Wrong Map Navigation

sebastiantombs

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Talk about taking a wrong turn! Here, in the US, the truckers are supposed to use GPS maps that are specially designed for large trucks to avoid low bridges, highways that won't support their weight or roads/highways that are too narrow. There are even separate maps for hazardous cargo, like explosives and ammunition. Google just can't do that, yet.
 
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Flintstone61

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I was using Miscrosoft streets and Trips on a Laptop, with an 18 wheeler. back in like 2004. It did NOT have a trucker mode. :)
Although I did have a Truck mapbook road atlas. Can't remember the name of the publication now but it also had truck stop listings. I think low bridges too. And the Qualcomm communication device in the truck would spew out canned messages to any of our trucks in Low Bridge Areas to remind us to " watch the Fuck out". But not everywhere.
I had a run from Ft. Collins to San Antonio with Fresh produce. packed in ice... to a grocery warehouse.
along the way I was the 3rd truck in a 3 truck convoy of dumbasses, ( Cr England, Swift & Schneider) Guess who turned to be the dumb ass that day.... Me ( the dumbass) in a CR England rig, following Swift and Schneider down 87 in Nowhere TX... north of Amarillo...when they suddenly peeled off to the right, as we approached a small town. GPS said 87 right thru town.
Then I saw it. The gashed and damaged bridge under a Rail road. I think it said 13' 10". I was like 13' 5" or 6". anyway I remember i had 4 inches.
But it was a dip down with a climb out deal. I crawled up to it and opened the door. hmm maybe 1/2 a foot. But it looked like the trailer would be too high in the middle when the tractor started going up the other side....Fuck! Fuck ! Fuck!
So i dropped the bags in the tractor. Then creeped thru as they refilled. Then I stopped 1/2 way and dropped the air out of the trailer bags. Then I got out and looked a bit. Near as could Figger :)....if I got moving and the bags filled up before i got thru I might hit about 2/3 of the way back.
So i had to drop the bags twice, and go a little ways as soon as the parking brakes released. Whew!!!! dammit Driver!
 
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In Chicago, we got on the east side of the railroad tracks which are elevated. “Stella”, our GPS, with truck overlay, directed us there.

The problem was that most under crossings were less than 12’ in height. We finally found one marked 13’5” and crept under it...we were 13’3”.

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Flintstone61

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Yeah in trucking school in Gary Indiana, they told us not to get off 294 or 94 for shit. You always want to just go thru Chicago....to many 12" bridges just off the freeway and Tollway... in the old parts of town...Most of our drops were food warehouses on the periphery of a city.
 

grumpywilson

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I started driving a straight truck 14 years ago at the company I'm still at. I was in the Bronx, kinda lost trying to figure out what road I needed to take as I'm looking at the non truck gps when I look in the mirror and see what looked like snow. It turned out I missed the sign that said 10'6" on Rt 1 which in NY, they are marked atleast a foot low. The "snow" I saw was all the glass that broke on the cars on top of my truck. Didn't even really feel like I hit anything. I was about 4 inches to tall. My routes into the city after that have all been very well planned after that.
 

looney2ns

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Google Maps sucks totally in some areas, even here in the US.
I remember getting many stupid directions being given when trying to navigate to Universal Studios in Orlando, FL.
I mean really, a place that had been there for over 20 yrs, and it was still wrong in GM.
I like my Garmin much better, I never fail to take it with me now.
 

grumpywilson

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In my defense, it not exactly easy to see signage coming up especially if your in a new area. I happen to like the truck specific Rand McNally gps. Before you finally accept the route, it shows you your destination with a map code which corresponds to a specific page in the laminated and spiral bound Rand McNally truckers atlas
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user8963

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Talk about taking a wrong turn! Here, in the US, the truckers are supposed to use GPS maps that are specially designed for large trucks to avoid low bridges, highways that won't support their weight or roads/highways that are too narrow. There are even separate maps for hazardous cargo, like explosives and ammunition. Google just can't do that, yet.

yeah..

youtube: 11foot8

there are millions of videos
they even installed measure system and show that they must TURN.

us drivers..


 
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Being retired, we travel a lot in our motorhome. It is 45 feet long, has a 13'3" height, and is about 45k pounds. Weight varies a little depending on how much fuel, fresh water, black and grey tanks load. We pull our Jeep behind the RV.

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For any given trip, I always map it out using RV Trip Wizard. You put in your RV measurements and it has low clearance and bridge weight warnings. At night I always check the route for the next day, making any notes for route changes and fuel or rest stops. I do this on Google maps and compare it to the RV Trip Wizard recommended route. I then place the destination into my Garmin RV GPS that has the RV info loaded. I compare that route to the other routes. I then check out the campground's web site and get their recommendation for getting to their location. Interstates are no problem. It is the US, state, and county roads that can be an issue. Also local roads to a campground can cause issues. In these dubious areas, my wife has her iPad up with Allstays running. They have a great low clearance and max weight database.

We took a Pacific NW trip in the fall of 2019. Round trip was a little over 6300 miles from our home in TX. We were in CA headed to a campground in Cloverdale. There were conflicting directions on how to get there. GPS said go one way, but the campground said to take a different route. I figured it would be smart to follow the campground route as they should know of any issues with height or weight going to their campground.

So we are taking small surface streets and end up on a dirt road that was under construction for a short distance. As I approach a bridge over a creek, I get this view:

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Yep that's a 13T or 26K# weight limit and I am at 45K#. So I had to disconnect the Jeep and back up a ways until the road was wide enough to turn around. Then we took the alternate route to the campground. Well that was a very narrow, winding road with low branches that hit the roof. I stopped counting at 30 hits. I was quite pissed off when I got to that campground. Gave them a little talking to about their directions.
 

looney2ns

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I can say the same about drivers in Jamaica or Cancun Mexico.
In Jamaica, pot holes the size of semis, and no one tries to avoid them, of course it is very hard to avoid, but they don't even slow down.
There are little if any laws of the roads, and he who blinks first looses.
 
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