Snowmobile trail maps & smart phone

[Firewood Bandit]

I am not technically savvy but my wife got me a smart phone against my wishes. Apparently it does a ton of stuff, none of which interested me until now.

So can this contraption be used for navigating? It's an LG 4g.

 

[Firewood Bandit]

 

[steiner]

Anyone ,Anyone...... LOL

Let me ask my 14yr old. I'm sure she will know how.
When I get a new phone and I have to ask my kids to program the dang thing up

I downloaded maps into my Garmin a few years ago. Still trying to figure out how to do it again 4 years later.

What kind of smart/dumb phone did she get ya?

 

[Firewood Bandit]

Anyone ,Anyone...... LOL

Let me ask my 14yr old. I'm sure she will know how.
When I get a new phone and I have to ask my kids to program the dang thing up

I downloaded maps into my Garmin a few years ago. Still trying to figure out how to do it again 4 years later.

What kind of smart/dumb phone did she get ya?

As I said originally, I didn't ask for this thing. I was perfectly happy with a terrorist approved Tracphone that I use about 3 min. a month.

The phone is an LG 4G phone. It does all kinds of crap including linking with the router in the house.

 

[sideswipe77]

Google play store polaris snowmobile trail maps also works offline gps.

 

[sparks49]

Download the Polaris Ride Command App from the Play Store, its free and works great. I bought a mount to hang the phone on my handlebars. Get a plug in adapter for your power outlet, hook the phone up to keep it charged and away you go. To go with the Polaris App, I'll download the local trail maps from the county websites of where I'm riding and when you combine this all, it's pretty hard to get lost. Have fun.

 

[Carbide]

+1 on the Polaris ride commander. Very nice app.
I don't use many apps on my telephone but this one is great.

 

[biffdotorg]

Even if you don't use it mounted, the Ride Command app is a great reference when stopped. As mentioned, be sure to download all the maps in your riding area (it's an option when you first start the app)

This will allow the phone to navigate even if you don't have cell service. Also as mentioned, if you do mount it, power is essential. As the roaming for towers and cold will drain your battery in short order.

Most of us have found that a $20 Garmin Nuvi off Marketplace or Craigslist is a good option allowing us to keep our phones in our pockets. There are other apps depending on your region as well. Groomer Tracker has gotten popular in Michigan as you can track grooming action live. And don't forget your favorite weather apps. It's always good to stay ahead of the storms.

NOAA snow depth charts are an interesting way to pick a region for riding and can be viewed on your phone. The Polaris Ride command app has a snow depth overlay as well. Obviously, that is more important in the early and late part of the season.

Don't underestimate the power of google search when on the trail. Simple searches like Fuel Near Me and Food Near Me are amazing, even when out in the bush.

One final feature of Ride command that not everyone watches is the group location option. If you create a free account and log in as well as your buddies, you can see each other on the map in case you get separated, or are trying to meet up. This also applies to those with the PIDD gauge packages on their Polaris Snowmobiles and SXS's. It's a cool feature for group rides.

Good luck, you will be a tech wiz in no time.

 

[actionjack]

I am not technically savvy but my wife got me a smart phone against my wishes. Apparently it does a ton of stuff, none of which interested me until now.

So can this contraption be used for navigating? It's an LG 4g.

The answer to your question is yes, although you're going to have to become a little tech savvy to get GPS tracks routable into your phone. you're also going to need a way to keep the phone warm enough to stay charged to use it when you need it for navigating. I don't live or ride in that area but I assume someone produces a Maps that they can be loaded into an android device GPS mapping app. One that I've used in the past is Orux maps. I am sure there are other map apps. I think you need to be able to get your trails in .kmz. I use a dedicated GPS for a variety of reasons but I also use my phone as a back up for navigating in some cases, especially in Quebec to confirm a trail using iMotoneige because it works so well. We use our phones for so much now including photos so I have a set up that charges the phone continuously while riding and keeps it easily accessible to snap a photo of the underside of any of my friends sleds if the opportunity arises.

 

[Mooseman]

Just downloaded Polaris Ride Command and although it looks like a cool app, at least for here in Ontario, the maps are really out of date. I mean like trails that have been gone or changed for years. Checked against the official OFSC map app and it's not up to date at all. Someone would get lost trying to use this.

Check against your latest local maps.

 

[yamarider13]

If you decide to use a GPS, vvmapping has great maps to install in it for your state of Wisconsin as well as Michigan and Minnesota. Very good customer service to help you with questions.

 

[YamConvert]

Hey Guys, I read the above and if I understand correctly I can download local trail maps to overlay on the Polaris Ride App so that I can load/view the maps even when I don't have cell service.

First question, how exactly do I do this? I've played around in the app and figured out how to download the maps from various local clubs and the dnr website but they dont seem to show up as an overlay on the Polaris Ride app.
Second question, does this allow me to use the GPS on my cell phone to show the location on the map overlay even when I dont have cell signal, similar to how onX Offroad works?

Maybe I am overthinking this and what I need is already there, I just cant tell sitting here at my computer. Just hoping to have it dialed in so that I am ready to go when I'm actually out on the trail and not just dreaming about it!

 

[ateick]

I just got a Polaris this fall and have been playing with the Ride Command app and this is my understanding of the best way to use it offline:

- Create a Polaris Ride Command account and download the app to your phone/device
- Launch the app and choose the Snowmobiling icon (top right corner on a phone).
- You should see your location on a map on the device.
- Touch on the Menu icon -- should be a series of 3 horizontal bars on top left corner of phone app.
- A drop down list of options should appear and one will be "OFFLINE MAP REGIONS"
- Select that and then CHOOSE MAP AREA
- You can zoom in and out of the area that you want to download to the phone and it will tell you how much storage it will take up.
- The area that you choose to download will be available if you are out of cell coverage and have to work offline.

I don't know how on top of things Polaris is when it comes to the important job of updating these maps or where they get there data from. I use a provider in Ontario called TrakMaps and use it on a Garmin. Once the trails open I'll have a better idea of how accurate Ride Command is.

 

[YamConvert]

Perfect, thank you for the assist.
I'm going to give the Polaris app a shot but also am looking into the VV mapping chip for my Rino. Just need to figure out what model Rino I have to see if it's compatible (rino is at the cottage so I wont know until I am back up there)