanks.

It will likely be a while is my guess. The current version was just released this year and it was a number of years between updates.

Yeah, how often do they have to add new mountains to the map?

i just bought this version cuz i wanted it for my nuvi,i dont think i will ever buy a newer version because like you said the mountains just dont change too much and the elevations either

i just found a great source for FREE, LEGAL topo maps for canada, these are far more uptodate then garmin. they are compiled by a garmin user from the GIS data available from Gov't of Canada's website. check them out here http://ibycus.com/ibycustopo/.
The only down side is they are not routable at this point, but that may change in the future.

I wish garmin would use this same freely available data for their mapsets!

Where is the best place to buy the Topo Software???
for the best price?
David

Do the topo maps have rivers on them, like way away from the roads?

You can check out Topo U.S. 2008 yourself with a bit of clicking and zooming here:

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=28229&pvID=29597#cov...

I know that sometimes there might be a better price???
And someone might have done some shopping around?
David

i bought mine at cabellas in lacey,wa.for 99 dollars

...and the used section has them down to ~$60. which is where I got mine. As I recall they have lakes down to 5 acres in size, so they definitely have rivers, unless they're more pee-wee than that.

I've used the topos for both hiking and kayaking. And I also use them to find GPS coordinates of POI's that my nuvi doesn't have, such as boat ramps or camp grounds. The coordinates are good enough, such as within a tenth of a mile or so, and I can almost always find the site without problem when I drive to them.

The downside to Garmin's topo is that the scale is 1:100,000, unless you buy the national park series, which is 1:24K. 100K lacks considerable detail, e.g. not many trails are on them. But, overall, it's a good deal.

GC

I would recommend ....

Provantage
http://www.provantage.com/garmin-010-11001~7GRMM02W.htm

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-MapSource-Topo-U-S-2008/dp/B000...

I downloaded the zip file. When I tried to extract it, I got an error saying"
The archive is either in unknown format or damaged".
Anyone knows what the problem is?