Always Have a Back-Up Plan

We still use maps frequently. On trips, if I do not have a current map of the stater where we are traveling, then I stop at the Rest Area to get one.

Thank You! I agree and it seems GPSrs run fine in your home city but when we are out of town, in unknown places, they ditch us. I had been in Pennsylvania and was looking for Longwood Gardens. Guess what, The GPSr took me all the way in the Philadelphia city, where there was no Garden at all. At the end, I got WiFi and connected laptop to get the address, entered it manually and reached at the destination. A friend of mine has older Garmin and he still has correct address for Longwood Gardens.

Lesson learned: I agree that before driving your vehicle, understand your route ahead, just in case something goes wrong!!!

Thank You!

I don't mess with the 12v automotive power cords at all. Instead, I have the kind of DC to AC power inverter that plugs into the vehicle's cigarette lighter. It allows me to use the regular 110 v. power/charger cords.

The inverter I use is 125 amps and provides enough power to charge (one at a time) my cell phone, laptop, mp3 player, etc. I'm sure it would work to keep a GPSr powered up, too. I think I paid $40 for mine at a truck stop.

Thanks for the tip. I will purchase and carry and extra cord.

You sure about the 125 amps? That's more then the service to a lot of the older homes. I have a 400 watt inverter that translates to about 3.33 amps at 120 volts.

You're right. My bad. I went out to the car and looked at the unit. It's stamped "125 watts", not amps.

Electricity = "juju magic bwana" in my world. Because of people like me, electricians can put their kids through college.

Ask me something about 17th century Russian literature. Go on, ask me!

I carry a spare (cheap)GPS with me,older unit,would work in an emergency to get you at least someplace familiar. and a road map.

The original poster is correct. My Nuvi 760 wouldn't turn on the other night, it was like the battery was completely dead, and I headed home without it. Luckily it was nearby traveling, but if I was out in an area I didn't know, I'd be in trouble.

I got it fixed when I got home, but if I was relying on it solely, I'd have been in trouble. Lesson Learned.

I carry a road atlas in the car with me for just this reason. I will probably go and get the latest version after reading this post.

I recently bought an Acura RDX which has a built in GPS. Nonetheless whenever I travel I still take my Nuvi 760 with as well. It has much better traffic and poi files than the built in version.

No question...

and bring my 6 yrs old navman gps with me in case.

In the seat Pocket is actually is actually the best place for a road atlas,then you will have the best backup.

When I'm on a trip I always have a little geocaching planned so I have my 76CSx along. It works quite well for routing and has CN installed. If the nüvi should (nooooooooooooooooooooooooo) go down for some reason I'd still have the 76CSx.

Maps are great but I can't SEE the dang things. My wife can see them but I need glasses and a magnifying glass for some of that stuff. Bah.

In a pinch, you can also recharge from the USB port. That's assuming you have a computer handy or a USB-to-AC adapter.

I still carry a map with me just in case, and yes I do agree on having the AC power as a backup, you just never know when you'll need it.

I use a motorola phone and have the cigarette lighter mini-usb charger for that in the car.
It will work for the gps and if you have the phone wall charger that works also.
That's if you get to a room or a place to stay with electricity.

If you take your 110 wall charger as a backup, and buy an inexpensive cigarette lighter "inverter" (Radio Shack, Walmart, Sam's, etc.) you can charge your GPS in your car while you're driving -- rather than waiting to get to a 110 charging source such as your hotel, etc. Will work while driving just like your charger. We also do that with our cell phones just in case.

I don't worry about backup. If my Nuvi craps out on me I'll simply pick up a map at the nearest store. Unless I'm in a bad neighborhood in which case I'd be afraid to get out of my car. Hmmm, maybe we should make a bad neighborhood POI file!

What good will it do if your Nuvi craps out

I just navigate by instinct when this happens.

When we travel I always take a laptop with Streets & Trips, and MapSource on it.

I keep a spare mobile and wall charger and a generic USB wall charger that has a standard USB connector on it. Lets me plug either the Garmin, my cell phone or my iPOD USB cables into it. A $20 power inverter lets us charge or run anything while on the run. I had a cradle break once so I have a spare cradle, too. It all fits into a small box in the trunk which also has a couple road flares, fire extinguisher and some other road emergency items, etc.

I always take my laptop with cellular broadband card and a co-pilot with a Road Atlas.

Murphy's Law covers these posts pretty well. When on the road travelling I rely on my AAA/CAA maps as backup. This offers two functions, first the AAA/CAA is great in emergencies (see POI file) and second, the AAA/CAA maps are ALWAYS up-to-date. I also pick up a tour book and toss it in the trunk as a secondary source for accn and meals. (Interestingly I use the maps before the trip to find those areas that appear interesting to travel as the maps show some terrain detail!)

Primary back-up is the inverter which BTW keeps my camera and laptop fully charged - also use it for my airmattress when camping but that's another story!

Hands free cell is hard wired so no problem but again the inverter works as its backup.

Bottom line is always have a low tech solution when all elsse fails. (I guess I'm over-cautious since I also carry a compass and matches, but then again never been lost!)

After my battery drained on me a year ago in San Francisco and I wasn't able to use my Nuvi 760 with the car charger. I ended up using a blackberry to assist my navigation.

You don't need backups. The first rule of traveling is that you take half of the clothes and gadgets that you think you need. and twice as much money that you anticipate needing. At the nearest Walmart or Costco you replace the offending item and then after it serves its purpose, save it for a Christmas present.

Great comment but how do I find the nearest Walmart or Costco?

^^Right,when your lost,lol

Simple. you send the wife out to ask directions. If she's not with you, you never got lost in the first place.

I like that idea. I will get the extra cord. but I still take my AAA maps just in case.

This is the one i use, good for the laptop,gps, or anything else you need mobile power for.

http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?r=...

I agree these units are all great when they work, and up to now niether my TomTom nor Kenwood have let me down, but I learned my lesson using a Laptop and Garmin eTrex before, so now we always have the trusty Rand Mcnally maps in the car whenever we go out of town

Good advice - thanks.

Thanks for the great advice.

I still take my old iQue M5 and cradle with me on any trip requiring lots of driving....just in case!

I'm reminded of this as I sit in a hotel room in Newport News, VA. A few months ago, a colleague and I were here for a client meeting, and I thought I was all set with my trusty 200W. Little did I know that the power outlet on my rental car was disabled, the battery on my Garmin run down, and we'd be without proper guidance just when we needed it the most.

To make a long story short, we tried to find a restaurant in downtown Norfolk to have dinner and took the road as far as the GPS had power, relying on what we thought would take us the rest of the way. We got hopelessly lost, and after about an hour of driving around (nothing else better to do we figured), gave up and headed back to a restaurant only 5 minutes from the hotel in which we started the evening.

So now I happily take the complimentary map offered by the rental car companies, even as I'm powering up my GPS at the counter.

What if your in Montana, good luck with finding either! Hell your lucky to find people. I guess there are a few more states just like it out west.

...is to make sure the reverse gear is in working order.

Seriously, I've had two GPSr's for a while, so I should be set. My 750 no longer keeps charge, so I'd know right away if the cable craps out.

Once before my GPS days, I had to walk into a hotel lobby and say, "Help! I'm a silly, ignorant, American tourist who took a wrong turn."

After the reply of "You're lost, eh?" I got a good direction from a very helpful clerk.

We carry a map with us also, just in case, you need a back up.

Looks like this would be useful and it's pretty cheap. It uses 4 standard AA batteries.

http://www.gomadic.com/garmin-nuvi-200w-portable-aa-battery-...

This would be useful to many, I would think.

Most of you make it sound like we can't get anywhere without a GPS. In the late 90s, the company I worked for occasionally sent me out of town/state. I was able to get around town that I'd never been before, in a rental car without a GPS device. I relied heavily on Yahoo map. Google? What's Google? No one knew Google back then.

I'm kind of puzzled when I think about how I did it. IIRC I got directions from Yahoo map ahead of time. The 3 important places are airport, office and hotel. Printed turn by turn directions on paper. I recall driving around at night in downtown Seattle and Portland without a map. I was able to come back to the hotel (by instinct). If birds can do it, so can I.

Actually having the GPS could be lifesaving. Without one, you could make a wrong turn in the mountains, go into wrong and unfamiliar territory and get snowed in with disastrous consequences. Having the GPS would keep you on the right road, and always remove any ambiguity. [As many techies here in SF know, this is not just theoretical]

Yes, I'm thinking of getting one of those, or the iGo charger equivalent. There was a post in a thread I was in earlier that stated the Gomadic tip allowed full use while charging, whereas the iGo didn't - but I have no way of verifying that. Either way the changeable tips make them very versatile.

I went on a trip a year ago to visit a relative (I flew in), and we took her car across state to visit other relatives. Alas, got in her car and there was no power to the electrical outlets, and my 2720 must have power, no battery.

Always have Plan B!!

I've been to both Walmart and Costco while in Montana........ Granted they aren't everywhere but they ARE there.

/begin geezer mode/
Back in my road warrior days, I spent an entire evening unsuccessfully trying to find a particular restaurant in Raleigh, NC, when it dawned on me that I was following Tallahassee, FL directions in my head.

Of course, that was back in the days when you could stop at any corner service station and the uniformed attendant was delighted to bring one of the oil company's completely free road maps out to your car.
/end geezer mode/

I used my GPS this morning to guide me into a unfamiliar rabbit warren of medical and dental offices. Um...and out again.

I have been looking for a usb cable to power my garmin 670 from a power pack and I am unable to find a cable. When I plug the cable goes strait to storage mode. I have usbs but none of them takes the gps to charge form a usb from the laptop or the power pack.

With a power pack (Rechargeable AA batteries 1200mh ) and a usb cable you can extend the use of the gps any where.

You think people in Montana are sparse? They put up fences along the northern border of Colorado to keep all the nothingness of Wyoming out.

You must respect the man code and not ask anyone for directions. If you keep driving, you eventually will see some landmark you recognize or an ocean.