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DonPd's avatar
DonPd
Explorer
Jul 30, 2013

FREE Routing Program from Garmin

Garmin has a FREE program that can create routes and send them to your Gramin device. It is called BaseCamp. If your device can store routes you can use BaseCamp with that device. Also, after your routes are created before sending them to your device the routes can be viewed in Google Map. All you do is select Google Map from a drop down in BaseCamp.

Download BaseCamp Here; BaseCamp
  • Most of the new Garmin units will do a recalculation when a route is moved from Basecamp to the device, and recalculation can't be turned off, at least on the standard units.

    The only solution I've found is to use lots of waypoints. The problem with that is unless you are careful ( and magnify enough to be exact), the added waypoints may not be exactly on the same road as the route, addind lots of "jogs" to the route. As others have stated, be sure you have the same "avoides" set up on each.

    All in all, I find Basecamp fustrating enough that I rarely use it. I try to lay out a route on secondary roads & it constantly tries to get me on parallel roads that are "faster".
  • Tyre - also free is much simpler to use than BaseCamp and will transfer routes to Garmin. The only way to make sure the GPS unit will follow the exact route that you want is to add in waypoints making the GPS follow the route - in other words if the route you want goes left and at that point the GPS wants to go right, go back to the routing software and put a waypoint on the road to the left.

    My GPS will stand on its head to put me and my RV on routes it is not allowed to travel on unless I am very exact in the route with waypoints along the correct roads. The only way to know this is to load the route into the GPS and review it and then go back and make changes in the map software to force the route in the GPS.
  • I downloaded Tyre and if it is easier to use than Basecamp I sure as heck won't use Basecamp. Tyre is the most non-userfriendly program I've ever seen. I will just continue to use Streets and Trips as I always have.

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