which program do I use ?

[Hummingbird]

I want to design a route then load it to my Zumo 550 - problem is I can't find anything/information on how to do it.

 

Help Please

[Owen]

I want to design a route then load it to my Zumo 550 - problem is I can't find anything/information on how to do it.

 

Help Please

 

The program is called MapSource. It should come with your Zumo. You can download it from the Garmin web site.

[dave_wells]

I never really cared for the software that came with my 550

 

Google maps or Map quest have these features

 

Connect the gps to the computer Set up the route the select send to gps

 

You will need to load a plugin for the web browser

 

You can also import waypoints from Google then use the built in routing in the gps

select start and end points then fill in the middle

 

 

Hope this helps

[Wizard765]

I actually really like Mapsource. It is important to have the exact same map version in mapsource on your computer as in you zumo. If you do that then the route does not get recalculated when you upload it to your unit. Otherwise when the route is uploaded and recalculated it may get some changes and not go exactly where you planned. This can be minimized by using LOTS of waypoints.

When you do a map update you can choose to install to both the unit and the computer but this is not done automatically. You have to go to advanced settings and choose this option.

If you use Mapsource with the same map version then all the roads etc will be the same.. even if they are wrong. I know a few roads in my area that are wrong in Mapsource AND on Google Maps ..

 

If you have a Mac then the program is called Road Trip. It is excellent.

 

If you cannot find Mapsource on the Garmin's website and have the right map. You can call Garmin and they will re-enable your last map update so you can redo it to get the program and maps on your computer. Very easy people to deal with

 

Wayne

[Hummingbird]

I actually really like Mapsource. It is important to have the exact same map version in mapsource on your computer as in you zumo. If you do that then the route does not get recalculated when you upload it to your unit. Otherwise when the route is uploaded and recalculated it may get some changes and not go exactly where you planned. This can be minimized by using LOTS of waypoints.

When you do a map update you can choose to install to both the unit and the computer but this is not done automatically. You have to go to advanced settings and choose this option.

If you use Mapsource with the same map version then all the roads etc will be the same.. even if they are wrong. I know a few roads in my area that are wrong in Mapsource AND on Google Maps ..

 

If you have a Mac then the program is called Road Trip. It is excellent.

 

If you cannot find Mapsource on the Garmin's website and have the right map. You can call Garmin and they will re-enable your last map update so you can redo it to get the program and maps on your computer. Very easy people to deal with

 

Wayne

 

Wayne - I see you are going to Big Toms next week. Linda and I will be there Friday, we're staying at the Microtel and bringing my laptop - can I buy you a beer.

My laptop has mac and windows XP - should I load Road Trip on it before I leave ?

 

Dick

[Hummingbird]

I never really cared for the software that came with my 550

 

Google maps or Map quest have these features

 

Connect the gps to the computer Set up the route the select send to gps

 

You will need to load a plugin for the web browser

 

You can also import waypoints from Google then use the built in routing in the gps

select start and end points then fill in the middle

 

 

Hope this helps

 

Thanks Dave - I'll look around my Zumo, it evidently has stuff I don't know about.

ie: I've had a Blackberry for over a year and just found a bunch of features that I didn't know existed. Just too busy to stop and explore

[slick97spirit]

I use Harley Ride Planner. It's excellent and transfers to my Garmin unit easily.

[RedRider]

www.zumoforums.com

 

You can get all your answers here. Also tutorials, tips and tricks, etc.

 

RR

[Condor]

I haven't used it yet... don't even know if I can, but while messing around, and looking at routes to Cody on Google and emailing them to myself, I noticed that there's a GPS option, as well as the Email, and another that I can't remember right now. So I clicked on the GPS and it gave a Garmin Option. Clicked on it and it brought up the Garmin upload program, and it started looking for a GPS to load the route to. I didn't have anything hooked up so I just got out of the upload area. I have a Street Pilot c550, and I don't know if it'll take a route upload, but it's worth a try the next time I go on a ride-about.

[friesman]

I use the Harley Ride Planner a fair bit, its easy and it does the upload directly into your Garmin. plus theres a spot where you can email your friends and let them access a webpage that Ride Planner makes so they can see what route youve decided to take.

 

I also use the webpage to plan our weekly group rides, so riders (esp newbs) can have a look ahead of time where we are going.

 

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/Ride_Planner/Ride_Planner.jsp

 

Brian

[Dave77459]

I use the Harley Ride Planner a fair bit, its easy and it does the upload directly into your Garmin. plus theres a spot where you can email your friends and let them access a webpage that Ride Planner makes so they can see what route youve decided to take.

 

I also use the webpage to plan our weekly group rides, so riders (esp newbs) can have a look ahead of time where we are going.

 

http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/Ride_Planner/Ride_Planner.jsp

 

Brian

I like the Harley Ride planner, but it adds about 10x more waypoints than I like. The result is an ugly ugly route when viewed on a route planner.

 

I use MapSource, and manage my maps through that. I got the map plan that updates 4 times a year, and MapSource is the app that updates my GPSr.

 

One reason I use MapSource is that it easily manages my "default" locations and past trips. I don't ever recreate a route from scratch. I build on my experience.

 

For example, when I head west, just about all the routing programs I use (Google Maps, etc) want to send me up the toll road and out I-10, which are congested roads. Instead, I head down US59 (AWAY from traffic) and then take Spur 10 up to US36. I reach I-10 at Sealy, skipping almost all the traffic. The net result is a better, more enjoyable, more scenic trip.

 

Reusing this knowledge is easy in MapSource. When I am done with a trip, I download my tracks and routes and waypoints from the GPSr, and store them in a dated file. When I want to reuse information, I open these files and grab the important bits for my new route.

 

And finally, a word about Points of Interest. Most POI sites include MapSource-friendly files. I've got all the rest areas, truck plazas, and Dairy Queens loaded into MapSource files. Usually, they are added as POIs to the GPSr's firmware (using POILoader), but frequently they will form routing points. I may not stop at every rest area, but a route from rest area to rest area breaks up the route into friendly chunks that works well with my GPSr's mapping. If I build a route to El Paso, it is not friendly to have the GPSr tell me that my next turn is in 700 miles. Adding rest areas breaks that into a more soul-satisfying 100 mile chunk.

 

Wizard675' experience doesn't quite match mine. The routing algorithm on the GPSr and in MapSource are subtly different. I think it might boil down to expected travel speeds on class of roadway. So, my routes are sometimes different in unremarkable ways, even with the same map product installed.

 

Dave

[slick97spirit]

You can easily adjust the waypoints in Harley ride planner

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[friesman]

You can easily adjust the waypoints in Harley ride planner

 

 

 

 

Yes you can, or I just Start at the beginning and in order click all the points I think i want to stop at and it will only use mine to get to the destination, not Harleys.

 

Brian

[1sttenor]

I use Streets and Trips and then covert and load into my TomTom with GPS Babel (freeware). Its the best and most accurate method I've found. Planned hundreds of trips with them.

[Midrsv]

Another vote for the Harley Ride Planner. That's all I've used the last couple of years.

 

Dennis

[Dave77459]

I use Streets and Trips and then covert and load into my TomTom with GPS Babel (freeware). Its the best and most accurate method I've found. Planned hundreds of trips with them.

I like MSST a lot, especially how you can say how far you can go without stopping and it will indicate that place, so you can look for gas or food or lodging around there. But GPS Babel at the time didn't quite understand the format (it was secret) and the results of conversion were wonky.

 

Does GPS Babel handle it better now?

 

Dave