XT Routing problems

[Deepdiver51]

Greetings, Newbie here,
I'm having real problems creating routes for a 2,000 mile European trip in a weeks time.
I have created 8 routes across France and Italy using Basecamp (Grrrrr!) and Google maps.
I have loaded them into the XT and they show in Trip Planner. (They used to appear in favourites but no longer but that's not a problem.)
When I select a route in Trip Planner it loads. When I click on Map the correct route is shown. However when I click on Start it always loads a route starting at my home address and then a crazy route to a ferry crossing which I will never use and then a crazy route to the supposed destination.
I don't know how to stop it from knowing my current location.
My question is...when I switch it on at the location of the start of the first route will it recognise this and then load the selected route properly?
Am I being stupid or doing something wrong?
Please help as time is running out. Many thanks.

[Peobody]

My question is...when I switch it on at the location of the start of the first route will it recognise this and then load the selected route properly?

When you start a route you are offered the choice of waypoint that you want to enter the route at. The XT will then calculate a route from your current position to the chosen entry point and then start following the route.

The XT is reputed for recalculating routes. When it does this, it discards the ghost points that were in the original Basecamp route and calculates what it thinks is the best route between Via points. This often results in changes to the route. Having a track of the original route displayed on the map will make deviations visible allowing you to choose to either follow the new route, follow the track line, or restart the route. If this trick is new to you, post back for help if you need it. I'm sure there are instructions somewhere on this forum but I suspect someone can provide a link directly to them.

[Deepdiver51]

Thank you for that. I'm hoping that when I am at the starting point of the route it will forget where I am at home now and where I created the route. Tomorrow I'm going to try driving 10 miles away and see if it then gives directions to the saved route. (I've made back-up plans by saving all the hotels in Favourites and, as a last resort, pieces of paper with turn by turn directions.)

[Peobody]

Thank you for that. I'm hoping that when I am at the starting point of the route it will forget where I am at home now and where I created the route.

It will. You may already know this but in case you don't, something to consider is the placement of your starting points always being somewhere away from where you will physically be starting out. Let's say on day one that your stopping point is a lodging point. Your starting point for day two should be a short ways away from that lodging point in the direction you plan to travel. This is because if you use that lodging point as your starting point, the parking spot from which you depart may be just far enough away from the actual point coordinates that the XT won't consider it 'visited'. When this happens, the XT will instruct you to turn you around even though you are following the route. Setting the starting points somewhere down-route prevents this from happening.

[Deepdiver51]

Steep learning curve this. If the starting point at the beginning of day 2 is too close to the end destination of day 1 can I load the new route, click “Go” and then select the green flag or Closest Entry Point? Thank you for your help as I was beginning to panic a little.

[Peobody]

If the starting point at the beginning of day 2 is too close to the end destination of day 1 can I load the new route, click “Go” and then select the green flag or Closest Entry Point?

If faced with those two choices I would choose Closest Entry Point. The green flag is the potential problem if it is the same as the ending point of the previous day. Closest Entry Point has been known to cause odd behavior so I use it only when it feels like the best option that I have. My experience with it has been pretty good.

Steep learning curve this

The XT is great if you just want it to get you from point to point and don't care what roads it takes you on. Trying to force it to follow a specified route is challenging. FWIW, my success rate at that is less than 50% due to the propensity of the XT to recalculate a route. The two common causes of a recalculation are a road closure and when you skip a Via point. Both events will cause it to recalculate the entire remainder of the route, with heavy emphasis on routing over faster roads regardless whether that route is longer in both time and distance than the planned route.

[Deepdiver51]

Thanks again for your help and wisdom, Peobody. I’ll just have to give it a go and hope for the best. I bought it specifically for this trip but am going to get rid of it once I’m back.

[Peobody]

I hope you have a great trip and that the XT is well behaved and does not become an obsession (eg: frustration).

[colirv]

FWIW I set my recalculation to "never". This way I never have any of the problems other people have with recalculating routes. If I find I need to detour I simply zoom out and work out how to do it. I have the track of the route on display as well, so if the worst comes to the worst I can stop the route, find my way back to the track, then start the route afresh from "nearest point".

[rbentnail]

FWIW I set my recalculation to "never". This way I never have any of the problems other people have with recalculating routes. If I find I need to detour I simply zoom out and work out how to do it. I have the track of the route on display as well, so if the worst comes to the worst I can stop the route, find my way back to the track, then start the route afresh from "nearest point".

I too avoid problems by setting recalculate to Prompt Before. Learning to have the track displayed as well is a major game changer. As we know, sometimes the XT chooses a Nearest Point behind me. A simple skip (or a few) and off I go!