I have a low clearances POI file in my Garmin 255W that alerts me 2 miles before any problem arises. "Due diligence" in planning avoids most such problems of course, but there's always the risk of an unexpected detour.
Don't rely on it 100%. You never know when you will suddenly find a bridge that isn't programmed into your GPS!! To make things a bit simpler I have added 2 labels to the truck dash showing the height I need to clear low bridges. I measured the fiver when parked on a level area and gave myself a couple of inches to spare. Now when I see a low bridge sign I can instantly relate to whether I have a problem. It sure beats trying to remember exactly how much clearance I need. My labels are in feet and inches as well as metric.
I came across a low bridge in NW PA. Can't remember if it was marked or not but I took one look and said no way. Fortunately there was plenty of room to turn around there.
You can't take the Fisherman out of this Camper wrote: Don't rely on it 100%.
Absolutely! Those low clearance lists on-line, at the POI factory, and in the trucker's atlas only include major truck routes. They DO NOT include low clearances on many of the back roads and side roads. I don't have any personal experience with Garmin's new trucker GPS, but I wonder if it is the same database as all of the others, and therefore has the same limitations?
You can't take the Fisherman out of this Camper also wrote: To make things a bit simpler I have added 2 labels to the truck dash showing the height I need to clear low bridges.
%snip%
My labels are in feet and inches as well as metric.
A very good idea, especially the metric part! May I suggest also including the width of your rig, especially in metric.
Last week, driving through a construction zone in Canada, there was a warning sign that all trucks over 3.5 meters wide must exit now and use the detour due to a lane restriction ahead. I knew how wide my rig is in feet/inches, and also in inches, but not in meters. Some quick mental arithmetic gave me an approximation that there was plenty of room for the MH, but there were a few seconds of sweating while I had to quickly decide if it was safe or not.
Probably not a bad idea to also know your weight in metric, although that's less of an issue since the Canadian signs I saw were in metric tonnes, which is about 10% heavier than our tons, so there is a built-in margin. Still, maybe there's a bridge weight sign in kilograms out there?
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My Garmin 330 wanted me to turn in Needles Calif. to go to Laughlin NV, I looked and there was a railway underpass that had 9'6" in big letters. Good thing I could see it before I turned. And this was an old road, guess the Bus setting on the GPS doesn't mean what I thought.
I would not be one to rely on a GPS to have up to date information. Often a repaving will reduce clearances by a few inches, but the information from a local highway department will not reach the state DOT for a few weeks/months and it will be a few more months until the GPS programmers get the info.
If the clearance is close I would not risk my roof. Also, if the roadway dips under the bridge the actual clearance to a 40-65' long vehicle is less than the stated clearance
My problem is that restrictions (height or weight) are seldom put at the entrances to a road, usually the low clearance or weight restriction is just before the bridge, sometimes the sign is mounted on the bridge. Disconnecting a toad vehicle and backing up to find a driveway that is wide enough to get into is a real pain.
Weight restrictions are constantly being added and weights being reduced. Even before the current recession highway agencies did not have enough money to maintain our bridges. Expect to see even more restrictions in the future.
Dan
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Saw lots of them....If I could figure out how to post a picture here, I'd show you what the map of low bridges looks like on S&T....lot's of places to go wrong...
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