CoPilot and Navigation questions

[BeerBrewer]

We are new to RVing and we are interested in using some sort of RV specific navigation system like CoPilot, Garmin GPS or other along with the traditional paper maps. We live on the east coast where there are lots of roads like parkways with low bridges that we can't drive on, so we can't use google maps or Waze for rout guidance.

So last month I downloaded the CoPilot app onto my Android phone and we did a test run going from Long Island to Freeport Maine. I set up the CoPilot as though we were towing a trailer, even though we weren't just to see how it worked. Well it kept us off the parkways and it set off an alarm whenever my speed went above 65 mph, but during the test it also did some strange things. For instance we were on 95 in Connecticut doing 60 mph in the middle lane, not near an exit, when the CoPilot blurts out "make a left turn at bla-bla street" then it gave more right and left turn instructions, all of which we ignored. After it finished telling us to make 4 or 5 strange turns, it came on and said "continue on 95 for 18 more miles". It was very strange, it was as if it thought we fell off the freeway onto the local streets. It did this a couple times during the trip. Does anyone use the Android version of CoPilot? If so is this typical? Is the Apple version any better?

Since it doesn't seem like CoPilot is the answer I'm left wondering what is.

Those of you who travel in the north east....what system do you use and does it work well enough?

[joelc]

I have a 40' 5er and several years ago we did a cross country trip. When we are on the move I plot our travels using 2 items: The Garmin RV6000LMT and the issue of the Rand McNally Motor carries road atlas. Mine is the large print laminated version. We check routes using dry erase magic markers. The can be erased and the routes can be changed. Using the two helps keep the garmin error free.

[wa8yxm]

THough GPS is often very precise there is a woman you need to listen to (For a few seconds) Her web page is something like spaceweatherwoman dot com Or you can watch her segment on the weekly Internet TV show ham nation (just google it)

She talks about sunspots and other solar activity and how it affects.. Among other things GPS.. Any and all GPS units can be affected but some more than others (NOTE it is the PHONE's GPS. that has the issue)

IN times of strong electromagnetic "Effect" the signal path becomes "Distorted" and the GPS can be off by quite a bit.. Better GPS units (Some of the stan alones will read a dozen different sats) are better at compensating for this. BUT.. I can not help with brands.

But when she says "Beware your gps may be off" or words to that effect. BELIEVE HER. That is why she's called DOCTOR

[Gdetrailer]

GPS is nothing more than another "tool" to use, it is not 100% accurate, not 100% infallible, it CAN AND WILL make "mistakes".

In other words imperfect..

Yeah, I know, there folks who have completely burned their old paper maps and relied solely on their GPS for 20 yrs and never "had a problem"..

The flip side and reality is one day their "luck" WILL run out as long as they rely 100% on their GPS and not use their heads and read and follow road signs..

We tried CoPilot a few years ago, while it did sort of work and had a few neat things, it simply was not accurate enough in rural areas to warrant having it take up space on a Tablet or phone..

We live in a rural area, and CoPilot was never able to "locate" our home properly, our home does not sit in a church parking lot 2 miles away, does not sit in a farmers field 4 miles away, does not sit in a small creek a couple miles away nor does it sit on a railroad track.. But yet, every time we turned on CoPilot it located use typically 2 miles to 4 miles away from a real location..

If that accuracy is what folks deem OK and acceptable, it is a sad, sad world we live in..

People seem to have no problem having a little phone or tablet tell them where to go.. Follow the glowing Internet machine and walk off the cliff..

[RoyF]

I'm happy with Garmin Drive Smart 61 with its larger (7-inch) screen, which allows for easy-to-read details such as streets names of nearby side streets. I particularly like the way that as you approach a freeway exit it displays a video of the road ahead, showing you which lane to be in.

I agree that GPS information always must be weighed against what you actually see with your own eyes. If the GPS tells me to drive over a cliff then it's a good idea to get a second opinion. My Garmin does have strange ideas sometimes.

[Fizz]

As I'm driving I treat the GPS as part of the entertainment system. It helps pass the time but it will lie to you.

[zigzagrv]

ALL gps units at one time or another try to lead us astray. I use Co-Pilot on my Android tablet as my main gps. I have backups. However, I have had very few problems with Co-Pilot doing that. I believe it is caused by the sometime inaccuracy of the map itself.

I experienced your problem a lot travelling through Canada and Alaska where I could see the actual road I was on showed up to be several hundred yards from where I actually was on the gps unit. Of course, the gps tried to get you to make turns to get back on THEIR idea of where the road is. RECALCULATING sure gets annoying after a while.

Co-Pilot does a good job of avoiding low bridges and Parkways that forbid large vehicles.

Awareness and a little common sense will keep you from following the gps blindly.

[MDKMDK]

I use standalone Garmin GPS units with custom POI files loaded to tell me where the low bridges are along any given route. It works well. Saved us from a low bridge on a bypass route in Texas back in February.

There are several GPS units that come with, or can upload, maps that have the weight/width/height restrictions preloaded. I believe Garmin and Rand McNally both have RV/Trucker versions of these available. You enter your physical dimensions and weight, and the GPS avoids issues for you.
None of these solutions are perfect, and you'll probably occasionally get unusual instructional behaviour, like your CoPilot app, but we've never had any real problems using Garmin GPS units. Gotta keep the maps up to date, though.....