GPS or Maps

[Winnie 2000]

Hello All, as a newbie to driving a MH I managed to get into some driving situations that were not easy to get out of (ie. 3 ton bridge limit on a very narrow road). I have been using my GPS and it has no way to let you know of these hazards. I always use a map in conjunction with the GPS but still not enough info. How do you avoid these situations? We like traveling the back roads and use the red and black routes.

[RVhauler]

I use Co-pilot on my laptop which shows most low bridges but not all especially on the country back roads. Co-pilot has a truckers version also which does show width and height on major roads

[Midniteoyl]

There are specific Truck/RV GPS that try to route you around these types of obstacles, as well as letting you know which roads trucks are not allowed on at all - like Lake Shore Drive.

Garmin Nuvi 465T comes to mind. There are others.


edit: heh - beat me to it

[RVThere]

I have the Garmin 465T and it does NOT indicate low clearances if you are off the major roads. If you like to drive on backroads, the 465T will give you warning messages all during your drive that the road is not open to trucks (although the road may be fine for RV's).

Your best bet is using Google Maps to zoom into an area that you plan on driving through and then using the Streetview feature to get right on the road and see if the road is too narrow or a bridge is coming up. In many cases, you can read the street signs and see the bridge clearance or the weight limits.

[Midniteoyl]

the Garmin 465T and it does NOT indicate low clearances if you are off the major roads.

Good to know...

[lllkrob]

The best trucker / RV GPS I have used is the Rand McNally TND 700. It's fairly new but is like using a electronic version of the Rand McNally Trucker Atlas. Once you set it up for your RV size and weight, it routes you around trouble.

[ralper]

I use DeLorme atlas and gazatteer. They show every cow path and goat trail in a state. A complete atlas is one state. I have never gotten into a situation where I could not pass due to weight or height restrictions in my 4.8 years of full timing and traveling much of that time where ever I wanted to go. I augment with a regular Rand Mc Nally road atlas. I do not like the electronics. I am a very old boy scout.

[User1011]

Just received Rand McNally 2011 Motor Carrier Atlas. It has a lot of information.
Front part of the atlas has each state listed with all overpasses and height clearance. Helpful in that before entering a state you can see if there are any listed. Some states have none.. others have many. It lists the map reference point (i.e., EP-10) the the road route.

The atlas is large enough to really see all roads of travel. GPS's would be great, too, but sometimes it is nice to see the overall 'in print' version (or what if the GPS died).

[BryanL]

you can also ckeck for POI files that indicate low underpasses (US Low Clearance POI | POI Factory) or bridge problems (America's Failing Infrastructure | POI Factory) - with some PND's, you can set these to ring alarms (like for speed traps) when you approach.

[Vegasdan]

My Garmin has taken me down several dead end roads so I use maps as well.

[caninecop]

I have a Garmin Zumo 550, I set the vehicle to Bus, also use the low clearance POI I have found that this works so far.

[doc]

One is foolish to rely on just a GPS, no matter what make. I a Garmin as an estimate on my arrival times and miles to the next turn etc. Just yersterday Ms Garmin tried to route me nearly 60 miles out of the way to hit a Federal highway and completely ignored the obvious route, another Federal highway.
When going into unknown or never visited territory, we use both, relying on the GPS on upcoming turns etc, but making sure of the general route with maps.

[Wayne M]

I have the TomTom 740 live. I have a POI that has low clearances, but I do not trust it alone. There is something about "recent updates," that I don't do that warns me off of trusting just a GPS. Also, I have found that the routing, after talking to many owners of different GPS's, leaves something to be desired on occasion. Like you explained, dead ends. Also turns that just are not there. If you want a real good experience of when not to trust your GPS, try the Branson, MO area.

So, we use both GPS and mapping software, plus the Motor Carrier's Road Atlas. My mapping software is Microsoft Street's and Trips. I will typically look at it the night before travel to see if there are any surprises along the way, and to get a feel for the turns.

Happy trails.

[Triker56]

Originally Posted by RVhauler

I use Co-pilot on my laptop which shows most low bridges but not all especially on the country back roads. Co-pilot has a truckers version also which does show width and height on major roads

It is too bad they quit offering or updating the Laptop version in the USA. Or no long support Co-Pilot Live on Laptops.

I was able to to switch my CP Live 10 planning copy from a XP desktop to a Windows 7 desktop. But had to do it by running XP Virtual on it.