GPS and Maps

[Steve do]

Okie34, the unit I listed above I think has a place you can put a SD disk in it, not sure but I guess you can put a program on the disc, open up the short cut, it has a good explanation of what all it will do.
It says TF, don't know what that means.

[SgtSlag]

Took a class last night, through the local Community Education, called, "Motorcycle Route Planning". The instructor teaches MSF, basic and advanced, as well as teaching a track-day course in the Twin Cities metro-area (MN). She shared with us how to use Google Maps, and MapQuest, to plan routes, as well as which map books were good for planning routes based on what types of terrain we were interested in riding through. It was very interesting.

Bottom line for my wife and I is that since we began serious touring trips, in 2009, we have never really used our GPS, relying almost exclusively on maps. The MapQuest program can be used to find POI's such as food, and gas; it can be manually configured for routes by right-clicking on an alternate road you want to take, instead of the shortest/fastest route between Points A & B, and select that as an additional leg in the journey. The real kicker, pointed out by a fellow rider/student, was that you can e-mail the route to yourself, and friends! This will 'save' your route for future reference (click on the included hyperlink, and your routes will pop open again, just as you had them before), as well as allowing you to catalog your preferred riding routes.

MapQuest will also give you turn-by-turn directions, in hard copy text form (our TomTom will show turn-by-turn, but it is not practical to use on the road). She shared with us how she uses a tank bag with a clear top for maps, to write out her own directions, with notes which mean something to her (extra stuff not on the MapQuest printed pages). I really liked her ideas.

I like having a GPS for certain uses, but when travelling, we prefer to go 'old school', and use maps. They just seem easier to use, and much easier to 'program' a route into. I find when following directions from the GPS, I am driving blind, not knowing where I am going, driving purely on faith in the machine -- it usually works, but we've been taken the long way around, more than once, following the machine. YMMV.


You might want to get a low-cost, used GPS to try for a while, to see if you really like using that, versus using the paper maps, and/or MapQuest, or Google Maps. A used TomTom One Version 3, like I have, was on e-Bay for all of $17. If the map is up to date, that would be a good chance to try before you dive in the deep end, financially. Cheers!

[FLAGert]

There is a third-party free program called "Tyre" that I use to map my routes. It uses Google Maps or Google Earth (your choice) and I've found it much more flexible and accommodating for computing complex routes than my Tom-Tom. It then saves your route to Tom-Tom and Garmin GPS units. Using this program I can plan routes via back roads I could never get my Tom-Tom use!

That would be http://www.tyretotravel.com ?

[debron]

There is a third-party free program called "Tyre" that I use to map my routes. It uses Google Maps or Google Earth (your choice) and I've found it much more flexible and accommodating for computing complex routes than my Tom-Tom. It then saves your route to Tom-Tom and Garmin GPS units. Using this program I can plan routes via back roads I could never get my Tom-Tom use!

That would be http://www.tyretotravel.com ?

That's the one.

[Terros]

My Magellan comes with a program you download to your computer from the Magellan site. You can plan your route on the program and sync to GPS.

Bob.

[usmalenurse]

+1 on the Tyre program. Have been using it for a couple of years and works great with trip planning.

[ghostler]

Here's a deal that's good today only 4/16/14 (but they do come up fairly often)! Magellan RoadMate 4.7" GPS w/ Free Lifetime Traffic & Map Updates, AAA Tourbook & POIs (Refurbished). $44.99 free shipping http://1sale.com/electronics/other/mage ... dmate-gps/ Magellan RoadMate 3045-LM 4.7” GPS and Charger Warranty: 90 Day

I got its brother the 4.7" Roadmate 3030-LM, bought it from Tiger Direct as refurb about a year ago, think I paid $60 for it. Works fine, have it in a weather resistant case mounted to the handle bar. It saved me when my speedometer cable broke, used the GPS speed display in lower left corner. In Panhandle Texas and Eastern New Mexico, the LEO's will ticket doing 5 over.

It's not perfect, though. I find referring to a map and being selective on routes will save time, using the GPS as a guide. It will insist on getting back to its route until I've traveled far enough that then it tracks. I usually bring an atlas with me as a backup and reference guide.

Best thing about the GPS is knowing my position in these rural parts. That has kept me out of trouble.

[Terros]

Ghostler you are right about one thing, if you change route it keeps trying to direct you back instead of recalculating route. But, for the money I can put up with it. They seem to last about 3 riding seasons and then I buy another one for peanuts.

Bob

[ghostler]

Ghostler you are right about one thing, if you change route it keeps trying to direct you back instead of recalculating route. But, for the money I can put up with it. They seem to last about 3 riding seasons and then I buy another one for peanuts. Bob

Yes Bob, agree with you there. Once traveling through Oklahoma City, the GPS took me on a path through old US-66 with 10 stoplights and an extra half hour to get through. It was then I started "preflighting my route" using MapQuest and the US atlas book. That helped out tremendously. GPS is just a mapping tool, if one understands that and its advice is not gospel, will help in the long run to put it to best use.

[Terros]

Yep, you really have to watch that "shortest route". One time shortest route took 45 minutes to get us to Libby, Mt., but had we stayed on the highway we would have been there in about 15.
Bob