TomTom GPS...

[94-Newmar]

I have a TomTom Go140 GPS which works very well MOST of the time. However over the weekend traveling to northern NJ and western PA it routed us through way too many residential neighborhoods, horrible switchback reverse offset Y turns and unfortunately several 5 ton one/single lane weight limit bridges. Lotsa fun with a 40' DP and a trailer.

Is anyone using a particular make/model/brand more specific for RV or Semi Truck travel routing? Looked online but couldn't find much info on changing settings on this TomTom to avoid smaller residential neighborhoods. Any info would be appreciated.

[OneRVer]

Co-Pilot GPS. They have hand held or down load to your lap top. Co-Pilot will show you your travel before you turn on the key. This way you can study where you are heading and make change if needed. I have used Co-Pilot for 8+ years and love it.

I have used others only while renting a car. You have no idea where it is going to take you. You have to watch the screen and listen to the voice and hope it is taking you where you want.

With the Co-Pilot you open up a map. Move you cursor to the start point and click. Move your cursor to the end point, click, and your routing is planned. If you see your routing taking you thru a place you do not want to go then you "x" it out and it will reroute you or you can enter a "+" and route yourself.

It is just nice to know where you are going before leaving. Not just where the next turn is.

[Jim28730]

Garmin makes a "trucker" GPS that has paramiters you can set.

[jackrobinryan]

We're on a sight seeing trip , in our toad, from KOA Baton Rouge to a plantation on the western side of the Mississippi River. Asked Tom Tom to give us an alternate route, ie not on the interstate I-10.

We expected to be taken across the river further south on the next bridge down.

Instead, it led us along the river, over smaller and smaller roads, till we went over the levee to what appeared to be a single vehicle, cable type, self operated floating ferry!!! Across the Mississippi!! Looked like homemade pontoon boat.

We decided to forgoe that adventure. No thanks Tom.

jack

[Timetraveler]

In NJ TomTom had us get off the interstate (or "motorway" as they call it) at an exit and then just cross the road and get back on. Cute voice though.

[jackrobinryan]

must be using the Austrailian fellow's voice....forget his name. My DW likes the sound of him too. Hmmmmm.

I'd like to see celebrity voices and characters used. Maybe Robin Williams, or Tony Soprano. Would make the voyages even more interesting.

[Timetraveler]

jackrobinryan,

Actually the voice I have on mine is decidedly female with a British accent. TomTom has several voices available for download.

[Wayne M]

My personal opinion is that any GPS is a possible trouble item.

I use TomTom 740 Live. I am careful about the routing. It will get you there, but not necessarily on the route you would like to take.

Check you preferences and make sure you have the right routing selection. It could be check, by accident, to avoid interstates, or other items.

[OneRVer]

ALK Co-Pilot will be releasing their new Truck/RV laptop version 8 in just a few weeks. From what I have read on the reviews, if they don't have it you won't need it.

Will work on Windows 7, with a 64 bit processor.

Yeah, I am excited about this new product. I have been waithing 13 months for this new version.

[Rockhouse]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wayne M My personal opinion is that any GPS is a possible trouble item.

Could not agree more.

That said, I use a TomTom XXL540 but I watch for unsuitable routing.

[WilleyB]

Wayne M has it right I have the Tom Tom XL330 and from now on I'll use the Google maps to map out my route. After being directed through a back yard (that must have been a street at one time) taken through residential areas instead of main highway routes, and an announcement that we "have reached our destination" (in the middle of an intersection about a mile from where we wanted to be (could be the fault of a downloaded POI). In all honesty I had to revert to the old ways by stopping and asking for directions.
I've reclassified it as a toy instead of a useful navigation device
Cheers
Willey

[1ciderdog]

Poor routing is not limited to the Tom Tom GPS. My Garmin GPS can not get me to my house without using a neighbors driveway which years ago was an access road. A couple of years ago in Anchorage I was following GPS and came to a stop sign on the way to an RV park. The GPS told me to take a right then left and left and left again. I could see the RV park entrance on my left so ignored the GPS. When traveling I always use the GPS but don't completely trust it.

[alvinc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1ciderdog Poor routing is not limited to the Tom Tom GPS. My Garmin GPS can not get me to my house without using a neighbors driveway which years ago was an access road. A couple of years ago in Anchorage I was following GPS and came to a stop sign on the way to an RV park. The GPS told me to take a right then left and left and left again. I could see the RV park entrance on my left so ignored the GPS. When traveling I always use the GPS but don't completely trust it.

One of the things I like about the Tom Tom is the ability to update the map with corrections to account for road changes. You can also share this information with all other Tom Tom users when you update and sync the GPS.

I presume that these user supplied corrections are a good source for the map makers as a source of possible permanent changes. Each would require verification, but what a free resource for the mapping people. They can have someone in an office with satellite imagery verify the corrections and reduce the number of times someone has to go into the field to check on changes.

Example: Map Quest, Google, and Yahoo Maps all show that 58th Ave E intersects with River Road E in Tacoma, WA. But not my Tom Tom; after I entered the corrections it no longer routed me to via 58th Ave. I don't know if this change has been added to the base map, but it sure fixed my routing problem. Intersection coordinates: 47.218909,-122.351974

[Ken-55]

I picked up last year's version (2009) of Microsoft's Streets & Trips for around $20 online and it included the USB based GPS sensor for my laptop. (still available at Amazon)

My thoughts were that there wouldn't be many significant changes in roads in just one year and I wanted to see if I liked the product.

Here's my experience so far . . .

It supports custom points of interest, so I've been able to find, download and install free LOW CLEARANCE POI's without much difficulty. I haven't been able to figure a way to get the routing software to avoid them, but they are on the map so I can see them when I am reviewing and adjusting the route. It is very easy to click and drag the route to make changes. If you are online, you can click and see a satellite image in another window or search for info about stops along the way.

I've used Navigon and Garmin GPS units in the past. Streets & Trips seems a little slower on screen refreshing, but that may be because I'm seeing a much larger image?? It's almost too large on the dashboard . . . I'm seriously considering using a notebook computer instead of my laptop.

Bottom line, well worth the $20 investment . . . I'll probably upgrade to the 2010 version soon, because it offers much easier handling of POI's.

BTW: it's about $10 cheaper to buy the 2009 version WITH the GPS locator and the 2010 version WITHOUT it than it is to go straight to the 2010 version with it??