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To nav or not to nav and KR question

10K views 44 replies 21 participants last post by  JIM_C 
#1 ·
It looks like all of the Lariats now come with the big screen whether you order nav or not. If you choose go with a portable GPS unit, is there any benefit to ordering the $900 nav option. What do you give up if you forgo nav.

Also, when will the King Ranch trucks start showing up at dealerships?

Thanks,

Adam
 
#3 ·
Nav is nice sync with smart phones nicely
However if you have a smart phone you can do much with the phone itself
Especially with google maps, pandora, and your stored music
IMHO
Tim
 
#10 ·
Yes much thicker and I believe the front seats are all leather
Not just seating surfaces
The front console is way cool:
 

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#12 ·
I will not waste $900 on Fords Nav again. My touch stinks. After 4 times in the shop, the nav was fixed, but the electric witch never understands. Typing in manually, it only recognuzes the addresses IT KNOWS. After a dozen times of plugging in locations in existance since before dirt was invented and getting nothing, I'm through. It took me 20 minutes of trying to enter a location in a different state when i plugged in the zipcode, it knew the state and city, but wouldnt recognize the state because it wasnt entered as IL, but wouldnt give a dropdown. Only a zip. Simple updates for the map cost $250. Garmin offers free updates with their units.
 
#14 ·
That was on by TDI...originally planned to get a 911 993 series (last of the air cooled) but the 350 thing got in the way...just pushed things back a bit:thup:

Quite observant on my plate collection!
Tim
 
#16 ·
Agree completely...this would be an expected option; plus you should get at least half that money back upon trade-in....
Tim:thumbsup:
 
#17 ·
I would get the Navigation.
 
#18 ·
Love the Nav in the new truck. It is spot on!
 
#20 ·
We use an iPad or iPhones.. That way we have the same Nav interface in any vehicle we drive and we are getting frequent updates for free.. We found ourselves getting too old to switch between 2 or 3 different interfaces without it causing a huge distraction while on the road. Not ones to drive distracted, we found this to be the best option and we left the Nav package off our 2015 order..
 
#21 ·
The newer MyFord Nav systems are easier and cheaper to update than the older Nav radios that required a set of DVD's to update it. The DVD's were prices around $200. The SD card can be found for less than 50 on eBay
 
#22 ·
The problem with the updates is they are old, very old. NAVTEQ releases updates to GARMIN four times per year. Ford release an update about once a year. Then those updates are using two year old maps.

I'm happy with how everything operates, but Ford's update cycle and the cost of the upgrade ($199 for SD card) is ridiculous. I end up using the iPhone or Android maps to be sure in strange areas. So, if you can get everything else except NAV, I'd be inclined to skip it. I have been very happy with BT, Sirius/XM, etc.

Finally there are a few posts on here about aftermarket systems, which still offer some of the best features and abilities to remain up to date.
 
#24 ·
I would not get the nav. No faster way to date your truck, at least if you plan to keep it awhile.

So glad my 2012 doesn't have the "old" nav that was "new" at the time.

Nav units in vehicles are *constantly* being updated...better screen, better maps, more this, more that...

Nothing wrong with just using Google Maps on your phone, and saving the money.

Now if you don't have of need a smartphone, well then that's different.

My .02. YMMV
 
#25 ·
For the $900 for the Nav pkg, you can buy THREE new Garmins, plus like Juneau92 says, "No faster way to Date Your truck than to get NAV..." The portables are cheaper, easier/cheaper to update, usable in all your vehicles, and most smart phones have nav applications anyhow. Nav in a vehicle will be gone in five years.
 
#26 ·
I would NOT get the Nav. I have the 450 and pull a fifth wheel. The nav is useless when pulling a 40 ft camper. I will send you on roads that are for cars only.
Asked ford if the had any type of upgrade for those of us that pull something . Answer was not in the future. Bought the after market at less than half price of the ford. Does a great job.
 
#28 ·
I would get the Nav also if for nothing else than resale value. I have a 2012 F250 with Nav and would give it a 6 as far a quality goes but that said I use it all the time but I never trust it. My opinion is Ford's Nav is pretty generic and pretty much is designed for the every day driver.

The best system I have found is Google Maps on my phone it appears to be accurate and the most up to date as long as you have cell service. Every once in a while I'll take my old Garmin if I am going to BFE.

I pull a 37' travel trailer some but, if towed it a great deal I would invest in one of the Garmins built for an RV. BTW there is an app called AllStays which does a pretty good job of alerting you of bridges and such.

Preplanning and the internet are your friend, we are leaving today for the holiday and I changed the route this morning because of a weather concern.
 
#29 ·
If you choose go with a portable GPS unit, is there any benefit to ordering the $900 nav option. What do you give up if you forgo nav? Adam

It's been almost 10 years since I last bought a new vehicle. Back then, Navigation systems were $2,000.00 options, more or less. This was before the world changed when Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007. That of course led to Android, and Google Nav, which makes my $2K nav feel like a Fischer Price toy by comparison.

Talk about Monday morning regrets in hindsight. I used to kick myself for wasting the money on the built in nav... until I discovered something:

It is extremely useful to have the in car nav tell you where you are at all times, while your phone nav is telling you where it would like you to go. It is also useful to change destinations on the fly in the phone nav (or Garmin independent nav), using voice commands for safety of course, while still maintaining a real time bearing on where you are right now in the car nav.

There just isn't enough screen estate on the small portable navs to do it all. And in the case of Google Nav, it will zoom in when you need to make a turn, and sometimes it is helpful to be able to see a zoomed in as well as a zoomed out view simultaneously.

Back in the days of fold out maps, this happened automatically with our eyes and arms. We could instantly scan the paper map for what we wanted to see, and move the map closer to our face to zoom in. Kind of dangerous to do while driving though.

Then, when Thomas Guides came out in the late 70's or early 80's, that carried us through the 90's, we had to flip pages back and forth to see the area view, versus the closer city view. Most of the time, the places I wanted to go were somewhere in the spiral spine of those books, in between pages.

So now, with two "liquid" map screen displays, each zoomable as desired, and each location aware, I can allow the screen that is giving me actual directions to zoom in or change screens at will, while the main screen stays steady on my course at the zoom level that gives me a sense of bearing.

And, should I decide I need find my favorite coffee shop prior to getting to my destination, it is easier to deviate one of the screens to the new destination, without losing my place or perspective of the main destination.

Probably not 2K worth of convenience, but for less than half of that nowadays, I'd probably go for it again. Having two maps has provided unexpected benefits that escape my memory as I'm typing this... which is probably the main personal reason why I eventually found two navs useful!
 
#30 ·
Have a 2011 with Nav. NEVER again. So I speced a truck one with out. My reason: Route 6 through PA, the road started almost 100 years ago, well seams they do not have information on the road and try to route me up through NY. The road has not been there long enough or what. Well they would upgrade it, for a charge. Trying to find a good 7" portable unit that has lifetime updates.
 
#32 ·
Sorry, don't drink the apple cool aid. :jester:

We go ATVing and the only way I am not working is when I loose cell service, so I go to locations where there is no cell service. :wink2:

We also have 2 phones we pay for data on and with unlimited grandfathered in we are not changing that.

I had wanted in truck Nav until I got it, then not at all impressed atleast where we go.


:usasmiley::usasmiley::usasmiley:
Happy 4th USA
 
#36 ·
But you asked for a 7" which the iPad Mini 3G fit the bill perfectly. A full sized iPad will trump the android (my opinion)..

----

Resale value on vehicles with 4-5 year old or older Nav systems is not what many people would think. Technology moves along too fast and by the time you trade your vehicle in or sell it outright, you will be hard pressed to find current updates for technology that has made it through a couple of major revisions or replaced altogether..

----

Audiophiles and Heavy Duty trucks... Okay, so there must be a handful of you out there. Me, just give me AM/FM and a single CD with a speaker in the top center of the dash and one in each rear corner of the cab. SIRIUS? They can get go get screwed.. I refuse to drink that koolaid... I could not order my truck without SIRIUS (which seriously pissed me off) and so I tried without any radio at all and found out that a Lariat could not be bought without a radio.

Well to each their own..
 
#35 · (Edited)
One thing to be aware of is that on all of the 2015 Super Duties including King Ranch and Platinum, you are not getting the true Sony Audiophile sound system that has the 350 watt amp and high quality speakers that are included in other Ford MyTouch Navigation systems like is on the Ford Explorer.

Instead, the 2015 Super Duty comes with a cheap low quality paper cone speaker system with apparently a 4x35 amp installed on the subwoofer behind the back seat. The sound is a disappointment and lacks any clarity or definition. The Sirius stations are virtually unlistenable.

Don't be fooled by the Sony logo on the door pillar tweeter pods as you are not getting the Sony high end sound system that are in other Ford vehicles.

The 2008s King Ranch had the respectable audiophile system on the King Ranch. The 2011 took a step backwards with the 'Premium' sound system and the 2015 is worse than the 2011 Sound System. It is not enough and is not tuned or equalized for these trucks.

The truck is not bought for the sound system but it would be better if Ford put higher quality into the sound system at least on the Lariat, King Ranch or Platinum trucks.

To improve it, it will take at least $1200 to upgrade the speakers, but that will not address a better amp with the addition of a signal processing unit to get the sound cleaned up with clarity and definition.
 
#37 ·
I used Garmins until smartphones and tablets came along. For the past couple of years I've bounced back and forth between the Garmins and the smartphone/tablet. The standalone gps is still easier to operate and more flexible. With my new truck, I've decided to go sort of middle of the road - I'm going to remove the base radio/cd/mp3 factory unit and install a Pioneer gps/receiver unit with Bluetooth, hands free phone, backup camera, etc for less than the price of a tablet or dedicated (higher end) gps or factory nav. I figure I can replace it every few years, just like I would a gps, tablet, or smartphone, but have the convenience of a built-in unit.

I'll let you know if I made a good choice after I've used it for a couple of years. :)
 
#38 ·
As far as Apple cool aide, I resisted for a long time. I fought with several Windoz phones (I refuse to call them "smart" phones) and finally figured out how to make a PHONE CALL on a crackberry... then someone stuck an original iPhone in my hands. Within a few minutes I felt like I'd been using the iPhone forever! I can't remember the last device that I've found as intuitive. I now have an iPad and a Mac, and my wife and kids (all grown) all use iPhones. Androids may be just as good, but the iPhone does everything I want, and I don't feel like learning another system.
 
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