Garmin Nuvi 3597 Custom Route Question

Yes, the 3597 will handle uploaded routes. Without waypoints it's going to follow the rules set by "fastest", "shortest", and variations there of, depending on whether you have Trends selected or not.

If you load a route with waypoints, it will follow that route. Never had a problem with it doing so.

Just what exactly did the 25 do that you don't think was correct?

On the 3597 you can see the imported routes, which are now called trips, in Trip Planner. On the home page of the GPS, touch Apps, page down, touch Trip Planner.

dobs108

I found with the 25 series that it only routed me to the next way point and gave no final destination eta. Once it reached the first way point it would route to the next and so on. If for some reason I got off route it would not return me to my former route. My current unit does route to the next point but it will show the eta and it will return to the original route if I make a gas stop or a wrong turn ect, the 25's would not do that

The way route waypoints are handled in the 25 series is the same way as in any modern Garmin GPS, and also the same as in the 3597.

In the older units, the route was written in stone and you could smoothly pass a waypoint without concern. That is not how Trip Planner treats waypoints along the route.

If you leave the route/trip, for example, to stop for lunch, Trip Planner is all too ready to recalculate the entire trip to the final destination.

I have also been troubled when leaving the trip and then returning to it. If I miss hitting an intermediate waypoint, the GPS directs me back to that waypoint behind me rather than going forward toward the destination! That is very confusing and a safety hazard.

To stop the intermediate destination annoyance, on the 3597 and a few other units, turn the intermediate waypoints into "shaping points." This can be done by editing the waypoints you want to be shaping points in Trip Planner onboard the GPS. A shaping point will no longer be an intermediate destination.

dobs108

Which 25xx model? The earlier ones had the original trip planner that works as you describe. From 2013 onwards the Trip Planner app was updated and now works like the original route planner so gives ETA, routes you along the whole route etc

That's exactly why there are now shaping points. I only use viapoints if it's essential to hit them, every other point should be a shaping point. If I do miss a viapoint I want to be directed back to it, to me that is in no way a safety hazard.

I much prefer the way the newer units operate as planning and driving routes is far more flexible than previously

I tried one of the first 25xx models on the market and now that I recall it was that version of trip planner that was the part I disliked. I am happy to hear they have made some improvements in it.

Yes, they have definitely improved Trip Planner in the newer models (2013 and beyond), but IMO it still is not as good as the classic "custom routes" implementation. I know my friend sussamb doesn't agree with that statement.

Shaping points are nice, but also not reliable. If you go off route, it is anyone's guess where the route will be picked up. It will for sure take you to the next hard waypoint, but it may skip multiple shaping points in between. Because of that, I still use the hard waypoints, and just deal with the mess when I need to go off route (by stopping the current route and reconfiguring from my present location).

Going off route, I've never had trouble stopping the route, then restarting it, choosing the next waypoint or shaping point in line. Yes, I've had trouble with it trying to recalculate when going off route, and unless you've really gone way off route, it usually gets it right. Not always, but mostly.

You know me too well

I prefer the newer Trip Planner because it allows shaping points whereas the older route planner didn't. For my use shaping points are extremely useful.