US / Canada Trip a little advice needed

[scubatater]

All thanks upfront with all the help so far in this forum!
 
Only long trip so far was about 8 hours. I'm planning a 14 hour trip over 2 days with travel through Canada.
 
Will be riding with Mosko reckless 80's and a givi tanklock bag.
 
I plan on using my phone stateside for nav/directions. Not sure if using it outside the US would rack up a hefty phone bill. (I know, use a map)
 
Questions are....
 
Anyone use a phone outside the US with a local phone plan?
 
I do have a car Garmin GPS unit. Good idea to toss it into the ram mount and plug in up front?
 
 

[DavidS]

It all depends on the service plan for your phone. I know AT&T and Verizon both provide plans that cover Canada, but you will need to check with them to be sure your specific plan has that coverage. Best to call and select a plan before you hit the road, otherwise you could be in for a big bill. Tip - you can still rack up charges on your cell phone due to the phone pinging the cell towers that are outside your service area. So just because you don't make a phone call, or check your email, doesn't mean you won't be incurring fees from the phone company.

[betoney]

I do have a car Garmin GPS unit. Good idea to toss it into the ram mount and plug in up front?
 

Does your Garmin have maps of Canada?  Not all of them do, mine is relatively new (less than 2 y/o) and only has lower 48 states. 

[prn]

You can use offline feature of Google maps and download all the maps for places you are going to visit in Canada. This way you can still use your phone for navigation (no traffic updates) without phone service.

[kingofthenorth]

I’m from Canada and just came back from a trip to NewYork. My phone carrier has an option for 7$/day that let me use my phone in the US with the same options as if I was home.
Telus in Canada and I was on AT&T and T-Mobile in the US.

[trokarr]

You might want to consider the Maps.me app as a backup. These are offline maps that do not require a carrier. Download the maps for the regions that you are visiting, use the maps, then delete them when you are done. I am using them on my iPhone but I think they also have an android version. It is a free download from the apps store.

[josh]

Garmen GPS's will have detailed maps for all the roads around the USA/Canada border, any farther north will only have main roads. If you can keep your GPS dry you should be ok.

[estell]

I do have a car Garmin GPS unit. Good idea to toss it into the ram mount and plug in up front? 

Definitely take it. I used a 10-year old Garmin Nuvi 2597LMT in British Columbia and it worked well. It has updated maps for all of North America. GPS units work better for navigation than maps on a phone.