GPS epic fail in Asheville

[Henboy]

I gave up on Garmin last year when it could not find an RV park twice on one trip.
Someone told me about a cellphone app called WAZE. Amazing !!! I don't even carry a GPS any more.
A word of caution: You must trust the WAZE directions!! Sometimes they seem very wrong but it never fail to get you to the destination the quickest way.
Other users also update traffic, road and other info in real time. You can also contribute info as you travel.

[Magdeep]

Always travel with an up to date road atlas. Review your route per the atlas and you'll know if the gps is sending you off in to never, never land.

[dwhit]

We supplement the Garmin with the phone. I'm so long & heavy I don't dare get off the interstate w/o knowing EXACTLY what I'm doing. Truck stops always for fuel.

ONE TIME I got off the highway for a U turn in the wrong city. I will never, EVER do that again. I ran over every island, was swore at by motorists. Ugly.

[The Newsoms]

WAZE app is awesome but be aware that it will drain your battery in no time. Need to have your phone plugged in if you're going to use it for any length of time

[KyDan]

What do you cell phone navigators do when you don't have a cell signal?

[BandJCarm]

I do not use my cell phone for navigation, but many of the GPS apps on my phone use GPS signals OR Cell signals......in that order.

[The Newsoms]

We have a handy set of cards with directions and milage that are created before we leave. We also keep a current road atlas.

[kgbarne]

Had the smart phone gps fail experience today. Thankfully wasn't pulling the TT. Near Ellicott City MD, when it happened. Had previewed the route, and had just been told to stay on MD32 for 20 miles to I95 when the gps suddenly told me to turn right. Put me in a neighborhood! Didn't listen to it after that!!! Knew where I was going once on 95. Had the printed map on the seat beside me as usual, just in case!

[BandJCarm]

Recalculating.....................

[asquared]

I have seen my Garmin pick up on something I said, switch to voice mode on its own, change its destination and try to reroute me somewhere weird. I think the Garmin satellite must be recalculating to Jupiter or something.

[TheWolfPaq82]

Up until maybe 2 years ago, the wife and I did all our trips with paper maps and the tried and trusted...Rand McNally Road Atlas. These day we also use Google Maps on our phone and I can transfer them to my Navigation on my truck.

[Scheinin]

I think I located the trouble with my Garmin 760 LMT. We be following the direction of the Garmin, when my wife says she knows a short cut, which we take. Later, the Garmin remembers this, and routes us 10 miles out of the way to our next destination. It is not nice to fool a Garmin.

[WolfWhistle]

I also have the 760. You might want to rely solely on a GPS and can get away with it 9 out of 10 times or more, but that 1 time can be a little inconvenient to an absolute horror story. We should consult a map for long trips and know the way, so that when the thing routes us down a dirt road thru the woods that ends at a driveway back in the woods and banjo music can faintly be heard...

Coming back to FL from SC the other day, mine wanted me to take narrow 2 lane roads thru a small town that was obviously not the best (nor shortest, nor fastest, nor more economical) way... not once but twice. I was on US-1 that was interstate-like, light traffic and all... and I knew I could do not better. At times, this might happen when roads have been improved, but this 4-lane has been like that (in those places) for more than a decade.

WW

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by Witch Doctor

We have the same GPS, It will get weird at times. My wife loves to read maps as we travel, she always checks the new directions out. GPS will tell me oneway and she will say NO go this way, She is way better then the GPS. I'll be headed that way tomorrow thanks for the info. I also would like to know about the younger generation that can't read a map? With all these new ways like texting and things the younger generation have lost the art of conversation and put there trust in gadgets....

Well we made it from Georgia Mt. Fairgrounds to Asheville NC. We did not have any trouble from door to door. It's a fluke my 760lmt will route me where it's wants to, but I was waiting...."Happy Fathers Day" to all..

[gectisme]

Originally Posted by KyDan

What do you cell phone navigators do when you don't have a cell signal?

Copilot App, maps are downloaded onto the phone and will use the GPS only, if needed.

I admit though, we now mainly use the Garmin 760 along with google maps and compare the 2. The thing with the Garmin 760 is once you put it into RV mode, it makes decisions for you based on what it thinks is the easiest route for the RV and it can add quite a bit of time to the route, (it will also take into account what you setup in the preferences as far as what to avoid). I mainly want it in RV Mode so it will let me know about low clearances coming up. Some things the Garmin in RV mode wants to avoid are not that big an issue to me and I would rather save the time. We also have turned on "The Road" in every state we have visited.

[Slow Moon]

1--In unfamiliar territory, multiple navigation aids are better. GPS or phone-based navigation provide traffic, ETA & other nice info that maps cannot. Google maps can show great detail, including "Street View" showing exactly what you'll encounter in turns and tight spots will look like (if available & up-to-date).

2--GPS route picking--My experience: Tom Tom not perfect but is consistently better than Garmin or Magellan. I've seen Garmin pick very bizarre & bad routes. In extensive Tom Tom experience, I've seen only 2 or 3 bad picks out of many hundreds, & never as bad as Garmin stinkers.

[rsdata]

In extensive Tom Tom experience, I've seen only 2 or 3 bad picks out of many hundreds, & never as bad as Garmin stinkers.

I agree with this, but only experience is with a friends Garmin... which twice took us way out of the way to access 4 lane roads to get to where we were going, where 2 lane country roads were much faster.

I know there are "controls" to avoid or use certain types of roads, but Garmin did not care.

[Alleyantique]

I just updated my rv760 and noticed for the first time a warning that the internal memory will not hold the current full version of the USA map. To load more than a segment map you must install at least a 3gb SD card. The 760 will handle up to a 32gb card. This may explain some problems. If the wrong map is loaded you will likely get some strange routes especially if the map has a location with the same name as the location you intended to use. The update manager actually checked my gps for an sad card and warned me not to remove the DD card from the gps after the update or the gps would not operate correctly. Check the map version and update to the latest version.

[mlwilliams808]

My Garmin 760 took me off the interstate 10 and took me through construction and business routes in Tuscon while going to Lazy Days RV, imagine how pleased I was when it dropped me back on 10 about a 1\2 mile from Lazy Days exit. Took me about 7 miles out of the way and added about 45 minutes of traffic lights.

[Rokslinger]

On our way to AK, ours dumped us at the wrong address in downtown Calgary during rush hour towing our toad, lasr week. The good people of Calgary are certainly educated in the use of their middle fingers.