Atlas and paper maps are dead. Neither one can tell me if there is a height or weight restriction on any route I need to take. The only time an Atlas can come in handy now is a power outage or internet outage.

 

I use RV Life Trip Wizard a Rand Mcnally Motor Carrier Road Atlas for planning, and a Garmin RV GPS, paper maps from AAA, and sometimes my phone while on the road hauling the big 5th wheel.

 

I have an older truckers atlas, but need a freaking magnifying glass to see the roads. The thing with paper maps, no street addresses, so its general location only. I still grab maps from the rest areas that have them when I can and yes I can fold them back up! LOL

 

RV Trip Wizard allows you to download routes and maps for offline use so the phone signal is not required. This is something that came with an update late last summer.

Geez I feel like I'm peddling a product here, but in reality I don't care what people use. I used to exclusively use Garmin for navigation prior to getting the 5th wheel, but costs of the RV unit are a bit excessive. This is what led me to this product.

 

So far I got 8 good years out of my NuviCam and if I can find the seal for the glass to case instead of Scotch tape to hold it, I will be happy, but either way I can easily get 10 more years out of it. My only gripe is the battery doesn't last long. Replaced it twice already, hence the need for a new seal. I also got several good recordings from it, one I posted to utub of Hog back ridge.

 

Sounds like you have never read an atlas, first pages list various restrictions(state laws,etc) and have height restrictions. Learn how to use an atlas and check your routes so you don't end up on a pedestrian bridge or stuck on an dirt trail or sand road for off road vehicles.

 

An atlas does not have height restrictions on every road. How would I end up ON a pedestrian bridge? Garmin is not Google Maps it doesn't send you down off-road trails. I can check my route and zoom in and look at street view on Google and actually read signs that have heights listed on them or the grade and length of a downhill. An Atlas won't tell me any of that info. I learned orienteering and land nav. on paper maps with a lensatic compass and there are almost no instances where paper maps are better than digital maps which you can toggle between satellite view and topography. You can see land features and terrain. Things that an Atlas cannot dream of doing. GPS lie OnX off-road can tell you about land ownership and give a ton more details than a paper Atlas.

Again, paper maps are all but dead unless there is a power or internet outage and in that case we will have bigger problems than me trying to get to my next boondocking spot.

 

For many, many years and all the way back to the Garmin i3/i2 I used Garmin navigation devices. When other offline navigation devices became easily attainable and/or installed, I migrated to them. The OEM Navigation system in our 2008 Subaru became outdated and somewhat archaic compared to modern navigation systems.

We began using our cell phone and Google Maps for navigation. The phone sits in a wireless charging cradle above the center console where it is easy to use and view.

Three years or so ago I installed an Android head unit into my 2000 7.3L PSD which replaced a Jensen VX7020 that had offline navigation capabilities. We have Verizon as our cell service provider and 90% or more of the time while traveling this great nation of ours we have a signal. You are able to plan a route on a laptop and send it to your phone or tablet. You can download the route to your phone or tablet in case you will be out of cell signal very easily.

That is another thing, just because you are in a dead zone doesn't really mean much while navigation is running. The device is using GPS and a cached version of the route from the navigation app.

When using Google Maps, it will tell us about speed traps, construction detours, disabled vehicles, traffic delays, etc. Waze is another great navigation app as I understand it.

I use Google Maps because you have access to your own personal maps through Google My Maps. On Google My Maps I have friends and family pins, preferred rest stops around the country, boondocking spots, etc pinned. While viewing live Google Maps, you can overlay your personal My Maps in order to set them as waypoints or destinations.

All of that said, we travel the country long distances every spring, summer and fall (winter when required) and Google Maps has worked very well for many years. We use our Escape, Subaru or truck towing the 5th wheel and have never had a "problem" being out of signal range or not having navigation services. There are times when we don't have a signal, but it is not a "problem" because we knew which direction we came from and which direction we were going. We continue on our way until we have a signal and press the start button to restart navigation.

The offline features of a Garmin were a lot more valuable in years gone than they are in 2023, at least in my opinion.

Height restrictions would be a nice feature, but the only true fail safe is knowing the height of your rig and paying attention to low bridges.

All of this is my personal opinion based on experiences and expectations we had or have. I am not trying to sway your opinion or plan, just attempting to provide as much information as possible for you to make an educated decision.

I hope this helps.

 

@Sous , that’s good info as usual. Off topic, but I’m curious if you use either a cell phone booster or Starlink while you’re camping. I’m currently at a COE park in Hernando, MS and the Verizon signal is there but weak. We love COE parks but the low signal strength seems to be common.

 

No on Starlink, they charge too much for our liking. It is a great option for those that full time or need internet service wherever they are, but for us that are "any timers", we don't need it.

We have a WeBoost 4G cell booster, but I should have kept the $500 it cost us. I am not impressed at all with it. We even bought a larger indoor antenna and installed the outdoor antenna on the extendable TV antenna, still works average at best. We haven't even turned it in in the past two years and if/when we get a different trailer, the booster will go with it.

We prefer COE parks over any other type other than boondocking.

 

Works great.

 

Checkout the DEZL from garmin. You can usually get them on marketplace for cheap. I am always seeing OTR700's for a couple hundred. These are over the road trucker versions that allow you to put in length, width and most importantly height of the trailer and will guide you away from places you don't fit