Navigation, google maps, my maps and other route planning and driving navigation.

[offtohavasu]

In my quest for learning to route plan I had the same problem. What I learned is that you can customize your route by adding destinations along the way. Not addresses or stores, but points. You can zoom in on google maps and right click on the road you want to be on. It will give you the option to add that spot as a destination. Once you've done that, you can drag to reorder the destinations in the direction of your route you want. I find it easiest to start at one end and add these shaping points from start to finish. Once you're done send the directions to your phone and it should keep the route you've built because you defined the route with these points.

Thanks for the tip! For poops and giggles, I sent a message to RVTW and inquired about Android Auto. They said they are indeed working on a Android Auto integration and it's currently in development. I'm sure CarPlay will be part of this, but who cares about Apple stuff? LOL

[KGoesele]

Took my first trip with the new RV last week. Found out real quick that google maps is not for me when towing. It took me the shortest route which in western Kentucky is not a good thing. Found every cow path between here and there (not good towing a Momentum 353G 5th wheel). Decided I was not going to let that happen again for the return trip. I applied some routing knowledge and skills from planning motorcycle trips to my RV routing. I used My Maps in google to plan the route and then exported it to Gaia GPS (phone app) to convert from a KML file to a GPX file. Final step was to open it in Maps.me (Phone app) for navigation in my truck through Apple car play. Sounds like a lot of work, but I had a much better route for towing on the way home. I found out that I could access both Maps.Me and Gaia GPS in apple car play for navigation. It sounds like a lot of work exporting and converting the file, but it didn’t take that long due to my past experience. Benefits of .KML and .GPX files are they are shareable, savable and I can reference past routes or share current route which can be loaded into a GPS unit or phone app.

Does anyone do this for navigation? What tips or tricks can you share route planning? What recommendations do you have for route planning and en route navigation?

Thanks!

I purchased a paperback road atlas to map-out any routes and find accommodations. My wife used Google Maps before and it led us to some Cow pasture in the middle of nowhere. [emoji16]


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[spencers45]

My wife and I have camped in all 48 contiguous states (over 100k miles and approx 200 different campgrounds) these past 4 1/2 years. Our process, which has served us faithfully, is to first use RV Trip Wizard to plan our driving direction (we usually travel 3-4 hours at a time). Once our next destination is chosen, we pull out our trusty 2022 Motor Carriers' (paper) Road Atlas and look for roads that are safe for Tractor Trailers to travel on. We stay on these roads if/whenever possible. If we need to divert from the "orange" route, we call the campground to get specific directions.

On the day of travel, my wife uses google maps to give us turn-by-turn directions (making sure we follow our prearranged route, of course). Another good thing about having a paper atlas in front of you when traveling, is that whenever we encounter traffic jams, having a birds eye view of other RV/Tractor-Trailer passable roads has been a Godsend.

We used to have a Garmin RV GPS but go rid of it when we found the paper atlas. They only run about $20 and have been invaluable. We have NEVER had an issue with Low Overheads or driving into a lake. See you on down the road!

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/05280241...PDEE1J7537VW7M

[Paul Gustafson]

I like my Garmin RV890. I still double check the directions and I still our Trip Wizard to plan my trips, but my go-to while driving is the RV890.

I too love the Garmin RV890. Two trips from Minnesota to Arizona and worked great. Little learning curve to use but not to bad.

[MoonShadow_1911]

I too love the Garmin RV890. Two trips from Minnesota to Arizona and worked great. Little learning curve to use but not to bad.

I've got the RV 780. Did you run into the "propane problem" when importing from Basecamp?

To explain: if you have propane configured on the vehicle/camper in the GPS, you can import a route from Basecamp, but it never shows up in Trip Planner. Garmin is aware of the issue and the work around is to remove the propane, import from Basecamp, validate it shows up in Trip Planner, re-add the propane tanks to the camper. It's a PIA, but Garmin is working on a fix.

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[Paul Gustafson]

I've got the RV 780. Did you run into the "propane problem" when importing from Basecamp?

To explain: if you have propane configured on the vehicle/camper in the GPS, you can import a route from Basecamp, but it never shows up in Trip Planner. Garmin is aware of the issue and the work around is to remove the propane, import from Basecamp, validate it shows up in Trip Planner, re-add the propane tanks to the camper. It's a PIA, but Garmin is working on a fix.

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I have not used the Basecamp feature with the garmin yet. Sorry can’t help you with that. You did give me the good idea that I should try it to see if is an easier way routing.

[MoonShadow_1911]

I have not used the Basecamp feature with the garmin yet. Sorry can’t help you with that. You did give me the good idea that I should try it to see if is an easier way routing.

I use RV Trip wizard to plan my route with RV parks and fuel stops (as needed). Then I export the trip to gpx format. Next I import it into Basecamp and if needed, adjust the route and check low clearances. Once I'm happy with it there, I import it into the RV 780, AFTER deleting the propane tanks on the vehicle. I then can use the RV 780 for my driving. I have used RV Trip Wizard to drive with, but this last time it crashed a few different times so I missed a couple of turns. Since it has done this, we purchased the RV 780. I actually haven't used it yet, but, I do have a Garmin Oregon handheld GPS that I used Basecamp with for backpacking, hiking, and hunting, so I was pretty familiar with Basecamp.

It seems like a cludgy way to do things, but using a computer for the mapping is so much easier.

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[Malco1]

For single days, I use a Garmin RV specific GPS. It knows truck routes, height restrictions, propane restrictions, etc. and overall does a pretty good job for towing an RV and avoiding problems. Can put it in "car" mode for those non-towing times.
For overall route planning, RV Trip Wizard, which again is "aware" of potential problematic areas for RV's. Haven't tried the export function for a while, but at the time it essentially exported just the stops, and let the Garmin determine the route between each one. It does now have a companion GPS app, but I haven't tested for how well it duplicates planned routes.
I'm very techie, but BaseCamp just never was very intuitive for me.

I use the Garmin RV GPS also. It is a little pricey, but it works well and has campgrounds built in.

[Osogrande]

We use the TruckMap app. You can set the height and length of your rig. It avoids low bridges and “back roads.” Also does turn by turn. Free version starts from your current location and takes you to your destination. Paid version allows you to pre-plan from your computer and then pick up from your mobile device.

[daltontrio]

@Steven@147 - I thought it was just me having the issue of the “more info” window being cut in half!

As far as route planning we do the same. RVTW for long range planning and then load a days worth of stops into the Garmin RV GPS. Usually also run Waze for things like ‘objects in road’ or similar, but rarely take their detour suggestions unless verified rv friendly.