Navigation

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:
Navigation starts with a map. Knowing where you plan to go, what route you should take.

I use apps like AllStays, RV Trip Wizard (PC Only), RV Parky, and state DOT websites to check for obstructions, construction, etc.

Then I put the route I want to take into two different GPS units to monitor while driving. I've been too many places where Google Maps gave up and could not figure out where I was. Well out of cell phone range also. I want a stand alone device.

My route is written down on paper, so my wife and look quickly at tell me that we need to turn on County Road 123.

No GPS or Google Maps or app had a ROUTE for you to travel. It chooses a route based on waypoints, and the friggin things can change their minds for all kinds of reasons.

I use a Rand McNally RV GPS for monitoring my planned route, set to show me what the road looks like for the next mile. It is set to NOT recalculate if I miss a turn. (I also use the Rand for maintenance logs, fuel purchase logs, etc.).

I use a Garming RV GPS set to auto-recalculate to monitor traffic, weather, such.

Before I leave, I step through the route turn by turn, to make sure I NEVER face an unexpected roadway.

I also usually know which places I will refuel. Mostly a specific station, sometimes, just in a particular town.

If something forces us to change, or I get a wild hair to go someplace else, DW can reprogram the Garmin for a new waypoint or destination.

She is also quite practiced at using RV Parky and AllStays to find new campgrounds or places to stop overnight.

Yes, I'm an old fart with no job, so I can play with routes, optimize them for the way my truck and trailer travel. Even without internet. I have a highly customized copy of Streets & Trips 2013. True it doesn't show every roadway or changes.

A few times, we got an early start, the drive was easy, and I've stretched my destination a bit. Once all the way from Decatur Texas to Albuquerque, another time from Decatur to Tatum, NM.

Mostly I plan for less than 300 miles a day travel. It's about the journey for us, and that leaves us options to stop and smell the bluebonnets.

Of course, I've been doing this for seven years, and I pull a TT which is relatively low as far as height compared to many other rigs. But it is a total of 62 feet long, with a very large turn radius, more than a Class A or almost all 5ers.

You know PawPaw this is probably the best advice I have received. We forget a lot about these options when we become reliant on a car gps or our phone. I went old school with a 2008 F250 Superduty out of AZ. A retired forestry truck with no frills. Laymen everything. I want to slow down, think, not react. Keep my eyes on the road and surroundings. A paper map can tell us a lot if we stop and look at it. With knowledge of mpg and capabilities I can plan ahead by about 100-150 miles, stop for a break and top off the tank and plan for my next leg. Avoid metropolitan areas and go around them (694-494 loops around Minneapolis/St Paul help a lot to avoid the DT areas that bottle neck), take side roads and visit small towns. I plan on what you said, 300 mi a day. Honestly I don't like doing more than 150 w/o a break. I will heed this advice. Thanks. If you see me and my green machine say hello.