Great to hear about WI and Black River Falls area. Subscribing to your channel for Wisconsin / midwestern stuff. Always amazed by how much there is to discover.
Thanks. I just ordered the Tread group ride for our Can Am Maverick and the millions of acres of open BLM, USFS, and public land in around Alamogordo, New Mexico.
Thanks for the honest review! A lot of times, you only hear about the positives. It sounds like there is a decent learning curve to be able to use this effectively
Good review. So I wanted to use it in my pickup also. And when I would try and navigate with my SXS profile it would give me crazy routes. So I thought I will make a different profile. So I made a profile for a car and it worked perfectly. So if I’m using in my car/truck I use car profile if using in my SXS I use that profile and it is great. Thanks for the review
Thanks for sharing, very useful insight and thanks for being a guinea pig for the rest of us! This seems to be the general trend with pretty much everything you buy these days...they start selling them when they're about 80% finished and irony out the issues as they arise in the real world, with paying customers. Which honestly, shouldn't be the case: these aren't "early birds" getting the product at a discounted price in exchange for being beta testers...but paying customers who payed the full price for something that might not be fully functional until a year down the road. This used to happen mostly with tech (especially phones), but is now pretty widespread in the automotive industry too (more tech in our vehicles...). It's hard to think of a brand/manufacturer that DOESN'T engage in this type of practices... Anyway, thanks again for taking the risk for the rest of us and thanks for your invaluable info!
You are 100% right unfortunately. I’ve run into this with a lot of products across a variety of industries. Glad you found the review helpful and thanks for stopping by!!!
Just found your channel not too long ago, love what you are doing with the family!! I just sold my rzr and am expecting my 2022 General XP 1000 hopefully in the next month! Have not used the Garmin but I did want to turn you on to another option that I have used for a few years. Lifetime trail maps, can use on android tablet, one time fee and updates yearly free. I have used this in the Midwest/east coast and it is fantastic! I watched the entire Black Hills series and started looking on lifetime maps and they have all those trails and trails across the country! Just wanted to share as I have had great experience with their maps! Keep up the great videos!
So glad you’re here and thanks for watching! Appreciate the heads up on the Lifetime maps - we’ll definitely check them out, sounds like a great resources for planning trips and riding. Keep in touch and let us know how you like the new General!
Good review! I am going to try one for my Kawasaki KRX so lets hope it is still descent. I AGREE ONE HUNDRED PERCENT about the way companies release garbage and "fix" it after the fact. Meanwhile people pay their hard earned money for something that doesn't work while many return it and never buy that brand again. Just not good for business but everybody does it now. Everything is always UPDATING. Discouraging but lets see how this unit does when I get it in a few days.
Thanks. Yeah there such a rush to get things out the door the quality often suffers at least at the beginning. I see it in other industries I’ve worked in too. We just used it on a longer trip and we’re glad we had it - but it certainly wasn’t perfect. Good luck and hope it works well for you.
That’s awesome! We love hearing stuff like this. Thanks for the support, glad you like the videos and super happy irs inspiring you guys to get out there more!!! 🤙🏼
I have the same basic device. What is frustrating me is what you mentioned on the video. The DNR and others post trail maps in GPX format. You're supposed to be able to use these GPX maps, but I find it practically impossible. The support at Garmin recommends using Explore website and/or the Explore App. I don't know why the directions recommends using the Tread App? The Explore website has web sharing, where someone else can see where you have driven and your supposed to be able to manage routes and tracks from it. I would like for someone to be able to watch my whereabouts in real-time, but I guess I just have to use Googles location sharing for that. I did end up buying the Map from VV mapping, that is a "hidden charge" above the cost of the Garmin if you ride ORV's. I haven't done any route planning yet. I like your video showing how to do that. Personally, I think all the unnecessary BS they add to an essential device is what is causing so many problems. I don't need my Map to play music. I don't need my Map to control my ORV. I don't need my Map to keep track of others. I just need something that shows me how to get somewhere. At least paper doesn't run out of batteries. What I do like is Track recorder which shows where you've been in orange, so you can find you way out. What I don't like is that the saved tracks go into some "Unorganized" bin, and their not separated like they were saved as. I do like the power down after external power is disconnected. I think the device has potential; I am just wondering if Garmin does.
Yeah I think you make some good points! You may try playing with Garmin Basecamp for route planning. I loaded the VVmaps onto that, and then plotted routes there and uploaded them to the Tread. I think they changed some of the legend stuff the way the USFS maps appear now, and it was a little harder to read on our Idaho trip versus our Black Hills trip. We used to Tread less on our Idaho trip and relied on Ride Command more. I do agree the saved tracks just going into a disorganized folder is a mess. I wish they saved in a more organized fashion. I have a hard time finding them sometimes after the fact. Overall a good unit. They definitely made a lot of improvements over when it was first released but they could still improve some things as you mentioned.
Very helpful review. Your experience of Garmin releasing this product still full of bugs mirrors exactly my experience when I bought their 276CX, which was equally horrible. Eventually they got the software working, although the processor speed is way too slow if you are using BirdsEye maps, and I would like to know if the Tread can handle BirdEye without the horrendous lag of the 276CX.
I haven’t used the BirdsEye maps a lot, I just don’t have a need for them. I did download the surrounding area. When you’re riding it’s not laggy, but I recall zooming in and such, it was pretty slow. I do think they could up the processor speed on all of their units, I’ve heard that complaint many times before.
Thanks for the very informative review on this tread model. One question I have is do you ever wish you had a bigger screen?? I am planning on getting a tread model but not sure on what size of screen yet. I just use for snowmobiling with some SxS and use the vvmapping also which is a great product also. With this Tread from Garmin, I like the all the USFS labeled in also, plus the landowners.
You bet. Glad you found it helpful. In the SxS, I think if it was any bigger it’d start to get in the way. Maybe in my truck a bigger one would be nice where it’s farther way from you, or when planning the routes I suppose a bigger screen could be nicer, but actually using it in the machine I think it’s a really good size. I can read it just fine and it shows all the info I need.
Hey, I had some other questions that maybe you could answer before I got it. It seems like I only found you as one review but not many others. I looked on Amazon and it didn’t get more than four stars for the unit over 210 people, but I do have some other questions if you wouldn’t mind answering them, helping me whether or not this is good for me or not my biggest issue was and address that was being able to make waypoint along the way and hold the locations where you were so later on if you go down that trail system again also, if there’s anybody else on here that has any comments, I’d like to share who has been using this GPS for a while for ATV’s much appreciated. Specially when they purchase like this.
Yeah - when it comes to updating connections for charging or communication Garmin is the slowest tech company I know of. Very annoying from an inventory and device management standpoint, especially if you are also integrating charging solutions for off roadd environments. They also tend to have very poor user interface (poor logic and inefficient paths) and they apparently don't care about feedback on these issues from their customers but the reason to buy Garmin products is because in my opinion, across their product suite that I use, their products have the best hardware and best overall functionality. My experience is with basic Garmin GPS units since ...close to when they first came out...maybe 30 years ago? , RINO radios since 2011, various cycling devices, watches (I LOVE my Enduro watch), automotive GPS devices, inReach's, and probably more. So my exposure to their products is fairly broad. Great hardware, great devices, ver good customer service, poor user interface, and apparently an unwillingness to take feedback from consumers...That is the Garmin mantra.
Thanks for the review. I have been using a Garmin 680 for many years and would like to get a newer model maybe the Tread or a Montana700. I'm wondering if you have figured out what caused the unit to crash and was the loss of your "current tracks" avoidable? On the 680 the the current track is automatically saved. I also use digital and paper MVUM's in tandem. I have for years converted PDF MVUM to IMG maps to use on the 680. Kind of a hobby. Having the MVUM included would be nice.
You bet glad it was helpful! I never figured it out… I’m assuming one of the software updates fixed it. As I said when we first got it, for the first year or so there were a lot of software things that god fixed. Haven’t had any crashing problems since!
The Garmin Tread seems pretty cool but I don't know If I can justify the price. The price for this thing is insane. Why did you choose this instead of a tablet and a mapping app like Gia or on X off -road?. I think i'm gonna just buy Gia for a year and see how that goes and save $1300!
It is pricey! The answer is convenience. It’s a small unit, mounts out of the way, weatherproof, it’s always there, all maps are preloaded so we don’t have to worry about signal or downloading maps ahead of time. I tend to agree, for normal weekend riding it may be overkill, but we figured embarking on long trips, it would be worth the investment. Plus we didn’t see any videos on it so with a new channel we figured we’d give it a review. I believe now you can just buy the base unit without the radio. When we bought it, it was new and we didn’t have that option so it hurt the pocketbook a little bit 🤕
Thank you for the review as I just purchased the Garmin tread base. I have had the zumo 590 in the past but the charge port broke and I can no longer update the purchased maps. The tread comes with all the maps and was a good selling point for me. This unit is mainly purchased for snowmobiling. With the zumo I was able to search a hotel or restaurant, the system would locate it and then tap go, the route was set and I’m on the trail. This unit locates the hotel or restaurant, I tap go and it tells me “unable to route”. But, I am able to set a waypoint just before the restaurant or after it and the unit sets the destination. I’m sure it is a setting issue. I have all 11 preset maps on. That what garmin tech service recommended. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
You bet! My guess is turning off some of the maps may help. When we installed the VVMapping maps we purchased, we had to turn off the standard US basemap that Garmin was loaded with. There’s some settings too as to type of machine, and route options. We run into this from time to time - I’m sure the core software is based on what they developed for cars on the roadway, so it often wants to route you along highways, and when you’re on trails I think it may get confused sometimes. That’s the best advice I can give. It’s not perfect, buggy from time to time but the best out there still I believe.
My main question is I know you have the polaris Nav as well, is it really worth an additional $800 to have a second Nav unit vs. just using the one in the machine. My General has been on order since Sept and I don't have it yet, so I don't have any experience with polaris's yet. I really enjoy your channel by the way. As far as I've seen you're the only one out there with a focus on family riding. Having two young girls myself I am really looking forward to doing some family riding.
If you are planning on going out on forest roads and real backcountry rides like we did on our black hills trip - yes. We needed all three - both Nav systems and the maps to keep us on track since each had their own strengths. The one we use the most is the Garmin tread. On the other hand if you are riding where there is really no danger if you take a wrong turn (good signage, plenty of other folks riding the same way) this system would be redundant to the Polaris Ride Command. Hope that helps, good question!
Thanks! I think it would be good for dual sport use. The Tread itself with the USFS motor vehicle use maps does show designated motorcycle trails in the national forests, and the VV Maps we loaded for our state shows them too. Of course you can load any other compatible maps that show motorcycle trails. I think it would work nicely.
I love your videos! Always so informative. I just purchased a new rzr trail s with ride command . I am planning a trip to Moab UT next year. I like your navigation set up and would like to do the same. I have already purchased maps of the trails and now after watching your review I plan on purchasing a Garmin to use along side of my ride command. I have been searching and cannot find a good video on how to use the ride command. I was wondering if you could do a video on how to use the ride command or if you know of any good videos on how to use the ride command?
So glad you like the videos and congrats on the new machine! Glad the review was helpful - both the Tread and the RC have some things going for them… and as I said it took a while for the Tread to be tweaked to the point where it is now. Anyways - great idea on the RC video. I’ll add it to my list. I had planned on doing a head to head comparing the Tread and RC too so now that Garmin has put some good updates out I’ll look at revisiting that too. Thanks again - looking forward to seeing you around the channel and get us an update when you get some time on the new machine!
We run 3 GoPros - a 9,10 and 360. Haven’t bought the 11 yet but when it’s time to upgrade I will. The loaded maps in the National Forest are the same motor vehicle use maps the USFS publishes, so it shows all the fire / logging / forest roads that are numbered which are generally all of them. The detail is actually pretty impressive, it shows the different spurs or branches off the main forest roads and it will show UTV / ATV / MC trails by type and often size restrictions. We’ve used it for A to B trips frequently.
I don’t have any experience with the Overlander, but it looks very similar - and I’ve seen it on lots of Overlanding channels. In a Jimmy you don’t need the same waterproof and dust proofing of the Tread….
(At 4:20) The USB port... Why have they used that type for so long? Answer: Because that is what they have had in their warehouse after ordering a trainload 15 years ago... Needed to use them all before switching to a better technology that's been available for a while!
Lol that doesn’t surprise me. And it’s unfortunate because as a consumer, if that was a $5 cost (I doubt it would be that much) and they wanted to pass it on to me, I would have happily paid it to have a modern connection port, not one that is frankly obsolete. Definitely not a decision that put the customer first, but as I said in the review, my experience indicates they rushed this out the door, and then fixed it with software updates over the next year. I like it now but I sure won’t be the first to rush out and buy the next newly released Garmin product until it’s been out a while.
Do you find that the time frame from point A to point B for turn by turn is accurate? It said like 2.5 hours for 150 miles. Do you find that is mostly accurate?
That’s a great question - it’s not very reliable on time. There is a setting I believe you can change these speed of your vehicle which helps somewhat, but it all depends on the trails, some of our road routes have lower ATV speed limits. You really have to look at your route and you can kind of get a ballpark but it’s not like a Google map where it’s almost always right on.
Hi, really enjoyed your review. I am riding my motorcycle - Husqvarna701 enduro starting in Panama and north up to the USA and then exploring until I reach New York and home back to UK. My biggest concern is navigating in Central America where there will be signal connection issues. My question is about maps. Does the Tread come pre loaded with detailed maps of all the Central American countries? My travels will be mainly on roads but I also want to have the opportunity to explore trails from time to time. I see that the Tread allows you to access different levels of map details so you can find the trails near you and decide where to go off road etc. I am not the best technically and hope this won’t be too techie to work out and use. My main issue is to be able to make my trip and not have to worry about the navigation too much. I need reliable mapping without having to worry about internet signal etc!! Appreciate your thoughts, guidance and tips etc. Thanks, Steve
Hey Steve! Glad you enjoyed the videos, thanks for the kind words. Sorry it took so long to get back to you. I finally had a chance to look. It appears that Mexico has detailed pre-loaded street maps but further south than that, the only thing shown is major highways. Even city streets in big cities like Bogota don’t show up. Definitely no trails. I’m sure Garmin has maps you can purchase on their website for S. America… it’s usually just a download or a chip they send and they’re easy to install. Anyways hope that helps. Sounds like a super fun trip! I wish you good luck and safe travels when you go!
Thanks. Yeah what you need to do is load the map by installing the memory card… then you have to go into your map preferences where all the maps you have loaded are selected and turn off the other ones… at least the main Garmin base map and make sure the VVMapping is selected. Running the Garmin base map and the VV at the same time doesn’t seem to work.
Someone has to have a file for those. We haven’t hunted it down yet since they don’t allow kids on those trails but that system is so popular now it must be out there. Best wishes and thanks for the comment!
@@TheNorthwoodsFamily yes kids are aloud on the trails but they have to be 6yrs old or order to be on them.Also when you do the tracking on the gps can you save your tracks for future rides
Hey Brian, the other half here. I grabbed the GPS - they are not there as part of the pre-loaded Garmin maps, as I expected. VVMAPPING has them - this is the same company that made our WI maps and we love them. Highly recommend to use with the Tread. www.vvmapping.com/orvtrailGPSAP.html You’re right about the age - we had heard 16 before, but that’s the minimum age I see for unattended kids. 6 is the minimum age altogether. I know where we’re going in two years now!
Excellent review! I am interested in getting the Tread Base GPS. My ?? is, 1) can you create a route on Basecamp, with waypoints, create a file, then d/l that file into the Tread? I use a Garmin Nuvi 1300 now, and I can't d/l numerous trips/routes in it. I can only do 1ea. trip, w/waypoints, at a time. Then I have to delete that trip, then d/l the next trip from Basecamp in my laptop. That's why the ??. Before spending the $$, I'd like to know if I can save multiple trips, with their waypoints, into the Tread GPS. Tired of carrying my laptop on multi-day trips. 2) I use VV Mapping also, can you use their SD card along with the other maps that are pre-loaded in the Tread? I live in Wisc. also. Thanks!
Thank you! I’ll try to answer all your questions: 1) yes, you can and we have used Basecamp. However, we saw some route shifts, and if we had too many shaping points or waypoints, the Tread didn’t like it. So I would keep the route legs short to start… less than 30 waypoints and go from there. You can definitely do multiple trips, or legs. If you watch our Wisconsin Overlanding videos, I created some of those routes on Basecamp, but a couple the Tread rejected or didn’t want to read for whatever reason. I have to do more research on it. But you can upload as many legs or trips as you can fit on the memory card. Part of that could be the maps too that we have loaded on the Tread. We did have better luck, or at least it seemed easier when we created a route with GPX.STUDIO (online), but you are limited to the maps they have available. 2) now that I see you use VVMapping too lol - yes, you can take their microUSB card and load it onto the Tread. That’s what we do and it works great overall. Same with Basecamp, we loaded the VVMapping maps onto that as well. Like I said, some routes the Tread didn’t like and I haven’t figured it out yet but I think it’s just too many data points. The one thing I did notice is once you load it on to the Tread with the VVMaps, you should be able to add or modify “shaping points” to make minor changes to the route. It won’t let me do that for some reason. Not sure why. So… it works good, but it’s not perfect. Honestly, I think the Tread and VVMaps are the best setup for riding in Wisconsin. Being able to see accurate road routes is amazing, and on some trail rides, I’ll take a couple minutes to plot turn by turn directions on the trails we want to ride. The one downside I’ve found, is the VVMaps on the Tread don’t show the “big picture” very well. When you zoom out on the big screen, the cities or town names don’t show up great. So I use the Ride Command App (or unit in my machine) to look at the general route, and then use the Tread for detailed route planning, turn by turn stuff. There’s a bit of a learning curve, but overall the Tread / VVMaps is our top way of navigating in Wisconsin. Hope that’s helpful! Feel free to reach out on our website too Northwoods.family if you have more questions!!
Thank you very much for this helpful info. Will probably pull the trigger and order this GPS. VVMapping has yet to come up with a card for the Black Hills/SD Natl. forests, hence, the reason for having a GPS with a majority of maps downloaded already. I'm a simple guy when it comes to wilderness navigation (compass/paper maps). Technology is wonderful, until it's not. The system we use now, works, but not as well as I would like. My wife has the unit mounted in front of her, so she tells me where to go. (even in life. LoL!) I want to get out to SD, hopefully this coming summer, and I've watched your videos in that area and thought it would be a great place to stay and ride. We go there once a year and stay in Deadwood, so kinda know the area and love it. Again, thank you very much for the fast and helpful info. Good riding to you and your family! Mike M. @@TheNorthwoodsFamily
I think we downloaded the medium sized satellite maps for most of our state. We didn’t use them a bunch though. You can add a micro USB card… I forgot what the size limit is. Maybe 32 or 64 gb
@@TheNorthwoodsFamily actually, after doing some research, I found out that their smartphone app “explore” does the same thing. So I don’t need to buy a separate device for offline maps.
Thanks for the review. We ride all over the country with our two kids and VVMapping has been great. If you go down to TN to ride there are some other maps worth a good look, even if just for the waypoints. In WI we mostly ride up near Mountain. Are there other places you'd recommend riding?
You bet!!! TN/KY is on our list for sure. Not sure how far you’ve done from Mountain but there are trails that connect Lakewood / Crivitz / Pembine / Dunbar and they’re all great. We have a video on a winter ride there. Harrison Hills / Enterprise Trails are good south of Tomahawk. We did a video on that too. Iron County around the Mercer area is supposed to be excellent. We haven’t made it up there yet.
@@TheNorthwoodsFamily Thanks for the reply. We've been up through Lakewood, Leona, and out to Crivitz. Marinette County has some nice trails near Athestane too. We will have to check out your videos on the winter ride. We have been talking about riding in the UP too. We'll keep an eye out for a video from you in case you make it up there before we do. If you go to TN and KY, VVmapping is great but MapBallz has some great waypoints for things to see.
Just ran into your video very informative we were in crandon this weekend first time, maps are good but at night missed some turns. Want to get a unit and add vv mapping. Also looking to add camera do you have a recommendation? Thanks I am from horicon
Sorry I missed your comment and for the slow reply. Backup camera? The Garmin one works pretty good and you can mount it anywhere. You just hit a button on the Tread to activate it - doesn’t switch when you go into reverse like the Ride Command / Polaris camera which works fine too. Those are the only ones we have experience with however. Glad the video was helpful! The tread turned out to be a pretty good device once they updated it and the VV maps are great! Happy riding!
I’m sure the big screen would be nice to see more, but I figure in the UTV it would take up a lot more space and be kind of a pain. With how close you sit to the windshield, I feel this one is plenty big.
Yeah, I’m not an expert on the radio side but I believe you are right with the limitations. I have been told the range on them is pretty limited. We have a more powerful GMRS radio we use which we’ve gotten several miles without problem even in hilly terrain. I have been told not to expect a lot out of the Garmin radio.
The radio worked up to 2.5 miles on original software, now no more than 500 ft. This is an area the SW updates have degraded the experience. It also sends data (location tracking for group ride) over MURs, so comms and tracking are very bad.
Thanks for the info and the correction! The radio is one part of the system we haven’t used much. Anyone we see doing serious overlanding with multiple vehicles is using an independent radio system.
Sorry! I haven't used the radio much. I did test it with some handheld radios we had and it worked a mile away. my guess was the handheld radios were the limiting factor.
LOL, it´s so ridiculous to see you (the customer) soponsor a MULTI BILLON dollar company product development. It´s simply incredible.... and I didn´t mention that crappy old autoGPS like device cost near 2k if you want the radio attached... THIS IS INCREDIBLE... Garmin has HUNDREDS of designers and customers ended up ¨debugging¨ their products. LOL. I spent 800 bucks on their 360 cam just to see they stop producing them and NOT GIVING ANY parts support, obviously this was my last ¨contact¨ with this crappy hiper branded company. Looks like their new businnes is buy OEM smartwatch hardware from China and sell it like the technology pinnacle.....
You make a fair point. It was pretty disappointing for the first year as I said. The product was obviously not ready for market when they launched it. I would tell people in general, probably with any product especially electronics, not to be the first to rush out and buy something. This strategy of “finish it after the release” unfortunately seems to be the trend in a lot of industries these days 🫤