How To: Create My Own Map/TripTik On My GPS

Your first and biggest problem is that your 200W does not support routes, whether you attempt to create them on your Nuvi or on Mapquest (or Google Maps) and transfer them to the GPS.

The 200W (which is several years old now) does not support multipoint routing. It will do an endpoint and an intermediate, but you can't plan a route like you would like.
It's a PITA, but plan your route using Mapsource or BaseCamp and use enough shaping points to force the route over the roads you need/want. Save the individual points using letters, not numbers so you can go from your start to point B then add point A as an intermediate. When you get to B, go to D and then add C as a waypoint. Yep, a real PITA. The easy way is to buy a unit that supports routes or trips, plan the trip in either Mapsource or BaseCamp and then transfer the trip to the new unit.

Good advice. I new unit would definitely be the way to go.

I'd add that if mier does get a new Nuvi that he may well find it much easier to use Mapquest than either Mapsource or Basecamp. It's relatively easy to alter the calculated routes in Mapquest to follow a route of your liking and certainly the learning curve is a lot shorter than it would be to learn either of the Garmin solutions.

Also, mier, Google maps no longer has a facility for transferring routes to your GPS.

Two suggestions. (link no longer available) (link no longer available) . Used these with my Nuvi 265.

You may want to check how many via points your unit will do. Some of these models were able to do more then one as shown in the manual. http://www.poi-factory.com/node/19196 Make sure to look at comments by MrKen FL about via points also.

That was the problem I had with my OLD Nuvi 350.

No routing capability. But I have a good idea how far I want to drive each day. I used to decide on an endpoint somewhere beyond where I thought I might stop for the night. Then I chose via points along the way there.

That was my way to have a "route".

I have been doing the same thing with my unit.

The only difference. I picked my full route, get the co-ordinates for my choice of turns, save those as A-B-C etc points. selected each point before trip to have the points in my recent list. Pick A, when I get there pick B, when I get there pick C.

On the way back reverse the order.

I use Base Camp and EPE. I pick my start and end points in BC and let it create a route. I then choose additional points that will force the route the way I want.

Once I'm done, I recalculate the route and make sure I haven't missed something. If you're taking a bypass route, make your waypoint about halfway around the bypass to be sure that the GPS doesn't try to route you back onto the main road.

Once I'm happy I export as a GPX file.

Now I import into EPE and review each point by maximizing the map, going to satellite mode. I then drag the waypoint to make sure that it is on the right side of the highway.

I name each waypoint with the city and state, but prefix each point with 1, 2, 3, etc.

I now reopen the original file and rename it as the return route. I go to each point and drag it to the correct side of the highway for the return trip and reverse the number order.

To use each file, I enter the final waypoint as my destination. If it's a long multi-day trip, I might load the daily final destination, to give me sense of how long until I get there. It's up to you.

On a 200 or 350 etc, you can only use one via point and the numbering helps you to remember which one to load next, after you've driven through the previous via point.

With my 2555, I load all points in sequence into Trip Planner and let it do all the work.

Hope this helps.