pnichols
The Other California
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Joined: 04/26/2005
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Pretty much - at least for Western U.S. travel - what you can rely on is:
1) A Garmin unit kept CURRENT at all times with respect to it's operating system and maps,
AND
2) a Garmin unit kept set to FASTEST navigating mode,
PLUS
3) these super comprehensive map atlases for each Western U.S. state -> https://www.benchmarkmaps.com/atlas
* This post was
edited 11/16/20 07:35pm by pnichols *
Phil, 2005 E450 Itasca Spirit 24V
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SAR Tracker
Central Oregon
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Joined: 05/29/2003
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After using one for over 20 years (see user name) in Search and Rescue, a GPS is just another "tool" in your navigation toolbox. You need to have a GENERIC understanding of WHERE you're going, and the GENERIC route to get there. If it doesn't make sense to take a certain road, then STOP and figure out why you're being directed down that route. One thing to keep in mind, Garmin and the other mapping software companies DO NOT UPDATE their maps. I've got a locked gate a block from my house that's been there 5+ years. I've tried calling, e-mail, writing, no luck in changing the software.
Rusty & Cheryl
2011 F250 2WD 6.2L Gasser
2008 Weekend Warrior FB2100
"Common sense is in spite of, not the result of, education" - Victor Hugo (1802-1885)
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mbopp
Henrietta, NY, USA
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I have the smaller screen RV660. If you use the RV mode you can set the rig height and it will alert you to low bridges.
2017 Grand Design Imagine 2650RK
2019 F250 XLT Supercab
Just DW & me......
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mowermech
Billings, MT
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Joined: 06/28/2003
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after making a trip from Billings, MT to Moab, UT, following a GPS unit (not Garmin), and having the less-than-smart GPS tell me to turn right down in WY where there wasn't a road (I could see the right turn from the top of the hill, a mile or so on down the road)...
I became convinced the fool thing was great for finding rummage/garage/estate sales in town, but I would never rely on it for long distance travel directions again.
We now have Garmins with lifetime map updates. They don't show the latest reconstruction on our way to town ("traffic circle"). Yes, they both have been updated. Maybe next year.
The last time I went to Great Falls, it didn't show the highway change up there, either. It showed me driving through a wheat field! That was two years ago. Maybe when I get the updates next spring...
I will never allow it to tell me to go over Beartooth Pass this time of year. It is closed until late Spring/early Summer 2021!
Don't let Garmin tell you to use the railroad underpass in downtown
Billings. The clearance is only 8' 6"!
Those things are a good tool, but only YOU are smart enough to stay out of trouble on the highways and byways!
CM1, USN (RET)
2002 Fleetwood Southwind 32V, Ford V10
Daily Driver: '06 PT Cruiser Turbo
Toad: '05 Wrangler Unlimited
Toy: 1999 Dodge QC LWB, Cummins, Auto, 4X4
Other toys: 2 Kawasaki Brute Force 750 ATVs.
"When seconds count, help is only minutes away!"
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Fisherman
Angus, Ontario, Canada
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mowermech wrote:
Those things are a good tool, but only YOU are smart enough to stay out of trouble on the highways and byways!
That's the problem with a lot of people.
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Nv Guy
Reno NV
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We have a Garmin RV 770, and while it's handy, I don't trust it 100%. Sometimes it decides to just randomly change the route. It will also revise a route I prepared on my computer then loaded in the GPS, so that's something else to watch for.
As already recommended, always have a paper map / phone with mapping and a general idea of how to get where you are going.
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