Big trip want to test routes

[Grabcon]

I am planning a trip with my wife for next summer. It will be 4 to 6 weeks and pushing 6000 miles. Like I said I am in the planning stages. I have a Zumo XT and the wife a 660LM. I currently have upwards of 20 routes that have been created in Basecamp. I normally load the GPX files to the iCloud and use Drive to load routes to the Zumo XT. I use either of our 2 iPads to load the files to my wife's 660LM SD card.

So that process works well for us. So now the big question for the experts. When I load a file and import to either device I have the option to preview or go to the route. In preview does that show exactly the route? Or does it change when the Go To Map is invoked? I ask because I want to make sure both devices show the routes exactly like I have them in Basecamp. I don't want surprises. I have used Basecamp for years and have a confidence level in my route planing, But the Garmin devices do throw curve balls every now and then.

Any testing suggests on how to test with a high level of confidence that the routes will match BC. As a side note, I am breaking the routes up into daily rides, somewhere between 200 and 400 miles per day. The plan is not to have one route cover more than a days ride.

[danham]

Having used a 660 for many thousands of miles of pre-planned rides and an XT for a few thousand so far, I don't have a perfect answer, but some thoughts...

Obviously you need the same map version on both units and in BC (assume you knew this already). But methods to test differ. On the 660 I'd hit Go and look in detail at the route preview map, then have the GPS recalculate the route and check the map carefully to see if the route breaks. If yes, go back to BC and add some shaping points. I'm sure you already know to shut off recalc, or at least make the 660 ask permission.

For the XT, you'll find lots of info in this forum about how to predict and control its behavior, including the important step of "fixing" the route so it shows up under Saved, not Imported, in Trip Planner. But the very best defense method is to have BC create a track from your route and send that to the XT and set it to display in a contrasting color as you ride the route. Any deviations from your planned route stick out like a sore thumb.

Apologies if all of this is old news.

-dan

[jfheath]

Make sure that the route is split into individual days.

Note that the 660 does not use Via points and Shaping points - as they are defined nowadays. The route is very flexible and if you have a route that crosses over itself part way through the day, it can lead to problems - especially if it follows a short section of the same road. In this case, at some point ahead it will have a junction where you can go right or left. It will not know which one to take, so it may take you up the wrong one.

This isn't a big issue - with the 660 you can join any part of the magenta line and it will navigate your from there. So be careful with cross over points and with the start and finish. If the finish is where you set off from - the route will end as soon as you set off !! Don't ask the 660 to navigate to the start - it will stop as soon as you reach that point - unless that is what you want. Say 'No', and find your own way to the start, and it will start navigating from there when you reach it.

I don't know how the 660 behaves if it receives a route from Basecamp. I used to use it, but reports after a few upgrades are that it sometimes fails. If you send your Basecamp route to Mapsource, that will prepare it correctly (I think it makes every point a Via point - but the 660s treats Vias very differently from the XT, so that is OK).


For both devices, if the maps are identical, the route will not be changed when it loads it in. You may want to turn automatic recalculation off so that it stays put. It will probably say 'recalculating', but that doesn't mean it is changing the route unless it takes more than a few seconds.

Make sure in Basecamp that Edit/Option/Device transfer has all check boxes unticked and apply that to all devices.

That's enoguh for now - I'll chip in with other stuff later.

[Grabcon]

I learned many years ago not to cross routes and not to make loops with the same begin and end point. Everything I am doing for the big trip has no crossovers or same start and end.

I have found that in Basecamp that it routes very strangely. it will take off a highway and on the residential roads and back again. I do a lot of fixing. It is important to note that my wife and I try not to ride on Interstates or 4 lane roads. 80%+ of our rides are on 2 lane roads, so having the correct route is very important. I am very ridged in my planning process as I don't carry a laptop with me to make new or modify routes.

My wife requires planned stops along the way, such as fuel and lodging or camping. Also sightseeing locations. She wants no surprises.

[FrankB]

But the very best defense method is to have BC create a track from your route and send that to the XT and set it to display in a contrasting color as you ride the route. Any deviations from your planned route stick out like a sore thumb.

@Grabcon
Should you decide to use the track method as @danham suggests, you can even take it one step further. Load the track into the 660, on the 660 convert it to a trip, and start that. Be sure to disable recalc on the 660. You can be sure to have the same on the XT and the 660. I used that method with a fellow rider sometimes and it works good.

There is however 1 drawback! One the 660 you will not see any shaping/via points! So there will be no alert for fuel, or any other planned stop. Maybe its not important, because the person with the XT allways has the lead?
As a workaround you can split the tracks at each planned stop, but that will require extra effort.

Enjoy your trip and the preparation.

[Peobody]

My wife requires planned stops along the way, such as fuel and lodging or camping. Also sightseeing locations. She wants no surprises.

This is exactly me, except for the camping part, and I ride two-up with my wife on pillion. With here on board I never want to run out of fuel, spend hours looking for food, or have to ride further than expected in search of lodging. I have never done a 6000 mile trip but have done several 3000-4000 mile ones. I use Basecamp for trip planning, 1 route per day, max 6 hours of saddle time.

I have found that in Basecamp that it routes very strangely. it will take off a highway and on the residential roads and back again. I do a lot of fixing. It is important to note that my wife and I try not to ride on Interstates or 4 lane roads. 80%+ of our rides are on 2 lane roads, so having the correct route is very important. I am very ridged in my planning process as I don't carry a laptop with me to make new or modify routes.

Some key things that immediately come to my mind are:

• Import and then preview every route before departure. Any calculation done by the device will be done during import. I do this check with a track of the route displayed on the map. This makes spotting differences very easy

• Have a backup copy of the route. I use the SD card because I am not a fan of relying on the cloud.

• The route will likely be changed if the device has the opportunity to recalculate it. With the XT, an upcoming road closure will trigger one even with auto-recalc disabled. Not sure if the same holds for the 660. With the XT, skipping a point will trigger a recalc. Sometimes this is unavoidable.

• In your routes, include enough via points so that if you have to restart a route you have a via point reasonably close to select as an entry point.

• Always display a track of the route on the map. If a route recalc occurs, the track line will not be affected. You will be able to see what the recalc changed and then decide whether to follow the track or stop and reload the route.

[ledwardio]

I don't want surprises.

Garmin is bound to chuck something at you

Sounds like it will be an epic trip - enjoy

[FrankB]

She wants no surprises.

Me neither. What also can be a source of aggrevation is 'road blocks'. Preparing a 4 day trip with my son this year I found 7 road blocks. One would have been really bad, it would have caused 50+ kms of detour.
Luckily I checked a few days before we left Google maps, and was able to find good alternatives. I have created a howto showing how you can load the routes in Google Maps:
viewtopic.php?t=1965

[Grabcon]

I thought I posted this so if a similar post shows up somewhere, delete or ignore.

It will be an epic trip. We are going to two rallies that are 10 days apart. We live in SE Arizona about 5 miles north of the boarder and heading to Oregon for the National BMW and Moto Guzzi Rallies. A lot of sightseeing, National Parks, beautiful roads and scenery, etc. We even might go up into Victoria BC, CA. The planning to do a trip like this is pretty significant and having as few hitches as possible would be great.

The basic routes and destination points are established, now we are working on the details. you know, lodging, camping, fuel, food, laundry, permits to National Parks. Identifying potential road closures due to weather. As an example Sequoia and Kings Canyon didn't open until late June 2023 due to snow.

Having everything/most things in order will make life a little easier. But on the other hand this is an adventure so having some hiccups is expected.

[jfheath]

Should you decide to use the track method as @danham suggests, you can even take it one step further. Load the track into the 660, on the 660 convert it to a trip, and start that.

Is this possible on the 660 ? Genuine question. I thought that it was introduced with the 590.