Just can't get a good basic truck, like the old days!

[deserteagle71]

Driving on the ET Highway...... I need that on a Tshirt !

Much thanks for the 411 and protips on the Nuvi. I'll have a look @ the Canuck Topos on Garmin first - if they aren't too $$$, I may go that route.

I likely have a memory constraint on this olde Nuvi 1390..... wizard-bud commented he had to add the card he did, just to get Can/USA Streets onto it. Never done it on Garmin, but I'd like to assume that swapping cards to go on/off road should be doable/smooth/fast..... but, will have to try 2 know......

Rgds, D.

I've been using Garmin GPS units for years now and have a love-hate relationship with the company. I'm convinced that one of Garmin's favorite sales tactics is to sell you a GPS unit with "Lifetime map updates". They don't tell you that your GPS unit has just enough memory built into it to run what it was sold with as new. The first or second time you plug it in to get a map update you get an error message telling you there's not enough free memory left in the unit to install the map update so most people buy a new GPS unit. My solution to that is to only install maps for the areas I know I'll be driving in.

The funny thing about driving the Extraterrestrial Highway (Nevada State Highway 375) is that it runs very close to Area 51 where all the Top Secret planes are tested, and there's been times when I've driven the highway and my GPS unit and my satellite radio quit working even though there is nothing but clear blue sky overhead. So they must do some serious signal jamming there at times. Nothing out there for many many miles - but you do get to see some strange aircraft!

 

[3930dave]

Yep, that's the hardware game alright..... as I was typing my previous GPS post, I was thinking, didn't somebody famous once say "Nobody will ever need more than 640k !" ? ...... I wish I could be that wrong, and still go on to make Trillions of USD....

I haven't looked @ the architecture of these Garmins in detail; my buddy's brief comment leads me to believe that he could access the card he added to "mine" OK..... but, he is capable of hardware hacks that even many other techies won't grok easily......

Another buddy of mine (RIP Steve, not a GPS accident though) was a heavy/early Garmin user, on the road as a contractor in British Columbia a lot. He used to call Garmin about data-errors in coastal areas of BC..... instead of a drive of maybe just sub-1hour, they'd be routing through Alberta to get somewhere else in BC... adding many hours+ of driving, for no good reason..... Complex coastline + mountains, much like the PNW..... what could Go Wrong......

I can see Area 51 being interesting, from an RF standpoint..... heavy ECM, or maybe the movies are correct, and Aliens did take over that geography, mid-20'th century !

Rgds, D.

 

[Hay Dude]

I've been using Garmin GPS units for years now and have a love-hate relationship with the company. I'm convinced that one of Garmin's favorite sales tactics is to sell you a GPS unit with "Lifetime map updates". They don't tell you that your GPS unit has just enough memory built into it to run what it was sold with as new. The first or second time you plug it in to get a map update you get an error message telling you there's not enough free memory left in the unit to install the map update so most people buy a new GPS unit. My solution to that is to only install maps for the areas I know I'll be driving in.

The funny thing about driving the Extraterrestrial Highway (Nevada State Highway 375) is that it runs very close to Area 51 where all the Top Secret planes are tested, and there's been times when I've driven the highway and my GPS unit and my satellite radio quit working even though there is nothing but clear blue sky overhead. So they must do some serious signal jamming there at times. Nothing out there for many many miles - but you do get to see some strange aircraft!
View attachment 4273651

That’s so cool. I love the mysteries and the tough people of the west! Those long highways, 100+ heat and views forever! The irrigated “oasis” hay fields that you can cut in the morning and bale in the evening. Everything is so much bigger & bolder.
Love it!

 

[paulsharvey]

Someone, maybe Hay Dude, makes a point; if you are replace a phone at 5 years; which is an amazing run, I try for 3 years, many folks replace every 2; but if we look at a vehicle as a 10 year item; no matter what Tech package it has, its very obsolete after 5 or so years. Imagine keeping a smart phone for 15 years...

Thats one aspect of the Slate (one of the few) that it like; everyone has a smart device, so why not just skip the infotainment system, and plug their already owned tablet or whatever in.

 

[not2old]

Someone, maybe Hay Dude, makes a point; if you are replace a phone at 5 years; which is an amazing run, I try for 3 years, many folks replace every 2; but if we look at a vehicle as a 10 year item; no matter what Tech package it has, its very obsolete after 5 or so years. Imagine keeping a smart phone for 15 years...

Thats one aspect of the Slate (one of the few) that it like; everyone has a smart device, so why not just skip the infotainment system, and plug their already owned tablet or whatever in.

I think that having the ability to plug in a tablet and not have a built-in touch screen would be a good feature.

 

[Runner]

Thats one aspect of the Slate (one of the few) that it like; everyone has a smart device, so why not just skip the infotainment system, and plug their already owned tablet or whatever in.

Don't be silly. How can you possibly allow a vehicle to be sold without a backup camera?

 

[paulsharvey]

Don't be silly. How can you possibly allow a vehicle to be sold without a backup camera?

It has one, I think, but rather than a thousand or more on the screen, if I understood, you plug your device in place of a vehicle screen,

 

[Hay Dude]

Just keep using your rear view mirror, just like your parents did in 1979

 

[paulsharvey]

I like my rear camera

 

[paulsharvey]

So, on cameras and stripped base vehicles. We know the most base models are fleet vehicles; if you are a fleet manager, would you order anything without rear camera? Heck no.

 

[lman]

I thought rear cameras were a required safety device for all vehicles now.

 

[Oaktree]

I've been using Garmin GPS units for years now and have a love-hate relationship with the company. I'm convinced that one of Garmin's favorite sales tactics is to sell you a GPS unit with "Lifetime map updates". They don't tell you that your GPS unit has just enough memory built into it to run what it was sold with as new. The first or second time you plug it in to get a map update you get an error message telling you there's not enough free memory left in the unit to install the map update so most people buy a new GPS unit. My solution to that is to only install maps for the areas I know I'll be driving in.

Mine has a slot for an SD card to expand the memory, I think it will accept up to a 64G card. Got a 32 in mine now.

 

[Runner]

I thought rear cameras were a required safety device for all vehicles now.

They are.

 

[Runner]

I like my rear camera

That's why they should be optional, not required by governmental overreach, right, Hay Dude?

 

[Oaktree]

Just keep using your rear view mirror, just like your parents did in 1979

That was fine pre-1995 or so when vehicles still had windows you could actually see out of. Anything made this century, not so much.

That's why they should be optional, not required by governmental overreach.

Maybe vehicle styling will return to having real windows as opposed to portholes so you can actually see to the rear/sides without a camera, but they're pretty much a necessity today. Can you see trying to back up a CT without cameras?

 

[paulsharvey]

The rear view camera Might add $250 to the cost. Who would really say, "nah, dont add that, id rather get out 7 times to back up to the trailer"

 

[Jstpssng]

The rear view camera Might add $250 to the cost. Who would really say, "nah, dont add that, id rather get out 7 times to back up to the trailer"

I did that anyways last Thursday night. I was in a hurry and didn't have time to clean the camera lense.

 

[WinterDeere]

Just keep using your rear view mirror, just like your parents did in 1979

I'd be fine without a backup camera on every vehicle except the pickup truck I use for trailering. Every time I back that trailering ball up to another trailer tongue, I remember how much I hated that chore before backup cameras.

Maybe vehicle styling will return to having real windows as opposed to portholes so you can actually see to the rear/sides without a camera, but they're pretty much a necessity today.

It's not so much styling, as it is safety requirements. The reason vehicles all look the same these days is because safety requirements have taken the freedom of such choices out of the automobile designers' hands.

 

[Runner]

The rear view camera Might add $250 to the cost. Who would really say, "nah, dont add that, id rather get out 7 times to back up to the trailer"

It's not the money, I just don't want/need a computer screen in my vehicle. I also think that most of them look ugly and add unneeded complexity.

And, while we're at it, get rid of the TPMS which is another reason they feel the "need" to install screens in vehicles....

 

[jyoutz]

It's not the money, I just don't want/need a computer screen in my vehicle. I also think that most of them look ugly and add unneeded complexity.

And, while we're at it, get rid of the TPMS which is another reason they feel the "need" to install screens in vehicles....

You would be happy with my 2007 Dodge 2500. It has neither of those things. However I love the backup camera and TPMS in my 2020 Jeep. I wish my truck had those.