Recommended GPS unit

Almost all of the handheld GPSr's will do what you need to some degree....

My recommendation would be to contact somewhere close by who has a setup that you can physically trial and see if you are happy with it. A recommendation is hard based on the information provided, and may tend to give you something that is not up your expectations. For example, a simple Garmin Etrex (yellow in colour) could do what you want for relatively cheap (<$200) however the screen size, lack of highly detailed maps, tracklog recording process etc may not be what you like.

The feature that i would consider for 4wd tracks (especially in forests NPs etc) is a unit that can take an external antenna, this allowing for better (chance of) reception under certain canopy and in steep areas eg gorges.

Do you want detailed maps on your GPSr or are you comfortable with following the track/route shown on a basic screen (map)?

Which 4wd area are you mainly looking at using this GPSr? There may be better recommendations based on the maps/data available for certain areas....

Does it need to be handheld? A in-car navigation version (eg Garmin nuvi etc) may be a cheaper and more effective alternative. Obviously if you need it for bushwalking and other external to the vehicle activites, then this may not be the best choice.

What do you consider expensive? (very) Basic handheld units are around $200 and going up to around $600 for much nicer units, obviously depending on where you buy it from.

Sorry for being so broad in the answer.....as you may see, there is no one GPSr that will do what you want, hence the numerous GPSr's on the market these days.

Andrew

Bruce

Take a look at this thread - 64121

Peter

Hi Bruce

The Garmin 276c is technically the best with all the required features but your unlikely to get one for under $1000.

A search for 276c will reveal lots of comments and thread re-gps in general.

Stick with brand names e.g. Garmin. Hemma etc. Final choice is yours depending on how much you can (or are allowed) to spend.

Hi Bruce. You are in exactly the same quandry I found myself in with not knowing what to get as your needs will change as you learn to use them more.
Not saying it will suit you, but I got a Garmin GPS72 off e-bay for about $150 and then a mount from Johnny Appleseed for about $70 with a power lead as well. The reason I went for this product is it is capable of running off the cars 12v system and it also has a port to connect to a PC if required. They also have a combined power and PC lead for it as well.
I'd suggest you look for a GPS with at least those above features and you will be able to run off the car battery and hook up to a PC later if you want to.
Another thing I wanted was the control buttons on the front and not down the side as per the E-trex so I can read what the buttons are for when driving.
Hope that helps a bit.