GPS for Rent

[red maples]

SO I wanna check the far side of my property, I know it goes in a staight line according to the tax maps, and both corners are marked but there are no markings along the line. and If I rememer correctly this line is about 1500' long( I haven't looked at the map in some time). There are nice maples all along the property line I am going to ask my neigherbor if I can tap all the trees along that border that may be slightly on his propery but I want to know exactly how many there are so I can compensate him accurately. I don't want to pay an arm and a leg for a surveyer so want to wing it with a GPS. Now I don't wanna buy a GPS either. I will only use it 1 time doesn't make sense to spend the money. Is there anyplace that will rent them out? Or does anyone have one that I can borrow. I don't wanna do it until the swamp freezes so its easier to navigate as some of the swamp is along the boarder. any help would be great.

[David Powell]

How exactly do you plan on using GPS to establish this line?

[MapleME]

New, higher end GPS units have a "line of sight" feature that could assist you with this. The premis is that you can lock the compass on a heading, walk the line and it will display these tracks on a map.

I think you will need more than a GPS device to do what you thinking though, you also need the map to overlay your tracks or "line", as you call it, on to. Topo and off road (i.e. not roadways) maps generally are only included with the more expensive units that are 400+ dollars.

If its that close I bet your neighbor would not care either way, kick him/her a few pints and just be a good neighbor. That usually goes a long way in my experience.

[vtwoody]

spend a couple bucks and get a compass. If you have the starting point and a compass heading from your deed or survey, you should be able to stay on the line within a couple feet over that distance if your careful. Just start at the point, line up the compass with correct heading and look ahead for a tree on the line. go to that tree and repeat.....or just kick your neighbor a few pints....either way, its good to know where your line is so that there are no issues in the future (speaking from experience as a Realtor.....). Ultimately, the best thing to do, as a landowner, is have the property surveyed and trees along boundary blazed, and keep the blazes updated every few years.

Good luck!

[NH/Pete]

Compass and a range finder should get you close enough if you have a starting point.

[red maples]

Yeah I am sure they wouldn't mind and I eventually will get it surveyed but thee doesn'e seem to be that much of a neccesity just yet. but being that the corner markers are there I can tell if I end up in the wrong place. So I guess I will pick up a compass and see what I can do. There are alot of nice tappable maples right on the property line there is also a small stream that runs I think parallel to the property line as well. We'll see.

[Dan W]

R. M. I have done the same thing you are trying to accomplish. I used a compass and a 100 foot tape to find a marker that had been hidden by fallen trees and very thick brush. Do like vtwoody said. You have a starting point so it should be pretty easy. Just make sure you mark some trees along the way for future reference.

[ToadHill]

Since the corners are marked you have the beginning and end points. Walk to one of them with the gps and mark it as a waypoint in the gps. Then walk to the other one. Once you are there use the go to function to return to the first waypoint (corner). The gps will tell you the bearing and distance and you can use a compass to walk the line and flag it. Every once in awhile you can check the gps using the go to function to make sure that you haven't strayed from the bearing. Also, you can probably create a route and the gps will tell you when you get off the route. I haven't used that function yet, so I don't know how far you have to get off the route before it will warn you. Also, some of the new gps units have a built in compass. Most of them are pretty user friendly and if you play with it for a little bit you will pick it up. Good luck.

[GramaCindy]

Since the corners are marked you have the beginning and end points. Walk to one of them with the gps and mark it as a waypoint in the gps. Then walk to the other one. Once you are there use the go to function to return to the first waypoint (corner). The gps will tell you the bearing and distance and you can use a compass to walk the line and flag it. Every once in awhile you can check the gps using the go to function to make sure that you haven't strayed from the bearing. Also, you can probably create a route and the gps will tell you when you get off the route. I haven't used that function yet, so I don't know how far you have to get off the route before it will warn you. Also, some of the new gps units have a built in compass. Most of them are pretty user friendly and if you play with it for a little bit you will pick it up. Good luck.

Or as a Geocacher would do, use the tracks and zoom in and back track, Easy as pie!

[NH/Pete]

Red Maples I have a GPS, compass and range finder. I'm in Newton the next town over from you.
More than happy to help you out if your interested. Been wanting to see your operation too.

Let me know if I can help.