RV Mode in BaseCamp 4.2.1 Failed

Former Member
Former Member
I just tested the RV Mode in BaseCamp 4.2.1 and it failed. I had it plot a route down I-95 from Philadelphia, PA to Richmond, VA. It routed me through the tunnels at Baltimore, MD. All RVs have propane tanks that are NOT allowed in these tunnels.

The same is true for the tunnels into NY City. I did not test them, but who in their right mind would want to drive an RV in NY City?
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 12 years ago
    My point is more general. For Garmin (or anyone for that matter) to keep abreast of all the restrictions for certain vehicles types across many countries is an almost impossible task. If they attempt it users will complain that the restrictions are outdated, non-existent or whatever just as they do for POI's.

    A consumer grade GPS is a navigation guide. Anyone relying on it in defiance of their own common sense is going to end up in trouble. There are numerous instances of that happening.

    I can just hear a defense lawyer now... "Well my clients GPS didn't route them around that tunnel. Garmin is clearly negligent!.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 12 years ago
    In your opinion.

    Perhaps you would like to research, document and put into maps every RV restriction for every bridge. tunnel or whatever in North America, Europe, Australasia and every other place Garmin offers map products.


    If they put out software and a GPS unit that says it is for RVs, that is what they are paid to do. Now, for the US there is at least one directory that has probably 99% of the RV restrictions. Does not sound very hard to me to document the US RV restrictions and build them into the software.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 12 years ago
    Garmin just have released update to dezl 760 with following change: Added support for European tunnel restrictions for hazardous materials.
    Maybe the same should be done to BaseCamp?


    We'll get that eventually, the routing code in the guts is the same.
  • Use the Trucking profile and set the Hazardous Material to Compressed Gas in the routing preferences. That seemed to do what you want. We'll pass this issue on to our mapping department.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 12 years ago
    That will NOT work. It will route me away from too many areas that I can go. RVs with propane can go almost anywhere a Hazmat compressed gas carrier cannot. The only exceptions are a few tunnels (e.g. Baltimore and NYC Hudson River tunnels). I do not want to be routed away from the PA Turnpike tunnels because of being a "Truck" with compressed gas. There are several other tunnels with RV restrictions (in the Black Hills of SD) but they are based on size so I hope that would stop routing an RV through them. Also, I plan on getting the RV 760 and the truck compressed gas option is not available.

    Really, this is not for me. I know about these restrictions from 30 years plus of driving an RV. It is for those RV owners that might (probably) not know about these restrictions. It is a real pain getting caught at the last mile and having to turn arround an RV, with a car in tow (lose half an hour just in that manuever), and find a new route. Been there, done that. RV owners purchasing the RV 760 are depending (hoping) that a GPS device specifally for RVs will avoid these problems. Why would they even think of classifing themselves as a truck carrying compressed gas even if they could (also see above comment on the RV 760)?

    Do you have anyone in your office that knows what driving an RV entails? It is different than driving a truck!! Note, I did not say harder, just different.

    My objective in pointing this out is the hope that these restrictions will be incorporated into the BaseCamp RV Mode and more importantly in the RV 760 device. I would bet that 95% of the RV owners using the RV 760 will never use BaseCamp.
  • My guess it that the restrictions are part of the map products and that all the restrictions will show up in the trucking drop-down list. The information itself may be third party. Unless there are more restrictions in future map products the behavior will be the same.

    It is unlikely that the restrictions themselves (regulations) are specific to vehicle type or use (truck/RV, commercial/personal). For example, the law for the Maryland tunnel should also apply to a car carrying a replacement tank for a gas barbecue. More likely they will target type and quantity of hazardous material. In the same way, the software restrictions are unlikely to be based on commercial trucking or RV, they are likely height, width, length weight and hazardous materials.

    Yes, a compressed gas option for an RV would likely restrict access to some places an RV could go. At the same time, it should identify the places an RV cannot go because of propane tanks, thus eliminating the turn around problem.

    But adding a partial hazardous material list to the RV profile is not the best solution due to the uniqueness of the issue (quantity, possibly open or closed at source). Perhaps someone could contact the mapping group about this issue?
  • Where is the RV mode in Basecamp... I see the Trucking, car, Motorcycle, walking profiles but where is a RV Mode??

    BC
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 12 years ago
    It is in the new version, 4.2.1. On the pulldown that normally says "driving" the RV mode is directly below "trucking".