streets&trips-Mexico

Hpymils wrote:
We have S&T on our lap top. Will it be of any use in Mexico? Should we put any S&T information on the lap top before we start out?

My wife used Streets & Trips very effectively while in Guadalajara one year.
And I noticed that the 2013 version of S&T has far more Mexican towns showing than the previous version.

Streets & Trips is like any other tool - it's best to have more than just one.

RyV - and all,

If you know where you need to go you tell the GPS to go that way and don't let it tell you to go any other way. That is why we ask people on this forum which roads to take and then we make the GPS go that way. Where the GPS comes in is when we get close to a turn or some other known location and the GPS lets us know what is coming up. Hopefully the GPS has the map correct and we find our way. We find that our GPS is about 95% correct - but with new roads being built and things changing all over Mexico the GPS can be a few years behind the road builders. An example - we have recently had to make the turn into Roca Azul and we know that even though we have done many times the entrance can be hard to see - but our GPS knows where the turn is to we can prepare and be ready. In many cases we know that there are good roads but the GPS does not so it wants us to take the cuota - but we know we can take a shorter and faster route with good roads - so we set the GPS to go that way and it will take us there. Personally I do not think we ever trust any GPS to take us the correct route until we check it over the entire route to make sure - and then force it to go our way if it disagrees. We do not take that San Blas 200 route because many have told us we are too big - so we go to Tepic and down from there. After having done that I am considering going beyond Tepic and going across the cuota to Compostela - but haven't checked all the miles yet so don't know. We can probably negotiate just about any road but also want to consider stress levels and costs - which is why route planning ahead of time is important. And yes, our GPS tends to pronounce Spanish words even worse then we do.

My Garmin lady has some of the worst Spanish pronunciation I've heard ! When we turned off to cut the corner via San Blas, it tried to turn us around since we were on an "unpaved road" and ten miles down the road, decided that we were on the highway San Blas to Las Varas. Doesn't do much for your confidence in the machine. luckily I have a good "nagavator" and the GPS is just a back-up, as it should be. RYV

I post this website from time to time. Here is the SCT map website with maps of each state in Mexico which can be downloaded as .pdf files for free to your computer. This is where Guia Roji gets their maps but these are better. They are much larger maps and you can zoom in to see more detail and move all around. Takes a little practice but doesn't take much of a learning curve to use them. Download them and save them and you can use them anywhere. There were updated in 2012 so now the most up to date available..........

http://www.sct.gob.mx/informacion-general/planeacion/atlas-cartograficos/listado-de-atlas

I have found that Garmin and S&T do not always agree. It may be that one has updated more recently than the other.

No GPS or map is going to show you exactly how wide any road is or if there are low clearances. There are low clearance POIs but I know of many bridges not on any map or POI list. I am not sure why any GPS will see some one-way streets and not others. We find that all GPS units or programs can easily take us the wrong way which is why we study first and ask questions of those who have gone before.

We set up both our Garmin and S&T as we drive and find they do not always agree on the exact route. No one should assume any GPS or map will take them exactly where they want to go. Both Garmin and S&T provide much greater detail than any map we are aware of. Looking closely at the details are how we avoid problems. We prefer to try to plan ahead in as much detail as possible. Most maps and GPS devices can be several years behind the road builders.

I never trust a GPS anywhere without either knowing the route or checking it against a paper map. We have a 2014 Guia Roji and it is a disappointment. No longer coil bound and no city maps. For us the city maps are the most important as that is where you can run into trouble.

Moisheh

S&T's supposedly uses the same mapping source as Garmin. My experience in Mexico is never rely on one map. I use ST&T, the garmin and Guia Roji. S&T or Garmin will not always send you over th shortest or most logical route and they sometimes ignore things like one way streets. In many cases using the GPS has led to real trouble. They will often take you on a route that is distinctively not RV friendly. I actually find them more useful for estimating arrival times than actually providing guidance. I rely more on the latest version of Guia Roji. If I am not sure of soemthing I will attempt to view it on Google Earth & street view before attempting it. I did this last year with hwy 80 from Barra to Guadalajara, before deciding to try it (northbound) in my RV.

My copy of S&T 2013 came yesterday.
Install went fine it imported my 2011 S&T maps without any problem. :)

Some of the Amazon reviewers stated that it would NOT import older files - however, Microsoft must have updated the software since then and imports fine.

My next test of S&T 2013 will be to insure that it still links with my Bluetooth GPS receiver - sometime today.

GPS receivers are strictly GPS receivers and absolutely nothing to do with internet. You have to have and internet receiver to get internet. We use the Telcel Banda Ancha in Mexico and Verizon Jet Pack in the US.

briansue: I looked up the BU-353 receiver and saw that there was the S&T with GPS for $39.35 vs $34.68 for the Bu-353. Would the Bu-353 give me internet plus GPS where S&T would only give GPS?

If you have an external GPS receiver you can just set your laptop up on the dash and turn on the "Create GPS Trail" function in the S&T GPS Task Pane, and it will follow you along the map, leaving a trail that can be saved along with the map.

I use mine everywhere I go. I have a perfectly good Cobra Nav One mounted on my dash that hasn't been turned on in about 3 years. The maps aren't as good as S&T in either Mexico or the U.S. Even my iPhone maps are better than the Cobra!