Vehicle GPS's

I always used my Delorme software to plan trips in the laptop. You can use that as a GPS system (with a 15" screen too) using a GPS receiver that plugs into the USB port.

With DeLorme you can plan a route, then click on 'elevations' and it will give you a profile of the trip, how many grades you will take, what the steepest section will be, and give elevations at various points long the route!

Good luck,

Fred.

Check your PM's

Thanks Golden I have the small GPS silver dollar antenna that I used with Streets and Trips. I was thinking tho of purchasing a dash mounted GPS designed for vehicles. I was wondering if any of them have a trip planning mode.

I used to plan/plot out my trips on a computer and down load them to my Garmin. much easier than messing around on a 7 inch screen.
bumpy

Travelzoo if you sent me a private message I didn't get it...

I use Google maps to do trip planning on my PC. Once I have the trip planned, I can then bring the route up on my SmartPhone and let my phone do the actual navigation. Works great for me.

Road,

If you used S&T for years, you will find a small GPS very limiting and if you try to do planning on Google Maps and upload it that will be OK for a single or maybe two-day excursion. Get and learn to use Street Atlas. If you have the old MS GPS, SA will listen to it.

We have found the best answer is to use a standalone GPS for the driver's directions. We still have the plan on the laptop so when some thing interests us, we can detour into the countryside.

Matt

I don't find any GPS very useful for trip planning. They are all too focused on a point to point trip. It is very hard to customize routes to avoid certain things, to work out multiple stops, etc.

You cannot really work out multi-day trips easily.

S&T as long as you have the install disc will be usable for a long, long time. You can plan trips with S&T, and use a GPS for a daily route.

Modern GPS units do have a lot of customization possible, so after you get one - run a 30 mile or so route several times trying different options in the way it routes, displays information, etc. Learn how to use it well.

Finally two points - when towing/ traveling in an RV - NEVER use the 'Shortest Route' option. That will send you down the most unsuitable roads just to save a couple hundred feet.

Secondly, never trust a GPS to be 100% accurate. Know where you are going, know which major roads you are going to take, and ignore the GPS is the directions seem inappropriate.

Review the entire route with the GPS before starting the journey. Almost all GPS unit have the ability to show you how they have the entire trip planned.

When we tow for a day, I work out a route sheet for the wife to cross check our progress against a map. I use S&T to tweak, plan that route.

I have two GPS units - a RandMcNally Good Sam RV GPS which is very easy to use and warns me about weight restrictions, height problems (I set it to 14 ft clearance, even though my rig is under 11 ft), steep grades, etc.

I also have an older Garmin with Lifetime Maps & Traffic - which warns me about current traffic delays. Sometimes when I have to go off route due to traffic - it means stopping in a big box parking lot, pulling out the computer and replanning the route. But that beats sitting in long traffic delays.

The Garmin GPS's can be used in conjunction with their base camp program for your computer. You can plan your trip exactly as you like it there and then load the file into your GPS.
I don't use any GPS in that manner but rather as an informational unit. I plan the trip (usually with Google maps) so I know where I want to go. When the GPS disagrees I ignore it until it picks up the route I am on. It gives good warnings for lane changes and upcoming exits and that's about it while I am in the motorhome. Once I get where I am going I use it to get around town and I follow whatever directions it chooses as getting lost in a car in a new town is about as fun as it gets when you know you can easily get yourself un-lost!

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:
I don't find any GPS very useful for trip planning. They are all too focused on a point to point trip. It is very hard to customize routes to avoid certain things, to work out multiple stops, etc.

You cannot really work out multi-day trips easily.
.

I could map out a trip weeks long on my computer and down load them to my gps. very easy. and easy to tweak a trip.
bumpy