GPS strikes again

Camprat wrote:
I for one think GPS is one of the greatest inventions of all time.
I have always been a map guy. I love maps so GPS is like having the ultimate map. With that said, You have to understand the limitations of GPS. It is a great tool.

GPS is great, I use it all the time, love not having to watch for the next turn. But I still don't go anywhere without my maps.

If you use Garmin Basecamp for route planning you can choose what type of vehicle you want to plan your route for. If you use, say a motorcycle, it will plan your route using mostly 2-lane paved roads, and tend to avoid freeways. Then you upload that route to your GPS and you're off.

Changing the vehicle will change the way the route is mapped out. Bicycle will completely avoid interstates if at all possible, for instance.

Speaking of slower paced, scenic, and relaxing two lane paved roads for RV travels ... I sure wish that our GPS navigator unit had a navigation category available something like "Paved But Only One or Two Lanes" ... in addition to the usual Fastest, Shortest, etc..

We often don't want to travel on Freeways, Highways, or Offroad. It sure would be nice of our Garmin helped us out to help reduce our paper map scanning in order to stay off the boring, high traffic routes.

I hope you had the time on Highway 60 to stop off to see the VLA museum and to stop in Pie Town for some good eats!

:)
Lynn

Mr.Mark wrote:
Last summer, a buddy of mine from Atlanta had two weeks vacation and he wanted to do a 'cross country drive'. So, I said that I need to go to California to check on the house as I had new air units put in.

He drives up to TN and off we go out I-40 in my Land Rover. We get to Albuquerque on I-40 and the whole interstate is shut down west of town. My Land Rover has navigation but I wasn't sure exactly how to find a 'way around' so I went to a Pilot station and bought a new spiral-ringed map.

The girl at the counter said 'people still buy maps'? I laughed and said I like to look at the whole picture at one time and look at different routes.

We ended up going down I-25 south but turned off on hwy 60 to head west. Hwy 60 is two lane all the way to Phoenix but what a nice way to go as I've never been. Beautiful scenery.

If I had taken I-25 south to I-10 west, it would have taken us 100 miles out of the way.

Safe travels,
MM.

I for one think GPS is one of the greatest inventions of all time.
I have always been a map guy. I love maps so GPS is like having the ultimate map. With that said, You have to understand the limitations of GPS. It is a great tool.

I've lowered the spare on Chev trucks. No problem.

Also - my Mazda Miata has no spare tire. Not at all. The car comes with a can of leak repair to reinflate a bad tire.

Yes guys, many of the newer small cars, SUV`s, minivans and sports cars don't come with spares. larger cars and trucks still do. and some of them offer the spare as an option. what they give you in place of it is a small compressor! I`de have to imagine they are laughing as they put it in the trunk on the assembly line!!!

CavemanCharlie wrote:
I didn't know that new cars come without spares. WTF. I am glad I don't own a new car. My 2011 F-150 pickup still has a spare and I know how to put it on. I have had to do it.

But, that being said. My last pickup was a 2004 Chevy . It had a spare but, trying to lower the spare to the ground was so difficult that it was basically impossible. Thankfully the only time I needed it I was close to home and had help. After borrowing a different tire to put on the truck I used a Acetylene torch to cut the spare off of the truck so that if I ever needed it again I could access it. I talked to other people with trucks like that one and I have never found a person that ever got the spare tire down successfully when they needed it.

If you have a Chevy pickup lower your tire to the ground in your driveway and buy a aftermarket kit to reinstall it before you go on a trip.

I just used the spare on my 2005 Chevy for the first time this summer. No issue getting it down.

There. Now you know one.

Charlie, all the cars that we have, have spares, even the new ones. Now that I know that a car 'might' not have one and that it could be an option, I probably would choose a car with a spare.

Can't imagine a car not having a spare, even a donut spare.

MM.

I didn't know that new cars come without spares. WTF. I am glad I don't own a new car. My 2011 F-150 pickup still has a spare and I know how to put it on. I have had to do it.

But, that being said. My last pickup was a 2004 Chevy . It had a spare but, trying to lower the spare to the ground was so difficult that it was basically impossible. Thankfully the only time I needed it I was close to home and had help. After borrowing a different tire to put on the truck I used a Acetylene torch to cut the spare off of the truck so that if I ever needed it again I could access it. I talked to other people with trucks like that one and I have never found a person that ever got the spare tire down successfully when they needed it.

If you have a Chevy pickup lower your tire to the ground in your driveway and buy a aftermarket kit to reinstall it before you go on a trip.