What Trip Wizard questions do you need answered?

[timjet]

Originally Posted by Souljourner

I like Trip Wizard and use it for all of my planning, but I prefer to navigate using Google Maps. I've tried following the instructions to export my file to Google Maps, but I ended up with a map that showed straight lines rather than following the route.

My solution has been to plot my route first using Trip Wizard, then recreate that route with waypoints on Google Maps. Very time consuming! I kind of gave up on the ability to export the TW route, but since you asked.........

I do this all the time. Download your RVTW trip to Garmin's Base Camp. Each leg will download as a separate route but like Google Maps the route will be straight lines between major way points. In BaseCamp recalculate each route using the activity profile you created in BaseCamp. Export the routes as a GPX file.

Open Google My Maps and using the download feature download the file you just downloaded from BaseCamp. The routes will adhere to roads and can be used to navigate using Googles routing algorithm noting that the route may not be RV friendly and may not follow the route you created in RVTW.



Alternativly you can bypass BaseCamp and just download the trips from RVTW as a GPX file. Create a new map in Google My Maps and download the legs created in RVTW into My Maps. Create a new layer in My Maps and using the driving directions tab, create a route between each stop. This last method is probably the easiest but again will use Google's mapping algorithm to create the route and may not be RV friendly.

[Souljourner]

Originally Posted by timjet

I do this all the time. Download your RVTW trip to Garmin's Base Camp. Each leg will download as a separate route but like Google Maps the route will be straight lines between major way points. In BaseCamp recalculate each route using the activity profile you created in BaseCamp. Export the routes as a GPX file.

Open Google My Maps and using the download feature download the file you just downloaded from BaseCamp. The routes will adhere to roads and can be used to navigate using Googles routing algorithm noting that the route may not be RV friendly and may not follow the route you created in RVTW.



Alternativly you can bypass BaseCamp and just download the trips from RVTW as a GPX file. Create a new map in Google My Maps and download the legs created in RVTW into My Maps. Create a new layer in My Maps and using the driving directions tab, create a route between each stop. This last method is probably the easiest but again will use Google's mapping algorithm to create the route and may not be RV friendly.

Thank you for taking the time to share. I’m actually driving back home tomorrow on a rather long journey and was just in the process of planning my route. Your timing is perfect!

I don’t have a Garmin. I can use Basecamp without a Garmin GPS? It’s an app or an online platform?

The only thing I don’t understand about your instructions is that after downloading my route into Basecamp and then into Google Maps, I believe you said Google Maps will divert to it’s own algorithm. If I understood you correctly, how will that process help me navigate the alternative route I planned?

[Bullitt 2021]

I sure hope.this works better south of the border. I signed up and had the system prepare a route to a frequent and known destination, and it mapped the route on a road I definitely would not take our MH or even a much smaller rig on. It has very tight uphill hairpin corner. Definitely not worth paying the extra dough for dangerous directions.

[Bullitt 2021]

FYI, it was taking us up hwy 360 from Berwick NS to Harbourville NS, zoom.in, see for yourself.

[timjet]

Originally Posted by Souljourner

Snip

I don’t have a Garmin. I can use Basecamp without a Garmin GPS? It’s an app or an online platform? BaseCamp is a free program you can download to your computer where you can plan routes. It is NOT a navigation program that you can use to drive to a destination. It interfaces with Garmin GPS's in that you can download routes and stops to your Garmin GPS.

The only thing I don’t understand about your instructions is that after downloading my route into Basecamp and then into Google Maps, I believe you said Google Maps will divert to it’s own algorithm. If I understood you correctly, how will that process help me navigate the alternative route I planned?
It won't. You will need to tweak the route in Google My Maps to route it the way you want.

See Above in orange

[amc123]

Originally Posted by Bullitt 2021

FYI, it was taking us up hwy 360 from Berwick NS to Harbourville NS, zoom.in, see for yourself.

I see that, yikes. What alternate route would you have taken?

[Souljourner]

Originally Posted by timjet

See Above in orange

I really appreciate this dialog, Tim. Hopefully other readers do too!

Since I know tone can be misinterpreted in written messages, my questions are from curiosity, not challenges. That said - how is the process you suggested better than my process of dragging the route using Google Maps?

Thanks, Tim!

[Bullitt 2021]

Originally Posted by amc123

I see that, yikes. What alternate route would you have taken?

Black Rock Road, it's about 5km to the north, not as steep, and no hair pins.

[RRR]

Why OR 351 from Joseph, OR south to Wallow Lake State Park is marked unsafe for a MH after being ~90 days since contacting the help desk about the issue? ODOT says it if fine, and gave me a copy of the highway map restrictions that was forwarded to the Help Desk I've driven it in the toad two years ago and it is fine. Help desk said "Just use standard routing and you'll be fine, There is a sign that says No Trucks." I guess now I'm a commercial vehicle. Maybe fix the problem?!

There is also a problem with routing from John Day, OR to Pendelton, OR that was never addressed.

Not going to bother renewing the subscription when it dies.

[timjet]

Originally Posted by Souljourner

Snip
That said - how is the process you suggested better than my process of dragging the route using Google Maps?

Thanks, Tim!

The only advantage of downloading trips from RVTW is you have all your stops in the download. From there you can create a new Map in Google My Maps with your stops. You then use the driving directions layer to route between stops. If you don't like the routing because it may not be RV friendly you can tweak the route by dragging as you mentioned above.

Same goes for your GPS. After downloading from RVTW and using BaseCamp you can download all your RVTW stops to your GPS, they will be stored under favorites. Then allow your GPS to route you to your stops.

The advantage here is that you don't have to find and put all your stops in Google My Maps or your GPS.


We are currently on a 28 stop Caravan of the Canadian Maritimes plus about 15 stops to the rally point and back home. I just download all those stops from RVTW to both Google My Maps and my GPS saving time from searching the stops in each device.

[Souljourner]

Originally Posted by timjet

The only advantage of downloading trips from RVTW is you have all your stops in the download. From there you can create a new Map in Google My Maps with your stops. You then use the driving directions layer to route between stops. If you don't like the routing because it may not be RV friendly you can tweak the route by dragging as you mentioned above.

Same goes for your GPS. After downloading from RVTW and using BaseCamp you can download all your RVTW stops to your GPS, they will be stored under favorites. Then allow your GPS to route you to your stops.

The advantage here is that you don't have to find and put all your stops in Google My Maps or your GPS.


We are currently on a 28 stop Caravan of the Canadian Maritimes plus about 15 stops to the rally point and back home. I just download all those stops from RVTW to both Google My Maps and my GPS saving time from searching the stops in each device.

Thank you so much, Tim! That was a great explanation. You’ve given me something to play with.

Have fun on your adventure! Sounds amazing.

[billgeo]

First time user of "Trip Wizard" and have setup our first trip and need to change some of the trip's settings. When I click the wrench (Trip Tools), select Trip Settings, then Expenses and make my change then attempt to save it, I receive and error that the trip name is already taken??
I'm not creating a new trip just attempting to update the open trip's settings.
What am I missing. I did some forum and "Trip Wizard" help searches and came up empty.

Thanks for any insights!

[JohnJayMack]

We have been using RVTW for all of our planning since last year. It does work, sort of, but I am hoping that the problems that I am having is related to user error. If not, the program needs some help. Let me be very specific.

The following is a specific example. I wanted to start my plans for next year. I opened a new trip and put in a tentative take off date of 4/1/2023 from a park in Earp, CA. At this point, I only have two specific stops in my plans. The first is a rally in Sedalia, MO 09/29/2023 - 10/07/2023, and the second is a rally is in Foxboro, MA. I can put in the parks but I can only lock in the beginning date of the stay. I cannot lock in the time period of the stay. I tried to put in the length of stay at 9 days but when I try to lock in the start date, the number of days is erased. The start date is captured, but the nights stayed reverts to '0'. Locking in the start date is OK, but locking in the length of stay would be preferable. Also, when I lock in the first day of the stay, I cannot input the number of nights of the stay.

As we look forward in 2023, I will add new stops and lengths of stay for different areas. As we add in the new destinations and stops. I would like to input the dates and length of stays.

What I have found is that when I get to the actual day by day planning, I can lock in the beginning day of each stop, and thereby get good view of my planned trip. But I have to know each stop to make this work. Or I have to add fictitious stops and remember to erase them later when the plans firm up.

In my view, I should be able to plan a long trip by putting in my specific destination, the date of arrival, and the length of stay. Next, we look at the time periods between specific stops and decide which intermediate stops we want to make.

Asa specific example, I put in the start park and date as Emerald Cove, Earp, CA, 04/01/2023. My next entry is Missouri State Campground, Sedalia, MO 09/29/2023. Between these two entries it shows that I have 181 nights available. So far, so good. My next entry shows Normandy Farms Family Camping Resort in Foxboro, MA 10/16/2023. Between these two entries RVTW shows 17 nights available. This is an incorrect piece of data. My length of stay at Sedalia, MO is Eight Nights. The available night between the two stops should show 9 and not 17.

A final grip. On my computer, when I login, I always check the box 'remember me.' The next day, when I login, it does not remember anything about me. Why put a check box in that does nothing resembling what it claims to do?

As I said at the beginning, I have been using this program for our planning since June of 2021. I will continue to use it, but I sure hope that it can improve. BTW, we do not use RVTW GPS. We do not feel that we can trust it at this point. I wish we could. Hopefully things will change in the future and we will gain confidence in what it shows and reports.

[Mike8253]

JohnJayMack, I saw your post, so I went thru the process of establishing the two stops in your trip. Attached is the result. The way I established the dates was to click on the CG Icon to bring up your selected campground's pop-up. I then clicked on "Add to Trip" to bring up that pop-up. At that point, I did not enter a number of days. Instead, I first clicked on the "Lock Date of Stay" selector, and then chose the date range on the calendar. I did that by selecting the first date (only), and they clicked on the arrow to go to the next month, and then clicked on the end-date. Doing that filled in the length of stay, and established the Stop with its locked start date and duration in the trip Section. I did the same for the 2nd Stop, and added an arbitrary length of stay as well. Give that a try.
I have a sense that there is more than one way to go thru this process, but what I did works. Hope this helps.