Google Offline Maps and logging road navigation

I want to ditch the Garmin and use my Android devices for navigation. They have real GPS in them.

I know I can DL offline maps, and when I zoom in on them they show logging roads, maybe not every one but a lot.

Have any of you made your own custom maps using google offline and able to navigate and show tracks with them etc?

I have a trip to the boonies on Vancouver Island and want to make some options I can count on.

THX!

We use Gaia application. It works well for me.always keep the garmin as a backup if I get lost here it's no return in summer.

I've used Locus Map Pro for years and have vector maps for almost all of the western states (you have to buy the vector maps for something like $1 each, but the first few are free). There are a number of good route builders on the internet that will allow you to select a start and end point, determine a route and export the file to gpx format which you then upload to your phone. Just checked my phone, and I have 130 tracks stored that I have either built or been given by friends, many of which I've not even driven, but they are there when I am looking for somewhere to go. For example, last Friday, my wife and I were looking for a short adventure, so I loaded a track for Hells Canyon I built 3 years ago and followed the track to the end, nice 12 hours drive.

You can also record a track while you are driving, and assign way point and points of interest. We ride a dual sport about 12,000 miles a year as well as putting 20,000 miles on the Jeep, about half of the dual sport miles are in the dirt and about 1/3 of the jeep miles are in the dirt. Most of the time we are following a GPS tracks I built online, while the rest of the time we just start driving in the jeep or head out on the bike and record the track on the way. Using the record function, I don't have to be as concerned about exploring a new area, as most of our weekend adventures are a lot of miles. I am also able to sort my tracks by distance from my current location, so I can grab a track on the spur of the moment by just selecting something that is close.

I use a Ram mount in the jeep and on the bike to hold the phone so I can see the track while driving or riding, and use a Samsung (just got the S7) waterproof phone so I don't have to worry about riding in bad weather.

After a few trips with my sons, both of them tossed their Garmin units and started using Locus Map Pro so they could upload routes they build on the internet.

Other options out there, but this is the one I found that I liked the best, so just stayed with it...

I use motion-x gps. You can download custom tracks from Google maps. And off places like traildamage. I have apple so not sure if it's offered on android.

Thx, I might try out the Locus Maps Pro.

I tried dealing with the Ibycus maps but was just too complicated. I'm still open to non complicated suggestions!

THX

UNLIMITED_FUN said:

Thx, I might try out the Locus Maps Pro.

I tried dealing with the Ibycus maps but was just too complicated. I'm still open to non complicated suggestions!

THX

Click to expand...

You can download Locus for free and try it out, so no risk. There are other programs out there as well that are worth looking, so I'm sure you will get other suggestions.

Two more options for you:

The first one is Backcountry Navigator. It's a full featured GPS app. You can plot waypoints and routes, as well as record and save tracks as you go. You can then transfer these off your phone if you want, or upload others to your phone as a .kml or .kmz file (same file formats that Google Earth and many other GPSs use). Most importantly, the app lets you download topo maps from a number of sources to use offline without a cell signal. They have Natural Resources Canada's Toporama maps and a few others specifically for Canada, as well as some worldwide maps like Open Cycle Maps. It's probably the best GPS app I've seen. I've even used it while I was up in Resolute Bay, way further north than there are cell towers, and it didn't let me down. The full version isn't free (I think it was about a $10 annual subscription), but it's well worth the price.

Also, take a look at the BRMB Navigator app. It's made by Back Road Map Books, and it lets you use and download a digital copy of their maps. They've made their own maps of logging roads and trails in most of Canada, and from using their paper maps in Ontario I can say they're awesome maps. Unfortunately they haven't made maps for where I live now (at least not yet) so I haven't actually tried this app, but I know they have very good coverage of Vancouver Island. Their maps aren't free ($11.29 a year per province), but they do give you a 30 day free trial that should cover at least one trip.

I think one reason I haven't used Backcountry Navigator PRO much is that it isn't obvious to me how to route, if possible. I see I can make a place mark, and I can search for "Victoria" but I can make it plan the route from "Victoria to outback", only that when I went that way of I collected tracks. Not navigation.

i have been looking for an "idiot" proof app for my iphone... one that records where you have gone and you can mark points of interest along the way... or just download a map and follow it...