Trip Planner?
- Thread starter Mhitesman
- Start date
I'm sure that there are plenty of trip planners around, but the one that I have been pretty fond of lately is Microsoft Streets and Trips.
If for example you want to go coast to coast you can move your route if you want, plan stops, it will show driving time, mileage, and calculate your fuel cost.
The thing that I find very useful is that once I get my route planned I can export it to my Garmin GPS.
Peace
Dave
If for example you want to go coast to coast you can move your route if you want, plan stops, it will show driving time, mileage, and calculate your fuel cost.
The thing that I find very useful is that once I get my route planned I can export it to my Garmin GPS.
Peace
Dave
Here is a website I found it has a lot of different info in it. They have an app for the phone as well. www.roadtripper.com
Dave, can you explain how you get your trip plans into the Garmin? I can't seem to make that happen.
danemayer
Well-known member
Good Sam Club Trip Planner. Menu PLAN A TRIP/ROUTE YOUR RV TRIP. You must be a Good Sam Club member to use.
Prints out a nice itinerary that shows items of interest by distance and time.
Once you have a route, you can use other tools to locate non-GS parks and state parks.
- Point-to-point trip planning
- Research and add Good Sam Parks to your route
- Search thousands of Points of Interest and add to your route
- Calculate fuel costs and travel time
- Options include avoiding highways and/or tolls
- Use RV travel filters to see low clearance and tunnel warnings
Prints out a nice itinerary that shows items of interest by distance and time.
Once you have a route, you can use other tools to locate non-GS parks and state parks.
happykraut
Well-known member
I have been using Microsoft S&T for years. I does show campgrounds, Rest areas, national parks, casinos, wineries and a bunch of other places. Like Cookie, I also import that route to my Garmin GPS. Not sure how he does it, but I export the data as a GPX file and then I install the GPX file into the Garmin. Cookie can probably explain it better than me. S&T probably requires less maintenance than Rodbusters.
GlenStMary
Well-known member
We usually start our planning using the Good Sam Trip Planner. We map out the best course of travel which provides us the cities, towns, and areas we will be passing through, as well as allows us to plan our driving distances and therefore our stops. We are also provided a listing of interesting things to see on our trip. Then we use Allstays to find campgrounds and/or parks in the areas we are going to and are provided with the facility's website and reviews of the facility. Allstays has a good webite as well as apps that can be used with your phone. So far this methodology has served us really well. Safe travels to you!
Not to mention less frequent updates at a much lower cost.
Richard, after I get the route planned I either click 'File', 'Save As', or click 'Data' then 'Export to GPX File'.
That is done by using the tool bar at the top.
When you click 'Export to GPX File' a pane will pop up, probably 'My Documents'. Create a folder there that you will recognize as your route.
Then give the file a name. 'Egg Harbor to Washington' DC for example and save it to the folder that you created.
One you have that file saved plug in your Garmin. I don't know if all Garmins will allow you to do this but the Nuvi will.
Follow the steps shown in the attached picture.
Hope this helps.
Peace
Dave
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happykraut
Well-known member
Fine job, Dave. I knew you wouldn't let me down. I do it differently, but the end result is the same.
TravelTiger
Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
pegmikef
Well-known member
There are POI databases that can be added to streets and trips that contain all of the parks (state, COE, National) as well as a lot of other information like rest areas, Sam's, with Diesel and it goes on.
Thanks Dave, but my Garmin does not have a My Data file. I have the 2595 nuvi.
I can get the planned trip onto the mini sd but don't see anyway to access it on the garmin. I can open it while on the computer. Probably have to try a call to garmin help.
I can get the trip into the mini sd and can read it on the computer but can find no way to access the mini sd once I unpiug the gps from the computer. I have followed the instructions but the garmin doesn't show me the My Data icon. I guess a call to garmin tomorrow is needed.
I even tried my old garmin which is a nuvi 765 and it won't work either.Perhaps it's the the mini sd ,which is out of my Moultrie game camera and isn't compatable with the garmins.
porthole
Retired
Tried this after seeing your post. Not very user friendly. Unless I'm missing something, no route recalculation and not smart enough to add a way point between start and end and actually have it calculate that way.
I also tried it with a route from New Jersey to Maggie Valley, NC. Routed as expected until I hit the avoid tolls and highways, would not calculate a route. Tolls I understand, it is almost impossible to get out of Jersey without paying a toll. But the lack of highway routing seemed odd.
Just to update and maybe help someone with same problem.
I called Garmin tech help and he put me thru the same steps suggested within this post and a couple others but the model 2595 nuvi does not read Microsoft streets. I tried it on my old 765 and it works. The tech had me download their Basecamp software which I thought looked promising but after a couple hrs. of playing around and reading instructions and even watching the videos I got frustrated with it and removed it , could not get a trip planned. So I'm back to putting my planned stops into the gps one at a time , manually.
I called Garmin tech help and he put me thru the same steps suggested within this post and a couple others but the model 2595 nuvi does not read Microsoft streets. I tried it on my old 765 and it works. The tech had me download their Basecamp software which I thought looked promising but after a couple hrs. of playing around and reading instructions and even watching the videos I got frustrated with it and removed it , could not get a trip planned. So I'm back to putting my planned stops into the gps one at a time , manually.