Navigation
It stopped snowing and the sun came out but the wind continues to howl and gust at the 35-40 mph range. I took a run into town in the Jeep to see how the interstate felt and get groceries and decided to hold over and leave tomorrow (Sunday) with Billings, Montana for Sunday night’s destination.
The technology available for looking at everything involved with RV travel is extensive and getting better all the time and I use it to make things as easy as possible.
For weather:
I look at NOAA…
…and read the forecast discussion where the meteorologists discuss the models, the conditions and how they come to their conclusions.
I subscribe to Weather.com Gold which lets me customize my screen and select up to 10 cities. I like the 10 city thing for looking at the forecast weather along my travel path for several days.
Another subscription online service I like is “The Next Exit Online”. The online version allows me to choose a State and then an Interstate. The services available at each exit are described. Fuel stops that are RV accessible are highlighted in red.
I save the screen captures for my route, print out the doc and highlight exits and fuel stops. The sheets are easy to pick up and see the next rest area when I need a break. The listing sorts the exit amenties by the side of the interstate – so easy to see ahead of time if the service is on “my” side of the interstate. The RV fuel stops are very helpful – although the Winnebago is not huge as far as Class A Motorhomes go, I am still 53 feet long and the tow mechanism for the Jeep does not allow for backing up. I can’t get in – or more importantly OUT of every gas station.
Saving my favorite for last…the GPS system. I use a DeLorme Earthmate LT GPS receiver that connects via USB to my notebook computer. DeLorme’s Street Atlas Software on the computer does all of the computation from the receiver satellite info to plot position on the Street Atlas Software screen.
The receiver “hangs” on the windshield.
The notebook rides on the dash at an angle I can see at a glance.
The software allows me to set a start point, a finish point and I can adjust the route with “via” points. The navigation screen is split into several sections. Two map sections show a close up and a zoomed out view – and a green arrow shows my current position. The lower sections shows the mileage until the next turn as well as a description of what the next turn is: Exit 28 South on I-90 ramp for example. A section to the right shows the mileage to destination. There is voice direction also – the voice activates as a turn is approaching. The newest version of the software is particularly helpful in cities where it also gives lane information such as “stay in the right lane”.
GPS systems are not infallible so I look at everything – especially city routes – on paper as well. But it is a great tool for driving a big rig in unfamiliar places and navigating to the rural rv parks that I prefer.
Karl thinks it is all pretty boring…
His 2nd favorite nap spot – behind the bed and the back wall…
