Garmin and bad roads

[waynefi]

Garmin doesn't seem to know the difference between a good dirt road and a two-track.

On a recent trip to western Colorado and Wyoming, my Garmin Nuvi frequently directed me down bad roads. It tried to sent me past signs "not recommended for passenger cars", "impassable when wet" and "end of county winter maintenance". It tried to send me down two-tracks, private gated roads across someone's ranch, and one turn where I could kinda see that there used to be a two-track once.

This is a car model not an RV model. I am set to shortest time, with highways alowed.

If I turn on "avoid dirt roads", that solves the problem, but does too much. I'm quite happy to drive a good dirt road, but I don't want to do a 4wd track unless I know where it goes.

I would expect Garmin to have a way of marking some roads as "don't choose this unless there is no other way", but apparently they don't.

[GordonThree]

shastagary wrote:
so where are the gps units with satellite imagery. the map apps on a smart phone tablet or a computer will let you see satellite aerial views of where you are going. you could get a good idea of what most of the roads look like before you get there.

I don't think any of their "cheap" units support it, but Garmin does offer scalable satellite and topographic imagery for higher end units. Check out the Birdseye products.

[Bill_Satellite]

shastagary wrote:
so where are the gps units with satellite imagery. the map apps on a smart phone tablet or a computer will let you see satellite aerial views of where you are going. you could get a good idea of what most of the roads look like before you get there.

Google Maps has that option but you need to look at the entire route ahead of time. You can also use Google Earth to plot your course. I like doing this when I am out West as I can also look at the elevation profile for the entire drive.

[JJnLilly]

Garmin as well as other 'mappers' rely on information from local jurisdictions. In the case of that 'dirt' road being private, some where in history it was plated as a 'dedicated' road, hence the mapping programs are only as good as the information given it. Have found that Garmin is open to corrections based on local observations.

[shastagary]

so where are the gps units with satellite imagery. the map apps on a smart phone tablet or a computer will let you see satellite aerial views of where you are going. you could get a good idea of what most of the roads look like before you get there.

[gatorcq]

People will learn. The company that produces the maps, is not Garmin.
Second, it is how they produce maps that is of interest.
They do not use Satellite views, contrary to public belief.
The process is made up of maps, produce over time. Some come from county plots maps, road maps etc. They are then scanned in by a graphic board process.

So, be advise, there are always mistakes, one of the process, is you the owner submitting a report, detailing that the specific section is wrong.

Next, some people rely on Google Maps, great for cars, but not for High Profile Rv's. GM, does not take road weight, or height of structures over the road.

In addition, the Garmin, Co-Pilot and another source use the same company that produces the maps for weight and height

[Sam_Spade]

fpoole wrote:

Might help, just a thought..

Maybe it would help even more if RV owners would use a little common sense and stick to paved, marked roads.

Just maybe. 🙂

[Ralph_Cramden]

Even the Garmin RV specific models have a database about as useless as teets on a Bull.

I had an RV760LMT take me to a bridge that was washed out in Vermont during Irene in 2011, which will never be rebuilt, while it was taking me to a COE campground in 2014. Then it rerouted me to the COE dam at the place instead of the campground which was over 7 miles away to a locked gate, requiring about a half mile of backing up to turn around.

There is a popular Campground / resort near our home. Garmin shows it 8 miles from where it is actually at, on a completely different road.

Both of the above discrepancies have been reported to Garmin back in 2014, and as of the most recent update are yet to be corrected.

Once you get off the main roads and Interstates here in PA, you also get a lot of "RV accessibility unknown" messages when you have it in RV mode based on length etc. I sure do not know what good it is or why I spent money on it.

I'll sell it cheap, send me PM. I also have the rear camera made for it.

[GordonThree]

Sparksvonrou wrote:

I don't understand why Garmin doesn't make it like Google where it's easy for users to post updates for corrections!

Garmin doesn't own the map data supplied with their automotive units. While I guess they could tell their data providers to make it easier for corrections to be made, out of the 10's of millions of units sold, I don't think it's a big issue for theme.

For what it's worth, I have run across plenty of map errors on Google, and I'm in a position to get government officials to send letters advising to correct such errors - years have gone by, and the errors are still on the map. The only thing Google accepts updates for is business and place listings, not actual cartographic data.

[Sparksvonrou]

I agree with Mockturtle. We've found that the human brain is still the best decision maker! Its wonderful to have the device able to warn you of upcoming lane changes and route changes and such. The long route planning is excellent too. Our experience is that we need to review the route carefully as our RV Garmin has tried to send us on some pretty weird goose chases numerous times. Things like getting off the main highway that's a regular truck route and taking a detour around for about 5 miles on a safe route but a two lane hilly excursion. And yes we have traffic on but there was no traffic. We had it take us on a turn around when we missed a exit that took us back under the highway in an area that we really should not have been (crime) and where we had nothing to spare on height. It also has taken us into the city in areas where turns and traffic were a nightmare. There was even a non existent road in Texas once. Note that this is set at quickest route also. I understand the limitations of map makers but just make sure you are the final decision maker after reviewing!
I don't understand why Garmin doesn't make it like Google where it's easy for users to post updates for corrections!

[mockturtle]

What I have found is that Garmin GPS is utterly clueless in some areas. Its principal usefulness is negotiating a freeway through a major city, telling me what lane to be in. Since I travel alone (well, my dog hasn't learned to read maps) I try to memorize my routes from the road atlases I use. These are so detailed I know exactly what kind of road I'll be taking. Sometimes I even jot down the exact sequence of the route on a sticky and paste it to my dash.

[fpoole]

byronlj wrote:
I live on a dead end country road that sits on my property. Google maps shows my road connecting with another road that is 2 miles away. I have a sign posted before entering that says dead end and no trespassing. And people wonder why I get mad when they have to turn their big rigs around in my driveway. Technology is great sometimes but does it trump a posted sign?
Dave

Yah, I just had an experience with one of those.
County Sign saying "Dead End", from paved to dirt.
Garmin kept saying there's a turn off.

Then a Old "Private Property" sign
Garmin kept saying there's a turn off apx quarter mile down the road to my destination.

I was thinking the "Private.." sign applied to further on down BEFORE the homestead/ranch.

So went a little further, not seeing any peeps/home etc.
As I got further on down, saw a barn and then figured, Ooops...
Luckily able to turn around and head back out.

My point being, other than check Garmin (had dirt roads OFF) it might help the homeowners to simply put an additional comment like "Your Nav is wrong, Private property, no turn arounds beyond this point" or something like that.. to ID that the Nav is wrong.

Might help, just a thought.. Most of the signs look old and possibly abandoned.

Hope that helps..

(Green Mountain, Central Oregon)

[haydoracin]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
The most common mistake I see with GPS use is folks setting them for "Shortest route" instead of "Fastest route". The "Shortest route" will have you following the cows to the barn if it will save an extra 50 feet, where the "Fastest route" will usually stick to the better roads even if their a bit longer.

X2

[SCClockDr]

When in an iffy area and I'm becoming more inclined to use it towing, I bring up Waze on my phone. I never use it to navigate, just to alert me to current conditions. Where very rural there is a lack of users but I've pleasantly surprised quite often. Waze constantly updates its cloud from online users in the background.

[Dutch_12078]

The most common mistake I see with GPS use is folks setting them for "Shortest route" instead of "Fastest route". The "Shortest route" will have you following the cows to the barn if it will save an extra 50 feet, where the "Fastest route" will usually stick to the better roads even if their a bit longer.