I guess I'm showing my age......

While I definitely qualify as a Geezer, I have been a navigator for much of both my career and my life. Would I start an excursion without paper charts (maps)? No (expletive deleted) Way.....

But, as I sit here (DW is driving), we are only running three of the six GPS onboard. There is a new Garmin on the dash for DW confirmation and speed. There is my smartphone that is running track and traffic (we just passed through Dallas) and being a hotspot. Then there is this laptop that is working the group and SA (Street Atlas) with a BU353 (USB GPS)to tell the computer where we are right now.

The entirety of this excursion was laid out in January. It will be approximately 3200 miles. Why approximately? Because, our actual route can change on at a moment's notice. But all along the way, SA is telling me when to get Gasbuddy to look for fuel and where we should be finding somewhere to stop for the night.

Do I enjoy having the navigational stress unloaded? You Betcha... At the same time, am I ready to grab the paper charts and atlas do this my self if it is required. Already this trip, I had the smartphone crash and only recently got the majority of its functions (not all) back on line. But, as a mariner, I am always ready for any part to go TU and then I have to do my job.

Matt

"Never leave home without it!" ... Detailed map of Indiana with all the county roads in detail, and a paper Rand McNalley Road Atlas. I use a Tom Tom and have Navigation on my phone. But nothing beats paper.

You are NOT alone! (I'm an old fart now!)

When traveling with my parents, the ride in the Winnie could get pretty boring. The map was something interesting to look at... seeing our progress and looking at surrounding towns and highways kept me occupied. I still have a fondness for paper maps today.

However, there's nothing better for calculating trip distance than an online mapper; I prefer yahoo maps. And the gps is a comfort in city navigation.

My GPS is akin to watching a sporting event through a drinking straw. My atlas gives me a feel for where I am in the world.

Couldn't have said it better. In just a car a GPS is fine, especially if it's an onboard nav. We always had both trucker's and road atlases in the MH. The GPS was the addition to that although we didn't rely that heavily on it.

I have an RV atlas and a truckers atlas. I use them and the Good Sam trip router to plan my trip as far as route and distance each day goes. When on the road I love my 7" Garmin especially when on an Interstate with many lanes and unpredictable exits. Some are to the left, some to the right and its no fun to wait to the last second and have to cross several lanes in a panic. I load the GPS with all the likely RV stops, including addresses and phone numbers so its easy for the DW to call for reservations and easy to find the park in bad weather or after dark. As far as side trips or points of interest, I google whatever city and usually get a fairly long list of what to see or do.

Shot-N-Az wrote:
My GPS is akin to watching a sporting event through a drinking straw. My atlas gives me a feel for where I am in the world.

X2. I use MS Streets and Trips for my planning. I like the gps for finding specific locations and arrival times. Bur the straw analogy is right on and the map is my first choice for traveling.

No program or gps got me from southern Indiana to southern Ca. in '67. or from there to Charleston,S.C. in '70. So I still don't use them for trips.

Just got back from the store...I got the 2014 rand mcnally road atlas.... Oh boy... Let the fun begin

Other than the handheld Delorme PN-60 handheld for hiking/geocaching, etc, we picked up a Garmin car GPS a couple years back. First order of business: MUTE.
It's good to see the distance traveled & distance/time to destination if we choose one. It's also nice in urban areas off the freeways where we've never been to, and when we are trying to get to an urban/suburban location.
However, it is a guide, nothing more. It is not the end all, and paper maps are always our constant companion. We have Delorme map books for the entire western US; our Oregon copy was so well used we replaced it.

Great post and great replies!

I use internet maps for trip planning, and refer to paper maps for more detailed planning. On the road we use paper maps, supplemented by the GPS to tell us about upcoming turns, distance to destination, etc. We use the GPS locally to find groceries, gas stations, attractions, etc.

I use the AAA state maps, since there I can quickly tell if a road is 2 or 4 lane. I use the truckers atlas as a sanity check on where I might not want to navigate the 5er.

I LOVE MAPS!! So much so that I ended up in making software for making maps as a career. Things have really changed since those first automated maps of the mid 1970s.