GPS TRIP MANAGEMENT/ZUMO660 QUESTION?

[Mad Mac]

Ok this is for all you people out there that seem to be more computer literate than I seem to be. When programing my Zumo for a trip, the one thing I find annoying is that when I use a town/city for a waypoint the Zumo tries to take me to town/city center and if I don't keep in mind the road/highway that I need to be on, then I seem to ride in circles(due to traffic,one-way streets,ect.) before resuming the direction/route I need to be traveling. When I program my trip prior to leaving, do I just pick waypoints(POI's,adresses,parks,ect.) before and after the towns/cities so I can navigate straight thru? Or do any of you do anything different??:yikestrying to install my west coast trip when it thaws out here) Thanks for the help!!:spyder2:

 

[Gray Ghost]

Garmin has a program called Basecamp that is free to install on your computer. I plan my route on that and then upload it to the GPS. All GPS systems will route you to city center if you say you want to travel to "Cleveland". Using basecamp I can actually pick the road intersection or whatever I want as a waypoint. Does take a bit of getting used to but worth the effort. Even has a way you can select a waypoint and then view it in Google Earth to "recon" it ahead of time.

If you absolutely don't want to mess with that, you can also do this. Let's say you set up a trip from El Paso, TX to Texarkana on your GPS. You don't want the system to take you through downtown Dallas so you need to input a waypoint to force the system to route you to the south of the city. With the route on your GPS, select Find, then search for Dallas. When it presents you with the option to select Dallas, click on the Map button. When the map comes up you can scroll around until you see the road you want to take. Touch the map on that road and then click to go to that point. (Don't have my GPS with me right now, so you I may not have the exact wording). When you tell the GPS to go to that point, it will ask you if it is for a new destination or a via point. Just select via and it will route you to Texarkana with your chose waypoint in between.

 

[Mad Mac]

GPS MAPPING

Garmin has a program called Basecamp that is free to install on your computer. I plan my route on that and then upload it to the GPS. All GPS systems will route you to city center if you say you want to travel to "Cleveland". Using basecamp I can actually pick the road intersection or whatever I want as a waypoint. Does take a bit of getting used to but worth the effort. Even has a way you can select a waypoint and then view it in Google Earth to "recon" it ahead of time.

If you absolutely don't want to mess with that, you can also do this. Let's say you set up a trip from El Paso, TX to Texarkana on your GPS. You don't want the system to take you through downtown Dallas so you need to input a waypoint to force the system to route you to the south of the city. With the route on your GPS, select Find, then search for Dallas. When it presents you with the option to select Dallas, click on the Map button. When the map comes up you can scroll around until you see the road you want to take. Touch the map on that road and then click to go to that point. (Don't have my GPS with me right now, so you I may not have the exact wording). When you tell the GPS to go to that point, it will ask you if it is for a new destination or a via point. Just select via and it will route you to Texarkana with your chose waypoint in between.

Thanks very much for the info. I will try this suggestion and see if that makes my life on the road any easier.Again thanks and safe riding to you!!

 

[SpyderAnn01]

MadMac, depending on where in the West you are going I would suggest that you use the satellite picture on your computer's map program to be sure that there is a gas station available where you plan to stop. Unlike the midwest and the east, gas stations can be few and far between out here. There is nothing that will make a trip worse then riding 50 miles worried about running out of gas. I know the Garmin's have a setting for gas stops but I would verify it before you leave.