Route my Trip?

[homelesshartshorns]

I have my trip on Google Maps! How do I get that trip to be on my Garman ?

[Chris-n-Dennis]

Be signed in, make route, export to KML, import to Base Camp as new trip and then transfer to Garmin.

[homelesshartshorns]

Please tell me if I am wrong. My Garman RV GPS will only set me on the interstate to travel between A and B? I am unable use secondary roads anymore? I cant select a secondary route and have it warn me of issues. It will only send me on the safe trail, the interstate, with no explanation?

[jbh]

Set it to "Shortest" rather than "Fastest" if you have those options availalbe in setup. The interstate will almost alway be "Fastest."

 

If you use Basecamp to plot routes you have those options plus specific avoidances, such as "Interstates" and "Unpaved Roads."

 

You really can't let this thing run by itself. It can't read your mind and it assumes that you want fastest and (presumedly) safest which is the Interstate. You need to learn to plot routes on a computer using Basecamp and transfer them to the gps. You can then use waypoints and shaping points to make the gps do what you want.

[kountryguy1]

I just downloaded Basecamp last night, and for this non nerd, it was overwhelming. I will have to sit down and see if I can figure out how to start.

[homelesshartshorns]

I created a trip with Google maps and saved it, then loaded it on base camp and it changed my routes. I have been pulling my hair out. I don't under stand what way points or shape points are?

[jbh]

A Google map doesn't contain any route points the gps or Basecamp recognizes other than start and finish so it just happily routes you from start to finish. You'll need to use Basecamp software to create a specific route.

 

A waypoint means "pass through this point" while a shaping point is sort of a silent hidden waypoint used internally to create a route. When the gps creates a route it actually uses lots of shaping points in calculating the route; when creating a route using Basecamp you can plot shaping points which also mean "pass through this point."

 

If you want to make a route from A to C passing through B you create three waypoints, A, B and C. A and C are of course the waypoints at each end. Then you select A, B an C in sequence and select Route Using Selected Waypoints and you've created a specified route, not just whatever the gps thinks it should do.

 

Also the Garmin maps used in Basecamp and the gps contain lots of information that's not present in Google maps such as height, width and weight restrictions and it'll refuse to route you down a road you can't traverse. It'll also prefer a "known good" road to an unknown road although the unknown road may be perfectly fine.

 

Basecamp can be tough to learn. The easiest way to create an intended route is to use lots of waypoints, then when you run the route on the gps you select the first waypoint as the first destination.

[homelesshartshorns]

I have pretty much given up. As near I can tell even if I set up a route it will not take me where I want to go. The RV Garman set for RV use will send me on the interstate. And not down secondary roads. I can do better in my head. Thanks for offering help, but I am sure my head is too thick to understand it all. I can do better pointing with my finger.

[mptjelgin]

I have found that if I desire a specific route on my RV Garmin GPS that it is easiest to include several intermediate locations (generally cities) along the way. I have used Basecamp a couple of times and found it to be really slow and clunky. Once I build a chain of towns along the route I desire I am good to go.

 

Another tip: If I specify a town as an intermediate destination the GPS will generally choose a specific spot within that town (like a library or post office). Since I am not interested in leaving my main route to visit those particular buildings, once I am within a few miles of the town I will "stop" the route and restart it with the next intermediate city as the destination. The GPS will then take me straight through town without deviating to the library or post office. It is pretty simple once you've done it a time or two.

[mptjelgin]

Another thing you can try is to set the GPS in "car" mode rather than RV mode. It will often suggest the lower-grade roads but be careful as mine has occasionally chosen gravel rural roads in this mode. Ultimately you need to check the routing to make certain you are comfortable with it.

[SWharton]

We use our Garmin mainly to get us from point A to point B on a daily basis. Generally the fastest route as we are in travel mode. We also have Google maps on since that can tell us traffic and suggest a different route. If we go a different route the Garmin adjusts so we are "protected" from a low bridge etc. We also keep Waze on.

 

I have tried Base Camp several times and have given up. I would like to have something that I don't need the internet for and that is becoming harder and harder to find. Base Camp and Co-Pilot seem to be the last 2 standing. I won't pay for Co-Pilot, they want way too much money. Base Camp is an effort in frustration.

 

My latest methodology is to create a route on the PC with Google Maps(each day has a route), send it to my phone and send it to Google Maps on my phone. I put a general route in my Garmin for the day, usually just the start and end points. This, for us, seems to work. The navigator is responsible for sorting out any arguments the Garmin and Google Maps get into. If I really wanted to I could send the map to Base Camp and transfer it to my Garmin, not worth the time and effort.

 

With all these solutions it is ultimately up to the pilot and navigator to make the decision which route to follow and use common sense. All these products assist our driving down the road, they are not the final answer.

[jbh]

In Settings > Navigation > Calculation Mode you have "Faster Time" set rather than "Shorter Distance." Having "Faster" set will just about always direct the gps to route on interstates. Also look in Avoidances; you can check avoid "Highways" which in Garmin-speak usually means interstates.

 

In Basecamp in your Activity Profile you need selected Shorter Distance and in Road Type Avoidances select Interstate.

 

Note that these settings will often route you right through the middle of towns and cities.

[2gypsies]

Don't put in your whole trip at once. Try doing a daily or two-day trip and include some small towns as waypoints to get you on secondary roads.

 

We've used Delorme Street Atlas for 25+ years and loved it because it was easy to create a map using all secondary roads. We just put in vias the way we wanted to go. Then we transferred small chunks at a time to the Garmin for the driver's heads up viewing. The original was followed by the passenger on the computer and no internet was needed. The passenger could zero in tight to see small-town restaurants, campgrounds, lakes, rivers, etc. Unfortunately, Street Atlas will not be available any more. Roads don't change that much so we'll continue using it. Garmin is awful for creating maps with various small-town detours, stops and siteseeing.

 

We rarely plugged into the Garmin a route from A to B and followed it. That's not how we liked to travel. We liked to explore along the way and off the interstates.

[budeneighe]

RVTripWizard does a pretty good job for planning. I like that it links to RVParkReviews for deeper information, estimates arrival dates and costs. It also helps with concentric rings from a point you select to show your preferenced driving distance to help in picking your next location.

 

You can save multiple trips, edit them and it will upload your trips to GPS.

 

Here is a screen shot of a trip I have planned from Chimacum, WA to St Augustine, FL.

 

https://rvbuddy.smugmug.com/Snippets/i-KJvHrnV/A

 

[homelesshartshorns]

Some how in my mind I had a notion that I could have a fancy GPS gadget that I could simply tell I wanted to travel a, specified by me route and it would simply tell me where to turn and when to expect light bridges or low tunnels or even grades. But it seems to me that for the difference in the $150 Garmin and the $300 RV Garmin, the only difference is it puts me on interstates with out much explanation. I guess I am expecting too much yet from technology.