Help with custom routes on Nuvi 2555LMT

Former Member
Former Member
I'm having problems getting my nuvi to follow the routes I've downloaded to it. I'm trying to use it to plan scenic rides on my motorcycle. On a recent trip I used Basecamp to define a route and added route points as needed to get the route to follow the path I wanted to ride. In this particular case I mapped routes that were loops; I set the start point from our hotel and end point a restaurant 2 blocks away and inserted route points to make an approximate 200 mile loop. I met some friends for breakfast at a place between the hotel and first route point. When we left the restaurant I selected the route from the Trip Planner and selected the first route point for a start point. The GPS guided me through the first route point OK, but then started trying to steer me to route points on the trailing end of the route and wanted to skip all of the other points that made the scenic loop; it seemed set on minimizing the trip length. How can I force the nuvi to follow the route as input from Basecamp? If I wanted shortest distance I wouldn't pick a route I would just select a destination.

Thanks.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 10 years ago
    The only things I can advise here are to make sure that you have the same maps on both device and BaseCamp and your routing preferences are the same between both, or as close as possible.

    Let us know if you have other issues.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 10 years ago
    When I plug the device in with BaseCamp open the maps redraw to show more detail. When it does this I assume BaseCamp is using the devices maps. I always create the routes with the device plugged in. Is my assumption about BaseCamp using the devices maps when it is connected correct, or is there something else I need to check?
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 10 years ago
    You need to select the map yourself. The active map will be the one with the check mark in the Maps dropdown menu of the menu bar.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 10 years ago
    OK. It is using the one on the device, so that part is correct.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 10 years ago
    In trying to review downloaded Manuals for both four digit Nuvis (2555, which the OP owns, etc), and the newer two digit Nuvis (56.which I own), there is one commonality: Not all features and all menus are covered. I just rediscovered, if I ever knew, that the Nuvi 56 can:
    Skip Next Destination
    Skip Next Shaping Point
    Detour
    Detour by Distance
    Detour by Road

    The four digit Nuvi 2555 series Manual spends so much print describing all the Traffic Avoidances, Detours, Weather Reports, Blue Tooth, etc that it never quite gets around to the Trip Planning and Routing features. Comparison of features is not possible without having the hardware in hand. gjhai, the OP, will no doubt get this sorted out rather quickly with some bench testing with the GPS Simulator enabled in Trip Planner Mode.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 10 years ago
    In trying to review downloaded Manuals for both four digit Nuvis (2555, which the OP owns, etc), and the newer two digit Nuvis (56.which I own), there is one commonality: Not all features and all menus are covered. I just rediscovered, if I ever knew, that the Nuvi 56 can:
    Skip Next Destination
    Skip Next Shaping Point
    Detour
    Detour by Distance
    Detour by Road

    The four digit Nuvi 2555 series Manual spends so much print describing all the Traffic Avoidances, Detours, Weather Reports, Blue Tooth, etc that it never quite gets around to the Trip Planning and Routing features. Comparison of features is not possible without having the hardware in hand. gjhai, the OP, will no doubt get this sorted out rather quickly with some bench testing with the GPS Simulator enabled in Trip Planner Mode.


    Is there a way to adjust the simulation speed? It wants to simulate at real trip time.
  • Unfortunately not.

    (I have your file, thanks, I'll look at it shortly)
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 10 years ago
    The trip simulator animation does little to explain the effects of normal routing.

    Unfortunately, the gps satellite disabling selection is also named "simulator", and disabling the gps is required for certain observations of the effects of manual map center focus shifting.
  • @gjhai

    I've now had a good look at the route you sent me, both on BaseCamp and my nuvi. I can see you've inserted ample shaping points and my nuvi follows your route perfectly, so it's difficult to know what happened.

    The only way I can get my nuvi to do the left turn you described in Cleveland is by restarting the trip and selecting the end rather than the start point. Since you've only inserted shaping rather than via points all the shaping points would be ignored.

    On such a long route I'd certainly consider inserting a couple of via points, particularly as you said you stopped for breakfast after leaving the hotel. It's quite possible looking at your trip that your only choice after breakfast would have been to select the end point, is that what you did? If so it explains everything.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 10 years ago
    @SUSSAMB
    The subject of Shape Points continually appears in your comments, but the word "shape" is not mentioned anywhere in BaseCamp Help (or menus) that I have studied. However, thanks to My Nuvi 56, plus a 3rd party mapping app with gpx route file import/export, and most importantly third party Wordpad, as a gpx file text reader, the situation is becoming clearer.

    Once again, the two digit Nuvi 56 does a good job of creating complicated trip routing as a standalone device. More importantly it does not expose any Garmin created internal "shape points" to hide and skew the routing back to hidden shaping/via coordinates early in the route. But BaseCamp may create hardened "shape points" which may be transferred to a Nuvi (or other device) depending on the way a particular gpx file is exported/imported. It does turn out that the Nuvi 56 can bypass enroute the "Next" shape point, which may in fact be tens of miles behind the current routing position. Even then, getting to the correct Nuvi 56 Change Route>Skip menu listing is far from intuitive. But it is doable!

    As to the Nuvi 2555 routing, as SUSSAMB has mentioned before, it may be necessary to export the route as Direct point to point gpx file coordinate point data to prevent BaseCamp from inserting hidden and troublesome Shape Points of its own choosing. Once again, good luck.