Thoughts on LowClearances.com software.

Question

I thought this sounded like an excellent product and bought it, and with the code got a years worth of clearance alerts for Canada and the US for about $20. I loaded the clearance I needed which was 13'6" since my toyhauler is 13'4". I put them on my GPS, a Nuvi 2539, and in Basecamp. Looks like it will work well. You can adjust the distance that you want the alert to sound so that's cool too.

There's just a small nit, and has nothing to do with the actual product, but more to do with their marketing. They do claim that they have thousands more low clearances listed than most of the other data bases available. However when I loaded the low clearances for my 13'6" it loaded only about 500 data points. Their listing of low clearances goes up to nearly 16' so I'm thinking that there would be thousands of bridges that won't clear a 16' load. That may explain where those thousands of data points are.

Seems like a good product, but you might be aware that it would appear that you only need about 500 low clearance notices if you're around 13 1/2' tall.

doxiemom11 · Answer

I think you are right.  There are many standard clearance amounts like on most x-ways that are at 14'8" so they are higher than your requirement, therefore they do not show.  We are only 12' so don't worry quite as much as we would have to if we were taller.

beemerphile1 · Answer

Does this cover main highways or all roads?The standard minimum on main highways is 13'6" so only the ones lower than that need marked.

fj12ryder · Answer

It covers all hiways and byways.

You can set the clearance you wish to be alerted for. It goes from 5' up to 15'll". So it would be great if you had an oversize load. I just have it set for 13' 6", and have the distance set to 1 mile. So it should alert me 1 mile before a clearance less than 13'6".

old-biscuit · Answer

My 5th wheel is 13'4" also. We don't use GPS or any other 'tech' device.
(Garmin did me wrong several times...so she got muffled and put away)

In 7 yrs of Full Time Travel using secondary/back roads as primary routes we only encounter 2 situations of 'low clearance' that were not marked with signage LONG before actually coming to them-----alternate routes easily used

One was actually marked but tree/bushes had grown over signage.
Second one was were road converged/merged with another route....overpass was marked but no way to NOT go thru without backing out/disrupting traffic/creating a real headache. Then found out it was not properly marked after recent construction re-do. Cleared by 1" going slowly.

I don't trust 'tech' devices so end up having to verify-----then why spend $$ on tech devices in first place.

tatest · Answer

Many of the "low clearance" lists may include clearances well above the state minimums on highways and roads designated for use by commercial traffic. The folks who plan routes to move oversize loads may need to know what is less than 16 feet, or what is less than 24 feet. These are the primary buyers of this kind of data. They also need to know points of minimum width, low hanging wires, road and bridge weight limits.

What you usually want to know as a casual user of this information, the clearances below state minimums on city streets, local roads, and rural highways not designated for commercial traffic, is often not in these databases because the primary buyers don't use those roads. Thus your database probably doesn't include the railroad underpass in Wichita Falls with 7 foot clearance, or all those trees with limbs at 11 to 12 feet overhanging the street.

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Thoughts on LowClearances.com software.

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