I'm thinking of going to GPS units instead of speedometers in the street rods we build; does anyone know of any drawback to this? Tire size makes no difference, gearing can be anything, it will give the correct speed even if being hauled on a trailer. They usually give the speed limit for the area you're in and helpful for someone like me that stays half lost all the time. Does weather or atmoshperic conditions affect them and do they hold up under vehicle vibrations, bumping about, and temperature extremes? Anybody been using one like this for awhile? Thank you; Evan
GPS units Evan, My experience with gps units leads me to believe that even the budget priced units are reasonably durable and reliable. I work in a coastal evironment where field conditions can be extreme. We use gps units in small boats which get a lot of rough water use. We have learned to rely on our gps equipment. These units dont pick up satelites well in heavy timber. You will find that inside your shop, these units wont work well either. The units need to read the sky, and work through glass and cloud cover fairly well. Heavy weather might be problematic at times. I like your idea. My gearing in my old truck has been modified considably and I use a gps unit to check my speed so I can rely on my tach to watch my speed.
Im considering this as well. I spent 5 years on the road in the US and overseas and always travelled with at least one bicycle. I use a Garmin bicycle specific GPS on it. The only problem I had with it was in downtown areas like New York City. Sometimes it's hard to get the GPS to work in skyscraper canyons. But, really, at that point speed doesn't matter much, but what about the odometer? It'd also be interesting to see how it'd do in extended tunnels, etc...
Thanks, those are some really good points. The nearest tunnel I can think of is three states away in Mobile, Alabama but Austin has some elevated roadways which could block signals on the lower level. Hardly ever go to the canyons in downtown Dallas. Searched out offerings for AD trucks and came up with Classic Gauge with the optional "Sky Drive" speedo attachment #88-1235, Cyberdyne, and Nordskog #BP8021. Probably others out there also.
Autometer has a module that plugs into any of their electronic speedometers http://www.autometer.com/cat_accessoriesdetail.aspx?vid=234
Gps We put gps units in planes all the time, many pilots use them for speed heading and altitude even more so than thier "steam Gauges", but they generally have a good view of the sky at all times unless in the hangar. Company called Air Gizmos make a nice mount to place the units in a panel or dashboard. Some of the Garmin units now have WI FI so they can communicate with an Ipad not sure what an AD driver would need that for but I dont know all your customers they may find a need for it. I dont have a working speedo in my truck and use the GPS for speed along with directions only problem i have is that my truck is 6 volt and the gps does not like to run more than 3 hours on battery so it usually goes dead close to home. Bill
Bill, There is a place in Florida, www.radiosforoldcars.com that makes inverters to run 12v accessories on a 6v system. Probably some others too. Just can't run anything real high draw which I'm sure a GPS is not. seanery, Great tip! We use a lot of Autometer so that's a natural---Thanks; Evan
