GPS and travel along East Coast

Howdy!

I use a gps app on my tablet and smartphone called Co-pilot. Been using it for years and it hasn't failed me. Like using the tablet as it has a large screen that easy viewing going down the road. It has a RV setting that you can use and set the height of you RV up to 13'.

Co-Pilot

"Happy Trails"
Chiefneon

We travel from SC to NJ often. Have had no problems with our GPS along the way. Do know that you do not want to follow I 95 through NJ into NY. It takes you over the George Washington Bridge into downtown Manhattan - no place EVER to drive any kind of RV! Just the voice of experience! Take a route that crosses the Hudson River farther north, perhaps the Tappan Zee Bridge.

The Rand McNally rv model will alert you to propane restrictions and low overpasses. Worked great for our trip all the way up the coast last year.

Do not trust the GPS to direct you away from toll bridges. We took that same route but our wonderful GPS took us over the George Washington Bridge $76.00. Bypass New York City like it's the plague.

X2 for Co-Pilot on my Android Phone. Just used it from Virginia Beach to Key West and it did keep me away from all of the sun-pass toll roads in Florida (avoid tolls is a setting). Only had a couple of issues with a road that had closed some time earlier or an area with recent construction, but I had the same problems with my Garmin and GPS's can't be perfect with constant changing roads. I like the dedicated units too, but if you don't want to invest in a dedicated GPS and have a tablet or a smart phone, the Co-Pilot App is a great one, and I even recommend the paid version.

You have two tunnels with restrictions for propane on the east coast that I know of. One is in Baltimore and the other is at Boston. Plan you trips to avoid them. Also as the other poster said stay away from NY City and there bridges. I go to the Tappanzee Bridge much better traveling.

Adding
You don't even want to think about taking a RV into Boston. A lot of the old New England city have very narrow street.

Along the east coast corridor verify any GPS with careful study of the actual paper maps, so that closed lanes (accident or construction) bad traffic etc will not sting as much, you can route around on the fly. Also helps to avoid off ramps into surface streets. I will run two or three gps at once and use the majority opinion in case of disagreement, but all of this presumes I have prepared by understanding where I want to get and the possible alternatives. Often we will shift driver so DW has the wheel and I have the map since I am better at nav than she is and we are equally comfortable in traffic at the wheel. I do not ever trust any gps altogether!! Their algorithms can mess up and their data can be wrong.

Stay away from the big cities and get on secondary highways. You'll see a lot more of the country.

I am also a Co-Pilot user installed on a 7" Samsung tablet. Several hundred $$ less than a large display GPS. Does not need internet service for the maps to function with a complete USA map held in memory. Very helpful when you are way out in the sticks with no or limited service. Good routing with multiple avoidance options. Has taken me from south eastern Virginia north to New York state and back home last summer avoiding all the toll roads and various other restrictions. Also took us all around Virginia last summer and a Thanksgiving trip to the Florida pan handle.

I did buy the traffic avoidance option that does require internet to function and I use my phone as a mobile hot spot for such. As a side benefit using the tablet I have various music files and pod casts in memory to listen while on the road or at the CG via blue tooth connection to the dash radio. When at the CG the tablet becomes by normal internet access device via the phone hot spot (if I have service) and I pretty much don't touch my phone until the trip is over.

As far as travel advice goes I've done US17 from Charleston SC to home avoiding I95. Only add a few hours over the summer traffic. North of Norfolk VA area US13 is a great drive. You problems area is going to be I95 at Washington DC and points further north. Very heavy traffic with restrictions in Baltimore and high tolls along the way into New Jersey and New York. I81 is a good alternate route to take you into central New York. Just watch for the toll roads up north. Considering you'll have four axles rolling 10 tires the tolls can be a bit shocking.

2gypsies wrote:
Stay away from the big cities and get on secondary highways. You'll see a lot more of the country.

+1
Still working on our route that way for this year, got as far as Delaware Water Gap.
For doing interstates all you need is a paper map, nothing high tech.

If you go the GPS or cell phone or tablet route practice over known routes because they will all get you in trouble at times. They are only as good as the data base they access.