Road Maps, are they a thing of the past?

I am on information overload! Since I am the navigator, I use any and all tools! I don't trust the GPS 100%, as it put us in a terrible position last summer when a road was closed and we were in the middle of nowhere on a TERRRRRIBLE 2 lane road. I have also started using Good Sam trip planner. Pretty cool, as it also shows campgrounds and info. We use my iPhone sometimes too, but when there is no signal, the trusty maps or atlas comes out.

 

I almost always examine my GPS's proposed route using Google Maps Street View at selected places along the next day's trip. That helps rule out narrow, winding roads in the middle of nowhere. If you don't already know it, you can easily change a Google Maps proposed route by dragging a point to where you want it. The route will then "re-arrange" itself to include that point. To get the specific route you want you may have to drag a couple of points.

That's one reason why I like using Google Maps "turn by turn" navigation, because I can play with it on my computer and then send the route directly to my phone so I can use it the next day. My Garmin will let me do something similar by setting waypoints, but I find the process to be clumsy, especially since I have to review the route on the Garmin's little screen rather than on my laptop.

Even the best GPS will do some strange things if it is operating in a "shortest distance" mode. That may, for example, have you exit a highway at an earlier exit than the one closest to your destination because it will try to avoid having you "turn back" even though that might be easier than driving there from the previous exit. A couple of days ago, even though I had examined the proposed Google Maps route in advance, I had overlooked the fact that it had me drive ~3 mile along Iowa fields rather than sending me one exit further on the interstate!

One caution is to not blindly follow a GPS unless you have some perspective on where it is taking you. Travelers getting themselves into trouble by not doing this are so frequent that park rangers apparently have given their misfortunes the name "Death by GPS" and it is no joke because several die each year from this malady!

 

Too late, Joel. This happened yesterday!

“A little embarrassed:” Woman follows car’s GPS straight into Lake Huron

 

I would not travel in an RV without GPS, as I want to know about turns well in advance, and value the time/mileage info. Since using a GPS I have not found myself in a "trap", a road that dead ends without a way of easily turning around. I always check a paper map first however as the GPS is not perfect. It might route you 70 miles longer to save two minutes. However I have seen it base the time savings on a 75-80mph freeway in Texas, and with an RV the routing would actually take over an hour longer since I would never tow at that speed. In New Mexico where I live, the GPS data is fairly accurate in the cities, but tends to be less accurate in the very rural areas. The other nice thing about paper maps and guidebooks is that they often show sites of interest that you may not easily notice on a computer or GPS routing. I'd hate to travel through an area using electronic generated data, then discover afterward that I was within a few miles of an interesting town or historic site which would have been an easy detaur.

 

The nice thing about maps is they don't care if you forgot your charger, or are out in the boonies without a data signal, or in the woods where GPS is spotty.

 

Good points!

 

One quick thing I'd like to add on this thread is that even tho I have slowly crawled out of the dark ages and do own a few of today's modern technology products (like for instance my super duper electric toothbrush... ) I will never leave home without my trusty maps. As bheinz874 stated above, you can always rely on a good old map when the electronic gizmos aren't working for one reason or the other. That is of course unless you happen to drop that trusty old map in a mud puddle and it marinates for a while until you discover it laying there................

 

Ok, I hope this doesn't hijack this thread, but thought I'd mention something from the past and see if anyone else used one.

Back in the 1990's when we were first married, my wife and I were given a "Road Whiz Plus" device by my mom as a present. It was like an early GPS device, where you had to put in your state, then highway #, then direction, then mile marker. You could then press a specific key to look for "fast food", hotel, campground, rest area, etc. The product was made through the early 2000's and even came in a talking version.

Here is a link to some for sale on eBay if you're interested:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=road+whiz+plus

 

I still buy a truckers atlas every couple years. We have seven GPSs and not one of them can get us to our rural home. They see roads that aren't there and a couple want us to drive right into the forest. Got a pretty big truck, but not that big!

Just a comment. Our two cell phones' apps do a better job than any of our stand alone GPSs.

 

Pretty much all digital and GPS at this point. However we do have state maps and atlases. Occasionally GPS screws up and when it does you're the one out. We still pick up state maps welcome centers from time to time.

We have built in GPS in our Jeep, Garmin in the motorhome. With all that "preparation" Maps, Google, phone, GPS, etc. we've still put ourself in some precarious situations, but escapable.

 

I too love my Garmin GPS we still look at a map but they are no up to date as the Garmin is, nor can a map tell me the speed limit, traffic cameras, food, gas etc.

 

I use GPS primarily. I carry printed maps but rarely open them. Before driving, I review my route on Streets and Trips so I know my general route and can compare it to what he GPS is saying. If I don't like the GPS recommendation, I modify the route using waypoints before starting out.

By the way, I own an airplane and when I fly it I have NO printed maps, but I do have four GPS receivers aboard, which have computerized copies of the printed maps. Paper charts for airplanes are nearly extinct. Even the airlines are eliminating them.

 

When I am planning a trip the first thing I do is go to the old Streets and Trips my Microsoft. Mine is a 2010 but roads don't change that much. I like being able to plan my stops to a certain time or mileage that I want to drive. When I have plotted my start and finish destination, I go and figure where along the route I want to stop. Then I go to the camp directory and see what campgrounds are in the neighborhood. If none I move on down the road a piece and try again. I use Google earth to do an overhead shot to see what the campground looks like and the roads leading to it. I will print out a couple of maps shots to carry with me. Along with all that we also carry the big Rand McNally trucker maps to check out the roads that are good for truckeers and RV's without height restrictions. Finally, we use the GPS during our travelling but do not rely on it as it has led us down the wrong path just enough times and do not trust it. Too many stories to put in here as to how it got us in a jam, some funny some not so. It is a useful tool but not to be relied on as the only source of information on the road. I find that the cell phone comes in quite handy with its gps as well as being able to call ahead to ask the directions into the campgrounds and not taking the GPS route, which quite often has old information.

 

I use technology, but I also enjoy the nostalgia of doing the rough planning using paper maps. The bigger the better. It was the same on my boat when cruising long distances. GPS and electronic maps for detailed planning and for underway feedback, but nothing beats a map for discovering interesting routes. There is a lot of world out there off the Interstates.

 

Garmin gps, my Arch Nemesis.....

I used to trust Garmin, but now carry Rand US Maps and a local state map if I have one.

Garmin has led me down the golden path too many times, ending up either "Dropped, I have no data for this location" or seeing the road I want thru apx 100 yards of forest, heheh not to mention dirt roads that are closed. (learned to turn off "Dirt roads" avoidances. so from hard maps to GPS, back to hard maps and Tablet Google.

Typically, use online Google maps to get a routing idea, pick local city key turns and hwy #s. Then route on a paper map, then put in the Garmin when in the truck and verify routes look about the same config... still "Iffy"

It's a "Luv/Hate" with Garmin and have resorted back to hard maps as a backup/confirmation...

 

We use all the "tools" available.
Love the GPS, but its just another tool in the flight bag.
Maps, use them for planning and keep them handy on the road.
The Good Sam Guide, use the Big Book version for the planning and keep it handy when were out of cell service and decide to change our plans while were underway. Seems easier and quicker then the internet.
I really enjoy the Pre Trip planning, and use all the above and Google maps extensively.
Sometimes in busy cities I'll check out the Street View nearly mile by mile.
Last year I led a little group on a four month 10,000 mile 38 state tour, plus two Canadian Provinces.
And even though we were all a bunch of Arizona cowboys touring all the major east coast cities from Florida to Quebec we NEVER made a wrong turn or got lost.
Just takes good planning..
And may I add, just over half the trip was traveled OFF the Interstate Highways. That was pre trip choice that the group made early in the planning...

This year were doing a family reunion in Lancaster NY with a mid August departure from Arizona.
After the reunion in early September were hoping to catch the fall colors following them back across
Canada, So of course I'm already planning, so that we don't miss anything important...

 

We use various forms of electronic planning and navigating from online maps, etc., computer programs, and GPS and phone. However, it did not take us long to figure out once that GPS sends you down the wrong road or makes you wend around out of your way, you better have a good atlas or maps with you to get out of it. Accurate or inaccurate, the trip programming is very stubborn guiding you wrong if it is wrong.

DV

 

We work from big to small. Traveling the full US we like to pull out the Rand McNally for a look at the entire road system and choices. We then use Google Maps for directions .....but here's the thing- Google never thinks outside the straightest route. If you don't review the route it gives you, you may end up in an alley or using a low underpass (fear Long Island) Trust your eyes, check your map and don't rely 100% on a technology that may not work in out of the way locations. We carry maps and a compass -even used it once in Utah's Grand Escalantes

 

Maps and GPS/Glonass are just tools, good for planning and driving but sometimes, it's nicer to just drive. We keep an paper atlas and AAA's Indian Country fold out map on board our RV. GPS is with an iPhone 6S plus and Samsung Tab S 9.7/10.5 inch with built in GPS and Glonass. My favorite app is HERE, a free app (owned by Mercedes, BMW and VW) with free maps of most anywhere in the world. Works offline but other features are available if online. I relocated the radio stack in our plane and installed the 10.5" Tab S in their place. Avare is a great free nav app for aircraft. Receiving both U.S. and Russian nav satellites means much better reception and fewer lost positions in big cities with tall buildings. Locks on position much faster also.