I talked a trainee out of buying the Rand McNally atlas today...

I like to just ask for directions on the cb and follow those to the letter.

I've been using my rand McNally GPS for 5 years and it's never steered me wrong.
What's a atlas? Must be this ratty paper thing in the overhead I use when I need to fill out paperwork.

 

Raider jokes, always a classic! Lol

 

Yes, I use a GPS designed for commercial trucks. And as I said, I do use maps, just online, not an outdated paper version. I can go online and get a street view, an image of actual conditions at a location I am driving to, not just a symbol on a map.

As I said, I bought and own an atlas, it just does not hold up as the best tool for the job compared to other resources that you can find and use.

 

Oh and before it comes up, YES! I do know how to read a map. Learned and practiced in the military using a system much more complicated and detailed than a road atlas, a road atlas that at its base was developed for housewives and tourists to use. When I read the thread title "I talked a trainee out of buying the Rand McNally atlas today..." I thought that is what this tread would be talking about ... how outdated of a tool a hard copy, paper road atlas is.

 

Outdated? I think they still update them every year. I done a lot of land navigation in the military myself. Since you have you should know always trust your compass. But check it and a spare before heading to the tarmac to board the bird. Since a GPS is an electronic device and could fail any time I would want an outdated map just for grins. I'm not against technology at all but I know better than to trust it beyond reasonable doubt, or to have a back up plan. Course I have been at this long enough I really don't need directions till I'm close any way.

 

Every year?! Outdated indeed. I can go online and get real time information if a road is under construction, if it is flooded (that one saved me in the big floods in Colorado in the fall), if it is snow/ice covered or if there is an accident blocking a travel lane.

I have a dedicated GPS, a laptop and a smart phone on board. All have advanced mapping technology. If they all fail I do have that atlas (I think it is in a bag down below in my out box). However, if that much stuff is all going down, I think I would be better off just shutting down, getting a hot meal and calling it a day.

 

and just think some guys think they update google earth everyday

 

The Google earth sat view of my house I can see my van....

....that I sold 3 years ago....

 

^ Some can't figure out why a street view image does not exactly match an image from an overhead satellite at altitude. Plenty of dimwits out there who are going to miss use tools, including a hard copy road atlas (I once saw a guy trying to tap in tandem pins using the butt end of a carpenter's level). Most kids coming out of CDL school can not figure out the mileage symbols on a road atlas either.

Don't be afraid of the technology, learn to use it wisely and it is the way to go.

 

One final note. As an open question, where do you think hard copy road atlas comes from? We are all using the same GPS based, computer drafted maps. Some prefer to use a flat, printed hard copy. I prefer to use a electronic copy that can be more easily updated and has much more information that a 2D page can hold.