Where did GPS go wrong??
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15 years
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Everyone knows that any GPS might be off a litle bit when guiding you to a new destination, right? Well, where did YOUR trip go wrong???
Mine was a beaut!! I was visiting my sister in a beautiful little valley in the hills of TN near Gatlinburg. Lovely winding country roads sprinkled with tiny farms. Unfortunately, by the time I left, it already was dark. No problem, I just punched in Gatlinburg on my faithful Garmin.
Hmmm -- I don't remember THIS turn??? Oh, did I mention that I was pulling a 20' enclosed utility trailer?? I knew that I should be following a river bed but one turn started taking me UP! OH NOOOO!!! The road got more narrow and more steep. No place to turn around. The twists and turns got more frequent and the truck had to shift down into first gear. By the time I got to the TOP of Locust RIDGE (my first clue) road, the path had narrowed to one car wide and I couldn't see DOWN on the right or UP on the left. No lights, no houses, and no signs. Garmin wanted me to hang a right down every gravel cliffside lane. Fortunately, I stuck to the road I was on and EVENTUALLY the road dropped away in front of my truck and started downward.
I ended up on a road to Pigeon Forge (home of Dollywood). Close enough!!! I was never so glad to see a Micky Dees in my life!!! 
Funny, you can't see the mountains on a GPS.
Bob
Funny
Oops, sorry, maybe not to you. I was picturing Robbin Williams played by Bob Hastings in the movie RV. Glade it all worked out.
One track GPS (Mind)
Yep, Those squiggly lines on that screen do not tell you if they are a road or a trail. Kind of makes you wonder if the map makers shouldn't differenciate. Careful, esp in the boonies...indyjkraft
Off-road
One of the first things you should remember (from practical experience) set the unit to avoid unpaved roads, I went down some roads I wouldn't go down with a ATV until I learned to avoid unpaved roads.
Legs
Off road
Especially in United Kingdom and Ireland. I never knew there were so many dirt roads through the fields, but somehow my Garmin 670 knew all about them (even if good highway was just a short distance away).
Great idea but...
One of the first things you should remember (from practical experience) set the unit to avoid unpaved roads, I went down some roads I wouldn't go down with a ATV until I learned to avoid unpaved roads.
I have mine set to avoid unpaved roads but it always wants me to turn on a single lane dirt farm road just outside of my driveway in order to make it to the interstate. Odd thing is taking the paved road is not only quicker but shorter then the way my Garmin tries to send me.
Go figure.
Glad all worked out for the best for you BobHastings!
Brian Garmin nuvi 255W
maps
Never underestimate the value of a paper map or at least a map from the internet (mapquest equivalent). It has saved me more than once when the GPS got confused.
Out of curiosity
I have mine set to avoid unpaved roads but it always wants me to turn on a single lane dirt farm road just outside of my driveway in order to make it to the interstate. Odd thing is taking the paved road is not only quicker but shorter then the way my Garmin tries to send me.
Go figure.
Is that single lane road next to (or close by) the paved road you take? It could be a coding error in the map data that is selecting that road.
ɐ‾nsǝɹ Just one click away from the end of the Internet
Funny
Maybe you were using the hidden "Adventure Mode".
Magellan Maestro 4250, T-Mobile G1 with Google Maps, iPaq with TomTom, and a Tapwave Zodiac with TomTom and Mapopolis
It comes down to road
It comes down to road classification. I dont think all the units have those features.On my 260W it shows vegetation-wooded areas in green sometimes.Others have digital elevation model that can sort of show shades of higher and lower terrain. I certainly dont see the avoid unpaved roads feature. Oh!! my bad.i didnt scroll down enough. the unpaved rd option is certainly there.
Garmin Nuvi 260W Garmin Nuvi 1490T If you think knowledge is expensive, try ignorance.
New Garmin Models
The newer garmin models have the ability to show you the entire route at once, even if your route crosses the country. This makes it easy to find such errors by sight.
Jen
New Garmin Models
The newer garmin models have the ability to show you the entire route at once, even if your route crosses the country. This makes it easy to find such errors by sight.
Jen
Funny
Funny story! I've spent a lot of time in that area as my uncle lives in the hills surrounding Gatlinburg. Your best bet would have been to look for a POI in Gatlinburg, and then to have navigated to it. I can well imagine your concern when the country road got down to one lane. Having been in that area, I have to say I got a chuckle at your expense.........sorry....
"Sometimes, when I look at my children, I wish I had remained a virgin". Lillian Carter (Mother of Jimmy Carter)
Different directions
The dirt road hangs a left out of my driveway and the paved road is straight ahead. There really is no other road around it. (I live at the end of a dead end so the road runs right into my driveway.) If I start the unit before I leave and ignore that turn it has me turn left on the next paved road, then turn left on to a one lane gravel road/alleyway (once again avoiding an unpaved road?) right back onto the original road and go back to the farm road.
What I usually do is program where I want to go and wait until I get to the end of my road to hit the GO button. When I tell the unit I want to go home it tries to send me to the same farm road. Since I know this I usually stop the directions when I get close so I don't have to hear Jill get all worked up for no following her directions.
Like I said since I know the area, no big deal and where I live I doubt anyone would be trying to get back there unless they knew the area and would then know a better way.
Brian Garmin nuvi 255W
Not sure that the GPSr did go wrong
Sounds more like operator error to me, not having the GPSr set up properly. And of course like any other complex device, when all else fails read the instructions again, since you think that your GPSr has failed you.
It is a Hair raising story none the less.
Using Android Based GPS.The above post and my sig reflects my own opinions, expressed for the purpose of informing or inspiring, not commanding. Naturally, you are free to reject or embrace whatever you read.
Check
The dirt road hangs a left out of my driveway and the paved road is straight ahead. There really is no other road around it. (I live at the end of a dead end so the road runs right into my driveway.) If I start the unit before I leave and ignore that turn it has me turn left on the next paved road, then turn left on to a one lane gravel road/alleyway (once again avoiding an unpaved road?) right back onto the original road and go back to the farm road.
What I usually do is program where I want to go and wait until I get to the end of my road to hit the GO button. When I tell the unit I want to go home it tries to send me to the same farm road. Since I know this I usually stop the directions when I get close so I don't have to hear Jill get all worked up for no following her directions.
Like I said since I know the area, no big deal and where I live I doubt anyone would be trying to get back there unless they knew the area and would then know a better way.
While sitting in your driveway, let it aquire, then soom into the lowest level you can and inspect the road you want to use all the way to the point where it starts routing properly. I'll bet that there is a gap in the the road, or it's not connected to another road it should be.
If you go here: http://www8.garmin.com/cgi-bin/mapgen/webmap.cgi?smap.x=190&... which is the Garmin interactive maps, you'll see what I mean. That road, New Chapel has connected to Red House Rd, forever. some cartographer overlooked this misconnection somewhere in the past and it seems doomed to be disconnected forever.
Frank DriveSmart55 37.322760, -79.511267