TomTom vs Garmin. Your 2 cents please.

[tallpaul]

Years ago, I was riding with a bud and his Tomtom. I had a Garmin. Probably both obsolete. Via the helmet intercoms, we were riding side by side at 2mph different speeds, according to our GPSes. Highway speeds. In the past, I've had a road Garmin and a hiking Garmin side by side, and their indicated speeds were identical. Who's right, who's wrong? Don't know. Anyone else see something similar? Fun to take one on a commercial flight and see 599 mph show up!

I did manage 300mph in a 60 zone flying back from Amsterdam. I was using copilot GPS...

 

[Cycledude]

One thing I have noticed with Garmin riding along with cruise control set I usually loose 1 mph going around curves in the road.

 

[RCinNC]

I have heard of people that know how to use BaseCamp and love it, I think it's a fairy tale like Bigfoot.

I've been using BaseCamp and it's predecessor (forget the name) for about ten years now. It sucked then, and has always sucked. Still nowhere near anything that could be called proficient with it.

I plan my route in Google maps and then recreate it in BaseCamp. Clumsy, but gets the job done.

Unfortunately, if you want to plan routes for transfer to a Garmin GPS, you need BaseCamp. I have tried a billion of the alternative strategies and none of them work well, and they generally fail right when you need them. BaseCamp it is...

Thankfully the Garmin GPS interface makes up for the dumpster fire that is BaseCamp.

Basecamp is a nightmare. I've taught myself to use multiple different mapping programs, and Basecamp is the least intuitive, ass-backwards way of route planning that I've encountered. The only thing I use it for is to convert routes to tracks, so I can create map overlays in a Garmin Nuvi. Nuvi's can't read a .gpx track file (I don't think any of the car based Garmins can), but you can create map overlays (like for the MABDR) that'll act like tracks when they're displayed on the screen.

I've found the alternatives like MyRoute and Rever to be much better software for planning routes and loading them into the Garmin than Basecamp. Tyre was my favorite, but when Google flexed their muscle and you had to sign up for an API key in order to use Tyre, I moved on. I was a diehard GPS user for a long time, but to be honest, the Nuvi sits on a shelf a lot now. I really only break it out on long trips, because basically it's disposable; I don't worry about leaving it on the bike if I go inside a restaurant. If I'm just doing a day ride, my phone plus Rever/OSMand is what I use. I used to cling to my GPS like Charlton Heston to a flintlock, but I doubt I'd buy either of the high dollar GPS units from either Garmin or TomTom at this point. I'd probably just pay sixty bucks on eBay for a used Kyocera Duraforce Pro and run OSMand+ and Rever on it.

 

[regder]

Basecamp is a nightmare. I've taught myself to use multiple different mapping programs, and Basecamp is the least intuitive, ass-backwards way of route planning that I've encountered. The only thing I use it for is to convert routes to tracks, so I can create map overlays in a Garmin Nuvi. Nuvi's can't read a .gpx track file (I don't think any of the car based Garmins can), but you can create map overlays (like for the MABDR) that'll act like tracks when they're displayed on the screen.

I've found the alternatives like MyRoute and Rever to be much better software for planning routes and loading them into the Garmin than Basecamp. Tyre was my favorite, but when Google flexed their muscle and you had to sign up for an API key in order to use Tyre, I moved on. I was a diehard GPS user for a long time, but to be honest, the Nuvi sits on a shelf a lot now. I really only break it out on long trips, because basically it's disposable; I don't worry about leaving it on the bike if I go inside a restaurant. If I'm just doing a day ride, my phone plus Rever/OSMand is what I use. I used to cling to my GPS like Charlton Heston to a flintlock, but I doubt I'd buy either of the high dollar GPS units from either Garmin or TomTom at this point. I'd probably just pay sixty bucks on eBay for a used Kyocera Duraforce Pro and run OSMand+ and Rever on it.

Everyone has their preference. I periodically play around with phone gps apps and have never found one that comes close to the functionality and features of my Zumo 595.

I absolutely hate spending money where I don't have to, but a proper moto GPS is a must for me.

 

[gunslinger_006]

I have a zumo xt and hate it less than everything else.

But i still hate it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ballisticexchris]

Basecamp is a nightmare.

That's strange. For me Base Camp is fantastic for mapping out rides and converting tracks and routes. Sadly it is being replaced with software for the newest versions of XT through the Garmin website portal.

 

[RCinNC]

I don't think it's strange at all, Chris. If you were able to take an actual poll of people who've used Basecamp, I firmly believe the consensus would be that it sucked. And I get this not just from motorcycle forums, but also from being on forums relating specifically to GPS usage. It does have the advantage over other mapping software like Myroute in that it allows you to do mapping when you're offline, since it has either its own loaded map or else you use the ones already installed on the Garmin. Though I can't imagine the level of frustration that would occur if I tried to use Basecamp on the road on my travel computer, 9" Nextbook.

I can use Basecamp, so I'm not speaking from ignorance. I forced myself to learn it, at least enough to create routes, tracks, and the aforementioned overlay maps (which also requires the IMGfromGPX program). It's far clunkier and overcomplicated than it needs to be, especially in comparison to something like the old Tyre program. To each his own.

 

[ozmoto]

Over the years I have had a selection of TomTom and Garmin GPSs beginning with a TomTom One and an original Garmin Etrex Legend.
I recently upgraded the software on my Garmin Zumo 590 to a 595. A nice step forward. Unfortunately, then the USB connection on the back ended up failing so I can no longer connect it to a computer.
So now I have upgraded to a new Garmin Zumo XT which is sooooo much better again! The screen, in particular, is amazing.

 

[Longdog Cymru]

Here’s another Garmin user, (for over 15 years), who thinks, no, truly believes, that Basecamp is a large, smelly, pile of dog poo!

Having said that, I have stuck by Garmin devices and I can usually find a way around issues.

 

[fac191]

You need to have the same map on your computer as the one on the satnav to map correctly. Just saying.

 

[Longdog Cymru]

You need to have the same map on your computer as the one on the satnav to map correctly. Just saying.

Do you mean the same map version, ie region and update? As I could only update my old Zumo 550 through my laptop, then I had to download onto my laptop first before loading it onto my Zumo, I would think that means that I had “the same map on my computer as the one on the satnav”? For me, and for many others on here, Basecamp is or was pretty clunky and frustrating to use. I have recently bought a Zumo 396 LMT-S which updates via wi-fi

 

[PhilPhilippines]

TomTom:
"You have arrived at your destination"

Me and Wifey, looking at the sole tiny thatched cottage, on an unlit single track road, odd-viously 50 miles from the brightly lit destination of Teignmouth:
"Eh?"

Admittedly I am the "clunky" update in the TomTom/Input/Destination arrangement, but it was funny AF!!

 

[fac191]

I always double check locations in google.maps.

 

[fac191]

People always up date the satnav but not the map on the computer.

 

[PhilPhilippines]

I always double check locations in google.maps.

Here in the Phils I use google maps the night before then
1) write the distance of each section onto a post-it note
2) Also go to street view to check junction for peculiarities

Generally I don't get lost and the notes and odometer reset, plus the street view image of what I am looking for gets me there.

I do not own a GPS. Probably a laughable offence...
\

 

[regder]

I can use Basecamp, so I'm not speaking from ignorance. I forced myself to learn it, at least enough to create routes, tracks, and the aforementioned overlay maps (which also requires the IMGfromGPX program). It's far clunkier and overcomplicated than it needs to be, especially in comparison to something like the old Tyre program. To each his own.

The problem with using external applications to plot a route and then uploading them to Basecamp/Garmin is that quite often the maps don't line up perfectly. Instead of pointing you to be on the correct road, it's telling you to turn onto a sidestreet that runs 100ft off the correct road. There are also other funky issues that pop up such as only part of your route being transferred over due to point limitations, or others.

I've tried a bunch of ways to plot a route in google maps or other and transfer into GPX, but I have been stung by issues too many times when I need to rely on it most.

Basecamp sucks, but it is the only surefire way to ensure that the route you want is the one that's going to end up on the gps. My route method is to plan it out on google maps, then recreate it in Basecamp. Clunky but will get the job done, and guaranteed not to give you surprising errors.

 

[RCinNC]

I haven't had those issues regder, and I've crossed the country on backroads several times using my Nuvi loaded with routes created on Tyre, Tyre to Travel, and MyRoute. It does require that you add enough shaping points to a route that you plan on something like MyRoute in order to get it to translate properly to the Garmin, because the two different mapping programs obviously use different ways of calculating a route. I encountered that issue just last night while mapping a route to the Back of the Dragon; I had to add an extra shaping point because the Nuvi wanted to route me onto I-81 briefly when I uploaded a route created on MyRoute, where the MyRoute file routed me on surface streets. Adding an extra shaping point solved the issue. Continued experience with the program and using MyRoute routes on the Nuvi have given me a pretty good feel of where and how many shaping points I'll need to make it seamlessly translate. If I'm riding through an urban area and I want to specifically follow certain streets, I just make sure I add enough points at turns and intersections so the Nuvi will keep me on that route. If I recall correctly from my past experience at creating a turn by turn route for the MABDR that could be used on a Garmin, the maximum capacity for a Garmin .gpx route file is 250 waypoints; that limitation did make it impossible for me to create one continuous route for the MABDR (since I wanted to make sure I didn't accidentally deviate from the MABDR), so I broke the MABDR down into the individual sections.

I wouldn't try talking anyone out of whatever software they're comfortable with, and we're both in agreement that Basecamp sucks. I just haven't experienced the frequency of errors that you have when using non-Basecamp programs, so my go-to mapping programs are MyRoute and Rever. Like you, I stick with what works best for me. As I said earlier, the Garmin is becoming less and less important to my navigation. it's just simpler for me to program a route on MyRoute and upload it to my phone, where both Rever and OSMand can access the same file (plus I can link the phone to my comm unit so I can hear the turn by turns). Using the Nuvi is getting to be more out of a sense of nostalgia than anything else.

 

[Burnspot]

Longtime TomTom user, from the original Rider to, now, the Rider 550. Great GPS units once you get the hang of TomTom's system. While I've been waiting for the PC8 to come in for my ST, so I can properly wire in my Rider 550 (it's shared with an FJR), I've gone back to using CoPilot GPS on my iPhone (Quad Lock powered anti-vib mount). It's a pretty decent app in that you download maps like a normal GPS unit, so having a cell signal isn't relevant. I've been impressed with the Rider 550; the screen is crystal clear in just about all lighting conditions, something the earlier Rider model sometimes struggled with.