Best UTV GPS Tracker Apps and Methods Available Today

Believe it or not, your regular GPS trackers and apps won’t help you when you’re going off-road. It might even put you in dangerous scenarios even. To avoid risking your life and limb, you’ll need a special replacement.

We can’t stress this enough, but don’t try to use Google Maps, Moovit, or Waze to navigate through forests and other off-road trails, and especially not through mountain trails, as you might fall off a cliff. Instead, try these:

UTV GPS Tracker Devices

By far the best option is to get a specialized GPS tracking device for your UTV. While it is an investment, it’s one that will pay off in the long run, especially if you go off the beaten path often. Without further ado, here’s our recommendation:

TrailTech Voyager Pro UTV Kit 922-125

For all intents and purposes, the TrailTech Voyager Pro UTV Kit 922-125 makes off-road adventures safer, easier to plan, and overall more enjoyable. Its color touchscreen allows you to easily view your custom routes, obstacles, and much more.

As with any modern GPS device, you can connect your phone and other media devices to it for intercom and easy controls. Not just that, but you can also connect two phones and two Bluetooth speakers simultaneously so that you can easily communicate with your friend even when you’re riding at high speeds. We all know UTVs can get noisy in such scenarios.

Furthermore, the touchscreen is glove-friendly, so you don’t have to worry about getting cold hands while driving in harsh weather. Even better, you can view party members on the map in real time, so you won’t get lost from the group. Buddy Tracking uses localized radio signals and can support up to 20 riders in a single group - that’s more than enough for a true off-road party.

Garmin Tread Powersport Navigator

If you’ve heard of Garmin before, you probably already know that it’s one of the most appreciated brands out there. The rugged Tread off-road GPS is IPX7 weather-resistant and features a glove-friendly 5.5” touchscreen display.

It also has a topographic map so that you’ll know if you hit bumps, hills, valleys, and other possible obstacles that regular GPS trackers and apps aren’t capable of displaying properly. And with the help of Garmin’s Tread mobile app, you’ll be able to download satellite view maps to make the experience even more authentic than ever before. On top of that, you can also pair it with a radio so that you can easily keep in touch with the rest of the group.

UTV GPS Tracker Apps

Well, not everyone can afford to buy such excellent pieces of hardware. For those of you who want to keep your money, here’s some good news: there are loads of apps available for off-road GPS fun. Let’s take a look at a few of them so you can choose the one that you like the most.

Polaris Ride Command

Ah, Polaris, one of our favorite UTV brands. And for good reason, mind you. This company doesn’t simply make some of the best UTV hardware out there; they’ve also got some fantastic apps. The Polaris Ride Command is proof that you can indeed navigate through the great outdoors even on your smartphone without a hitch.

If you own a newer Polaris UTV, chances are that you already have this app integrated into your touchscreen unit. If not, you can easily download it to your smartphone or tablet and use it as is. Thanks to the UTVs’ Bluetooth capabilities, you’ll easily be able to sync the app between all of your different devices seamlessly.

Gaia GPS

This company might not be as familiar as Polaris or other UTV-related brands out there, but they are thoroughly innovative and ingenious. What makes Gaia GPS popular is that it comes in multiple forms: a web app, smartphone app, and even a desktop app, all through the power of HTML5 capabilities. 

The downside is that you’ll have to pay if you want extra features. This app’s free plan will only net you with the basic mapping functions. However, if you want to plan more entertaining routes, get access to advanced layering, and a multitude of routing and mapping features, you’ll have to pay $39.99 per year. If you’re the type of person that goes out off-roading every so often, it’s worth every penny. But if you’re not, then stick to some of these other apps.

OnXmaps Offroad GPS App

With fantastic cloud sync solutions, this app manages to merge your data between multiple devices, so you’ll see the same thing no matter where you log in from. While its free trial is good enough on its own merit, we recommend you purchase the premium plan, which comes at $29.99 per year, or the elite plan which comes at a whopping $99.99 per year.

What do you get for these prices? Well, apart from excellent UTV route planning, you’ll also get maps for hunters, for skiing, and plenty of other off-road activities. And, best of all, it also works on the road, not just off it. So you’re practically getting a premium version of Google Maps that also allows users to set their own maps and share them with others.

The community is strong here, so the price is well worth it if you’re looking to get the most bang out of your buck.

Lifetime Trailmaps

By far the most expensive offering is the one from Lifetime Trailmaps. However, the fact that you only pay once and get access to more than 400 miles of trails and tracks across the entire United States of America is truly outstanding.

Instead of paying a yearly fee, you can opt to pay $259.99 once and then have the software for the rest of your life. And not only that, but they also offer you waterproof tablets and other useful devices right on their website. Buying everything they offer can get quite expensive, but it’s worth the investment.

However, the TrailTech Voyager Pro UTV Kit 922-125 might be a far better deal given all of these factors. It’s up to you to decide what to do in this case.

Other Considerations

Don’t forget to bring proper equipment when heading off-road. The outdoors aren’t as friendly as you might think, so make sure you get everything you need. You might also want to read our previous article regarding off-roading tips and whatnot. 

Furthermore, you’ll also want to learn how to install a winch on your UTV, since there are plenty of chances you might get stuck (literally) on your adventure. You might also want to read this article to learn what other accessories are important for off-road safety and for your UTV’s wellbeing in general.

Plan a Safe Off-Road Adventure

With these devices and these apps, you’ll be ready to tackle all of the ongoing off-road challenges that UTV riders have to face whenever they go on a dirt road or through a rocky mountain. Gather your friends and take your utility vehicle to the next level with the power of a competent UTV GPS tracker! Have a good one and stay safe!