Hi,

I will be driving from Los Angeles to Arizona, to Nevada then up to Seattle and am wondering if renting a car with the GPS system or purchasing one is worth it. If anyone has used one before please give me your comments.
Thank you!!!

We love using my son's GPS on road trips. It's the portable type (GARMIN III Plus), not fixed in the car.

It's usually more fun than useful, as we planned the route before we go. With his trip software, we download our route to the GPS, including certain waypoints, and we have fun knowing exactly where we are, how far we've gone (both time & bird-miles), average speed, etc. A few times we've even used the map when lost or didn't pay attention - which is great because the GPS knows where you have to go (waypoint), and you can tell by the map if you are heading in the right direction.

Perhaps the best features are 1) having a list of all gas stations/ restaurants / services at interstate exits programmed in the GPS, so we can "look ahead" a few exits to see what is there, and 2) a real-time map to see what is in the area we are currently in (like names of rivers, mountains, etc.) - together with a zoom in and out feature you can tell what is beyond the hill.

I forgot one very important feature. Your trip "tracks" are recorded and can be "downloaded" to most map software. Simply print out your trip. You will have a record of exactly where you were. Sort of like those Family Circus comics where the kid runs all around the house via the dashed lines...

I am not certain if pre-installed GPS systems in cars have ability to xfer data.

We have a Garmin GPS 3+ and would like to know what different types of software folks have used with this device both in the USA and in Europe. Pros and cons and sources would be helpful.

Re Garmin III + software:
For road trips, we use Delmore Street Atlas USA (7.0). Enter route, then upload to GPS. Be careful if you upload 2 routes, you must rename the first route or it will be overwritten (or rename the 2nd route). Also, Delorme "confuses" the GPS on common Highway names (e.g., I-295). It can't distinguish between I-295 in VA or the one in FL (if done as one route).

Anything from MAPTECH. Used the New England Region for a hike to Mt. Washington. These are very good, but $$.

Used MapSource (Garmin's product) TOPO to enhance the III +s internal maps. Good if you are in an area for more than passing thru. Bought the Worldmap CD for a trip to Canada. No experience on Europe. Bought from a dealer that advertises all the time on e-bay.

Con: Would like to be able to load in more maps (you choose a section at a time, usually up to 5 map areas). But still, this works well. On longer / > geographic trip (e.g., Alaska) we had to upload more maps via a laptop.

Don't like Map n Go (another Delorme) with the GPS. It is a cheap version of Street Atlas.

Bought Street Atlas set at a club warehouse at 1/2 price from CompUSA or on-line.

Waypoints can be found from Topograpix (program is Panterra), from the Gov't (not easy to find or use). It is amazing how virtually every geographic or man made feature has been indexed as waypoints. There is definately waypoint overload.

The usenet group on sci.geo.satellite-nav is filled with GPS junkies. Used it for learn more about our unit.

We bought the differential antenna and extendor cord (from Garmin) to put on top of the car.

Thank you so much for the very detailed information. We'll start shopping around right away!