reubenray
Pearl River, LA.
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I am in the process of starting to plan our first long distance trip and need some info. What is the best mapping and campground locating place to look at? Mapquest failed me miserably on my maiden trip. It will be in flatlands of the Gulf Coast, so I will not need mountain info this trip.
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dgo1369
Georgetown, TX, US
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reubenray wrote:I am in the process of starting to plan our first long distance trip and need some info. What is the best mapping and campground locating place to look at? Mapquest failed me miserably on my maiden trip. It will be in flatlands of the Gulf Coast, so I will not need mountain info this trip.
I use Microsoft Streets & Trips in conjunction with TL Campground Directory (both on DVD).
Dennis Osha
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dan-nickie
Grand Prairie, TX
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Streets & Trips with the FREE MegaFile download.
Great for planning.
Has pretty much all the info needed for RV traveling.
Dan and Nickie, Four Winds 31p, Retired Jan/2011
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djgarcia
Northern, Ca. , USA
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Joined: 07/26/2002
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Try "Free Trip.com" by Good Sam.
Dick
djgarcia@earthlink.net
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mockturtle
WA
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MS Streets & Trips, TL Directory and RV Park Reviews.
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Matt_Colie
Southeast Michigan
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reubenray,
The others are on the right track, but Strips and Treets is not always the best choice. Lots of people like the megafile with all the POIs (Points of Interest) on the continent in a single file, but I have found that cumbersome. One big advantage is that you can a free 60 day trial.
There were several big problems that S&T had that were only recently cleared, and one was that you had to have the MacroSquish GPS or it didn't navigate on the road. There were other problems - too.
I went back to Delorme Street Alas and still look at S&T about every other year to see if they have gotten any better. SA will not accept the mega-file, but as said, I find that no disadvantage.
None the less, get (borrow or download) a copy of one or the other and learn to use it for planning. Once you have done that, figure out how to power it in the cab so you can have real-time navigation that will save you hours of grief and much else.
For information files of POI, go to Discovery Owners data
And either find just what you want or get it all.
There are also paid sites like Allstays that some people think are worth the cost.
There are also several campground review sites that I use, but those are mostly for non-rv-resort places (where we stay) and they are too numerous to list here. None of the above are completely accurate or complete. The real best answer is to get the location close and then use Google Earth to confirm the location and get there by Lat&Lon.
Matt - A navigator (job title) for too many years.
Matt & Mary Colie
A sailor, his bride and their black dog going to see some dry places that have Geocaches in a coach made the year we married.
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paulj
Seattle
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In what sense was Mapquest a failure? Did it lack campground info? Give bad routes? Was it difficult to use?
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reubenray
Pearl River, LA.
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paulj wrote:In what sense was Mapquest a failure? Did it lack campground info? Give bad routes? Was it difficult to use?
It gave me the wrong route and I was starting to sweat it to get back on the correct route. Especially while pulling a 30' fifth wheel through touristy areas and no options to turn around.
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paulj
Seattle
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What do you mean by wrong route? One that was too narrow or hilly for your unit? It may help if you give a couple of destinations, and see if other programs give the same problem. You might even try a few others yourself, such as Google Maps.
You may need to explore ways getting more information from the mapping program, and to get it to suggest other routes. For example Google Maps has satellite views, and a terrain mode to show hills, and streetview to see the actual road. You can also tweak the suggested route to pass through specific towns, or around potential problem spots. Other programs let you specify 'shortest' v. 'fastest' route. 'fastest' is more likely stick to freeways; shortest might take minor roads.
But you might also need non-free map program or GPS unit, one that lets you specify restrictions such lane width or required clearance. Truckers use such units to stay off routes that would be fine for cars, but difficult for themselves.
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MiPaJacks
Dallas
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Easy to use Garmin plus Google Maps to plan. Garmin and MS Streets and Trips while enroute.
All of them require some common sense and the correct routing profile set up.
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