Figuring Mileages

[BillyandKris]

OK Guys, dumb question. When I am planning our travels I search for “XXXXXtown, State to XXXcity, State” to get how far between destinations and of course it takes me to Google maps which is most helpful. Problem is sometimes the route and mileage they give doesn’t match up with when we are actually out there and using our Garmin RV GPS (which is awesome). Is there a free website of maps that would match up better with what our Garmin RV GPS tells us to do (which is of course the route we are going to use)? I do all this planning on a computer and not on my phone so I’m not sure if I would be interested in an app. Would prefer some free mapping website. Is there such a thing or how do ya’ll do it? (BTW I’m NOT new at this-just never stopped to try to figure out a better way).

[Matt_Colie]

It is most unfortunate that Garmin bought Delorme and killed Street Atlas. The charts are now old and nearly useless, but a better planning and enroute navigator has never existed. When running with a GPS puck, you have a big map on a laptop with a "You Are Here" arrow. You know the distance to the next stop be it for fuel or end of day.

If I make up a plan, I can tell you the hour we will be where... If we change a plan mid-day, the change will wrinkle thought the plan so what is projects is now correct. This can alert you to changes in fuel or EOD long before it is critical.

Anything web-based is useless as you will loose the connection sometime that you need it. I have worked with Google and Furkot and lost connections all the time. Neither can be counted on while underway. I even preloaded the Google maps only to run off the edge before we regain coverage.

Yes, GM on the phone will be realtime, but it will project the changes required to the days plan.

Sorry to sound like a "Good Old Days", but I can only imagine what SA or S&T would be like if five years newer. It could be linked to the coaches systems to look for cheap fuel on GasBuddy and make the campground reservations all autonomously and only ask for approval.

Matt

[K_and_I]

Bob806 wrote:
I find the Good Sam Trip Planner to be real helpful. It hasn't let me down yet.

I also use Google Maps as a reference.

Just a note for Good Sam Trip Planner- you really need to double check its route selection. I made a trip from Ohio to NC, and Trip Planner took me through the "Tail of the Dragon". I made the mistake of not double checking the route before taking off. I made it OK with my 26' trailer, but it's not a trip I want to make again.

[dalenoel]

50 mph is good and I use RVPARKY along with Furkot. I put in the locations that me the route I want and it will spit out the distance and time in the s summary. Not that hitech but works for me. I don't use the phone apps for planning but just for search near where we stop.

[BarabooBob]

50 mph rule works for me. Every 100 miles is 2 hours. Easy math

[Bob806]

I find the Good Sam Trip Planner to be real helpful. It hasn't let me down yet.

I also use Google Maps as a reference.

[padredw]

Lantley wrote:
A general rule of thumb. Use whatever method you want to determine distance. Divide total distance by 50 and you will get a pretty accurate time that includes stops.

This has worked well for me in towing a fifth wheel for over 20 years and 194,500 miles of towing.

[goducks10]

BB_TX wrote:
Don’t blindly follow the Garmin without verifying the route. My old Garmin once took me to a rocky low water crossing when it should have had me turn about a 1/4 mile before that. Another time, a different Garmin tried to take me around to the back entrance to the Great Sand Dunes on an unpaved 4 wheel drive vehicle only road. Fortunately I knew better.

x2

[prichardson]

Use your GPS the way you are using Google. I would not use the route laid out by any GPS or other mapping program without doing a review of where it is sending you. Even with a GPS if you enter the whole route to get the overall distance and then later you run it in segments there will be differences in the results.

[Thunder_Mountai]

I use map quest on the computer, maps app on the iphone and my nav. If I'm going somewhere I've never been before, I use Google Earth to scope out fuel stops etc. Then there is always the paper map.

[Tvov]

Lantley wrote:
A general rule of thumb. Use whatever method you want to determine distance. Divide total distance by 50 and you will get a pretty accurate time that includes stops.

This ^^

People on this forum told me about the "50 rule" years ago when figuring travel times, and it works.

[valhalla360]

When using Google Maps, you can modify the route if you don't like what Google comes up with.

If you look at the highlighted route, there are white dots, grab and drag one to the route you want and it will redo the route. Sometimes you may need to do 2 or 3 if it keeps trying to push you back to a freeway route (the routing logic give preference to staying on major roads).

We've never had an issue with the route lengths being incorrect. Do make sure you are comparing apples to apples. If you just enter the city names on Google Maps and put in the exact street address on your garmin, it will come back with different results because you asked for different start and end points.

[paulj]

I'd try to figure out what was different in the routes, between what planned on Google and what you drove. If the routes were actually the same I'd expect miles to be the same, or at least close.

Then I'd try to tweak the google route to match the driven. That's easy. I often explore alternative routes, not just the ones the GM suggests. For long distance drives, I find I really have to take major detours to change the mileage significantly (more, say than an hour's drive).

Matching times may be harder, since that depends not only on distance, but on estimated speed, which may vary with the road condition. In fact I use time vs distance to judge whether one route has slower roads than another - e.g. freeway or not, curvy or not, mountain or not. Speed estimates though are always rougher.

Garmin also has some online mapping tools. I've only dabbled in those, since the only Garmin I have is a watch.

[BB_TX]

Don’t blindly follow the Garmin without verifying the route. My old Garmin once took me to a rocky low water crossing when it should have had me turn about a 1/4 mile before that. Another time, a different Garmin tried to take me around to the back entrance to the Great Sand Dunes on an unpaved 4 wheel drive vehicle only road. Fortunately I knew better.

[Lantley]

A general rule of thumb. Use whatever method you want to determine distance. Divide total distance by 50 and you will get a pretty accurate time that includes stops.