Gravel and Dirt Roads - How to Tell?

[groundhog719]

I agree, I wish it was easier to tell if roads were paved or not.

I usually plot my longer routes on my computer using BaseCamp (which I hate but still use). Most non-paved roads show up as dashed lines until you zoom in very close. Then I double-check the route (at least the questionable parts) using Google Earth Pro. I can usually zoom in far enough in Google Earth Pro to see the surface of the roads (hint - look for painted center/lane lines on paved roads. Looking at intersections where dirt meets pavement is often helpful too).

However, I haven't found a good way to tell road surface on the go, directly from the Zumo XT. Bird's Eye does not cover a big enough area (I travel states not blocks) and topo maps no longer reliably differentiate between paved and non-paved roads.

If anyone knows a way around this problem please post it here.

[bradrh]

I am considering buying a Zumo XT so that I can stop using my phone for navigation. However, the one feature I really want, but can't tell if it exists, is the ability to determine the road surface on a map. Specifically I am interested in riding exclusively on gravel and dirt roads. I don't want to ride on pavement. I know there are features to prefer pavement when routing, but I want the opposite. I want to be able to look at the map and based on color or some other indicator, know that a road is gravel or dirt.

I have watched dozens of videos and searched hi and low, but I just cannot tell if this is a feature or not. Can you tell me if the Zumo makes this possible?

The XT is capable of distinguishing between road surfaces, but the maps that you get with the Zumo do not do that. I've had to resort to making my own maps using OSM data. I made my own maps for the Montana 600 I had before the Zumo and the Zumo is very different. It doesn't follow the same rules that most of the other Garmins do so it makes it very difficult to build good maps. It sounds like you'd be better off with a Montana, it is a much more configurable interface and it is easier to get maps looking good.
It seems like the Zumo is much better for road biking, and the Montana is better for backroads, dirt roads, and trails.

[cushman]

I was able to do this using Openstreetmap data and a custom made map, but not without a lot of effort. I'm posting the code on Github here https://github.com/markcushman/motomap if anyone wants to try to replicate this. I'm modifying the scripts to create bigger maps eventually but the code there right now would do approximately a US state area of roads depending on road density.

The good thing about doing it this way is that you can correct the road surface on openstreetmap.org by contributing to the open source map, then re-gen the map.

KVYf9SH.png (611.01 KiB) Viewed 2986 times

[cushman]

An update, I'm making precompiled US and Canada maps available on my website http://motomap.org/

[Telstar 2112]

I am not sure about in the UK but my maps that came on the unit here in the US show the dirt roads on the computer using base camp, as double dashed lines, but not on the XT unit itself, which is weird and a major bug I think. My old 60CS showed them as dirt.

I found no way to change them to dashed on the XT, but you can open the theme file, Garmin.kmtf or something like that, do a save-as, say dirt.ktmf and then go in and change the color or line width scale for the "unpaved" roads. I made mine a much thicker dark brown line so they show up more obvious. For more details google changing the garmin theme as there are things out there to explain and help choose the colors.

Again, no real idea if this applies to the UK or not and I did not figure any of this out, just found it on the web,

Thanks,
Steve.

[yamaha07]

My problem is when I drive next to a road 0-200 meters with my snowmobile, Zumo xt shows that I drive on the road. Some other Garmin units have the option to activate / deactivate "Lock on road" but not Zumo xt which is annoying

[GAStar]

I'm new to the Garmin XT. I've been using it for about 3 months and so far have resisted the urge to toss it in the ditch. I use MyRoute-App to create my rides, and to avoid getting onto an unpaved road I use satellite view for a questionable road and can usually tell if it is unpaved by looking at the edges and/or the color. I have the avoidances on my XT set to avoid unpaved roads but it does no good. When I have sometimes have to deviate from my route the XT will prompt me to make a U-turn on one unpaved road after another. Evidently it has no clue between paved and unpaved, unless I am missing something.

[Crazyivan]

Garmin has these features on the US models. You might use these key words to do a search
”The zumo XT Comes Preloaded With TopoActive PowerSports Maps for North America and Central America, Which are a Little Different Than Traditional Outdoor TopoActive Maps.”

https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=H ... fSwzZO3Wz5

[shealbi]

I don't know a way to see them on the zumo. Not sure in which country you reside, but in the states, most of the states have their own maps of unpaved roads. I use the multi-state https://gravelmap.com/#6/35.728/-87.508, and since I do most of my riding in VA, once I get outta NC, I use their map https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/i ... dd5885ec74
This doesn't get you what you asked for, but let's me plan my routes while I have those maps showing on one of my screens.

[jfheath]

I note that in the UK maps, in Basecamp there are certain roads that a motorcycle will not navigate along, but if you change the vehicle to an Off road vehicle, it will.

Curiously in one case, it is marked on OS maps as a bridelway, but would not allow cycles or mountain bikes along it. But it would allow off-road veihicles ! But it may be worth trying - just create a very short route either side of the road in question. Make it have a custom profile and set the vehicle. The route changes instantly without having to close the dialog box.