All these questions on routing???

[We_Cant_Wait]

Just curious about all the requests for best routes etc, some even between towns in the same state. Having drove all over Europe while in the military there, and all over the U.S. while driving truck the only references I ever had was, a European Road Atlas, and U.S. Motor Carrier Atlas. Are we as a whole getting to the point that we must have others do more and more things for us by others instead of researching things our self? With all the electronic routing possibilities available to us i.e. Mapsgoole, GPS's, I-Phones, etc it'd seem that planning a route is as easy as a couple of clicks on the key pad.

[4X4Dodger]

robatthelake wrote:
I ask her because I value the input of others!

Sure I can find My way around every Place on the Planet, there are as You say Maps and Guidebooks. Not to mention Google Earth and Our Faithful GPS!

All that being said none of these resources is as informative as the various opinions expressed by People who have been there recently or who know the various current weather conditions and Routes!

Isn't this the place to exchange useful and informative information?

I thought it was !

Well I understand what you are trying to get at but consider this: Asking this kind of advice from strangers is basically futile. You dont know their experience in driving or their personal prejudices, likes and dislikes. You dont know if they are " 'Fraidy Cats" behind the wheel who look upon every mountain pass as Mount DOOM or if their sense of adventure is driving in INDIA (mine for instance)

The information you may get MAY be good, but the greater chance is it will be biased by someones idea of a bad experience.

As for scenic drives most road atlases denote scenic areas, highways and stretches of highways. And what is scenic to some here might be boring to you.

I think this is what some of the posters were getting at. It's not that your question is wrong or out of place...it's just most likely a total waste of your time because you have nothing to frame the responses in.

[C-Bears]

We Cant Wait wrote:
Just curious about all the requests for best routes etc, some even between towns in the same state. Having drove all over Europe while in the military there, and all over the U.S. while driving truck the only references I ever had was, a European Road Atlas, and U.S. Motor Carrier Atlas. Are we as a whole getting to the point that we must have others do more and more things for us by others instead of researching things our self? With all the electronic routing possibilities available to us i.e. Mapsgoole, GPS's, I-Phones, etc it'd seem that planning a route is as easy as a couple of clicks on the key pad.

We are full time and can travel up to about 12,000 miles or more pulling heavy fiver. I use numerous sites on my computer, my Trucker's Atlas, and I run with a Rand RV GPS.

I still may ask about a certain route once and awhile when fine tuning a certain portion of a trip. Let me know when you find a internet site that lets you know such things as when the road was last paved, or does that road have a history of huge unrepaired pot holes....etc...etc...

Sometimes there is no better reference that what comes from local knowledge of the area.

[mileshuff]

RV'ers here are one of the best sources for research! Sure I can read a map, use GPS etc. but people that drive a particular road frequently are the best source of knowledge on the conditions of that road as they pertain to RV'ing. Are their pitfalls that would bother mostly RV'ers? Books are outdated quickly.

[frizzen]

pitch wrote:
I sometimes have wondered the same about some posters. Especially someone asking for directions in his home state.

Not necessarily. Hudspeth County, next one east of El Paso is the size of Connecticut. The first mileage sign on I-10 out of New Mexico says Beaumont 863.
That would take you across 5 or 6 contiguous states where you come from.

[Veebyes]

No, you are not alone. The most mind boggling ones are asking about routes within states like sparsely populated western states where there really are no choices. Not paved ones anyway.

[Skid_Row_Joe]

Shot-N-Az wrote:
Asking a question about a particular route or road IS PART OF THE RESEARCH.

I agree. Then I put my coordinates in my GPS and let 'r rip !!

[2oldman]

littlemo wrote:

Road Runners wrote:
... maybe our military experience was good for something. We learned how to navigate and read and interrupt maps.

Do you have to have "military experience" to interrupt a map? LOL

I can interrupt a map by spilling coffee on it.

[john_bet]

paulj wrote:

john&bet wrote:
...I will not follow an electronic maps advise on how to get from my driveway to US-50. It's only 2 miles straight south, but they want me to go south a mile and a half, west 1 mile through a narrow county road with low tree limbs then south one half mile. Oh I was going to go east on US-50 when I got to it. Thanks GPS. Not.

Have you tried to figure out why it is taking that route? It's not just being perverse or (insert a negative human quality of your choice). It's either picking the shortest or fastest route among those that its data base allows. Maybe that last half mile to the highway is nonexistent in its database, or marked as blocked in some way or other. What does it do when you continue straight and it has to recalculate the route? I learn a lot about the GPS database by exploring alternatives.

Same goes for Google maps - look for example at the thread about messed up routing in Yellowstone. One segment in the park is currently 'off-limits' for some reason or other.

Not about to. Just stating the facts as I know them. It is neither shorter or faster. As stated I live in a straight line to the stated road. Just comparing what I know to what it does. Oh, I do not use it to lead me to someplace that I know. I was just experimenting to see how they worked. Happy trails.

[hitchup]

I've always been the Navigator in the family. We've crisscrossed the US a few times, but not towing. So I appreciate any ? that might be on a future route or available through the Search feature.

With constant road construction changing Exit #'s and entrances and DH now depending on his GPS instead of my Road Atlas, we've gotten into some tight spots (RR underpasses at 13'6 or 13') wishing we had taken a different route. It's a little more difficult to move over 2 or more lanes and avoid an accident blocking the road by taking a different Exit.

Even staying in one city for months at a time, it can be difficult to tell how to get to different business. Very few seem to follow the simple E/W - N/S grid patterns. 😉

[littlemo]

Road Runners wrote:
Yes I have been wondering about that also. But, maybe our military experience was good for something. We learned how to navigate and read and interrupt maps.

Do you have to have "military experience" to interrupt a map? LOL

[valhalla360]

sdianel wrote:
online mapping only gives 2 options: shortest and fastest. Many of us want scenic but not on bad roads, so we ask people on this forum what route they would take. We like US highways but prefer to hear from people who have traveled them. Steep grades, windy 2 lane roads, bumpy roads, construction and things to see along the way help us make the choice of routes. For example I might know from online mapping that there is construction but first hand experience of driving through it is valuable.

Depends on the paticular program but there are many more options than just shortest or fastest:
- Avoid toll roads
- Avoid freeways (usually translates to the scenic route)
- Some offer alternate routes options where you can tab thru the next shortest or fastest.
- Some will accomodate intermediate way points which you can use to direct the routing if it is putting you thru somewhere undesirable.
- Some will only route you on truck routes or look for low overhead clearance.
- Most account for construction and even localized congestion. Even on the fly.

[cpaulsen]

We Cant Wait wrote:
Just curious about all the requests for best routes etc, some even between towns in the same state. Having drove all over Europe while in the military there, and all over the U.S. while driving truck the only references I ever had was, a European Road Atlas, and U.S. Motor Carrier Atlas. Are we as a whole getting to the point that we must have others do more and more things for us by others instead of researching things our self? With all the electronic routing possibilities available to us i.e. Mapsgoole, GPS's, I-Phones, etc it'd seem that planning a route is as easy as a couple of clicks on the key pad.

X'2!!

[matt7591]

There are a lot of good reasons but there is no point in trying to convince. Please - take the interstate with all the 18 wheelers and lunatics.

[msmith1199]

I recall very few people on here asking for directions. Most of the questions I see are people asking about the best route for an RV and what kinds of things are along those routes. Since I live a few miles from Yosemite I've answered a lot of questions about the best routes in and out depending on the time of year. Obviously nobody needs directions on how to get to Yosemite Valley, but people may want to know which would be the best road for a 40 foot motorhome in February to get to the valley. This very subject you guys are posting on is called Roads and Routes. That is why it is here. If you don't think people should be asking these questions, then why are you here reading them?

[pitch]

I sometimes have wondered the same about some posters. Especially someone asking for directions in his home state.
I guess it is just the kind of person you are,or possibly where you are from.
I have always lived in rural NY. To go to any half way decent selection of stores,I have to drive to Rochester (70) mies or Syracuse (60) miles. I could be blind folded and not lose my bearings anyplace in upstate NY. I have worked with people that knew how to get from home to work and that is it.
I always just assumed that Rv'ers were the kind of folks that had a sense of adventure to go with their wanderlust.
We tend to head towards a target and fine tune our trajectory as we get closer. Certainly not the most efficient way to go,but it works for us.