Ok I am not tech savvy when it comes to using electronics devices such as tablets, I phones for onboard Navigation. At this time the wife & I use , Google Maps, folding maps, states Atlas & Gazetteer & a small Garmin 64 st GPS handheld unit, it works great but the screen size is way to small. I have watch many video's & read many post on offroad navigation systems using tablets but I am still confused about if you have to have a cellular service with the tablet to be a navigation system the videos & post seem to not mention this in detail. Another question is, what is the best tablet, size of tablet for this purpose & user friendly offroad app's & does those app's cover all national forest areas to be downloaded since the wife & I use these areas mostly. Can you down load app's from your home computer to the tablet w\o cellular service & actually use the tablet as a navigation system? What would be the best mounting system for tablet that can be removable but is solid. I looked at the Magellan TRX and TR navigators & it seems to have more con's than good about their product especially their customer service. Can some one please explain this in simple layman's terms.
Disclaimer: I am technically not savvy. The products below make you feel confident in their use right "out of the box."
I recently purchased (after much midnight oil burning and forum time travel) a Samsung Tab A, a RAM cup holder tablet mount, and a 5 year subscription to the GAIA application.
So far we have used it on three out of service trips, with only a little glitchy (non-rendering map pixelation) performance, the GAIA app performed very well.
I watched this YT video as a primer for using the GAIA app:
I first purchased a one year subscription to GAIA, but after the first trip was so impressed I upgraded to the 5 year plan. I figured keep it simple and not worry about "auto renewals." It is a very intuitive and easy to use application. With the upgraded subscription plan I also received access to all the cool maps in GAIA's tool kit...NatGeo NP layers, Forest Service layers, which are the two that I use the most prominently. I won't go into drastic detail on layers (thing of laying a clear map overlay on an existing paper map as an analogy) but they are an amazing feature that presents the details of a multitude of paper maps without the frustrating re-fold exercise.
The other ease of use with respect to the GAIA app is the ability to "download" individual sections of mapping areas for offline use. You don't need a cell phone plan on your tablet for map usage, simply access wifi in your home or at a local Starbucks for trip planning. There is a feature that is discussed in detail (in the YouTube video I posted for you) where you "save" sections of a map by using the GAIA app to simply draw a red box around the area you wish to travel in, "save" it for later use (you will name the file) and then go to your saved maps before your trip, hit record and drive into the selected area.
The map and GPS functions work "offline" and you can move around the chosen map area using your fingers to zoom in or out on mapping details. I used the app and tablet around town a few times to record, save, and play around before we actually relied on it in the outback. It performed very well each time.
I liked the Samsung Tab A tablet because it had an expandable memory slot, up to 200 GB...plenty of room for saving maps in the GAIA app for offline usage. You will need to grab a couple of extra memory cards for map storage, I grabbed to 64GB micro SD cards (smaller memory cards with a larger sleeve for traditional SD card slots) that work great in the Samsung. I think I paid $25 for both at Costco, they were right next to the tablet area in Costco.
I picked up the tablet at Costco after the holidays for $189, and it is the 10" tablet size. Bigger is better for "mature eyes."
The battery life has been nothing short of impressive, with plenty of charge surplus after each trip. I did buy a longer charge cord for the unit on Shame A Zon to keep things topped off on the go.
This is the cup holder tablet mount I purchased, and have been very impressed with how solidly it holds during off road travel. I ran a 94 mile loop around Bloody Basin Road as well as some local washboard fire roads...very stable.
https://express.google.com/u/0/product/12982557835515501699_5665464156277718422_6136318?utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=tu_cu&utm_content=eid-lsjeuxoeqt,eid-fuowqbwzks>im=CNrIkabGsaStTxC-oY7BzM-cv14YwOPVJSIDVVNEKJCr5-MFMP7D9gI&utm_campaign=6136318&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyriFvZXc4AIVUhx9Ch1j2QJIEAQYAiABEgJlhvD_BwE
In actual use the tablet does cramp our space in the cab of our 2003 Tacoma, but they are renowned for their spacious cockpits to begin with.
I'm not sure where your cup holders are located in your Sportmobile, but I'm willing to bet you can locate a tablet in there somewhere nicely Don.
The nice thing about the cup holder RAM mount is how easily it dismounts, freeing up space if necessary. And, you can take the tablet out of the mount and carry it around the campsite, or for nostalgia's sake place it on the hood of your vehicle like an old road map...just be careful of the heat.
Hopefully that helps to break things down and gets you pointed in a similarly successful direction.
Cheers!