GPS Not following preset trip uploaded from Basecamp

[JimAvanti]

I have a Garmin Nuvi 2555 and I created a long detailed trip to make sure I go around certain slow areas (Washington Bridge, DC). I even blocked out those areas as area avoidances. My maps are updated to the latest on both the GPS and in Basecamp. My GPS will not follow my trip or avoid the area avoidances. My GPS came with the Trip Planner app installed, so I would assume it should be able to follow trips created in Basecamp.

I am not sure if the problem is the GPS support for trips, of if there is a setting somewhere to force it to follow the trip. Anyone know why?

Thanks,
Jim

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

There are a few rules that must be followed in order for your satnav to follow the desired Route, you are probably following the first rule already but just in case, you MUST use exactly the same map on your satnav and the program used to generate the Route, rule two is that you must have the same preferences on both satnav and program, eg:- avoid highways (motorways), toll roads etc.

The problem you have is probably due to avoidances set up in Basecamp are not being sent to the satnav in the Route data, the satnav will have it's own avoidances but won't inherit any from Basecamp, the solution is to add Vias to the Route so that each Via must be visited, alternatively you could try generating a Track rather than a Route because Track points are followed exactly where as The steps between Route points are calculated by the satnav

 

[JimAvanti]

Nuvi-Nebie,

I am using the same maps in Basecamp as on the GPS. I don't see how to set avoids in Basecamp, except for area avoidances. I avoid just traffic and ferries on the GPS. I created the trip in Basecamp manually dragging streets to the streets I want to travel on. I thought if I made a trip exactly how I want to travel and upload it to the GPS I could load the trip in Trip Planner on the GPS and it would follow my directions. If it is going to lead me in the directions it chooses instead then it is no use to me and paper directions would be better. I lost about 3 hours following the GPS through DC instead of around it and over the Washington Bridge.
It seems impossible to setup areas to avoid on the GPS unless it happens to be an area you are in. If you can't send area avoidances from Basecamp to the GPS, then what good is it? If a newer GPS will allow this, then it would be worth purchasing a newer GPS, but if I can't follow my manually altered trip, then not even a new GPS would be worth using. Maybe there is no way to have the GPS follow a planned trip exactly how it was saved, I don't know.

I attached a photo showing how far off the GPS took me through DC (Grey path), instead of following the path I planned in the trip (pink area).
It was a very frustrating trip. I want to resolve this before doing this trip again, even it it means a new GPS.

Thanks for your help
Jim

 

[Motorcoach Driver Steve]

How frustrating that must have been! I'm not familiar with the Nuvi, so I can't comment on whether that contributed in any way to your difficulties. However I can assure you that it definitely is possible to do what you want. I am a motor coach driver who plans extensive trips on Basecamp and transfers all planned routes to my DriveSmart 66 and it follows them absolutely. You do however have to understand some of the idiosyncrasies. One is that the routing algorithms in BC are not absolutely identical to the ones in any of the devices, so wherever the routes are not restricted by defined points, a device may think a slightly different way will be faster, so it may deviate from your plan. That may be perfectly okay, you have to decide.

First the Area Avoidance tool in BC only affects the routing in BC, and is very useful as a tool to help determine the best way to avoid an area. However, the avoidance is not sent to the device, so once there, the device will recalculate the route with the results you got. In order to avoid this, after establishing your desired route using the avoidance area you have set, you need to use the insert tool to add via points that will keep the route where it is. A useful method here is to add via points, and then delete the Area Avoidance and see if the route stays where it was. If not, add additional via points until it stays where you want it to. Use care when adding via points. For example, zoom in close enough to ensure a point added on a 4-lane road is in the correct lane, or the route will gladly take you to the next exit and double back to go through it, and when zoomed out this is sometimes hard to see. Via points inserted at intersections or on interstates will by default be set to not alert upon arrival, but some others like a point on a two-lane road which will usually have an address, will be set to "alert" by default. These can be set in the route properties window to "not alert on arrival", which is what I make sure they are for any point I'm using simply to control the route.

You generally don't need a lot of added via points to make the route do what you want, but remember that the device will still decide the best way to get from any defined point in a route to the next one, and that may mean some deviation from what you've planned. When I'm driving, if this happens, usually I have a pretty good idea how I want to go, and I just go that way, and the route will self-correct immediately after I've ignored it's "turn here" command.

Also keep in mind that you can usually preview a route you've sent to the device; before a trip, I always do that to every sent route and if I see that it does something I didn't want, I'll go back to BC and modify it and re-send it until it looks good on the device.

Don't give up, I doubt you have to upgrade to a different device, at least try some of these tips with the Nuvi before you give up on it. BC and Garmin are not perfect, but I have found them indispensable and am willing to live with some of their quirks.

 

[Panchdara]

Well, I got a Drive 52 and a Zumo XT... both great units, sorta. I use both simultaneously. However, on a couple long journeys (250+miles) each gave me different directions (but ended same destination). Each was set to not avoid anything (no tolls on the route) etc/ fgaster route AND same Cyclops.... so, I reckon Garmin do have different algorithms in different units.... so, from my experience - DON'T TRUST a SatNav... always rationalize the solution.

 

[JimAvanti]

How frustrating that must have been! I'm not familiar with the Nuvi, so I can't comment on whether that contributed in any way to your difficulties. However I can assure you that it definitely is possible to do what you want. I am a motor coach driver who plans extensive trips on Basecamp and transfers all planned routes to my DriveSmart 66 and it follows them absolutely. You do however have to understand some of the idiosyncrasies. One is that the routing algorithms in BC are not absolutely identical to the ones in any of the devices, so wherever the routes are not restricted by defined points, a device may think a slightly different way will be faster, so it may deviate from your plan. That may be perfectly okay, you have to decide.

First the Area Avoidance tool in BC only affects the routing in BC, and is very useful as a tool to help determine the best way to avoid an area. However, the avoidance is not sent to the device, so once there, the device will recalculate the route with the results you got. In order to avoid this, after establishing your desired route using the avoidance area you have set, you need to use the insert tool to add via points that will keep the route where it is. A useful method here is to add via points, and then delete the Area Avoidance and see if the route stays where it was. If not, add additional via points until it stays where you want it to. Use care when adding via points. For example, zoom in close enough to ensure a point added on a 4-lane road is in the correct lane, or the route will gladly take you to the next exit and double back to go through it, and when zoomed out this is sometimes hard to see. Via points inserted at intersections or on interstates will by default be set to not alert upon arrival, but some others like a point on a two-lane road which will usually have an address, will be set to "alert" by default. These can be set in the route properties window to "not alert on arrival", which is what I make sure they are for any point I'm using simply to control the route...

Steve,
Your response answers all my questions, but it is not really what I wanted to hear. I was ready to buy a newer Garmin, figuring I would test it to see how much better it is to sticking to my planned trip, but if it worked the same as the one I already have and just recalculates the trip the way it wants then its only benefit to me would be a larger screen. I was willing to take the gamble, but it seems that the newer ones operate the same as the one I already have.

The way I see it, in normal use the GPS is great for getting you were you need to go by generating an optimized route based on your preferences, however if you take the time to plan out a trip with exact directions and upload it to the GPS, then the GPS should follow that trip otherwise what good is having the option of a trip versus a route? I tried adding vias on the Tappan Zee bridge years ago to avoid going over the Washington bridge and the GPS had be cross the bridge 2 times and then took me over the Washington bridge anyway. Now I understand that it took me back over the bridge because the via was probably on the returning lane. This method of forcing a route by using vias is too risky on long trips when you have to break to find overnight lodging and then continue the next day. If you restart the trip or miss a via it will send you back. It is disappointing that after all these years manufacturers of GPSs haven't learned that there is a need for people to have the GPS guide them the way they have taken the time to plan out. I am trying to avoid following paper directions with exit numbers.

Thanks for your detailed response and for saving me from purchasing a new GPS.
Jim

 

[Motorcoach Driver Steve]

Jim -- I guess I think of both a GPS device and Basecamp as simple tools. And like any tool, it won't know what you want it to do unless you actively control it. And in the case of Garmin GPS's, use of the via point in a route is the primary means of control.

One thing I didn't catch at first, and may be causing some misunderstanding: you mention "trip" vs "route". Are you using the "Trip Planner" in BC to do your planning? If so, I recommend giving that up and directly create routes instead. The Trip Planner I believe was an attempt by Garmin years ago to add a higher level kind of planning, but IMO it was a bust, and the BC software has been in a "comatose" state for years, so it sits there unchanged. It's just not user-friendly and makes too many assumptions, and gives less granular control over things. On newer devices, they've dropped the term "Trip" and it's now called "Route Planner", and when you select that, you see a list of all the individual routes you've loaded. I'm sorry if my assumption is wrong, but IMO, planning routes for individual segments of your trip is much better. And. BTW, round-trip routes are to be avoided, better to have separate "out" and "back" routes even for simple travels, I think.

I don't know about the Nuvi, but my DS66 does accommodate changes pretty well. If you deviate and stop for a night, and in the process make a via point irrelevant, before starting the next morning, with the route loaded, you can just tap "List", and delete the via point, and it will recalculate and be on your way. Or if you just drive and ignore the direction to that point, after a short time a window will pop up asking if you still want to go there. If you answer "No", it will happily recalculate to take you to the next point in the route.

It may still be well worth upgrading to a newer device, I'd certainly consider it. But either way, I suspect you can make it work very well for you if you accept some of the limitations and foibles along the way. I know it works great for me, I wouldn't be without it, and I've been using Basecamp and Garmin devices for around 20 years!

 

[JimAvanti]

Yes, my GPS has an App built in called "Trip Planner", and that seemed to be the logical way to go giving that BaseCamp has the ability to load Trips directly to the GPS. You would think that Garmin would at least have a way to "pin" routes to certain streets to force desired routes without the need to double back because you happened to bypass a Via. I guess I don't see what the difference between a route and a trip is if the GPS is going to just do its own thing in either case. I have been with Garmin since the beginning too. My first garmin was a handheld without the capability of loaded maps. I had to interface it to my laptop using street atlas. I later purchased a Garmin, a TomTom, and a Magellan (All 3" screens) to test which one was best. I liked the Garmin best so I later bought my Nuvi, which I still prefer even to the GPS built into my car. Lifetime Map updates are a must.

I will try again for next year's trip, making sure to zoom in close so that my VIAs are on the correct side of the roads for both destination and return trips home. Hopefully I get this right sometime before I am too old to make the trip!

Thanks again,
Jim

 

[Nuvi-Nebie]

I don't think there is any difference between a Route and a Trip, Garmin state a Trip may include more 'Time' information, eg:- start, end and duration Times, otherwise they are the same.

I think a few simple rules need to be used when planning a Route :-

1) A simple Route has only one destination which is the end of the Route, the path to that end point is not guaranteed as it is calculated on the unit.

2) Multiple destination Routes require one of two strategies, either you create separate Routes for each destination or you add Vias to a simple Route that forces you to visit each location

It is worth examining the Route created in Basecamp in some detail to ensure there are no anomalies caused by Vias being placed incorrectly

 

[johnwd98]

I have been using BaseCamp for a few years. First with a Nuvi and now with a DriveSmart. I start out by using Trip Planner in BaseCamp, adding the start point and destination. Then I edit the route manually to my preferred route by either using Way Points and changing the flag symbol to the Via Point black dot (not so many blue flags cluttering your map that way). The advantage of this is Way Points go on a viewable list, and you can then easily reuse them in the trip properties option for future trips. I have not found a way to view a list of Via Points other than viewing in the Properties option. Another thing is to manually move your route to the desired route by using the alt>drag option creating a new Via Point, magnify if you must to then move your new Via Point to the exact location like an intersection where you want to turn, also if it is a four lane, make sure you're in the right lane. I always try to remember to change W/P and V/P to the "do not alert" in the properties option, except of course the start and destination points. So far it seems to me that only using V/P and W/P at points where I want to turn, is the best way when transferring my new route to my GPS. I do also then double check my GPS to reaffirm that my trip follows the route that I want to take.