Nope, Windows or MacOS.

Garmin has a number of mobile products that are primarily geared around their outdoor/fitness devices. I use their Garmin Connect and it's very slick.

But none are for creating routes.

You might consider a laptop/tablet hybrid, such as a Surface Pro.

 

I have a 13" laptop that runs win7 and base camp the fits in the back case nicely. No base camp for tablets or ipads.

 

MapQuest will work in a pinch. I carry a Surface RT when on the road. If I need to add a route I just use Mapquest. You can not drag a route to where you want it but I just use Via Point to make the route go where I want.

 

Thanks guys - was hoping that I missed something obvious in my searching.

 

If you are using Garmin Basecamp with BMW navigator IV or V and plan your routes on the computer and download to the GPS you might get the message while on the road "Cannot calculate the route. No roads near the destination". Use Mapsource and you won't have this issue.

This is what Garmin told me.

Thank you for contacting Garmin International.
I would be happy to help you.
Unfortunately the BMW Nav IV is not compatible with Basecamp. It has been known to have routing problems. For now, you can try using an older program called MapSource, which can be downloaded here: http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=209
Please let me know if you have further questions.
With Best Regards,
Ben 6934
Customer Care - Outdoor Team

Garmin International

Mapsource was the program I was using before. I thought that mapsource was not going to be supported by Garmin anymore. That's when I started to use Basecamp (took awhile to learn the program). Questions...


1. Will Mapsource still be supported by Garmin?


2. I also have a Nuvi 205W that I use with Mapsource. Will that have an issue with Baseamp?


3. Does the BMW V Navigator work with Basecamp or Mapsource?



The statement that Garmin does not support MapSource any longer is really referring to any more support for it in regards to software updates for fixes/improvements/enhancements. Outside of that we can still help in how the program works and provide assistance on using it, but if you run into an issue with MapSource that is a software problem, then that is what we have stopped supporting is a fix for problems or enhancements of the program.
To answer your second question, the nuvi 205W will work with either program. We would recommend Garmin BaseCamp for your nuvi 205W.
To answer your last question, the BMW Motorrad Navigator V is not compatible with BaseCamp and we would recommend the use of MapSource with that device.
Please let us know if you have any further questions and/or need any further assistance

 

To answer your last question, the BMW Motorrad Navigator V is not compatible with BaseCamp and we would recommend the use of MapSource with that device.
Please let us know if you have any further questions and/or need any further assistance

Hmm, used Basecamp to plan and transfer several routes (300-700 km /day for 6 days) to Nav V for my trip to WV in June and had no problems.....

 

I used Base Camp to plan the trip i am on now...no issues yet. I also bring my Mac Book Air on the road in case I need to do anything in Base Camp (also for email, etc) The Mac Book Air takes up almost no space at the bottom of the top case.

 

I use a surface pro. No problems

 

Years back we used a little Windows netbook but the screen was really too small. Then tried our 13" MacBook. That did the job but was a bit on the heavy side.

Final solution was a 10" MacBook Air. We have used it for a number of trips and it is as close to perfect as I think we could get. Despite comments to the contrary we have never had a problem transferring routes to any satnav from Basecamp (Nav4, 660, 550, Montana, Nuvi 2597 which uses latest map type), it is light and easy to carry, small and has a good battery life and is useful for email, web research on destinations. Also, unlike a tablet, it has a decent memory and it is easy to backup still and video photography and it can handle any programs and files from my home iMac.

It seems like an expensive solution but cost per trip over its life will be negligible compared with its usefulness. I did make the mistake of buying a 64Gb one but have since upgraded the internal storage to 240Gb which despite what you read is easy - but a little expensive.

 

Unfortunately the BMW Nav IV is not compatible with Basecamp.

When I gave up on Windows about five years ago I have always used Basecamp with iMacs and MacBooks to produce routes for Garmin 550. 660 and Nav 4. Never had a problem on any of my many cross Europe trips providing both the satnav and Basecamp were using the same routing preferences and maps. If the maps are different the satnav will ask to recalculate but the "recalculated" route is invariably the same as the Basecamp route unless there is a change in the roads on the route.

With the new mapping that Garmin produce I have these maps on my iMac as I use one of the newer satnavs in my car. Sending a route to the Nav 4/660 causes no problems other than the recalculate message. So far the result has always been the same route.

Regarding the comment that Basecamp has a problem if there are no roads near the destination but its OK with Mapsource, the lack of a road at a waypoint has never been a problem. I have often navigated to off road grid references and the Basecamp and satnav route simply go to the nearest point on a road and then take a straight line to the waypoint. In fact I have used the 660 for totally off road trips with topographical maps and all waypoints off road.

Just to check these comments are still valid I have just used the latest Basecamp with 2015.2 maps to produce a route connecting some waypoints on road and others which are just points in a field as much as a mile from the nearest road. Basecamp had no difficulty coming up with a route but initially changed to Direct routing. I then forced motorcycle routing and it did as expected. The route followed roads where possible and then took straight lines from nearest road to and from off road waypoints.

Finally I connected my Nav 4 (with latest firmware) to my iMac and dragged my new route across. On selecting the route on the Nav 4 I had a warning that the Nav 4 was using different maps and the route would be recalculated. Once recalculation had finished I checked the route against the Basecamp route and it was the same. In fact the satnav and iMac are using the same maps but the iMac has the download for my new Nuvi so I guess the satnav knows the difference.

The only thing I can think of that may be a variable is if Basecamp is used on a Windows computer it may be different to the Mac version. I guess the post referring to routing problems with basecamp resulting in changing to Mapsource must be with the Windows version of Basecamp as there is no Mapsource for a Mac. Maybe this shows another point to add to the long list of reasons why I no longer use Windows.

 

The other possibility is that I have my Nav set up to avoid unpaved roads but not sure if I had the same setting in Basecamp. If you have different avoidances set up it can lead to changing routes when you load to the Nav.

Having different avoidances or maps results in a recalculation but (just checked) avoiding unpaved roads makes no difference to having waypoints off road. Whether of not unpaved is set as an avoidance it still goes via nearest road.

Incidentally, I live on an unpaved roads and have it set as an avoidance. If I make a route from two points where the obvious route is via my road the satnav will avoid it BUT if I route to my home the satnav will happily use the unpaved road. I guess the software is sensible enough to use the unpaved road if it is the only option.

 

Never had any problems transferring routes from MacOS Basecamp to my Nav 4. I just got back from another long multi-day trip and it worked well. For this particular trip, I downloaded routes created by another forum member, and dumped them straight into my Nav 4 without and transfer problems. I did have a glitch or two when their route didn't match up with the database maps I was using but even that was easy to resolve.

 

Let's not start another panic attack about BaseCamp.

The "no roads found..." problem appeared a couple of map releases ago. There's some new map metadata that BaseCamp was putting into the routes that evidently caused some issues with the older Zumos (660/665/Nav IV). Recent reports indicate that with the latest maps (2015.2) the problems has either gone away or is mitigated.

MapSource didn't exhibit the problem, since not having been updated in several years, it wasn't aware of the new data and didn't make use of it. Ironically, a map update a couple of years ago started crashing MapSource and started the "MapSource won't work any more" hysteria. This also seems to have settled down with more recent map udpates.

I have seen no evidence in any of the reports that this issue is related to the host operating system.

I have never seen a report of this problem appearing on a Nav V, as was stated in reply #6 in this thread.

Garmin's customer support is notorious for its "left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing" moments. I believe that is what is going on here. Not a great situation, but fortunately there are lots of sources of information out there that tend to be more reliable and knowledgeable than Garmin's CS folks.

Just my $.02.

 

I tried downloading Map Source to my Mac and it is not available for Mac. I used Basecamp to download routes my friend put together on his Map Source (to my IV). It worked, but honestly anything Garmin touches comes standard with a few bugs. I think they are pretty pathetic.

 

I think they are pretty pathetic

As an old timer used to trying to navigate on a motorcycle with paper maps I think Garmin (and others) are amazing.

On the front of my bike I have a small box that can tell me my location anywhere in the world within a few metres. Not only that but anywhere in all of Europe it stores every single navigable road and track plus details of restricted turns, speed limits and other data. It then quickly calculates a reasonable route from any place to any other place and gives me voice instructions for turns and where turns are complex provides me with graphics constantly showing which lane I should be it.

If all that was not enough I can plan routes on my Mac and "drive" them in Google Earth. Find fuel, hotels etc. with ease, see when my bike needs refuelling plus more. While travelling I can use my MacBook to plan and if I want waypoint data from my Mac, no problem as Garmin keep it in the cloud so I just need some wi-fi (or personal hotspot) to retrieve it.

I can forgive Garmin for the occasional fault because it sure beats going back to standing at the side of the road in the rain trying to work out where I am and where to make the next turn - or where can I find fuel in the middle of nowhere at 03:00 in the morning.

PS

My experience of Garmin service has been great.