Trip Planning Software - Not Sure About MS Street & Trips

[Samanthahhi]

I like planning my trips using Google Maps as I know that I want to drive 6 hours a day on certain parts of the trip and 4 hours a day on another. I can just enter my start and stop points, see how many hours it will take and figure out where i need to stop each day along the way.

I bought MS S&T as I thought it might be good to research and lay out POI's along the way, but I am running into some issues and maybe MS S&T's just can't do what I want and maybe you all know of other software out there that can.

I like that I have the software on my laptop. It worries be to have something I can only access with Internet connection as that was an epic fail last summer. I am not going to bring a printer, that's just silly. I do have my Garmin GPS that we used last summer along with knowing the general route as laid out via Google Maps.

In MS S&T, I am trying to do basically the same thing by setting my start time at 10am and stop time at 4pm so that it figures out basically 6 hours. However, I am finding this to not be precise.

Also, it keeps a running tab on miles for the whole trip rather than for each segment.

I keep thinking I am fighting against the general process of the mapping system and if I could just wrap my head around it, it will do as I need it to.

Any advice or am I just using the wrong software?

[Samanthahhi]

I've looked at it briefly, Jim, but because it is Internet-based, I am not interested. I have heard positive things about it and it would work well just about everywhere except for the majority of my trip in the midwest.

Here is a good thread I just found: http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/25982409/print/true.cfm

Matt_Colie writes up a good overall explanation of his process, etc (which is very similar to mine now that I am adding S&T to my repetoire - he uses Street Atlas).

[hindes]

Has anyone tried RV Trip Wizard? www.rvtripwizard.com I've been think about subscribing.

Jim

[Samanthahhi]

> dalenoel - I plan my trips exactly the way you do!

> 1971duster340 - How do you plot how many hours a day you drive> All I can see is that you plan your start time and stop time, rather than me stating I want to drive time limit of 6 hours. Your explanation did help.

> Matt_Colie - "both are looking for a day of given length as either miles or hours." I cannot find the "hours" option? Thank you for the deeper clarification. Where do I find the Discovery Owner's website?

I do have AllStays Camp & RV and I totally get about having more overlays than you can handle...lol!

[sch911]

S&T can do pretty much everything. Make sure to explore the right mouse button menus for Add Stop, Schedules Stop, Add Start, and Add End. Makes life easier. Have had good luck scheduling entire weeks of travel including overnight stops, etc. with this tool.

[Matt_Colie]

Either Strips and Treets or Street Alas will do everything you are looking for and are not one bit internet dependent. I traded off between the two for years but later found I outgrew S&T. Both will let you plan a multi-day excursion with diversions and stops. Both will tell you where to look for an overnight location or a fuel stop. If you want a day longer or shorter, they can accommodate that, but both are looking for a day of given length as either miles or hours.

If you buy S&T, get their GPS with it. It used to be incapable of using any other (and only barely with their own).

Both can use overlays that you can download at the Discovery Owner's website. These will get you more information than you can handle. If you want to run the laptop traveling, remember to pick up something that will power it underway.

Matt

[1971duster340]

Samanthahhi wrote:
I like planning my trips using Google Maps as I know that I want to drive 6 hours a day on certain parts of the trip and 4 hours a day on another. I can just enter my start and stop points, see how many hours it will take and figure out where i need to stop each day along the way.

After plotting your daily or entire route (start to end), you can set your leave time, how many hours you want to drive that day, where you should start looking for fuel stops by setting up your MPG and tank size. If you add stops (for some length of time) to your route, you can get a better estimate of timing.
S&T also talks to some GPS, but I haven't used that feature.

Samanthahhi wrote:
Also, it keeps a running tab on miles for the whole trip rather than for each segment.

Add a stop and you'll get segment miles. You can also draw a search circle centered on a point you pick and you'll get POI's.

S&T hasn't improved much, but it's fast and has a good program engine.

[Golden_HVAC]

Hi,

I was using DeLorme Topo program, and you are able to make a plan fairly quickly. Then if you want to add places to see along the way, you can put in "Insert Via" and also "Insert Stop" where ever you wanted to. You can also have it calculate the elevation changes over the distance, and then use a GPS receiver to pick up the GPS signal, and use the 15" laptop as a GPS screen! What a advantage that can be!

You can re-organize the stops and via's, but the computer will set them up automatically when you fist put them in. Sometimes you will need to change the via points and stops, and that is possible.

Having the whole map on a 15" screen on a laptop is very handy.

DeLorme.com

I have version 4.0 but I think that version 10 or 11 is out now. The whole program is fairly low cost, considering you can use the receiver as a GPS for about $125 or so. You can buy it directly from DeLorme or your local Best Buy or other computer software store.

Fred.

[dalenoel]

I use the same software, S&T, and do the same as you. I also track in a spreadsheet the distance S&T gives me to each destination then calc the change in distance for miles traveled that day.

This gives me an additional spot to put the campground, phone, sights at that location, total cost, and many other things that can be listed once researched and shown.

PM and I can send it.