Garmin nuvi 500

Well i just purchased a garmin nuvi 500.I picked it because its made for highway use as well as topo off-road, and marine as well, so its pretty versatile.I havent tried it off road yet cause i've only had it a couple of days.However i have tried it on the road and its pretty awesome.I especially like the track back feature and the where am i feature cause that seems to be a question that i ask myself alot..heh,heh.This thing is so easy to use a caveman could do it.Got it at Gander Mountain located @ South Charleston,WV., for $348.00.Ill keep everyone posted on it as time goes by.
Oh, one other thing.....I dont like the fact that it comes with its own special battery similar to that of a video camera.If your on foot and it goes dead, you better have another CHARGED $35.00 battery with you instead of just popping in a couple more AA batteries that can be picked up anywhere.However if your riding and you have a 12 volt outlet, just plug it in.That will power it while using it and charge the battery while its turned off.Thought that might be important to mention.

:Cool:

My company truck came with the Nuvi 550 but I havent tried it on the trails yet. Something I will have to look into.

Also the LTD package on the Cam-Am comes with this GPS.

on the NUVI 500. Keep us posted on how you like it.

Let us know how it works.

good choice, I'm gonna get the same one, I'm waiting for the prices to drop

Sounds like a great unit. The battery deal was one of the turn offs for me. Keep us posted.

I would rather spend 35.00 then to keep buying AA batteries, plus whenever I'm driving I would have it plugged into 12v. the nuvi 500 is the way to go.

Thought i would give you guys an update on the nuvi 500.It is an awesome GPS!!!!!I've used it on 3 rides now and it performs very well.This unit has got to be the easiest GPS i've ever encountered as far as being user friendly.A cave man could use it!Literally.As long as you have a 12 volt d.c. outlet on your ride,the battery issue is no issue at all.I have tried it out on a ride with only the internal battery for power and it only lasts about 5 to 6 hours,so that in my book was not a good thing.But i was able to plug it up and continue tracking right where i left off.On one ride, i got to my ending point and then hit the track back feature.I had purposely rode about 20 miles on a trail that i had never been on that had very many intersections.I also did this at night so as to realistically have no way of knowing for sure which way to go on the way back.Yes, i put all my faith into this thing that night and was completely loaded and prepared in case things didn't work out.I made it home with absolutely no problem whatsoever.The screen is very large and easy to read compared to other models i've had in the past.One thing that i was most impressed with was the suction cup mounting bracket that comes with it.I stuck it on the windshield near the bottom in center and even thru the ruff stuff,it never once gave me a problem.It is nearly impossible to pull the suction cup off the windshield unless of course you flip the lever to release it.I was afraid that the little ball that it swivels on would be a problem over the bumps and let the unit turn to where i couldn't see it..but it never did.Its every bit as sturdy as my rear view mirror swivel.
But what is really fun about this GPS is when you get it back home and connect it via USB to the computer and download your tracks to google earth.Google earth accepts any garmin or magellan device automatically and it lays the tracks down perfectly for you to see.It actually imbeds your tracks to a seperate layer on google earth that you can turn on or off as you wish.Also all along the tracks it overlays,it automatically places directional arrows to show which direction you were traveling whether it was the initial trip out,or your tracks back.These arrows are automatically placed along the tracks at very close intervals.As you are looking at the tracks on google earth,you can pick any of the arrow indicators along the tracks and right click on them with your mouse.When you do it tells you what your speed, Azimuth heading in degrees,decimal degree grid coordinates, time of day, was on that particular point on the trail.This came in very handy because on my second ride trying this thing out, i somehow managed to drop my phone and lose it right after the wife called me.Well knowing what time she called me....i was able to look at the arrows on my tracks on google earth and locate the arrow that displayed the appx time she called, which enabled me to determine where i was at on the trail around the time shortly after i had talked to her.The next day, i was able to go straight to where i had lost it.After looking around the edge of the trail for about 10 minutes, i found it!!!VERY VERY COOL!!!!(brand new military phone from motorola) I am currently laying out a trip on google earth with the intent of downloading it from the computer back to the garmin, and then taking it out there to see how it does in that aspect.I'll let you guys know how that goes as well.Stay Tuned!!!

That sounds like a great GPS.

go to gpsonsale.com the 500 & 550 garmins are on sale for 299.95, how bout that !! PUSHROD

kodiakman wrote:

That sounds like a great GPS.

great right up.

I ride with a friend who also has the Nuvi 500 and he likes it also. You can go to Garmins website and download their MapSource program for free. You can download your tracks into it along with drawing a track and then uploading it to your GPSr. I have created a transparent map that you can load into your GPSr that has all of the WV Outlaw trails and wpts. The link below will take you to a site where you can download it. The install file will also load all of the Outlaw tracks into the directory you install it in. Also, in MapSource under the "View" tab you can view your tracks in Google Earth. For some reason Garmin does not include MapSource with the Nuvi line.

During the map install you will be shown links to download MapSource and a tutorial to download on how to load a map into your GPSr. This map is a transparent map so it will show up on top of your base map. It also has over 70 of the most common wpts.

http://www.filefactory.com/file/a2g9bg6/n/WV_Outlaw_ATV_Trails_amp_Wpts_1.0_Setup.exe

thanks for the info, I'm gonna get me a nuvi 500 soon.

Got me a nuvi 500 Saturday at Gander Mtn in Mooresville for 299.00 But look careful because I did not get a battery or user manual. Did not know this until Sunday when I opened the box. Can't wait to use it on the trails.

phifer45 wrote:

Got me a nuvi 500 Saturday at Gander Mtn in Mooresville for 299.00 But look careful because I did not get a battery or user manual. Did not know this until Sunday when I opened the box. Can't wait to use it on the trails.

I'm thinking about getting a nuvi 500, did anybody use their's on the spring ride

I didn't even get to go on the spring ride.As a matter of fact i haven't been able to go on "The Big Ride" at all yet.But i've used mine any where else i've been. Sorta like.....but i stayed at the holiday inn express!

265 on e-bay with battery and mount, free shipping.

That's what I have for the rzr and I love it. I bought mine on amazon.com for $209 including shipping. It is refurb. but has the same warranty as a new one from Garmin. I posted a link in an earlier post if anyone is interested.

I just got one and love it. It has to be the most user friendly GPS on the market.

LilRedRzR wrote:

That's what I have for the rzr and I love it. I bought mine on amazon.com for $209 including shipping. It is refurb. but has the same warranty as a new one from Garmin. I posted a link in an earlier post if anyone is interested.

so how did it do on the spring ride...did you save any tracks

I got one last night on ebay 202.00 free shipping.............

Also I have alot of Tracks and Waypoints saved gor Garmin. I have Mapsource on the PC.........

GETERDUN wrote:

I got one last night on ebay 202.00 free shipping.............

Also I have alot of Tracks and Waypoints saved gor Garmin. I have Mapsource on the PC.........

was it new

It was a factory referbf rom a Garmin dealer with a waranty.........

I have used an Garmin ETREX for years with No problems...

Why do you all need a GPS I have never used one and I don't have any problems getting around