Trip planning software. any recommendations?
OK. So I am planning on heading out again east to NY, down the coast to Cape Cod, down the coast to the Keys. I usually drive the interstate and since I am usually alone I look for family type RV park...
Forum Discussion
Drsolo,
If you are carrying internet access (wire) that is fine, but it won't always be there when you need it.
Good laptop planner/navigators are Street Alas, Strips and Treets and Coopilot. All are great for planning and can do what you want and plan a day in miles or hours and you own it. You don't need wire to work it and you can save the file.
If you can count on having wire for every EOD (end of day) stop, then you can work with Google Maps, Road Tripper and such. I prefer not to because we have been lots of places with no wire and just barely cell.
For this reason, I suggest that you think seriously about having a planning package on the laptop (it will still need a puck aka usb GPS) to be a navigator) to do the planning. Standalone GPS are notably poor in this. And a standalone GPS on the dash to lead you along real time. It just takes so much sweat off the driving.
One of the things you get to do after dinner and before bedtime is load the next days travel plan into the standalone (SA is good for this, it is tougher with S&T).
Smartphones are neat too, but they get real stupid when you run them out of net. The thing they are great for is real time traffic. When we travel in the east coast magapolis, we keep that working.
As people know that I once had the job description as "Navigator" I get asked about this a lot. This is what we have finally settled into both on the road an afloat.
Matt
If you are carrying internet access (wire) that is fine, but it won't always be there when you need it.
Good laptop planner/navigators are Street Alas, Strips and Treets and Coopilot. All are great for planning and can do what you want and plan a day in miles or hours and you own it. You don't need wire to work it and you can save the file.
If you can count on having wire for every EOD (end of day) stop, then you can work with Google Maps, Road Tripper and such. I prefer not to because we have been lots of places with no wire and just barely cell.
For this reason, I suggest that you think seriously about having a planning package on the laptop (it will still need a puck aka usb GPS) to be a navigator) to do the planning. Standalone GPS are notably poor in this. And a standalone GPS on the dash to lead you along real time. It just takes so much sweat off the driving.
One of the things you get to do after dinner and before bedtime is load the next days travel plan into the standalone (SA is good for this, it is tougher with S&T).
Smartphones are neat too, but they get real stupid when you run them out of net. The thing they are great for is real time traffic. When we travel in the east coast magapolis, we keep that working.
As people know that I once had the job description as "Navigator" I get asked about this a lot. This is what we have finally settled into both on the road an afloat.
Matt
