I use Dell. I have two identical Inspiron 8200s.  I bought the second
when the first one crashed. naturally the first one is fine now that I
have a back up. <g>

I would get another Dell or a Toshiba.

Hunter
Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well-preserved body,
but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "...holy sh.t...what a ride!"

I would suggest that the laptop you get have the 'ultra bright' screen.
I have mine mounted in front of the dash between the seats of my
Winnebago and there are times when the high contrast screen (which I
don't have) would be very useful.
I have a Delorme GPS unit and tend to use Streets and Trips software.

I recently got the Microsoft Streets & Trips 2005 with GPS receiver
package: CDN$150. Now that I've had a chance to give it a good workout,
I'm really impressed!

Tracking 5 to 8 satellites, it tends to be accurate within about a
5'radius. Unlike older versions of MS Streets that only updated every 15
seconds, 2004 and 2005 update at a one-second interval, showing compass
direction, speed, altitude, exact time, along with longitude and
latitude, and the number of satellites that are being received.

Although the receiver works okay with S&T 2004, it's a lot harder to
track. A really helpful addition to the 2005 version, beyond the
compass, speed etc., is that it now leaves a blue trail on the map
showing where you've been; which makes it a whole lot easier to figure
out where you are headed, and how much progress you are making.

Microsoft has also improved upon their route-planning. In previous
versions, they had a propensity come up with some *REALLY* dumb ideas!
The new version evidences more intelligent improved trip-planning.

While stuff like the Garmin? 2610 and successors have a reputation for
being a bit flakey, and not all that reliable; MS 2005 with GPS is a
rather attractive option. For about the same price as a 2610, you can
not only buy MS Streets complete with GPS, but a whole new laptop
computer which will do at least a little more than merely tell you where
you are!

The new 2005 version demands somewhat increased computing power. I tried
it on my aged IBM laptop with Win 98, a mere 4 gig hard-drive and only
64 meg memory; while I was sometimes able to get it to initialize at the
outset, it kacked out 9 out of 10 tries. :-)

My overall impression is that this particular software, along with the
included GPS receiver, is real winner!! Well worth the meager CDN$150!

For our new laptop, we picked a Compaq V2140CA with a 14" Brightview
Widescreen, which means that the screen is only about 7" high. At the
beginning of our trip from Toronto to Alaska this Spring, my navigator
protested vociferously against having that contraption in front of her
on the dash; but after a few days, she refused to start the day until
the computer had been set up for our intended destination. :-)  One
feature we really liked was the "Recalculate Route from Current
Destination" at the bottom of the GPS panel. Once the destination has
been entered to the Route, each time you click on the "Recalculate Route
from Current Destination" it will tell you exactly how much further you
have to go, and how to get there from here. While the Brightview screen
is the brightest LCD I've ever seen, you will still have to squint a bit
to see the screen in bright sunlight.

GPS was only one use for the laptop. We also use it for downloading the
photos for the day from the digital camera, and burning them to DVD. And
last, but not least, it's our communication centre. This is the first
year we've travelled without a cell phone. All of our email and internet
stuff is now done via wifi connections which we can pick up free in
almost any shopping mall; and becoming increasingly available in RV
campgrounds. That one feature alone, saves us $100 per week over using a
cell phone for internet connections.

I'm very pleased with the S&T 2005 with GPS system. Although it wouldn't
run on my aged IBM with only 64 meg RAM, it works great on the new
laptop. We just got back from a 15,000 km trip from Toronto to Alaska,
with the laptop sitting on the motorhome dash, and it was extremely
accurate 99.9% of the time. Once we got north of Denali, it consistently
tracked all the way, about a half km east of the highway; and then in
Fairbanks, it (or maybe me) seemed to get confused. The only other time
we experienced an anomaly, was out around Winnipeg when we wanted it to
take us to a specific address. While we found the address via S&T, it
showed our GPS location as being a mile or so further down the road at a
different interchange.

The only other anomaly, was that at the end of the day, the program to
hang for about 5 minutes with the hour glass showing every time we
clicked on something. This only happened after S&T had been tracking
continuously for 8 hours or so. Restarting the program would restore
normal operation.

Stan Birch
Newmarket, Ontario

Be very cautious about getting Compaq or HP.  There are multiple news stories
about HP (which owns Compaq too) being about to do a huge layoff.
If you have a Costco card consider buying from them because they have a great
return policy (its posted in the stores).

LB

I have a Delorme LT-20 picked it up for $75 at Best Buy.
It works fantastic with my Dell Dimension 8250  P4 2.6G 800FSB (Rambus
memory) desktop, works with the Dell Inspiron 8600. I have two older (Tyan
Trinity 400 with BX chips) P3 1Gig and can not get it to sync to the Sats.
using either a VIA chipset or the NEC chipset on a USB 2.0 PCI card. Best I
ever had was one red Sat. no Green.

The LT-20 is USB.

Ed

i just ordered a dell lattitude notebook.  we use them at work and
they seem rugged and reliable.  for gps we use delorme street atlas
coupled with the earthmate gps receiver.  we prefer this combo because
it can be set to provide turn-by-turn voice instructions.  MS streets
and trips might have better street level instructions but, AFAIK,
provides no oral instructions.  

73,
rich, n9dko
(20 working days to go!)

Hi Steve

    I bought a Toshiba Satellite A45-S150 and use Delorme Street Atlas with
it and with Delorme GPS Tracker.  So far after 18 months I have had no
problems other than the users mistakes (grin)....

Lee

I just purchased a new laptop for the RV.  Actually, i use it all the time.
It's really great and has everything I could want.

COMPAQ PRESARIO R4035

Has built in Wi-Fi.  Made by HP.

I've used Dell and Toshiba laptops with Garmin GPS III+ & the Color
model (I don't recall the number)  with equal success.  I do use an
external magnetic antenna on the dashboard that greatly speeds  up
satellite access.

I've been using DeLorme's Street Atlas 9.  I've used Street Atlas
since version 2 & loved it until their current versions that are so
unfriendly to this user that I uninstalled them & put 9 back on.  I
just can't get used to the new interface - try as I will.

I keep a black photographic cloth handy to cover my head and laptop
(when I'm on the side of the road) to see in bright light.  I can't
find a laptop that I can read if it is brignt.

I'm going to try MS Streets & Trips next.  It seems to have happy
users & my old SA9 is getting obsolete.

Don S

Personally, I'm partial to the Toshiba line.

I use a Toshiba Satellite 1955-S805 that has a nice, bright, 16.1" screen
and a 2.53 GHz P4 processor.

I think that they've retitled their models so you might want to check out
their current offerings.

I'm running the Delorme Street Atlas 2003 but plan to upgrade to their 2005
version.

I prefer it to the MS Streets & Trips (which I also have)for trip planning
and enroute information.

I use a Delorme Earthmate GPS (USB) with both of these packages as well as
the Trailer Life Campground Finder software. [Don't waste your money on
THAT POS.]

Does anybody use CoPilot?

I've been using it with a laptop (in both an RV and car) for a few years,
but it's a little difficult to use and kind of expensive.  When I originally
bought it, research showed it to be the best on the market (e.g. maps,
coverage, it would speak to me and I could talk to it, etc), but I'm
considering changing to something else when it's time to upgrade again.

Gary Richtmeyer

Having worked for IBM for 30 years, I tried to buy their products.
Even though they never gave employees a discount, (only on models that
no one else wanted and then we had to wait months for them).  My last
two computers were from Dell. I'll swear by them.  The best support
was from their team in India. They are knowledgeable and SO courteous.
Unlike most in the U.S., (IBM support being the worst).

I have used DeLorme for many years. I really like their products.  We
used Streets 2005 a couple of months ago from New York to Virginia
Beach.  The only place it went crazy was going over the Chesapeake Bay
Bridge.  I guess it couldn't track where the bridge and tunnel went.  

We were in a car, so it worked fine.  We still haven't used it in the
Class C motorhome. I'm hoping it will work on the dash, with the over
hang. In our old Class C, I had the unit up against the window up in
the overhang. Now, the new MH doesn't have any windows up there.
Also, I still haven't figured out how to mount the laptop up front.

Bill L