Hot Rods How do you map out trips in the hot rod?

Solo I use a Garmin and check the route out on MapQuest ahead of time to know where the hell I'm going. Two or more people, old maps and wing it. Neither my normal travel co-pilot or I have smart phones, so I guess that makes us vintage, old or just plain old stupid/stubborn.

 

Last month, my wife and I did the World Tour of Texas. Started in Angleton, then visited most of these towns on our way back to Angleton. We used several different navigation aids, mostly a paper map of the state, and google maps, and GPS, with some help from a Gazetteer, and reading road signs.

Navigating is difficult, we got lost several times, but as I told her, that's part of the adventure.

 

If I don't get lost at least a couple times each trip, I start to get nervous !

 

Sometimes getting lost is the way to find the best places you didn't know about.

 

"I ain't never been lost, though I was a mite bewildered oncet for three days."

Daniel Boone

 

WOW! Many interesting thoughts, and some stuff to check out. That is what I was looking for. My Rand McNaly atlas is a 2016 model and its falling apart at the seems. I don't mind getting a little lost, but I don't want to get really lost. My wife has a smart phone, but we discovered when we were lost in CO that there isn't always reception. Fortunately we made enough correct turns that we stumbled upon a highway we recognized.


We are fortunate that we live in the Midwest. A hundred twenty miles from home will get us in or close to 5 different states besides our own. The camping thing flew away many years ago, we will not revisit that past history.

When Map Quest worked, we would lay out the trip with overnight stops at a specific distance, or a specific travel time apart. Our favorite choice is 250 miles or 5-6 hours a day. We have found that that gives us time to catch things along the way that we might see or hear of that might interest us. Usually around noon, my wife gets out her phone, and we see about where we will be around 3pm, then look for a motel room in that area. Sometimes we don't get the 250 miles, other times we might get farther. We have had days when we didn't get much more then 50 miles from the starting point. Those were the really fun days.
Once we had the trip basically laid out, we would send a letter to each state travel bureau we were traveling through to get their take on the best attractions. Then we would see how many of the ones they listed interested us and were close to our travel line. Then we would readjust our trip accordingly.
The old coupe has been flat reliable (we have AAA just in case) and we can do that 250 miles a day on a tank of gas. I'm doing a few upgrades over the winter so it will be ready to go come spring. We are already making plans for 2 different adventures.
Our trips are always laid back. The days of having to be someplace at a specific time are pretty limited, but should that be the case, we will be spending the night close to where we need to be at that specific time on the next day.

Anyway, I have a couple of trips to plan for, so if you guys have anything else, post it up.
Thanks, Gene

 

That is the problem with using a cel phone for navigation. They work off of maps they download when you first input the destination, but they don't store maps for the entire world or even the entire US, they use the map for the trip, then discard it. So you can use a smart phone to get you to a location, but once there, if you turn off the application, when it's time to go home, or move on to the next destination, unless the phone has reception it can't download a new map. The GPS position still works, cause it works off of satellites, but without a map it's useless. That is where an actual GPS unit, like a Garmin, is better. Especially for off-roading, when you get out in the boonies a GPS can get you back, especially those units developed specifically for off-roading, they have detailed maps.

 

if you really know how to read a map, they tell a lot more about your surroundings with lots of clues as to where the middle of nowhere turn is. hard to do when you are driving, so a copilot that actually has an interest in paying attention is a good one. mine usually doesnt know what state we are in, so i prefer to travel alone. nowdays i do bring my old garmin with, but there is always a map around me. the calendar, atlas near the bed, several state atlases, vintage road maps, its in my blood, my whole family has a map within reach

 

You can pick and choose regions to download locally, which is handy if you know you're going to be in the middle of nowhere, download the region all around that whole surrounding area. That's something I always forget to do, haha!

 

Just go thataway
Point it towards the direction and follow road signs.
Stay off interstates when possible just cause they are boring.
Stop at yard sales, scrap yards and county fairs

 

I just use road signs, if I get lost I'll flag down someone for directions. Has always worked for me.

 

Hmmmmm --- The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Always worked 4 me. Gettin lost is fun.

 

I usually keep my GPS set to avoid highway just for this very reason. On my last trip to South Bend, IN from Grandville, MI I forgot that I had it set to that boy I'll tell you I don't think I've seen so many old iron, and cool old houses and buildings.

 

{ A story } Talking about your bad co-pilots. The wife and I were heading back home from the Nats. in Louisville Ky. She said I'll drive first, and you can lay back and get some rest. So I feel asleep. When I awoke, I asked her where we were. She said proudly. I've been making great time! We'er almost to Nashville. I said NASHVILLE TENN ! We live in Virginia so you been making great time, but in the opposite direction. lol But we had fun, and stayed overnight for a little sightseeing. Ron..........

 

Ahhh, the road signs, and the sun for navigation...
The sun works great unless its cloudy or raining. It doesn't work so well at noon, or in the dark either. Its not a lot of help in the CO mountains when your not sure which way is straight up, unless you are nearing sunset, or are early in the day.
As for road signs, we have been on some back roads in many states where they don't bother putting up many signs. Some places don't even bother putting up speed limit signs. We have been on roads that are nearly sign free for an hour or more. When you come across an intersection it may have a post with two county highway signs that give you no other information. Its really fun when your on the same highway, and have not made any turns, but every few miles when you meet a crossroad, the road you are on has a different name then it did two intersections ago.

My wife is not the best navigator, and I usually need to look at the map a while to determine where we are going to turn next. It doesn't help that many road signs don't agree with the road printed on the map. We both watch for the next turn. The map shows the road going at a 45 degree angle, so our turn may be on Rt 26, or Rt 35, or Rt 146, and we may have to turn north, or east, it should be a right turn....

We usually travel in a state of lost. If I'm traveling east or west, I try to determine a major road to my north and to my south, and as long as I don't cross over those major roads, I'm generally going in the right direction. We drag out the smart phone when we get really lost, as a last resort.

I used to stop and ask for directions, I've found a very high percentage of people are lucky to know how to get to their home from where they are standing, hoping they have any idea how to get to a town a few miles away from them is a scary prospect. Some are very good, but many are questionable at best. It sometimes makes for a great adventure though.

You should get directions from my mom someday. " Getting to our new house is easy! You go down that one road for a little ways. Then you turn left where they cut down that big Oak tree a few years ago. Then you go down that road a little ways and you turn right at the old gas station they tore down. After that, you go out of town a long way, probably 5 or 10 miles, then you make a right turn at the Walgreens, or maybe it was a Casey's, or a fast food place...I'm not sure right now. But anyway, after that right turn, we are just a few blocks past that turn in the 3 rd or 4th house. Can't wait to see you!" Let me know if you find my mom's new house, I had to get her address, and do a May Quest on it. LOL! Gene

 

Hello,

As old as we are, folding maps have been in use in what seems like forever. My dad used to use maps when we went on our family road trips, as there was plenty of space in those large glove boxes in the dash. But, it did not help very much in Mexico when he got lost on a dirt road leading to a beach front fishing campsite.

One thing he hated was that the map always had problems folding back into the nice double and triple fold to fit back in the glove box. He did not mind stopping at different gas stations to get gas and buy several other maps. Those maps kept the two brothers busy in the back seat.

When we started driving, maps were used, but it was a teenage thing to say lets go to La Jolla and surf. We knew the general direction and as we got close, the streets started looking familiar. Then after we found the surf spot, it was burned into our minds for the next time. There were plenty of “next times”, too.

Map usage was only used on family trips, but we usually wrote down what we wanted to see and how long we had for the whole trip. In those early and later twenty something days, campsites along the coast and inland forested areas were the destinations, so a list of the major street nearby was all we needed.

Jnaki

When the computer age was among all of us, that made it so much simpler to do previous pre-trip planning. When my wife and I joined AAA, they offered a trip planner. I told them what routes from So Cal Eastward to Maine for one long Summer trip that was planned. they put in what they thought was the right roads to take, not what we had originally planned for the summer long trip.

They sent back a bound notebook with road information, highlights of what there was to see, and advertisements for motels and resorts along the way. That was nice and handy. But we knew where we were going and it was just for backup. We knew how much time we wanted to spend in each stop and what to see.

The computer usage was very raw in the beginning. But, as we got more experience, so did the computer access and quality of information. We no longer used the AAA service other than towing, if we needed it as a backup. We found what we wanted to see, where it was and how to get there from our coastal town. Then, it was the next section of the road trip for us to find on the web search. The nice folder next to our bucket seats held the print outs of sections from city to city.

These days, type in what and where you want to go on a Google Search. If information only pops up, click on maps. The Google Maps are some of the most accurate and are always updating the information. Who hasn’t seen those little funny cars with a huge tower and camera rolling down a street or highway? Google sees all and records it for the latest updated photos and 360 degree views.

We still look up what we want, where it is and then print out a day by day itinerary. That helps at night in the motel room to look over what is on the next day’s road trip. My wife and I have similar tastes in what we want to see and what we don’t. So, that makes it pleasurable driving and talking to the next stop over.

If we have planned for a (new to us) city excursion and the roads to the destination point are confusing, my wife breaks out her trusty Apple I Phone and a pleasant voice leads us to the motel/resort parking lot. Most of the So Cal road trips are like maps burned into our collective brains, since we have been locals for such a long time. For the 6 years we were going to San Diego weekly, at first it was confusing and we relied on my wife’s I-phone. But, as we continued to enjoy the city, harbors, and the whole bay, we learned the sights and directions of the whole area without the maps and learning the streets/traffic patterns.

 

Hello,

The best laid plans are "kaput", in a blink of an eye. Physical maps are/were good when we used them. But, my wife liked my drawn maps and directions in a step by step manner. 1. Turn LEFT on Hacienda Blvd. 2. Right on Freeway 60 West. We will stop here. What happened was she turned RIGHT and found Freeway 10 to Los Angeles. Luckily she got on heading West to downtown LA. Later, she said, “Who knows where West is compared to the mountains and a certain street…” (as well as some choice words…) Valid point, but the moment she turned right, all was lost.

As determined to find her way home, (her current phone ring for me is: “Can’t Find My Way Home” by Steve Winwood.) she kept driving "West.". She kept going towards downtown LA, in hopes of finding the Long Beach Freeway back to PCH (near our old Westside house). It was going to be a long way home… It was 10 pm at night and wouldn’t you know it, her 1962 Corvair Coupe sputtered and conked out in the fast lane of the freeway near the LA General Hospital, in East Los Angeles.
A similar looking 1962 Corvair

A dark freeway in East LA, a 20 something girl in a Corvair, stuck in the tiny space provided by the center divider, and scared $#!&*%$3. No cell phones and the walk to the pay phone was too much. So, she waited for me to come to the rescue… It was a long drive home and was going to take about an hour on the correct roads mapped out by me. So, if she did not arrive in time, give or take 30 minutes, something was wrong. As I was getting things ready to head out on a backtrack route, I got a phone call from her. Wow!

She was waiting in that narrow center side lane and behind her, an orange truck pulled up with three big guys in the cab. She was prepared to bonk them with a wrench. But, as it turned out, they were the LA division of Caltrans and were on their nightly run for repairs, litter, accidents, etc. Luckily, they were gentle giants and asked what they could do for her. She said to take her to the nearest phone to call me.

She gave them all the money in her purse, two 20s. My wife was gracious, told them thank you, and that the next burger dinner was on her. I called the tow company nearby and met them at the spot. Now, the freeway was relatively empty at 11:30 pm, so the tow truck was lucky to back up and tow us to a friend’s garage in downtown LA, a short distance away.

Jnaki

So, the best laid plans can go screwy with road maps, drawn and listed directions as well as memories. My wife was glad to be safe and she continues to this day to be cautious when driving on the highways. Now, she has yet to call me for any problems… Luckily, she hasn’t had any roadside problems in her reliable station wagon. But, she does use her trusty Apple I phone 8+ for GPS directions if needed. (now, a new Apple 11) We use the GPS map for the new addresses of our granddaughter’s friend’s houses for pick up and drop offs. As a teen, our granddaughter's lifestyle includes plenty of visits to friends within her own neighborhood and other places in So Cal.

I use my long time, So Cal hot rod cruising knowledge for 95% of our road trips. But, when in doubt, the printed route and what to see are marked for my wife to navigate. And…navigate, she does well, NOW. (except when she gets off of an escalator. Despite going to the same department store for years, she always turns the wrong way getting off of the escalator… She even mentions with a laugh, that she is “direction challenged.”) Ha!

 

Point it north, hit the loud pedal.

 

Another long funny story...
I use the method we used 40 years ago because it has never failed to produce a great road trip every time.
"Let's see, Baltimore is somewhat ..
..THAT way."
"So let's take the highway east for about 9 hours, then look for signs pointing to Baltimore. They have to start showing up when we get near the area, right?"
"Let's see, drive southeast till we see Georgia signs, then head South for several hours. Orlando is in the middle of the next state, cant miss it"
We started using that method when a bunch of us highschool kids went cross country and ended up camping on the beach at Daytona to see the ocean decades ago, and have used it on many many trips ever since.
It still works all the way up to the point when it's finally time to zero in on a tiny tiny dot in the middle of the tangled innards of a messed up city.

The only time that didnt work well was in the mid 1980s when a buddy went with me to retrieve my Yellow Submarine bulletnose from the east coast after someone borrowed it from me.
I thought my co-driver was going to drive it back, BUT in the middle of ice storms the defrost wouldnt work and the voltage regulator died. ICE AND SNOW coming in the overnight hours.
We bought a tow bar and made a run for it hoping to stay barely in front of the icing of roads.
NOPE. A flat tire and a few other things put us right in the middle of ice everywhere.
25 MPH ! on the highway with semis creeping along.
35 HOURS of creeping along to do a 12 hr trip.
In the middle of the night, totally exhausted, I pulled over by a highway ramp to FORCE my co driver who chickened out when faced with tow barring on sheet ice.
I napped in the back seat for a couple hours only to have him interrupt the desperately needed nap.
"Wake up! I think we're in Cleveland!" (3 or 4 or 5 hrs NORTH of where we were supposed to be)
"WHY DID YOU HEAD NORTH??!"
"You pointed me that way"
" ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS FOLLOW THE INTERSTATE"

"But when you pulled over it looked like it was aimed for a ramp"
Crap. at 25-35 mph on ice, this added 7, 8, ? 9? hours to the trip.
Already in danger of dozing off in a snowbank, I ended up driving 36 hrs on a 11 or 12 hr trip.
Charleston (or was that the Baltimore rescue?)
BALTIMORE to St Louis via CLEVELAND ... on ice.
never again.

...but I was off on another hotrod trip by springtime....



WHY BE ORDINARY ?

 

give the articles below a read... there may be a solution in there for you.
I have tried these with varying levels of success.
google maps still has the Avoid Tolls, avoid highways option.
Chappy
https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/get-organized-how-to-make-custom-routes-in-offline-maps
https://erinlyyc.com/2018/05/02/create-custom-google-maps-road-trips-cities/
http://www.technostarry.com/create-custom-google-maps/

 

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Was this old hotrod worth a 12 hr trip, then 36 hrs return on ICE to get it back home?
That's nothing.
I had to rescue it AGAIN by driving into that famous mid 80s hurricane that was busting up Charleston and bringing it back a SECOND TIME.
wind wind wind blowing
That was when the trash cans and patio chairs were blowing, but before the picnic tables started chasing down the block
(no maps this time either. does that make it ok for this thread?)

WHY BE ORDINARY ?

 

I use two methods. Best one is the "lets head this direction and see what's there". See an interesting looking road? Go that way. See a funky looking diner or bar? Stop there and check it out. Second method is an old fashioned road map. I can waste hours looking at maps finding interesting looking roads and towns with strange names. I haven't made it to Tensleep Wyoming yet but I will someday.

 

This might help.