@@DNAofDoggie ohh yes, although I am considering to ship vehicle to either Mombasa or Nairobi and drive from there. I don't see anything other than hassle to drive from Mauritania to Angola. So as the plan starts, European rout with visit to Morocco and Mauritania, then head back to find port and ship the car south. But still couple of years until I move on with my plans. With war looming, it might never be.
OpenStreetMapper here, thanks for the praise! Please try to report map errors if you encounter any, this makes it easier for others to see where there is still work to do :)
Cheers! I expect I'll ruffle a few feathers in the industry in the coming months with that repeated advice - but it's true, so I'm not going to lie about it.
Please do for I meant it as a compliment. I enjoy your excellent clarity of concept and thought provoking dialog. I first saw you on PBS now watch each episode as you publish them. Good going man. To bad the Earth is so small. There’s always Jupiter.... (-;
The best info I have found yet on overlanding maps, especially all the free yet good ones. This will be great for the offroad trails here in the U.S. Thanks again!
True to the point without being flashy. Watched a lot of 4x4,s with screens all over obscuring the view, even renting the passenger air bag a killer. Thank you for quality info.
Love your channel. The Sudan book brought back memories. I was kinda lost and hungry in port sudan heading to egypt. A guy brought me to sizzling lamb meat on top of a burning rock in the desert. Best barbecue ever.
Thanks for all the info provided, especially for the Garmin. Unfortunately this model is not available now, maybe discontinued. Also the benefit of the sd card is not mentioned in any available model. So, I would be grateful if you suggested a current model with these features. Thanks in advance, Michael.
I couldn't agree more about Tracks4Africa. I've used them for years in Southern Africa. They are upgraded twice a year and if theres ever any problem the Tracks office are always very helpful. There is also a Southern Africa map book ( A3 size) with distances and expected time of travel that is accurate. Lately they have published guides for Namibia and Botswana (Zambia to follow) listing accommodation by area and giving contact details.
Nice! One thing I forgot to mention is they're essentially useless in West and Northern Africa. In Mali for example they have about 10 roads total. So it's really a southern Africa thing!
Great video. I'm glad you push a dedicated GPS unit. I can not tell you how many times people say "just use google maps on your phone". They have no idea that if your phone has no signal that your phone cannot calculate the route. A dedicated GPS never has that issue.
I rode Alaska to Ushuaia, sailed to Antarctica, on to South Africa, then up to Egypt over 30 months. In my experience, Tracks4Africa’s mapping was unparalleled, providing excellent routing all the way up to Cairo. The open source maps for Central and South America were also excellent. My Garmin Zumo was, and still is, awesome. Now 13 years and 380 000 km old, it just works. It is surprising that a touch screen electronic gizmo can last this length of time.
Hi! South American here, in big cities, i use Google maps, its just more convenient. On the highway, roads and backroads, o use Google Maps and a Garmin 64s side by side, with openstreet maps loaded. And we use iOverlander here too!
What a super helpful video. Really liked you concentrating on the essentials and especially the few screens shots Of how to upload and down load the various data sets. Great to know which systems can work together. Most people either gloss over this stuff or just recommend some incredibly expensive new piece of electrics. Many thanks
Glad you enjoyed it! I'm never going to recommend anything incredibly expensive, because I want to spend my money on adventures. So I'll always find a budget way to do things, and I'm going to teach all of you how to do it too!
Great showing example of how you use all those apps ! Already saw all of them mentioned on other channels but never with detailed explanation of how to use them and live example, that's helpful.
Excellent excellent advice. I think people are not aware of these options. Couple things I would add: There are lots of open source topo maps you can load in a similar matter, They don't display 100% correctly on a gps meant for street maps but they are still amazing resources for free. Also it is worth spending a bit of effort to get one the the Garmins that have a branded feature that is basically a form of dead reckoning when the signal is blocked like a tunnel or trees or buildings (for a limited time). This is really useful for urban areas or tunnels. As an example my gps with this feature worked perfectly in Guanajuato Mexico in all the tunnels which have intersections and exit ramps under ground.
Good hints mate. We navigate with the same OSM maps. They are really good. The options on the Garmin device are a bit poor (e. g. navigation a track). Therefore I went for a "gps map" version of the same manufacturer. This device allows me also to navigate easy in remote areas. Tracks4Africa is really good. And no doubt, paper maps are sometimes very helpful to have a rough overview. And yes: Out in the wilderness Gaia gps is usually very good and helpful for any kind of activity.
Very informative video and I totally agree with how good Garmin and Tracks for Africa are. When we beat the London to Cape Town record (20 countries in 11 days) we needed faultless navigation. They both provided it.
Very good video with solid info. I agree with most of it. I totally agree with how bad Michelin maps are. The paper is fragile and they don't even have a coordinate grid so you don't know where you are even if you have a GPS. Useless in fact. I use OSM a lot but the biggest negative is that the line widths often don't reflect the importance of the road or track. This can be very misleading. Where I disagree with this video is about the devices. I too have a Garmin on the dashboard but the screen is just too small for many purposes. For planning I use a laptop running QuoVadis or maybe Basecamp. It sits on the cubby box and I can use it for navigation too if I am too lazy to upload to the Garmin. A final point. You are always dependent on the accuracy of the maps which can be very flaky for off road trails (and I include both Garmin's proprietary maps and OSM in this). For this reason I often download track logs from Wikiloc and superimpose them on OSM using QuoVadis. It works pretty well for off road trails. For really remote regions with unreliable mapping I download satellite images from Google Earth and import into OziExplorer. In featureless desert regions this is the only way to know where you are IMO.
Great advice's. It is very nice to hear someone much more experienced and know that we both made the same or very similar choices. After a couple of wrong choices (and wasting time for searching for paper maps locally :) I decided to use maps on my smartphone in Australia. Unfortunately 3 years ago in Victoria data cover was not enough (no mutter on Great Ocean Rd or in the Vic's 'outback' :) and even GPS positioning was not good. Than I decided to buy Garmin sat nav with EU (where I live) maps pack, but with option to use OSM maps on other continents. The only disadvantage I found immediately in Uruguay - 1st country outside EU I visited with new nav - my Garmin was treating every dual carriageway road as two separate single carriageway roads (yes, OSM has cons). It was annoying to have been said to choose fifth exit on the roundabout keeping main road, but with little attention navigation worked nearly perfectly anyway. 2 years ago during EU travel (G, F, H, P) I used four sources: my new Garmin (slow wake up), online Google Maps (very good if you have mobile data access), and 2 offline: MapsMe and Here Maps (both annoying, but it is good to have offline backup - just in case).
Once again first class information right here. Worth a pot of gold this vid. Not a lot of people cover this subject which frustrates me. There are a lot of costly options out there...
I'm really loving all the videos, I didn't even know about all the back roads and wild camping right here in Alberta!! Definitely time to get my 4runner tuned up.
Hi greeting from Indonesia..I am using garmin too for navigation and openstreetmap for map. We are a same interest. I love overlanding in my country and travelling to overseas. When I am outside Indonesia I use Google map and sygic for navigation. Before I use garmin for Europe but I must update it. Next December I will go to Spain Portugal i will use garmin with openstreetmap map downloaded.
I think if I had a drone, I'd try looking for overland routes on FSR's. Otherwise, I'd use a MTB to scout a path where maybe someone would have built a bridge or ferry.
Hi your videos are the most comprehensive I've came across. I have a question regarding Internet and mobile phones. How to get Internet and a mobile phone network that will work in different African countries without spending a fortune.
That was extremely good information and found out that my little Garmin GPS unit has so much more potential that I had no idea about. Thank you for the info!
Thanks for this great essential information. I have used most of those apps for quite sometime but learned a great deal of new information about them. Thanks again!!
@@TheRoadChoseMe Can you tell me if you bought your jeep new before your trip or used? What model year is it? I would like to travel central asia and your set up would be ideal..
Another wonderful video. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences and be willing to help the rest of us along. Lots of useful, real world advice. I had a similar experience trying to leave Mexico City in 2008. I kept going around in circles for hours, ending back to the same place, and so I eventually just got a room and left early the next morning. Looking forward to more 👍
Great info, I’m not an Overlander as such but we have used Garmin in many countries, Garmin maps & OSM combination have been great in New Zealand, Australia, India, Southeast Asia and now Europe, 3 Garmin latest 51 Drive with a earlier 5” as backup (full of OSM) as the 51 sometimes shuts down in 40c+ and a etrex20, maps.me has been great, iOverlander App not too happy with as can’t use off line but the POI data on the Garmin was very useful in the Balkans.
I know they're working hard on an ioverlander that lets you use offline maps. For now you can still use it in list view, then just choose "open in mapping app" to see the point in maps.me or whatever. It works pretty well. Or stick those ioverlander points into your garmin too!
The Road Chose Me , it’s a bit clunky to use maps.me but it works, I would happily pay for an offline version for iPhone/iPad, Garmin should make it available for other models as most can’t afford or justify an Overland Garmin and it’s huge or have slightly older models which still work OK
We navigated from the UK to Namibia, down through west Africa using ONLY maps.me (free app and maps) on our android mobile phones. Together with iOverlander and our paper Africa lonely planet , maps.me was one of only three sources of information we used during the whole trip (other than word of mouth recommendations from locals). As a first back up we had a second mobile phone with these apps installed. As a second back up we did have some large scale Michelin maps but we NEVER used them to navigate! When we are eventually able to return we will probably try and download some kind of "tracks for Africa" thing as we head into South Africa- thanks for the recomendations.
(To be fair we've come a long way - Kev's first overland trip involved a single A4 print out from a CD-rom and was way before smartphones. Made it all the way from the UK to Russia on a bike using this single piece of paper and a daily post-it list of village/town names written down by numerous friendly locals - who needs a map?!)
Nice, thanks for the real world input! Do you use maps.me for the turn-by-turn as well? Are you happy with it? It always bugs me and takes me on stupidly small roads, so I don't use it for that.
@@TheRoadChoseMe yes, BUT we always have a quick look at the route (just zoom out on maps.me) to check it - every so often it does something silly but we just add a way point to fix it. (It did not like the Congo into DRC boarder near luozi in particular- had to add loads of way points!) 2 years ago we had no 4x4 vechicle and had just started watching your videos for some ideas! Thanks for the great videos, we hope ours can be as useful to someone!
I concur with Júlíus, don't EVER take this video down, it is GREAT! I am at the birth of my Overlanding, I have a Jeep now and am starting to equip it. I am a LONG way from going international, but I do have some questions for you... In summary: Q1: Does the Garmin Drive 51 allow you to load a predetermined route via GPX file and follow that route. Q2: Does the Garmin Drive 51 allow you to record where you actually go for historical purposes? Background: I come from a cycling background where I create routes online (RideWithGPS.com) and then download the GPX route file to my Garmin bike computer. Once I started riding, the bike computer would give me turn by turn based on the route in the GPX file I downloaded. When I do my exploring around here, I would like to do the same thing... download a predetermined route. This not to say I won't go off the route, it is just nice to have a general plan as I head out. Does the Garmin Drive 51 allow you to load a predetermined route into it and then give you turn by turn for that route? I am 99.9% sure the new Garmin Overlander will. The other question I have is about recording where you have been. The Garmin bike computers I use automatically for me. It was my impression that the regular car unit's, like the Garmin Drive 51, don't actually record where you do go, they only show you where to go. How do you record where you have been?
Hi Sam, I'm happy to hear the video was helpful! Q1: As far as I know, the Drive 51 can't do that. I've never looked into it though, so maybe it can. Q2: Yes, when you turn on the feature the Drive 51 records everywhere you're going into gpx files on the unit. It stores them for a long time, and you can transfer them to a computer whenever you plug it in. I'm not a big "track log" guy, but I do have the last 1/4 of my Africa route. Good luck out there!
Maps.me has always worked good for us in North America and Europe. I find the best all around setup is Gurumaps.app. We have it on a tablet, and phones. It has been flawless, eving showing old 4wdr tracks, hiking trails as well as great city coverage. It uses vector maps which uses less space. For instance the whole map pack for the Yukon is only 45MB. You can easily download a whole continent beforehand.
I own three garmins... was considering the overland version... I actually own the $100 one u have which has run thousands of miles but always falls off windshield because the garmin mount is terrible... however the gen2 garmin/ramx system is brilliant! the overland variant is just a lmt700dezel repurposed that is getting very dated... the tablet gps are becoming more common imo as a professional driver
Great video and confirmed we are going down the correct track with our kit. Have you looked at Pocket Earth Pro. Costs £5. Uses open source again but with contours. There is a free version too but no contours
Stress, man just watching that intersection with a zillion motorbikes was stressful. I couldn't drive in a lot of countries. I need street lines, marked roads, people following driving laws.
It's a bit intimidating at first, but you really do get the hang of it. Just go with the flow. There are TONS of vehicles slower than you, so just go at your own pace and you'll do fine.
Nice overview Dan, and now more tools for my kit bag. I noticed that the Garmin inReach wasn't included. I'm a fan of having both satellite navigation and satellite communication (text) bundled together, along with the SOS feature. Have you had any experience with any of the inReach models? Also, being from Maine, I have to throw in a shameless plug for DeLorme Gazetteer maps. They were bought out by Garmin 4-5 years ago, but until then they were the premier large scale map books for the States. Just something about holding an 11"x14" mapbook to get a great feel for an area and not burn out your eyes in the process.
A point on Garmins - vibrations wear out the cable contacts in the device after a while - went through 2 as a result on a trip around africa - anyone got ideas to prevent this. Doubt it would be an issue in many areas though so dont panic too much but worth thinking about if it all goes wrong in middle of nowhere
Some good info. I have used an iPad mini as a GPS for at least 7 years and would not use any of my small ass Garmins in lieu to the iPad. UR concern with crossing a border with a tablet - pop it off the stand and slip it in a cubby. UR concern with being distracted by the screen - a little button on the side will shut it the f off - problem solved. That iPad has seen at least 150k miles and I would recommend it "All Day Long"
@@TheRoadChoseMe Not International - CA USA - Baja. I use the Garmin App - "Navigon". There are other apps that work with the iPad - this is the one I used. And the bigger screen makes navigating so much easier - no squinting required - which can be dangerous in dense traffic.
I just learned about this too - you can use the search function, and as long as there are less than 2000 results you can download a GPX.. so do a search for one type of camping and download that, then do another type and download that. An annoying extra step, but it will still work perfectly.
@@TheRoadChoseMe Thank you for replying Dan!, i was so happy i received the device that i totally forgot to thank you about the insights on this video wich made me incline to buy this handy gps! now im going to upload the maps and the GPX files into it!!! im going to find out in a bit if i can upload several GPX files!
Hello Dan, I'm loving your book because it contains many important tips and inspiring stories, congratulations. I intend to take a car trip through urban areas in Brazil. I must not travel off-road. Do I really need a GPS? Is Google Maps enough? I have never found a video that compares Google Maps with a GPS device.
Plenty of common sense and excellent advice. Have you ever used Google maps or google earth? Is it because internet connection is sparse outside North America or Europe? Thanks.
Hi Dan! Love your books and these videos are a wealth of information! Just wanted to let you know that I've been trying since you posted this video to download the files for North America and have not been able to do so. I emailed IOverlander site and they replied that the servers have trouble downloading files with other 2000 places in them. Do you know where else I might be able to get those files for my Garmin? Any help would be great!! Thanks and Happy Trails!!
Hi Jim, Thanks for the support! Oh wow, that's interesting. For iOverlander I've never had a problem downloading the files for any country, that's a shame. Sorry, I don't think they are anywhere else.
What is wrong with Google Maps? Why don't you recommend them? Just curious. Because even without data package, you can use them by downloading individual countries or regions ar a time.
In many countries in the world Google Maps is atrocious. All around Africa, much of Latin America. It doesn't have the detail in the cities, and it hardly has any roads other than main ones. Even today when I want to find a place I was in Africa the roads simply aren't in Google Maps.
@@TheRoadChoseMe Cool. I binged watched your videos last night..excellent content. Very brave of you to take a Chrysler product on such an epic adventure. I'd stuck to Toyota Landcruiser 76 series!
@@TheRoadChoseMe You mentioned you used Tracks4Africa maps when offroad, which map set were you using on your Garmin for remote Northern Territory or WA for example?
This is a great video!Does the Garmin GPS come with the SD card or do I buy that separately?I'm trying to buy this for my Dad.He wants it for searching for minerals in Africa.He wants something that will work in the middle of nowhere where there's no wifi.
Hi Ron, No - it doesn't have any ability to connect to the internet. As I showed in the video, you download the OpenStreetMaps (FREE) onto an SD Memory card, then put that into the Garmin. You can also load in the iOverlander points of interest completely free too.
@@TheRoadChoseMe Thanks. Yes, I did see the sd card thing. So you get the map, but your vehicle will not show up on the Garmin like on a smart phone, I gather. Kind of old school meets new school, sort of, ha. Thanks again.
Oh, sorry. The Garmin is a GPS, so it talks to satellites to know where you are, put the vehicle on the map and then do all the navigation! You don't pay for that kind of connectivity.
Yes, that's the one I have and it works perfectly (min's called a "Garmin Drive 5") Just make certain it has an SD memory card slot in the back (I think they all do, but double check.)
@@TheRoadChoseMe Awesome!I wasn't sure because in the link you posted it has the Garmin "51".Iv found a Garmin "52" on kijiji so I just wanted to make sure it will work with the software:)and IL definitely check for the SD slot.Thanks again.
Hi,I finally got the Garmin for my Dad.I just have 1 more question:I want to load it with the Zambian tracks4Africa map for him and send him the gps.My question is,can he use the Garmin to plan your trip without a computer and Basecamp?Like can he key in directly into the gps directly without the computer?He doesn't have a laptop at the moment.
Hey Trey, Yes, he can look around on the gamin screen to see where he wants to go, but it's kind of small and not ideal. You might want to buy the paper tracks4africa map of Zambia to be a guide. It's really, really good!
@@TheRoadChoseMe oh ok I see..can he use an iPad maybe with bandcamp?I like the idea of the paper maps but his going into the Bush and he wants to use coordinates to set his destination,so I don't know if the paper would be idea for that kind of thing?
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Don't ever take this video down. I will need to look into it in few years. #whenbigplanshappens
So, does your big plans still going?
@@DNAofDoggie ohh yes, although I am considering to ship vehicle to either Mombasa or Nairobi and drive from there. I don't see anything other than hassle to drive from Mauritania to Angola. So as the plan starts, European rout with visit to Morocco and Mauritania, then head back to find port and ship the car south. But still couple of years until I move on with my plans. With war looming, it might never be.
OpenStreetMapper here, thanks for the praise! Please try to report map errors if you encounter any, this makes it easier for others to see where there is still work to do :)
Ok thanks!
GP tells you where you are. Paper map tells you where you are going. 200% agree, less flashy the better
Great job, Dan. It feels good to see a UA-camr not pushing for more money to be spent :-)
Cheers! I expect I'll ruffle a few feathers in the industry in the coming months with that repeated advice - but it's true, so I'm not going to lie about it.
The Road Chose True, honest and down to earth opinions are just so rare nowadays 🤗
Yes, true. Some people run their channel like a product placement show to make a few extra dollars with affiliate links. Quite boring.
Dang it. I can't click the "Like" button more than once and this video needs it!
Great advice, thanks. I like your nonsense, no frills take on things
Wow, I’ve been using my Garmin and iOverlander separately for years. Had no idea you could load iOverlander points into the Garmin. Thanks Dan
Glad I could help!
You are the Rick Steves of Overlanding!
Haha, I'll take that as a compliment! :D
Please do for I meant it as a compliment. I enjoy your excellent clarity of concept and thought provoking dialog. I first saw you on PBS now watch each episode as you publish them. Good going man. To bad the Earth is so small. There’s always Jupiter.... (-;
Aweosme, the best You Tube video out there on the subject!
This is gold. Thank you
The best info I have found yet on overlanding maps, especially all the free yet good ones.
This will be great for the offroad trails here in the U.S.
Thanks again!
Great to hear, have fun!
True to the point without being flashy. Watched a lot of 4x4,s with screens all over obscuring the view, even renting the passenger air bag a killer. Thank you for quality info.
Love your channel. The Sudan book brought back memories. I was kinda lost and hungry in port sudan heading to egypt. A guy brought me to sizzling lamb meat on top of a burning rock in the desert. Best barbecue ever.
Thanks for all the info provided, especially for the Garmin. Unfortunately this model is not available now, maybe discontinued. Also the benefit of the sd card is not mentioned in any available model. So, I would be grateful if you suggested a current model with these features. Thanks in advance, Michael.
I couldn't agree more about Tracks4Africa. I've used them for years in Southern Africa. They are upgraded twice a year and if theres ever any problem the Tracks office are always very helpful. There is also a Southern Africa map book ( A3 size) with distances and expected time of travel that is accurate. Lately they have published guides for Namibia and Botswana (Zambia to follow) listing accommodation by area and giving contact details.
Nice! One thing I forgot to mention is they're essentially useless in West and Northern Africa. In Mali for example they have about 10 roads total. So it's really a southern Africa thing!
Ok. I haven’t wandered that far yet. Southern and east Africa has kept me pretty interested so far. Maybe Cairo and Europe in the years to come.
Thanks - really useful
Great video. I'm glad you push a dedicated GPS unit. I can not tell you how many times people say "just use google maps on your phone". They have no idea that if your phone has no signal that your phone cannot calculate the route. A dedicated GPS never has that issue.
Also google maps is woeful in countries like the Congo or Mali. Essentially useless in terms of how few roads it has.
I rode Alaska to Ushuaia, sailed to Antarctica, on to South Africa, then up to Egypt over 30 months. In my experience, Tracks4Africa’s mapping was unparalleled, providing excellent routing all the way up to Cairo. The open source maps for Central and South America were also excellent. My Garmin Zumo was, and still is, awesome. Now 13 years and 380 000 km old, it just works. It is surprising that a touch screen electronic gizmo can last this length of time.
Hi! South American here, in big cities, i use Google maps, its just more convenient. On the highway, roads and backroads, o use Google Maps and a Garmin 64s side by side, with openstreet maps loaded. And we use iOverlander here too!
What a super helpful video. Really liked you concentrating on the essentials and especially the few screens shots Of how to upload and down load the various data sets. Great to know which systems can work together. Most people either gloss over this stuff or just recommend some incredibly expensive new piece of electrics. Many thanks
Glad you enjoyed it! I'm never going to recommend anything incredibly expensive, because I want to spend my money on adventures. So I'll always find a budget way to do things, and I'm going to teach all of you how to do it too!
Great showing example of how you use all those apps !
Already saw all of them mentioned on other channels but never with detailed explanation of how to use them and live example, that's helpful.
I love the budget and realistic real word builds you put up
Thanks! I'm just a regular guy trying to live my big dreams, and I want to show other people how they can do it too!
Again I have to say it’s the best overland informative Chanel thanks a lot
Glad you think so!
Excellent excellent advice. I think people are not aware of these options. Couple things I would add: There are lots of open source topo maps you can load in a similar matter, They don't display 100% correctly on a gps meant for street maps but they are still amazing resources for free. Also it is worth spending a bit of effort to get one the the Garmins that have a branded feature that is basically a form of dead reckoning when the signal is blocked like a tunnel or trees or buildings (for a limited time). This is really useful for urban areas or tunnels. As an example my gps with this feature worked perfectly in Guanajuato Mexico in all the tunnels which have intersections and exit ramps under ground.
Good hints mate. We navigate with the same OSM maps. They are really good.
The options on the Garmin device are a bit poor (e. g. navigation a track). Therefore I went for a "gps map" version of the same manufacturer. This device allows me also to navigate easy in remote areas. Tracks4Africa is really good. And no doubt, paper maps are sometimes very helpful to have a rough overview. And yes: Out in the wilderness Gaia gps is usually very good and helpful for any kind of activity.
I have been watching your channel and it has changed my mind from RV to jk thanks.
Very cool!
Very informative video and I totally agree with how good Garmin and Tracks for Africa are. When we beat the London to Cape Town record (20 countries in 11 days) we needed faultless navigation. They both provided it.
Many thanks for your the useful information, you are most welcome in Saudi Arabia any time.
So nice of you, I really look forward to getting there in the future! Friends just spent two months there and really loved the friendly people!
@@TheRoadChoseMe The perfect time to be there between November to March and if you need any other information or help please do not hesitate to ask.
Very good video with solid info. I agree with most of it.
I totally agree with how bad Michelin maps are. The paper is fragile and they don't even have a coordinate grid so you don't know where you are even if you have a GPS. Useless in fact.
I use OSM a lot but the biggest negative is that the line widths often don't reflect the importance of the road or track. This can be very misleading.
Where I disagree with this video is about the devices. I too have a Garmin on the dashboard but the screen is just too small for many purposes. For planning I use a laptop running QuoVadis or maybe Basecamp. It sits on the cubby box and I can use it for navigation too if I am too lazy to upload to the Garmin.
A final point. You are always dependent on the accuracy of the maps which can be very flaky for off road trails (and I include both Garmin's proprietary maps and OSM in this). For this reason I often download track logs from Wikiloc and superimpose them on OSM using QuoVadis. It works pretty well for off road trails.
For really remote regions with unreliable mapping I download satellite images from Google Earth and import into OziExplorer. In featureless desert regions this is the only way to know where you are IMO.
Thanks big fella
Great advice's. It is very nice to hear someone much more experienced and know that we both made the same or very similar choices. After a couple of wrong choices (and wasting time for searching for paper maps locally :) I decided to use maps on my smartphone in Australia. Unfortunately 3 years ago in Victoria data cover was not enough (no mutter on Great Ocean Rd or in the Vic's 'outback' :) and even GPS positioning was not good. Than I decided to buy Garmin sat nav with EU (where I live) maps pack, but with option to use OSM maps on other continents. The only disadvantage I found immediately in Uruguay - 1st country outside EU I visited with new nav - my Garmin was treating every dual carriageway road as two separate single carriageway roads (yes, OSM has cons). It was annoying to have been said to choose fifth exit on the roundabout keeping main road, but with little attention navigation worked nearly perfectly anyway. 2 years ago during EU travel (G, F, H, P) I used four sources: my new Garmin (slow wake up), online Google Maps (very good if you have mobile data access), and 2 offline: MapsMe and Here Maps (both annoying, but it is good to have offline backup - just in case).
you know that you can have offline maps on google maps on your device.
Once again first class information right here. Worth a pot of gold this vid. Not a lot of people cover this subject which frustrates me. There are a lot of costly options out there...
I'm really loving all the videos, I didn't even know about all the back roads and wild camping right here in Alberta!! Definitely time to get my 4runner tuned up.
Another Master Class from Dan. Thank you for taking this topic on.
My pleasure!
This is such good info for traveling in other countries other than North America!
Thank you for sharing your experience with us!!!
Glad it was helpful!
Cheers mate
Hi greeting from Indonesia..I am using garmin too for navigation and openstreetmap for map. We are a same interest. I love overlanding in my country and travelling to overseas. When I am outside Indonesia I use Google map and sygic for navigation. Before I use garmin for Europe but I must update it. Next December I will go to Spain Portugal i will use garmin with openstreetmap map downloaded.
I think if I had a drone, I'd try looking for overland routes on FSR's.
Otherwise, I'd use a MTB to scout a path where maybe someone would have built a bridge or ferry.
maps_me became an online navigator. This is the development of mail ru... I recommend osmdand. They use openstreetmap and perform better.
Great video. Keep up the good work. I just learned something:)
Hi your videos are the most comprehensive I've came across. I have a question regarding Internet and mobile phones. How to get Internet and a mobile phone network that will work in different African countries without spending a fortune.
Thanks James! I go through that in this video: ua-cam.com/video/YIe6nwRU6hM/v-deo.html
@@TheRoadChoseMe thanks so much for replying I am hoping to tour Africa hopefully next year. Your videos are helping me so much
That was extremely good information and found out that my little Garmin GPS unit has so much more potential that I had no idea about. Thank you for the info!
Very welcome!
What a great video. I had learned so much in a short time. I am fixing to grab my Garmin and put it to good use.
Great to hear!
Thanks for the outstanding video. Truly valuable information.
Thank you. Great video. I also love the Reise Know How paper maps. Just bought the map for Albania. Hope to overland there in September
I've heard amazing things about Albania, I can't wait to explore there some day!
Hi Dan, best ever, this is so helpful and practical, lots of directions, easy to understand, thanks again. Best regards
You're very welcome!
You're the best! I got what I asked you the last time. Thank you!!
Happy to help!
Thanks for this great essential information. I have used most of those apps for quite sometime but learned a great deal of new information about them.
Thanks again!!
Glad it was helpful!
@@TheRoadChoseMe Can you tell me if you bought your jeep new before your trip or used?
What model year is it? I would like to travel central asia and your set up would be ideal..
Great advice mate! Thanks
The official Garmin East African maps are very good.
I spent entire months driving on roads that were not on those maps!
@@TheRoadChoseMe They recently updated the maps. I have being able to find so many rural areas here in Kenya using the garmin gps
Great info ! Thanks !! 🙏🇨🇦
Good job! Thanks
Another wonderful video. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences and be willing to help the rest of us along. Lots of useful, real world advice. I had a similar experience trying to leave Mexico City in 2008. I kept going around in circles for hours, ending back to the same place, and so I eventually just got a room and left early the next morning. Looking forward to more 👍
You are very welcome!
I never resorted to just getting a room for the night, but I got mighty close a few times!
Thanks Dan, a good level of information and nice clear instructions for device use.
Glad it was helpful!
Great info, I’m not an Overlander as such but we have used Garmin in many countries, Garmin maps & OSM combination have been great in New Zealand, Australia, India, Southeast Asia and now Europe, 3 Garmin latest 51 Drive with a earlier 5” as backup (full of OSM) as the 51 sometimes shuts down in 40c+ and a etrex20, maps.me has been great, iOverlander App not too happy with as can’t use off line but the POI data on the Garmin was very useful in the Balkans.
I know they're working hard on an ioverlander that lets you use offline maps.
For now you can still use it in list view, then just choose "open in mapping app" to see the point in maps.me or whatever. It works pretty well.
Or stick those ioverlander points into your garmin too!
The Road Chose Me , it’s a bit clunky to use maps.me but it works, I would happily pay for an offline version for iPhone/iPad, Garmin should make it available for other models as most can’t afford or justify an Overland Garmin and it’s huge or have slightly older models which still work OK
Great stuff as always, Dan. Thanks!
Similar situation getting from one end of Acapulco to the other. Several hours of all over the place..
Awesome detail Dan!!
Nice work on the videos Dan, your editing skills are progressing nicely.
Thanks Mack! Slow and steady!
Fantastic video! Thank you.
Glad you liked it!
Good, practical advice!
Thanks Dan, travel safe👍🏻
Thanks, you too!
Wow, thank you so much, this information is extremely helpful! Thanks :-)
You are so welcome!
Woowww thanks for that even i got gaia and maps.me it still very good info about how to dowload on ioverlander thanks for sharing
Thanks
Welcome!
We navigated from the UK to Namibia, down through west Africa using ONLY maps.me (free app and maps) on our android mobile phones.
Together with iOverlander and our paper Africa lonely planet , maps.me was one of only three sources of information we used during the whole trip (other than word of mouth recommendations from locals). As a first back up we had a second mobile phone with these apps installed. As a second back up we did have some large scale Michelin maps but we NEVER used them to navigate!
When we are eventually able to return we will probably try and download some kind of "tracks for Africa" thing as we head into South Africa- thanks for the recomendations.
(To be fair we've come a long way - Kev's first overland trip involved a single A4 print out from a CD-rom and was way before smartphones. Made it all the way from the UK to Russia on a bike using this single piece of paper and a daily post-it list of village/town names written down by numerous friendly locals - who needs a map?!)
Nice, thanks for the real world input!
Do you use maps.me for the turn-by-turn as well? Are you happy with it?
It always bugs me and takes me on stupidly small roads, so I don't use it for that.
@@TheRoadChoseMe yes, BUT we always have a quick look at the route (just zoom out on maps.me) to check it - every so often it does something silly but we just add a way point to fix it. (It did not like the Congo into DRC boarder near luozi in particular- had to add loads of way points!)
2 years ago we had no 4x4 vechicle and had just started watching your videos for some ideas! Thanks for the great videos, we hope ours can be as useful to someone!
Tracks for Africa only works on some Garmin Models, just check before you buy. I had bought mine almost 10 years ago so that may have changed.
I concur with Júlíus, don't EVER take this video down, it is GREAT! I am at the birth of my Overlanding, I have a Jeep now and am starting to equip it. I am a LONG way from going international, but I do have some questions for you...
In summary:
Q1: Does the Garmin Drive 51 allow you to load a predetermined route via GPX file and follow that route.
Q2: Does the Garmin Drive 51 allow you to record where you actually go for historical purposes?
Background:
I come from a cycling background where I create routes online (RideWithGPS.com) and then download the GPX route file to my Garmin bike computer. Once I started riding, the bike computer would give me turn by turn based on the route in the GPX file I downloaded. When I do my exploring around here, I would like to do the same thing... download a predetermined route. This not to say I won't go off the route, it is just nice to have a general plan as I head out. Does the Garmin Drive 51 allow you to load a predetermined route into it and then give you turn by turn for that route? I am 99.9% sure the new Garmin Overlander will.
The other question I have is about recording where you have been. The Garmin bike computers I use automatically for me. It was my impression that the regular car unit's, like the Garmin Drive 51, don't actually record where you do go, they only show you where to go. How do you record where you have been?
Hi Sam, I'm happy to hear the video was helpful!
Q1: As far as I know, the Drive 51 can't do that. I've never looked into it though, so maybe it can.
Q2: Yes, when you turn on the feature the Drive 51 records everywhere you're going into gpx files on the unit. It stores them for a long time, and you can transfer them to a computer whenever you plug it in. I'm not a big "track log" guy, but I do have the last 1/4 of my Africa route.
Good luck out there!
Very helpful, thank you.
I must agree about the Tracks4Africa phone app. Complete waste of money.
Great tip but no longer working. Some sort of intricate "bike" site now with exercises to hopefully works.
Maps.me has always worked good for us in North America and Europe.
I find the best all around setup is Gurumaps.app. We have it on a tablet, and phones. It has been flawless, eving showing old 4wdr tracks, hiking trails as well as great city coverage. It uses vector maps which uses less space. For instance the whole map pack for the Yukon is only 45MB. You can easily download a whole continent beforehand.
I own three garmins... was considering the overland version... I actually own the $100 one u have which has run thousands of miles but always falls off windshield because the garmin mount is terrible... however the gen2 garmin/ramx system is brilliant! the overland variant is just a lmt700dezel repurposed that is getting very dated... the tablet gps are becoming more common imo as a professional driver
I see you're making your way to expo's in east? If you're going through Canada you might consider the "Red Coat Trail" through the prairies.
Great video and confirmed we are going down the correct track with our kit.
Have you looked at Pocket Earth Pro. Costs £5. Uses open source again but with contours. There is a free version too but no contours
No, never heard of it, I'll check it out!
The Road Chose Me think it’s only Iphone at the moment though
Maps.me worked great in Cuba.
Stress, man just watching that intersection with a zillion motorbikes was stressful. I couldn't drive in a lot of countries. I need street lines, marked roads, people following driving laws.
It's a bit intimidating at first, but you really do get the hang of it. Just go with the flow. There are TONS of vehicles slower than you, so just go at your own pace and you'll do fine.
Nice overview Dan, and now more tools for my kit bag. I noticed that the Garmin inReach wasn't included. I'm a fan of having both satellite navigation and satellite communication (text) bundled together, along with the SOS feature. Have you had any experience with any of the inReach models?
Also, being from Maine, I have to throw in a shameless plug for DeLorme Gazetteer maps. They were bought out by Garmin 4-5 years ago, but until then they were the premier large scale map books for the States. Just something about holding an 11"x14" mapbook to get a great feel for an area and not burn out your eyes in the process.
Hi Scott, I don't have experience with the sat stuff - because it remote Africa the SOS feature is useless. I'll film an episode about it soon!
The best maps I have used are the Michelin maps.
For Africa I found them to be next to useless!
A point on Garmins - vibrations wear out the cable contacts in the device after a while - went through 2 as a result on a trip around africa - anyone got ideas to prevent this. Doubt it would be an issue in many areas though so dont panic too much but worth thinking about if it all goes wrong in middle of nowhere
FYI The link for Garmin maps on OSM no longer works.
Some good info.
I have used an iPad mini as a GPS for at least 7 years and would not use any of my small ass Garmins in lieu to the iPad. UR concern with crossing a border with a tablet - pop it off the stand and slip it in a cubby. UR concern with being distracted by the screen - a little button on the side will shut it the f off - problem solved. That iPad has seen at least 150k miles and I would recommend it "All Day Long"
Hi Terry - what maps or mapping software do you use on that iPad?
Have you gone international with it?
@@TheRoadChoseMe Not International - CA USA - Baja. I use the Garmin App - "Navigon". There are other apps that work with the iPad - this is the one I used. And the bigger screen makes navigating so much easier - no squinting required - which can be dangerous in dense traffic.
I just remembered - I did use it in a rental in southern Mexico and in Costa Rica.
Just bought the Garmin 51, in fact i just unboxed it!!! but bad luck for me, the GPX File for my country on the Ioverlander page is not available!
I just learned about this too - you can use the search function, and as long as there are less than 2000 results you can download a GPX.. so do a search for one type of camping and download that, then do another type and download that. An annoying extra step, but it will still work perfectly.
@@TheRoadChoseMe Thank you for replying Dan!, i was so happy i received the device that i totally forgot to thank you about the insights on this video wich made me incline to buy this handy gps! now im going to upload the maps and the GPX files into it!!! im going to find out in a bit if i can upload several GPX files!
Hello Dan, I'm loving your book because it contains many important tips and inspiring stories, congratulations. I intend to take a car trip through urban areas in Brazil. I must not travel off-road. Do I really need a GPS? Is Google Maps enough? I have never found a video that compares Google Maps with a GPS device.
I've never been to Brazil, so I can't say. In many countries in the world Google maps is next to useless.
@@TheRoadChoseMe thanks Dan. Here in Brazil it works very well. That is why I don’t see any reason to buy a GPS.
@@arturjj.travel cell coverage is the main reason - if you have 100% coverage of the territories you will visit, google map is very good.
@@andremorissette thanks brother 🤙🏽
Plenty of common sense and excellent advice. Have you ever used Google maps or google earth? Is it because internet connection is sparse outside North America or Europe? Thanks.
In many countries (Congo, Mali, Bolivia) google maps is terrible. It has hardly any roads and really isn't worth anything.
I go out of my way to be frugal. Thanks
Me too, then there's more money for gas in the tank and huge adventures!
Hi Dan! Love your books and these videos are a wealth of information! Just wanted to let you know that I've been trying since you posted this video to download the files for North America and have not been able to do so. I emailed IOverlander site and they replied that the servers have trouble downloading files with other 2000 places in them. Do you know where else I might be able to get those files for my Garmin? Any help would be great!! Thanks and Happy Trails!!
Hi Jim,
Thanks for the support!
Oh wow, that's interesting. For iOverlander I've never had a problem downloading the files for any country, that's a shame. Sorry, I don't think they are anywhere else.
@@TheRoadChoseMe Thanks Dan! I'll see if I can find them somewhere, if I do I'll let you know! Happy Trails!
Does the Garmin 5 get signal in rural places? ie Alaska, Canada (Yukon Territory)?
It doesn't need "signal" from anything or anywhere. It's completely offline. The maps are loaded on the SD card, they don't come from any signal.
@4:40 holy traffic
Uh-huh! Reading a paper map in that is stressful to the max!
@@TheRoadChoseMe I bet... That makes any American city seem tame
When I got back sitting on a freeway next to other cars doing 65mp/h was stressful! It's all relative!
Is it possible to use a small andriod tablet to load Open Street Maps instead of buying a Garmin Sat Nav ?
In theory yes, but I've always heard the routing algorithms don't work nearly as well.
So would you say the garmin inreach isnt necessary for remote areas like way northern Ontario etc?
Needs also a strong passport...
What is wrong with Google Maps? Why don't you recommend them? Just curious. Because even without data package, you can use them by downloading individual countries or regions ar a time.
In many countries in the world Google Maps is atrocious. All around Africa, much of Latin America. It doesn't have the detail in the cities, and it hardly has any roads other than main ones. Even today when I want to find a place I was in Africa the roads simply aren't in Google Maps.
@@TheRoadChoseMe Cool. I binged watched your videos last night..excellent content. Very brave of you to take a Chrysler product on such an epic adventure. I'd stuck to Toyota Landcruiser 76 series!
Jak assssss
Hi Dan, what did you use on your Australia trip for remote travel?
Exactly the same as Africa, which is what I show in this video. It was flawless.
@@TheRoadChoseMe You mentioned you used Tracks4Africa maps when offroad, which map set were you using on your Garmin for remote Northern Territory or WA for example?
Open Street Maps loaded onto the Garmin. Free, and flawless for the entire world.
Are you in BC if would you come to our BC BMW club and give a talk about this.
I'm not in BC right now, but I'll be back there when I'm done touring Australia in about a year
This is a great video!Does the Garmin GPS come with the SD card or do I buy that separately?I'm trying to buy this for my Dad.He wants it for searching for minerals in Africa.He wants something that will work in the middle of nowhere where there's no wifi.
You have to buy an SD card- but even a $5 4GB one is plenty big enough to load on Open Street Maps for 20+ countries!
@@TheRoadChoseMe thanks alot,really appreciate it.Any recommendations where I can get the $5 4GB SD card from?I live in Toronto.
Just buy the smallest SD card from a store like best buy or Walmart or really anywhere (make sure it's an SD Mico)
@@TheRoadChoseMe sounds good,thank you for taking your time out to help me out!
Lip readers would have no trouble understanding you. LOL
Hi Dan. Excuse my ignorance, but do you have to get a data plan with the Garmin, or how does it get it's data?
Hi Ron, No - it doesn't have any ability to connect to the internet.
As I showed in the video, you download the OpenStreetMaps (FREE) onto an SD Memory card, then put that into the Garmin. You can also load in the iOverlander points of interest completely free too.
@@TheRoadChoseMe Thanks. Yes, I did see the sd card thing. So you get the map, but your vehicle will not show up on the Garmin like on a smart phone, I gather. Kind of old school meets new school, sort of, ha. Thanks again.
Oh, sorry. The Garmin is a GPS, so it talks to satellites to know where you are, put the vehicle on the map and then do all the navigation! You don't pay for that kind of connectivity.
@@TheRoadChoseMe Thanks again. I wish I was in the area and could go Jeeping together.
Hi,so I found a Garmin 52 on kijiji still new.Should I get it and would it work with the software you've provided in the links?
Yes, that's the one I have and it works perfectly (min's called a "Garmin Drive 5")
Just make certain it has an SD memory card slot in the back (I think they all do, but double check.)
@@TheRoadChoseMe Awesome!I wasn't sure because in the link you posted it has the Garmin "51".Iv found a Garmin "52" on kijiji so I just wanted to make sure it will work with the software:)and IL definitely check for the SD slot.Thanks again.
Hi,I finally got the Garmin for my Dad.I just have 1 more question:I want to load it with the Zambian tracks4Africa map for him and send him the gps.My question is,can he use the Garmin to plan your trip without a computer and Basecamp?Like can he key in directly into the gps directly without the computer?He doesn't have a laptop at the moment.
Hey Trey,
Yes, he can look around on the gamin screen to see where he wants to go, but it's kind of small and not ideal. You might want to buy the paper tracks4africa map of Zambia to be a guide. It's really, really good!
@@TheRoadChoseMe oh ok I see..can he use an iPad maybe with bandcamp?I like the idea of the paper maps but his going into the Bush and he wants to use coordinates to set his destination,so I don't know if the paper would be idea for that kind of thing?
I don't know if you can use basecamp on an ipad.. but something like that should work.
@@TheRoadChoseMe ok that's alot for your help man,you've been really helpful and I appreciate your time.
anybody using PocketEarth for navigation? I have it on an old ipad2, runs like a dream, tracking, altitude, routes... its cheap and fast...
@Dan, do you have everything downloaded on offline maps or did you get some kind of cell coverage while in other countries?
Exactly as I say in the video, I download Open Street Maps ahead of time onto my GPS. No internet needed.