GPS Combos

[Bass Addict 170]

A fishing friend, who does not have a lot of money to spend, wants to get a GPS for his boat and a GPS to use in his car on the road. (He already has a fishfinder.) He asked me for a recommendation for a unit that he could use on the road and also use the same unit while he is on lakes (mostly Kentucky). I have two different Garmin units, one for on the road and another for on the water so I could not answer his questions. In looking on Bass Pro and E-Bay I have not found a unit that works on both road and water, but maybe I missed something.

Does any company make an interchangeable land/water unit? And if so, are they any good? Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

Grumpy

There are not a lot of good crossover unit options that are great on the water as well as the road. On Bass Pro's website you should have seen the Garmin Nuvi 550, a decent unit for both at $299.99. It's waterproof (not submersible), preloaded with street maps, and will give audible directions. Although lake maps are optional, this will work for both. If you're ever in the neighborhood of the BPS in Clarksville, IN, stop by Marine and ask for Matt. I'll show you what it is, and you can check out the display. As far the the Lowrance IFinder mentioned, those units performed well on the water, decent with street maps, however, they were discontinued almost 8 months ago. The only other moderately priced crossover out there is the Lowrance XOG, but DO NOT recommend it. Check out garmin.com for other options, and view specs on the Nuvi 550.

[peter]

Thanks Matt fot the info and the offer to help.

[Grumpy]

Thanks to all for the help.

Matt, I checked out the Nuvi 550 and I think that is precicely what he is looking for and at a price he can afford. Not sure what the SD cards for the lake maps will cost but still I think it is in his price range.

Thanks again,

Grumpy

[Bass Addict 170]

Not a problem, glad to help. The lake maps for the Nuvi would run $116 and change for preloaded cards per region, OR, get the DVD with maps for the entire US for $129.99. Just search "inland lakes" on garmin.com or look for it on the Bass Pro site. And yes, Lowrance's customer service IS HORRIBLE for both crossover units AND fishfinders (believe me, you have no idea the amount of complaints I hear).