White knuckle, near death experience!

[Mandog]

Originally Posted by TTnewbie

I don't even have words for all of the emotions that went through me while I had my foot jammed all the way down on the gas and I was slowly sliding back. That was beyond scary. To add to this I had trouble reversing being that I am still trying to get the swing of steering in the opposite direction. I almost ended up jack knifed across the middle of both sides of the road two times. Crazy!

I have to take my Yukon to the mechanic because I know I damaged something in the front end. My tires were cut all the way to one side while still on the hill but the combined weight of the trailer and tow pulled the Yukon backwards leaving skid marks on the road. After unhitching at the campsite I was making a wide turn and it sounded as if my front wheels locked in place as I turned. I am not mechanically inclined so I will have to get it checked out.

I’m glad you are ok. Make sure it’s not still in 4-wheel drive. Hard turns while locked in feels and is hard on the front end.

[NJKris]

Here's what they say when you learn how computers work: "garbage in, garbage out." A computer is not a magical wizard. It will be only as accurate as the info fed into it, in the case of GPS, map data. If not updated, or not filled with accurate info, it's about as good as the paper map in your glovebox that is 20 years old. You can't blame the GPS.


The GPS is calculating routes based on squiggly lines on a map. If nobody tells it that squiggly line is a crappy dirt road in Vermont you shouldn't tow on, guess what happens? You get a real interesting ride! A GPS is no substitute for local knowledge of roads, but it beats the hell out of being lost. Try asking for directions at a gas station these days, lol.

[LimitedRider]

When you find problems with a GPS road you can submit changes on HERE.com
This is where almost all GPS systems get their maps. You can also put in pictures showing the problems.

[Joekarr321]

I use a free truckers app called Hammer. So far it has not done me wrong. You enter your vehicle dimensions and weight. It calculates route and you zoom in to choose the truck entrance.

[Dakota 1120]

Someone mentioned the word "LOST."

I've NEVER been lost, and have driven from the East Coast to the West Coast and from within a mile of the Canadian border to the Mexican border...... although I have driven on a few roads I have never been on before....exploring new sites.

LOL

[Tilly]

Flat towing a car has taught me to be more careful than when I towed a trail more easily backed. Google Earth (or other similar mapping programs) show better detail on actual road scenario. Although they will not typically clue one to incline, they will show pull outs, turn around options and realistic options. I had a blowout on a narrow country road with 6” shoulders. I found a farmhouse just over the rise with a large driveway. They were nice enough to let me wait there for road side assistance. My rule is don’t front down any road I’m afraid to back out of.

[majorflee1]

Google maps sent us down a road with the bridge out and no signs warning of it.No where to turn around for quite a way so I had to back up for quite a distance.Do as much pre trip scouting as possible these gps devises are nice but they can lead to bad days quickly.

[phfkef]

The mountain directory has steep slope info in it. It was recommended by someone in that be of these forums. Take a look; https://mountaindirectory.com/

[Ruggybuggy]

Originally Posted by TTnewbie

I am not sure if this is going to help me in the future, but I am definitely buying one of those GPS navigation systems made for RV's. I would hope that a GPS made for RV's would have saved me from the near death experience that I had on Friday. That and an F250!

I use Waze for navigation on a daily basis without any problems. I used Waze on Friday to get to a campground and boy did I regret it. I was 5 minutes away from my destination. The GPS told me to make a left onto the campground road so I did. What it didn't tell me was that I was about to attempt to go up the steepest hill I have ever seen in my life. Long story short, I go up a steep hill so I think I am okay. I see a 2nd hill and figured I would make it. Well, I didn't. I stalled a third of the way up. My Yukon simply stopped. Engine started heating up. I told everyone to get out and reversed down a bit. Tried again and no go. I honestly thought that I was going to roll down both of the hills and die. It was the scariest thing I have experiences so far towing my trailer. Fortunately, there was a house with a U shaped driveway next to the hill. I pulled in and made a U turn. I called the campground and they gave me directions to the safe way to get to them.

The owner of the house came out when I made the U turn on his property. He was a really nice guy about the whole thing. He told me that almost on a daily basis vehicles towing trailers get stuck on the hill. He said that unless you have at least a 3/4 ton truck you ain't making up the hill towing a regular size trailer. Lesson learned.

FYI...for any Jersey folks out there, I'm talking about Mount Pleasant Road in Columbia, NJ, heading up to Camp Taylor.

I think that the situation that you got yourself in was as much as your fault as the gps fault. Your lack of RV experience and blindly accepting what the gps was telling you is what got you into the situation. Adding a bigger truck isn't going to solve anything and will just get you in a worse situation. You should have looked at the hill before accending and said "no way I'm going up that hill" and turned around.

Lesson learned and I bet it will never happen again. Glad it all work out for you.

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by Ruggybuggy

I think that the situation that you got yourself in was as much as your fault as the gps fault. Your lack of RV experience and blindly accepting what the gps was telling you is what got you into the situation. Adding a bigger truck isn't going to solve anything and will just get you in a worse situation. You should have looked at the hill before accending and said "no way I'm going up that hill" and turned around.

Lesson learned and I bet it will never happen again. Glad it all work out for you.

The problem is, sometimes you are on the road already, and don't know it is a problem until it becomes one. Then, there is no way to turn around on a country road with no side streets. Can't just make a k-turn. Then you have to ask yourself...."Do you feel lucky, punk?"

[Homebrew]

A couple of my phone GPS apps show me in the Delaware bay 2 miles away and shows my address a 1/2 a mile down the road. This just started 3-4 months.

[NJKris]

For the phone apps, I'm still not sure how the GPS works. GPS receiver in phone? Triangulation off towers? Combination of the two? Addresses being off (mine displays about a tenth of a mile from actual address happens because most map software takes a range of addresses for the street, and then just extrapolates where it thinks the addresses are in between a high number and low number. If the lot sizes are not the same, it's easy for it to think you are at an address you are not at.

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by NJKris

For the phone apps, I'm still not sure how the GPS works. GPS receiver in phone? Triangulation off towers? Combination of the two? Addresses being off (mine displays about a tenth of a mile from actual address happens because most map software takes a range of addresses for the street, and then just extrapolates where it thinks the addresses are in between a high number and low number. If the lot sizes are not the same, it's easy for it to think you are at an address you are not at.

It depends on the level of precision you allow the app to have. If you allow high precision it uses the GPS; if not, the phone approximates location based on WiFi and Bluetooth transmitters (and probably other data) the phone (actually, Google or Apple) already knows about.

[Ruggybuggy]

Originally Posted by NJKris

The problem is, sometimes you are on the road already, and don't know it is a problem until it becomes one. Then, there is no way to turn around on a country road with no side streets. Can't just make a k-turn. Then you have to ask yourself...."Do you feel lucky, punk?"

Common sense and situational awareness will keep you out of most dangerous situations. The OP had his first clue when he attempted the first steep hill. He had an opportunity to turn around at the base of the second hill in the driveway but chose to try to climb it anyway. The lack of RV experience is what got him in the situation. Hard lesson to learn.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by NJKris

For the phone apps, I'm still not sure how the GPS works. GPS receiver in phone? Triangulation off towers? Combination of the two? Addresses being off (mine displays about a tenth of a mile from actual address happens because most map software takes a range of addresses for the street, and then just extrapolates where it thinks the addresses are in between a high number and low number. If the lot sizes are not the same, it's easy for it to think you are at an address you are not at.

Depends on what app and phone options you are using. Google how to optimize location for both.
We use phones, both android and apple, to send coordinates to each other about where wells, ditches, bad trees, breakdowns, etc are in the different orchards the family farms. They are usually within 15 feet or so of being correct. When I am at home, google maps shows whether I am at the front or rear of the inside of my house.
My wife and I track each other via google maps and I can find her in big stores using that when we get separated

[Bhrava]

Originally Posted by debbie_rose

how about wanting you to take a ferry across the Ohio River?

This reminds me of using the Eco routing on my new 2013 Fusion Hybrid, the one that looks like a catfish. I was heading to Florida in December, and the weather was wet, but warm enough not to snow. Well it routed me off the Interstate down a county road and there were signs saying Ferry Crossing. OK I thought it was a town. Nope, it was a Ferry Crossing across the Kentucky river. Had it not been for the car ahead stopping and parking I would have driven right into the river. It was a dark and stormy night, and the road ended at the ramp, but it blended with the river, so no way to tell where the road ended and the water began. I got behind the guy and thought, what is he waiting for, then lightning flashed and I saw the river!

It gets better. I get across the river, drive off the ferry and head down the road it directed me to, then suddenly a warning pops up, Unknown roads ahead, Drive at your own risk! WHAT?!?!?! Needless to say it was the last time I ever used Eco Routing. We did eventually locate the correct Interstate and made it to Florida, but it will be a trip to never forget. I also dug though the menus and found where I can disable ferry crossing and have done so on every GPS I have.

[ppine]

One of the dangers of using a GPS.
They usually cannot recognize the road hierarchy.
People blindly follow their GPS instructions every winter in Nevada and we lose a few people.

[NJKris]

It was a dark and stormy night

Sorry, I started snickering reading this, thinking of Billy Crystal in Throw Momma from the Train. That ferry crossing didn't have any sort of gate/arm down across the road when the ferry wasn't there? What state was this??? That would never fly up here.

[Bhrava]

Originally Posted by NJKris

Sorry, I started snickering reading this, thinking of Billy Crystal in Throw Momma from the Train. That ferry crossing didn't have any sort of gate/arm down across the road when the ferry wasn't there? What state was this??? That would never fly up here.

In hind sight we laugh about it, but being there at the time sucked. It was Cave-in Rock on the Ohio River, no the Kentucky as I said above. There is no gate, just a sign on the right.

https://www.google.com/maps/@37.4671...!7i2048!8i1357


The above is the actual ferry, had no idea what it looked like that night either.

It is the perfect, Dark and Stormy night tale to talk about though, the night of the GPS!

[Iwritecode]

I remember one time driving in Chicago before GPS was really popular so we had to use a regular paper map.

The problem was that we were on Wacker Dr. There is an UPPER and a LOWER Wacker drive. They are literally on top of each other. The paper map was almost useless as you can't really differentiate between the 2 on the map.

I think we drove around in circles for about 15 minutes trying to figure out how to get back to the interstate from the hotel we we stayed in. We did manage to pass the hotel 3 or 4 times though...