Road Maps, are they a thing of the past?

We're 100% digital, usually reviewing routes on Google Maps before adding the destination to our Garmin GPS and Co-Pilot GPS Android app. If I don't like the way the GPS routes us, I add via points as needed to force it to go my way. Usually that's just to use a major city outer loop or a bypass to avoid traffic at the expense of a few extra miles.

 

I like GPS because it has its advantages (very close up views of streets, finding restaurants or stores, etc.) and I use it often, but I do not like that the route it sometimes chooses for longer distances. I do not trust it 100% to take us on the best roads for an RV. Some smaller roads are faster and a shorter distance but we would rather drive a bit farther if it keeps us on the interstates. I also like being able to look at the "big picture" (a whole state or more) in a printed atlas, so I definitely still use road maps along with the GPS.

 

We carry the Rand McNally truckers atlas but it's mostly for the passenger to follow along.

I explore routes in detail in advance using Google Maps and Street View. Sometimes I print them but most of the time I download them to my phone and use it as a GPS. We also carry a Garmin Nuvi 465T which is a trucker GPS; it alerts to potential height/weight issues even if it isn't being used for route navigation. We sometimes stop and pick up state maps at visitor centers, but lately we find we've hardly used them.

 

I always start with Google Earth. I can "Fly" the whole trip or just certain legs of it. I like Street View because I can use it to preview any exits or entrances I might need to use especially the entrance view of an R V Park. We also use a Garmin but I do not trust it 100%. I can't remember when I last used a paper map.

 

You are not a dinosaur according to the way we plan trips and find our way! On our last trip, we used our Rand McNally hard copy atlas about 95% of the time, and just used our gps to find a couple of campgrounds in the dark.

We also like being able to see the "big picture", and there have been instances where the gps was missing major roads, or has sent us in circles.

Just picked up our 2016 atlas at the beginning of the year.

 

If you guys want a dinosaur, it is me. I DO NOT have GPS and have never even seen it in action. I DO NOT have a cell phone. My better half has one of those cheap cell phones that you put $XX on once in awhile. When we travel, it is used almost exclusively to make RV park reservations. So, while in transit, we have never used modern technology to get from point A to point B. I study maps (both paper and google) before travel days and use the paper maps, if necessary, while on the road. In recent years, I have averaged maybe one wrong turn a 12-15,000 mile travel season. I am sure that will increase with age.

 

You don't know what you are missing. I would not tow or travel without a GPS. Best thing since sliced bread.

We keep paper maps and atlases for reference.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

One of the best things we like about GPS and Google maps is that you can see where and which side of the freeway your exit will be on. So many times we know we are going to go to the left (for example) but the exit is on the right and then loops around. Sometimes we have been caught unaware of this, and as all of you know it is not always easy changing lanes with 37 ft of RV and a tow car which has resulted in not being able to get off where we needed to. With GPS and talking directions we will know way in advance which lane we need to be in. And so far my traffic apps have been very accurate about congestion and traffic jams, and the sat view helps us determine if the place where we want to stop has a big enough parking lot for the RV or where the closest one is. Before we could see all of this, we got in a couple if really tight spots and wondered how we could get back out. GPS has really helped with stuff like that.

 

We don't use a GPS. My wife is the GPS. She checks everything out on Google maps. A low clearance site if on two lane highway or/and county roads. She has done very well has only screwed up three times in almost twelve years.

 

Smart phones and GPS's are tools; you can use them, or not. But these tools can provide the user additional capabilities some of which are virtual impossible to obtain any other way.

Take for example, the app DishPointerPro which shows the location of the broadcast satellites superimposed over a video image of your campsite and the trees around it. Sure, I could get the azimuth and elevation from my laptop but I'd have to go outside and try to figure out how those coordinates relate to my campsite and the trees around it. With the app, I know immediately if I'm going to be able to get satellite reception.

As another example, Google Maps, through a smart phone, provides absolutely amazing traffic data when doing turn-by-turn navigation because every phone running Google Maps that has its location ON provides Google real-time traffic info. This gives Google Maps an incredible ability to reroute you around accidents, etc.

Some people are "early adopters" and others prefer to wait a while before embracing new technology, but I don't see any point to taking a Luddite attitude that prides itself on not embracing available technologies. Personally, I will use any technology that improves my life.

 

We still use AAA paper...along with Google maps, and even enjoy "The Next Exit" plus a couple other random assets. We love the route planning / history research process. If I'm in the co-pilot seat, I have the laptop active as I love to triangulate all the resources.
If DH is in the co-pilot seat, he is sleeping...
I have it all committed to memory.
The first GPS we "early adopted" was an absolute joke. It DID serve as a great ice-breaker with fellow travelers.

 

I sure hope DH doesn't get those seats mixed up.

 

"If you guys want a dinosaur, it is me. I DO NOT have GPS and have never even seen it in action. I DO NOT have a cell phone."

Jerry S...I have a flip-phone that my wife insists I carry if we are not together, otherwise it is in a drawer. Also no GPS, don't trust it.
Believe it or not I first use a big, rolled map of the US. The kind that might be on a teenager's bedroom wall. The map has all the interstates as well as all the major US Routes and their related roads, e,g. US 83 and also 183 and 283.
I get an idea of where we are going and what roads would be most direct. Then I use individual state maps of the kind given out at Entry Welcome Centers or request a state map from the State tourism website. I find individual state folding maps easier that bound atlases with their broken states on multiple pages and small maps. Yes, I have a file drawer of State folding maps.
If I want an atlas, I have a DeLorme Gazetteer for most of the states we visit.

 

I am the one who always searches out the routes and stops we make when we travel. I first use a AAA map to chart a route from our start point to our destination point. I find cities that are within our daily travel miles and then go to RVPR's to locate an RV park to stay the night.. If I have doubts about a given road I use Google Earth street view and check out areas that may represent a problem, etc. Like what might turn out to be a narrow bridges, a low overpass, or a certain tunnel, etc. I also use it to check the entrance into the various parks we will be staying at and if the park has the street view available inside then I use it to check the sites we may want to reserve. While on the road and in transit we use AAA maps we have obtained for all the areas we will be in. We also keep a current copy of "Next Exit" just in case I forget to write down where the best gas stops are, which has happened I stopped using a GPS years ago as I found that I much preferred a plain old map. So call me an old guy, I am use to it by now.........

BankShot (aka Terry)

 

Well, I'm only 73, so I get along just fine using the new tools that advancing technology has given us over the years. But being 73, I also fully realize that they are just tools, and not the end all, be all of how to get where we're going. Common sense dictates that I'm not a slave to which way the GPS says to go, especially when I know a better route based on pre-trip route reviews or previous experience.

 

We use GPS and paper maps. We check the route on the GPS and use the computer to get a satellite view of the route. If we don't like it, we look at the paper map, to see if there maybe something better. We also use the paper map to find the names of cities and towns nearby and then check to see if there is anything interesting we want to see or do there.

 

Paper maps and google for me as well. I love turn by turn navigation in congested areas but have had more than one experience where there was no service available. Paper maps don't need a data plan and they also provide a nice overview of routes. Sometimes that google lady in my phone fibs... I try not to take it personally.

 

I have almost stopped using a road atlas. I still pull it out every so often to get "the big picture", but the last few trips I haven't brought it along. Between printing out specific maps from Google maps, using GPS and Google maps on my phone, I am not sure if I will be buying an updated paper atlas.

Even my GPS is getting old. I have an older model in my truck, which I haven't used recently, and it has gotten a bit wonky without any recent updates.

I bought a mount for my smart phone and use Google maps mostly while driving.

It is important to review your route before starting out, and NOT depend entirely on the GPS / Google Maps. The electronics sometimes will send you on round about routes for seemingly no reason. Ever try using a GPS to guide you home from somewhere that you know very well? The routes it will recommend sometimes are very odd!