Offroad GPS
Where fox and hare bid each other goodnight — find the most remote places with our truck GPS navigation OffRoad!
Sometimes, even in our latitudes, it is not possible to simply enter an address into a GPS navigation device and drive there. For example, to remote places like farms that are located on roads that have neither a name nor are listed on the map.
If drivers are left to their own devices on such a journey and choose the wrong route, the consequences can be dire. In the best case they only get lost and lose time, in less favorable cases they can get stuck or even tip over.
Clearly — this is where truck GPS navigation OffRoad is needed! Read here how you can reach even remote off-road destinations safely and easily by truck with MapTrip FollowMe.
For example, we were approached by a customer who was looking for a solution to the following problem: He supplies farms in the Alps and the drivers were faced with the great challenge of even finding the remote farms. They are not listed in any mapped road network that the drivers could use for address input.
This was a case for our navigation MapTrip FollowMe, because with it you can easily drive to destinations even though they are not included in the maps. Unlike regular truck GPS navigation, where the GPS system tells you where the best route is, MapTrip FollowMe does the opposite: you tell the GPS navigation system where to go, on marked roads and even off-road!
A 40T truck is not an off-road vehicle!
Because if there are no marked routes at all, as in the case of our customer, it is very difficult for the driver to choose the right route. And you have to remember that a 40T truck is not a maneuverable off-road vehicle that, when in doubt, simply makes a quick U‑turn or puts the truck in reverse and tries out a new route. With a truck, leaving the designated road network is a delicate matter and it is a clear necessity that the routes for the driver are precisely pre-planned and the driver knows exactly where he can leave a fixed road and where exactly he can move the vehicle in the off-road terrain.
Why can MapTrip FollowMe truck navigation map off-road routes?
MapTrip FollowMe is a GPS navigation that was actually developed for waste management, street cleaning and winter services. So especially for complex collection routes, where drivers have to drive a route several times in loops and need the possibility to determine working routes (collect left here, collect right here). Thus, in FollowMe, in addition to the regular turn-by-turn instructions (turn right in 300m), drivers also receive additional acoustic and visual instructions as to which tasks are due on which side of a route section, or whether it is a pure transfer route without a task. And since it has always been important in these industries to also be able to process unmapped areas such as new construction areas or large depots, the so-called OffRoad mode was created, in which an exact GPS track is recorded and stored and can then be driven.
What happens in OffRoad mode?
A FollowMe route is created in advance by the planner on the computer in the WebEditor and can then be called up by the driver in the terminal. The journey to the starting point of the FollowMe route takes place in a completely regular truck GPS navigation, taking into account the traffic.
As soon as the starting point of the FollowMe route is reached, the driver follows a trail of colored balls that he collects, just like in the PacMan video game. Of course, he continues to receive route guidance announcements such as turn right, turn left and whether a task (collect right) is to be completed.
From the moment the driver leaves the mapped road network, he drives in the so-called OffRoad mode. In this OffRoad mode, the truck GPS navigation does not try to guide the driver back to the nearest road, but follows a GPS route precisely specified or pre-recorded by the dispatcher.
How does the OffRoad track to remote destinations get into the route?
Created by the dispatcher
A very simple way for the dispatcher is to use the FollowMe editor to create the routes. With the acquirable satellite images, the dispatcher can see exactly how to create the off-road routes with a mouse click. The driver can then call up this route in the terminal for GPS navigation and follow it.
Watch our short video on how a FollowMe route can be created.
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Created by driver
Another option is, that a driver who already knows the route can record the route with the FollowMe Record mode in the terminal. As soon as he reaches the dirt road, he taps on the OffRoad slider and continues driving the route. By means of remarks (hints) that the driver himself can insert during the recording at the exact place where the farm is located, it can be noted exactly where the farm is located.
Once the driver is back on a fixed road, he switches back to OnRoad mode and the recorded GPS points are again matched to the nearest road as usual.
This tour is then synchronized with the FollowMe Editor and the GPS navigation to remote destinations can be called up by the next driver and easily followed.
How your drivers arrive safely
This way our customer can combine a tour from several destinations, i.e. from FollowMe routes and regular routes.
Drivers reach the most remote unloading points safely and without detours.
If you also face a special requirement for your GPS navigation and are looking for a solution, we will be happy to advise you!