Community Forums

Wellibe · 02-18-2022, 08:42 AM

I'm new to Trip Planner. I'm working on planning a couple of trips, and I've noticed that Trip Planner is not calculating drive times the way it says it is supposed to.

When using the routing engine to estimate drive times, it says it uses the posted speed limits. However, I'm finding that it is calculating all drive times using 55 mph, regardless of whether it is an 80 mph interstate or a Forest Service dirt road.

So I tried using the average driving speed. I set it at 47 mph, which is a pretty good estimate of my actual speed when I factor in stops and a variety of road conditions. But instead of using my specified average speed, Trip Planner is using anywhere from 53 to 63 mph on the long stretches, and only 29-31 mph on short stretches.

Anybody have any ideas about what's going wrong?

rosebud1218 · 02-18-2022, 12:59 PM

RV Trip Wizard (RVTW), using either the automated (posted speeds) or individual-entered speeds, calculates estimated drive time by including delays caused by traffic or road construction. Could this account for your variances?RVTW's turn-by-turn drive time uses posted speed limits alone.

Wellibe · 02-18-2022, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rosebud1218

RV Trip Wizard (RVTW), using either the automated (posted speeds) or individual-entered speeds, calculates estimated drive time by including delays caused by traffic or road construction. Could this account for your variances?RVTW's turn-by-turn drive time uses posted speed limits alone.

I don't think so. When using the routing engine that is supposedly based on posted speed limits, it is calculating everything based on 55 mph for every segment of the trip. We're talking 2,000 miles across the country, so there's no way local conditions could result in exactly 55 mph speed for the entire trip.

And when I set it to use my specified average speed, it's actually using substantially faster speeds for most of the segments, so obviously that's not factoring in local slowdowns. It did use slower speeds on a couple of short segments that include gravel roads, so perhaps it is slowing down appropriately there, but there is no reason for it to assume 60 mph on the highway when I told it to use 47 mph.

Wellibe · 02-19-2022, 07:29 AM

The user guide says that the program does not account for construction or other delays:

"As you can see, Driving Time Estimates are calculated one of two ways:

Use Routing Engine Estimate -- When this method is used, RV Trip Wizard will calculate driving time based on posted speed limits used by the mapping engine. It will not factor in delays due to traffic, construction or sudden road closures.

Use My Average Speed -- Rather than rely on posted speed limits, RV Trip Wizard will calculate your Driving Time Estimate using an average speed per hour that you enter multiplied by the number of hours you plan to drive each day (see below). This is especially valuable for RV owners who may not choose to drive at the maximum posted speed limit."

I started a new test trip just to see if something was wrong specific to the trips that I had already started. I put in just my starting point and the ending point 1,427 miles away, and I set it to use my specified average speed of 47 mph. It gave me a drive time that worked out to 63 mph. When I switched to using the routing engine, it gave a drive time that actually worked out to 47 mph. So, it appears that the program has the functions reversed. When I specify using my average speed, it appears to be calculating times based on the posted speed limits, and when I specify using the routing engine, it is calculating based on my average speed. (In the earlier examples I cited, the 55 mph that was used when I specified the routing engine was before I had set the average speed to 47, so it was using the program's default average speed of 55).

I'm wondering if there is a way to report this bug to RV Life Pro? It seems pretty clear to me now that they've accidentally reversed the two drive time calculation options.

RoverPodder · 02-20-2022, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wellibe

The user guide says that the program does not account for construction or other delays:

"As you can see, Driving Time Estimates are calculated one of two ways:

Use Routing Engine Estimate -- When this method is used, RV Trip Wizard will calculate driving time based on posted speed limits used by the mapping engine. It will not factor in delays due to traffic, construction or sudden road closures.

Use My Average Speed -- Rather than rely on posted speed limits, RV Trip Wizard will calculate your Driving Time Estimate using an average speed per hour that you enter multiplied by the number of hours you plan to drive each day (see below). This is especially valuable for RV owners who may not choose to drive at the maximum posted speed limit."

I started a new test trip just to see if something was wrong specific to the trips that I had already started. I put in just my starting point and the ending point 1,427 miles away, and I set it to use my specified average speed of 47 mph. It gave me a drive time that worked out to 63 mph. When I switched to using the routing engine, it gave a drive time that actually worked out to 47 mph. So, it appears that the program has the functions reversed. When I specify using my average speed, it appears to be calculating times based on the posted speed limits, and when I specify using the routing engine, it is calculating based on my average speed. (In the earlier examples I cited, the 55 mph that was used when I specified the routing engine was before I had set the average speed to 47, so it was using the program's default average speed of 55).

I'm wondering if there is a way to report this bug to RV Life Pro? It seems pretty clear to me now that they've accidentally reversed the two drive time calculation options.

I'm seeing this same behavior. (Using Firefox on Windows 10)

Tooltime2 · 02-20-2022, 07:52 AM

I just double checked ours as an upcoming trip will be the first one I’ve really needed to depend on this data for. I am seeing significantly more time for estimated drive time when using 62mph versus letting it choose. Using Google Chrome on an iPad.

RickLight · 02-20-2022, 09:29 PM

We had a seemingly too long section for one day next summer. We compared with Google, and RVTW estimated a lot longer!

Wellibe · 02-21-2022, 05:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickLight

We had a seemingly too long section for one day next summer. We compared with Google, and RVTW estimated a lot longer!

Were you using the routing engine setting on RVTW? If so, it was calculating drive times using whatever was set for the average speed (likely 55 mph if you've never changed it). That would explain why the time was much longer vs. Google maps, which uses the posted speed limits.

I sent an email pointing out the problem to RV life support. Will post back here with any updates.

2cyber71 · 02-21-2022, 05:15 AM

My Rand McNally GPS in my RV excite infortainment unit can be adjusted to ETA.
You make it slower or faster until it gets it correct

Wellibe · 02-21-2022, 06:21 PM

I got a reply back from RV Life support indicating that they are aware of the issue and are working to fix it.

lonfu · 02-21-2022, 07:17 PM

I average 50 mph, I add on about 1/2 hour for potty stops and fuel stops... normal cruising speed is 50mph @11mpg. 300 miles would take me about 6 1/2 hours.

joshjack · 02-21-2022, 08:22 PM

I use RVTW as a upper estimate, and Google Maps as a lower after making sure Google is using the same routing as RVTW. Google expects me to drive at least speed limit everywhere. But in our class A i'm not going above 65. I'm not sure what RVTW expects, but I consistently beat it by a large margin if we don't stop.

Wellibe · 02-22-2022, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joshjack

I use RVTW as a upper estimate, and Google Maps as a lower after making sure Google is using the same routing as RVTW. Google expects me to drive at least speed limit everywhere. But in our class A i'm not going above 65. I'm not sure what RVTW expects, but I consistently beat it by a large margin if we don't stop.

Due to the error in the way it calculates, RVTW is expecting you to go 55 mph everywhere (assuming you're using its routing engine and you've never input your own average speed). If you're doing 65 on the highway most of the time, it makes sense that you would beat the RVTW estimate.

Tooltime2 · 02-22-2022, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wellibe

I got a reply back from RV Life support indicating that they are aware of the issue and are working to fix it.

Thanks for taking that step. I started playing with every setting trying to get it to respond to my input and wasn’t having any luck, for instance changing the MPH significantly would have effect on it, and yes I made sure I had selected that method. Will cross check with other apps from now on.