Microsoft or DeLorme?

[kstock11]

I'm in the early stages of planning our 8,000 mile meandering trip from North Carolina to Chilliwack and back to pick up our Escape 19'. I know that we will spend many nights along the way in State & Federal campgrounds without internet access. I plan on being flexible along the way, so am looking for the best mapping software that I can have downloaded on my laptop. What have others used, and what features and benefits have you really enjoyed about it? I will probably download USACampground.info to the database. Thanks for everyone's input!

[cpaharley2008]

You can download the corp of engineers locations on a google map to have it available, if needed. Also I always carry a hard cover map- WallyWorld has a one and Rand McNally has a large print one available - to use as back up. I also use a Rand McNally GPS made for rv's- it has all the campgrounds pre loaded and if you travel with a dog, veterinarians are also included. Here is a link for them-
http://rand.factoryoutletstore.com/d...-rvnd7720.html
note this one will also provide weather on your route if you have internet on your smart phone.

[Vermilye]

Since I gave up my PC and now only use a Mac, it has been a couple of years since I used both. At that time I much preferred the Delorme Street Atlas Plus. I found the Delorme software a bit more difficult to use, but far more flexible. Once you get used to the interface producing a custom route was easier with Street Atlas.

You can also get a useful collection of POIs from the Discovery Owners Forum.

[Sally P]

I'm interested in the RV GPS. Read about it in Camping World. Has it been dependable in routing for you? I currently use a Garmin and like it, but it has taken me places I would never get out of with a trailer behind. Really like that they list veterinarians, that alone might sell it to me.

[cpaharley2008]

I have used mine a year now, thinking of upgrading to the one with weather. I have the "5" series, I want the "7" series for ease of sight.

[onetim]

From Rhode Island to Chilliwack and back this summer we used Microsoft Streets and Trips on a laptop with the Streets and Trips GPS receiver. There is a "mega file" of points of interest available for download and was helpful. The setup worked well when we took the time to boot up the laptop. (We used a small 150 watt inverter to keep it charged.)

However, our RandMcNally Road Atlas got the most use for driving directions while our Garmin GPS was hardly used.

Cell and internet availability were not reliable enough for navigation! When cell coverage was available we found it much more convenient to use our IPhone's Google search for campgrounds and other points of interest. But again, cell coverage (AT&T) couldn't be relied on.

[lefttee]

We've put over 3.5K miles on our 19 since late July and won't leave the driveway without our Garmin GPS. Not a perfect device but close. Also another vote for the good old fashioned Rand-McNalley atlas. The Frommer campground guide was a waste. Next Exit was somewhat useful. The best resource we had was a couple of smartphone apps by ALLSTAYS. The one was "Camp and RV" and the other was "Walmart ONP" (over night parking). They also have one for RV dumps that we have found to be inaccurate. We used our Samsung Galaxy tab on Verizon as a "hot spot" for our laptop and it worked great unless we were really out in the boonies (Washington Cascades). We actually found our best campgrounds by stopping at minimarts along the way or asking at the National Forest offices we passed.

[jcrob]

We have the 7" Rand McNally RV GPS. It is really good in the USofA and OK in Canada. We got it because of the number of POIs it has - it knows about most campgrounds and has always found us a place to stay. The large screen and intuitive directions make it easy to understand. We got it from Amazon with lifetime map updates.