I'm a firm believer in "paper never fails". Hopefully there are other like-minded travelers here - hence my post.

What are you all using for state-specific road maps/atlases? How detailed are they - like do they show residential streets across the state? Or does it only give residential-street-level detail in select areas like major cities?

My go-to atlases have been the Rand McNally large format motor carrier edition (I drove a semi for a while and these have motor-carrier specific detail/information - and by state, also, which is really handy - and I've had to use several times). The bad thing about these "atlases" is they cover every state, however without finer road detail.

A few weeks ago we were in the Appalachians and the road we were on for many miles was barely even on the Rand McNally atlas - it showed a line, but the road was a twisty, turn'ey switchback road through a mountain pass - and there were no cross roads to the one we were on. The place we were staying was along that "main road", however without the detail of the smaller roads and correct turn locations I was not able to get very accurate with a marker where our home base was. Hence the post...

What I want to find are state-specific detail maps that will show the street-level detail I'm after.

Way back when you used to be able to get state maps at rest stops. I'm sure there are some out there, but I have not had much luck. Same goes for metro parks and state parks - usually the boxes are empty so I just take a few pictures of the map on the shelter with my phone.

The DeLorme state map books look interesting. They are higher priced. Maybe those are the way to go? Or are there some other options out there that you all are using?

Another tidbit on the map detail subject and traveling - this time in relation to GPS -

I have a Garmin truck GPS - the Dezel 780. You can run it in car mode or truck mode. The routing in truck mode can be tuned to vehicle dimensions (supposedly). I have a few profiles in there for the rigs I ran - most I used was around 11ft height clearance and about 60ft length (48' flatbed with a mid-height single sleeper cab) but occasionally I ran some higher loads, longer, and oversize. Its always a serious recommendation to check state regs and routes (permit loads are a whole other ball of fun there) - but the GPS routing for 99% of my uses was fantastic. What I discovered, though, is that the "up ahead" routing feature will NOT show rest stops and truck stops in car mode. This irritates me. If I put it in truck mode when I'm in a smaller vehicle I am limited on routing, but I can't search the rest stops and truck stops in car mode - which I stop at all the time. What I have not done, yet, is put in a "truck profile" with the dimensions of a small vehicle to see what happens. That might be what I need to do.

 

I too prefer the paper maps as they work without batteries or cell coverage. I drove truck for a number of years and carried the RM Motor Carriers Atlas and found it worked quite well for my needs, but I also collected various state welcome center maps on my travels. I still have and use them when taking RV trips, including a Chicago map that detailed each and every low clearance in the city. To supplement those maps I like using Benchmark Maps which have great detail, but not every state is available. The Delorme atlases are similar and can fill in the missing states.

I still use online mapping like Google maps, but prefer to handle my own routing like I had to do when driving truck. I've thought about getting a dedicated GPS mapping device, but I've found the combo of paper and google maps is sufficient for my needs.

 

I still use DeLorme's Street Atlas USA, 2015 version on my laptop, which is no longer available since Garmin acquired DeLorme on 2016.

 

You never appreciate a good road atlas till the gps dies and theres no cell reception.

 

When towing the 5'er, I use the same standards as when I was a navigator. The GPS (Good Sam version of Rand McNally) is the primary means of navigation, with a RM Trucker's Atlas as back-up. If needed, I could also use DW's cell phone.

However, I have already planned each days trip on Google maps on my laptop and have it commited to memory.

 

The DeLorme state atlases are only about $25 and cover the entire state. It is really just a topo map of the entire state. Use them all the time. In cities and towns they are of really no use. On the back roads they are priceless and pretty accurate.

 

To the OP (Steve's) original question, I've always used a Rand McNally "Road Atlas" to help us choose our destinations, and their "Easy To Read" state maps for planning our routes to get there. Now that I've got a legit 4x4 tow vehicle though, I suspect a whole new world of exploration awaits after we arrive. We'll be able to explore tiny little back roads I wouldn't have dreamed of trying in a car, and a detailed map showing those will be necessary. I've never heard of those DeLorme state atlases, but thanks to OP Steve's suggestion my first one (TN) will arrive today. Since DeLorme is part of Rand McNally I'm expecting good things, but I'll update this post after I've had a chance to look it over and play with it.

Thanks for the idea Steve!

 

The state maps I can get at welcome centers don't usually have enough detail once you get off of paved roads, or even details for paved roads that are minor county roads.

I use my OnX Hunt app on my phone every once in a while. It tends to have a little more useful detail, especially when it comes to boondocking on public land.

 

I'd be curious what street level detail it shows - such as residential neighborhoods and twisty roads in the mountains. If you can get a few samples of the detail to post that would be great.

 

I thought it was coming yesterday but I goofed, that was a new Rand McNally road atlas I ordered from Amazon. FYI, I bought the DeLorme atlas on Rand McNally's site because Amazon wasn't selling the latest version for TN. At any rate, it should be here in a week or two and I'll post a few pictures as soon as I get it. Sorry for the confusion!

 

I've got a number of atlases from Benchmark (Western states) and added a couple of photos below. Photos aren't great to show the detail. They show a lot of information and include landscape, public, metro areas.



Benchmark maps Colorado

Benchmark maps Arizona

 

The scale on the DeLorme atlas's is 1:150,000. 1 mile is 1".

 

They came quicker than I thought they would, so here are some photos from the DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer for TN. Map scale is 1" = 2.2 miles. I also got one for KY, and the scale on that one is 1" = 2.5 miles, so it seems like it depends on the state? Or maybe the release date? The TN map is dated 2020, and the KY map is dated 2021.


Above is just north of Nashville to the KY border.

Above is Knoxville.

Above is the west side of GSMNP.

Above is the east side of GSMNP.

If anyone wants to see a specific area in TN or KY let me know and I'll post a pic.

 

I keep forgetting that I have a large format scanner, attached is a better quality PDF from the DeLorme TN Atlas & Gazetteer.

 

That's not bad. The side (residential?) streets aren't named, but the rest of the roads are clearly labeled.