Garmin " FUBAR "

[carl.swoyer]

Fugrwe highway..we are in West Virginia going to NH. We don't need the Garmin thank God, to get there. But look at the route it wants us to go Lol

Carl & Christine, 2012 Landmark Rushmore, 2005 Silverado crew cab lt 8 foot bed 6.6 lly /Allison -custom dual exhaust-198000 miles !

 

[carl.swoyer]

Lol!

Carl & Christine, 2012 Landmark Rushmore, 2005 Silverado crew cab lt 8 foot bed 6.6 lly /Allison -custom dual exhaust-198000 miles !

 

[danemayer]

Carl,

Many times GPS routing problems are related to the configuration choices. For example: if you say always take interstates, but avoid toll roads, you can get some interesting routes.

 

[Gaffer]

Sometimes shortest route will be as seasonal road.

 

[mlpeloquin]

Crazy routing. If you have your setting set to avoid tole roads, tunnels, and height restrictions, it still should not rout you like that. That being said, do you know what the acronym FUBAR stands for? "F"(bomb) beyond all recognition. It comes out of WWII. If you have a cell phone with Google Maps on it, you can use it for your routing as well. Just be aware that it will use toll roads and tunnels. It should reroute you as you avoid then, and watch the bridge heights. Don't use the New Jersey turn pike unless you have lots of cash. And don't even try the rout that takes you through Washington DC, the Bronks, and the Washington bridge. You will need $300.00 or maybe more for the tolls. The road through the Bronks is a two lane turned into a three lanes. It is full of BIG pot holes and the lanes are maybe a foot beyond eight feet. I did this four years ago with a class C towing a car on a tow dolly. Not fun.

 

[NHCelt]

That's how I always go.

 

[Geodude]

That would be an epic trip! That said, the routing algorithms with our new Garmin RV760 seem to be worse than past units we've owned. It has made some really silly suggestions, for no reason (or settings) we can see. I'll be sending samples to Garmin to ask them why.

 

[Crumgater]

Certainly hope that wasn't the "quickest" route due to traffic!! YIKES!!

 

[Lynn1130]

I love Garmin. I have used them for travel, hunting, camping, and some specialty operations for years but like any GPS they have a mind of their own at times. The idea is for a GPS to give you a route that does not send you around the world for a 20 mile location. I use my Kenwood stereo unit with Garmin GPS just to keep track of miles traveled when going over routes I am familiar with but one time I programmed in a location in Kansas and took off as usual. At Tucumcari I normally get off of 40 and take US 54 NE to my location. It usually routes me through the east side of Tucumcari and up 54. As we passed the exit that I normally take, I wondered why it was taking me that way and cussed myself for not catching it rather than listening to the radio. About 5 miles out of Tucumcari the GPS had me turn off of I-40 and take a bumpy, pot holed farm road where I finally cut 54 about 5 miles out of town. WTH. It Never did that before and only made me more aware of watching where it was sending me.

One trip to New Orleans a rental car GPS sent me through a neighborhood that made me really wish I had brought my Glock when I got on the flight in.

 

[olcoon]

A few years we were heading to a work camping job S. of Denver on I-25. Hadn't been there before so was listening to the GPS. It had us exit I-25, and at the end of the exit had us get back onto I-25! We were there most of the summer, & every time we were going South it wanted us to do the same thing. Also I've noticed that for some reason in Texas it gets confused as to whether we are on the interstate, or the outer road. They are amazing technology, but you've got to watch them all the time.

 

[danemayer]

I've run into several map data errors over the years. Once on I-80, the GPS map data showed the highway under construction and closed to large vehicles. I've also run into problems where an overpass I needed to take after exiting I-20 was marked as restricted weight - less than my RV profile weight. These data errors caused the GPS programming to route me around those problem areas. Except they weren't actual problems. I also had a strange problem near our old home in Austin. I never figured out why, but the GPS never wanted me to make a particular left turn. Instead it always tried to route me the other direction and to make a U-Turn about 1/4 mile away.

I think the same map data provider is used by all the major GPS units, so they're all subject to the same data errors.

All that to say that it's worthwhile to get a GPS with lifetime maps and to update your map data frequently.

 

[Geodude]

The mapping linework describing that section of road probably had a miniscule break in it so that the routing software didn't see it as a continuous road. I had the exact same experience and I could see the break when zoomed in. I reported it and Garmin had it fixed in the next update.