Using Shaping Points

If you use shaping points, you can not use that particular point to set as a timed stop. I like to lay out a route including nightly timed stopovers and these cannot be shaping points.
If I allow for example 30 minutes for a border crossing that cannot be a shaping point.

I've created several routes with Trip Planner.

When I start my day thats where my route starts and when I finish my day thats where the route stops. The following day I'll use route number 2.

If I put a gas station as a shaping point and when I'm close to there I decide to skip it for one reason or another a shaping point won't nag me over and over again and try to route me to it as does a via.

If I do decide to put gas at that location, I stop fill up and on my merry way without a problem using the shaping point.

If I put a shaping point for a certain border and decide to cross at another the shaping point won't nag me. If I do decide to cross at the border where there's a shaping point and stay there 20 minutes it's not a problem, when I cross the unit then resumes the pre programmed route.

A via is a real pain when you decide to intentionally skip it because the GPS wants you to absouetely go to it with my model the 3597. The behaviour of your unit might very well vary from mine and others.

A perfect example are my 255WT units that will try twice to route you to the via but then stops and proceeds with the next via or destination ( 255WT cannot use use shaping points. )

On older GPS models you could put in I believe a max of 2 vias whereas with the 255WT you could put in many more. I've done several with 6 or 7 vias without a problem so that proves that not every model behaves the same way.

Use whatever is most convient for you & happy motoring

When I got my first routable Nuvi, I made a single route for a week-long road trip. The "Arrival" display on the Nuvi showed the final destination arrival time, one week later. Make a change in the middle somewhere, and it recalculates the whole trip.

I learned from that, and now make single-day routes when we're on a multi-day road trip. The "Arrival Time" display shows when we'll get to our final stop for the day instead of the end of the trip. And it's really nice to know that if we decide in the middle of the day to take a side trip or detour, we're not going to affect the rest of the trip routes, only today's itinerary.

I do the same, routes for each day otherwise things get far too complicated!

Once thing I've found out is that my 2797 does not like 2,600 mile (4,600 km) routes. So now I do one from home to Laredo,TX and the next from Laredo to near Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico.
In addition to that I have 2 alternative routes to Laredo, one via Wichita,KS and the other via Baton Rouge, LA if I want to visit friends on my way.

I also have added all Bio-Diesel stations as SHAPING points which are along my route. But those are not too critical since I get about 600 miles (1,000km)or better per tank 18 US gal (70 liter). I have also entered many motels along my routes as SHAPING points as well as restaurants such as Golden Corral, Sirloin Stockade and Ryans Buffet etc. Reasonably good food and relatively inexpensive eating, especially when you get the seniors discount. My routine is to stop for an early dinner about 12 pm to 1:30 pm and fill up about the same time. This way I do not have the early morning desperate search for a filling station plus my plumbing has had a chance to digest before nighttime.

My driving is such that I really have no idea where I will be at the end of the day nor when I will stop. Though generally it takes me three days of intensive driving to make Laredo at approx. 600 miles (1,000km) per day. I do NOT do sightseeing on my way south, I just want to get there in about 4 1/2 days of driving. I do plan a different route home bound and try to build in some sightseeing touristy spots. I've done the Blue Ridge Pkwy, the Natchez Trace, New Orleans and in Wisconsin the Great River Road.

I have all this entered in my ancient Nuvi 855 (No Shaping points) as well as my Nuvi 2797.

It is a heck of a lot harder to try and enter this in my Passat's built in Garmin based GPS. I have managed to install my own waypoints from an SD card but that is all I can install in the RSN 510 unit. It took me ONE hour just to set up ONE route to Laredo plus one more hour to make a special DB3 file the GPS can understand.

Sounds good but can't use it on NUVI 2555LMT. Too bad.

... true shaping points only came in on the 2013 models onwards, unfortunately yours is a 2012 model

For those unaware shaping points sent by BaseCamp remain as shaping points on the newer models, before 2013 shaping points sent by BaseCamp were converted to normal viapoints.

Glad I finally learned about shaping points. I general make custom routes for trips and frequently have to "force" my GPS to go where I want, and using regular waypoints just gets in the way. But, I can use shaping points now! Glad I learned about this new feature.

Just tried a short local route with a store in a shopping center set as a shaping point. As expected my 3597 routed me into this shopping center but I ignored it and just continued on my way. No complaint from the GPS, it just continued along my setup route. Many thanks to whoever pointed this out, it will be very useful on an upcoming trip to "preplan" possible bath room stops at rest areas.

Even though I do not use BaseCamp very often, it is nice to know this nevertheless, Thx.

I know this is probably a silly question, but how do you set up shaping points? Do you have to use BaseCamp or can it be done another way? I have never used these before so I am curious as to how they are used and set-up.

Yes, it's done with BaseCamp or should I state in BaseCamp. One of the options in route building is to display the properties of a point and then select if the unit will alert on reaching that point. If you set it to Do Not Alert, it becomes a shaping point the routing engine will use in building the route but you cannot select the point or route to it if for some reason you stop the route and then want to restart from you current position. Your only choices are to either start at a previous marked point or go to the next marked point that will alert.

You can create a route in your GPS and once it is done go to "EDIT" and click on the waypoint flag. It will then ask you if you want to make this a Shaping Point.

Going the same route you can also undo a Shaping Point.

It will not work in your 350 though.

First of all silly questions don't exist, we're all here to help and learn from one another

You can read this FAQ which will help you if you have the Trip Planner app on your unit:

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/45037

Let us know if you need any added guidance.

Cheers

You folks are the greatest. A group of people who are vastly more familiar with some of the inner workings of a GPS than I probably ever will be. I certainly appreciate all of the help whenever I have a question. You are the greatest. All of you should be considered for the COW award in my humble opinion. Thanks again for enlightening me on this subject. It is much appreciated.