Large, foldable map of the United States?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
SeilerBird said:
Why would you want a paper folding map when Google Maps are more up to date and contain a lot more useful information? Elevation, businesses, routing information, zoom ability and more.

Preaching to the choir I'm afraid. I use at least a dozen different electronic mapping systems from apps to websites. I make my own custom maps and do work for clients that want to map their facilities around the country (USA). Never want to back to the old day of "Tappin' our fingers on a Texaco road map" (thank you Mr. Mellencamp). One really tired line I use when confronted with a paper map is, "Hey, how do I zoom in on this thing?!". Yeah, I know-- lame.  ::)

My wife however, as if often the case, is not impressed. SHE wants a large map she can lay out on a flat surface to get an overview of the entire USA. Another advantage of paper was mentioned here by Old_Crow:


Old_Crow said:
I keep a stock of paper maps in the coach because we spend a lot of time with no cell or internet service.  Nice to dream about where we're headed next month or the month after.

Now if you'd like to convince my better half that paper is inferior-- I can only wish you the best of luck (hint: you'll lose)!  ;D
 
jymbee said:
Preaching to the choir I'm afraid. I use at least a dozen different electronic mapping systems from apps to websites. I make my own custom maps and do work for clients that want to map their facilities around the country (USA). Never want to back to the old day of "Tappin' our fingers on a Texaco road map" (thank you Mr. Mellencamp). One really tired line I use when confronted with a paper map is, "Hey, how do I zoom in on this thing?!". Yeah, I know-- lame.  ::)

My wife however, as if often the case, is not impressed. SHE wants a large map she can lay out on a flat surface to get an overview of the entire USA. Another advantage of paper was mentioned here by Old_Crow:


Now if you'd like to convince my better half that paper is inferior-- I can only wish you the best of luck (hint: you'll lose)!  ;D
Thank you for a logical answer. It is nice to see that some people still have manors. I have no desire to convince you or your wife of anything, I was just curious as to why you wanted a paper map.
 
picked up a new official state road map.  Shocked to find it had no mileages or Interstate Exit numbers on it.  I would hope by now they have corrected that.

That's why I prefer the AAA maps.  They're far superior to the state-issued maps.  One of their best features is providing elevations of mountain passes which can be hard to find elsewhere.  I like being able to look at a map for a mountainous state and be able to see elevations on alternate routes.  Nevertheless I do also use state maps which usually have more numerous detailed city map insets.  By the way, also like the AAA regional maps that cover several states for the bigger picture.

Tom, yesterday I was trying to find where someone lives in rural North Carolina using Google maps and was frustrated going back and forth with state/county highway numbers that meant nothing to me.  It was a rural area and I never did make the connection.  For that I like a large paper map with a town index that leads me to the correct space.  But - in this case I wasn't interested enough to go in the other room and pick the NC map off the shelf!  ::) :p

ArdraF
 
I have found over the years that these books are by far the most detailed maps you can carry and use.  It takes a bit of planning to have the ones with you that you need.  I have about 25 of them so far.

https://www.amazon.com/Iowa-Atlas-Gazetteer-Delorme/dp/0899333362/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1537220615&sr=8-2&keywords=iowa+map+book

They have them for all the states and the detail is very good.

 
Tom Hoffman said:
I have found over the years that these books are by far the most detailed maps you can carry and use.  It takes a bit of planning to have the ones with you that you need.  I have about 25 of them so far.

https://www.amazon.com/Iowa-Atlas-Gazetteer-Delorme/dp/0899333362/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1537220615&sr=8-2&keywords=iowa+map+book

They have them for all the states and the detail is very good.

Which ones show you current traffic conditions and detours?  ;)
 
I always carry road maps. More than once I have lost cell service, maps. I also travel where there is no cell service and won't be for decades. Heck, I can't even get a signal at my moms place in northern Wisconsin. Besides, I like to plan my route on paper. I only use on-line apps to quickly calculate mileage and find gas stops.

More than once an app has given my wrong directions.
 
I don't carry paper maps because being without cell service doesn't mean diddy squat. My GPS works everywhere. When I have cell service I can zoom out to view all of planet Earth in one view and with  a few clicks I can zoom in to see incredible detail that is never available on most paper maps.
 
My GPS works everywhere and so does the CoPilot app on my phone since both use downloaded maps that don't require a constant cell signal. As Tom said, zooming in for fine details is simple, and switching to a satellite or street view on an app adds even more detail. Even the venerable Google Maps app has provisions for offline maps.
 
Message me your address. I probably have several AAA nation wide maps in my RV stash. I'd be happy to drop one in the mail. When I was an AAA member I always grabbed a handful of maps to convince myself I was getting my money's worth. I'd be surprised if I don't have a couple.
 
Back
Top Bottom