I don’t know if everyone has a name for their GPS system. Over the years, we programmed all of ours to use a female voice and call it "GPS Lady" when we are feeling generous. There are other times where we are less generous.

The mixture of technology and an RV pulling a car can bring about some chilling stories. Even buying a GPS specifically designed for RVs hasn’t stopped all the problems. Here are some of our stories or ones we have heard.

A shortcut between two major roads.

The Shortcut

Our GPS likes shortcuts. For some reason, the idea of driving just a bit longer on a main road to reach the next main intersection pains our GPS Lady. So, off we go on whatever small road that connects these roads. We’ve been on dirt roads filled with potholes and puddles.

Many times it has taken us longer since we don’t have a traffic light on the shortcut road and have to make a left on a main road. We’ve heard a story of an RV being sent through a cemetery as a shortcut.

This forest road is not even ready for cars!

Out-of-date or Bad Information

We are pretty good at updating our GPS, but sometimes it is seems out-of-date. On a trip to a military museum, we were taken to the back side of a military base where a gate existed years ago.

In this case, military police stopped us wanting to know why we were there. Luckily, we weren’t the first person to be sent that way and they gave us better directions.

Another time we were put on a forest road full of potholes. Fortunately, we were in the car at the time. I am pretty sure we would have been stuck in our RV.

We’ve also been put on a rough back road with trash on both sides. Apparently it was a neighborhood dumpsite.

Tough to drive to this campsite, but worth it!

Not-for-RV Roads

Perhaps some of these roads would have been OK for a car, but the extra size of an RV is just too much. Twice, we’ve taken roads to out-of-the-way campgrounds where the roads were twisting and included many blind curves on a narrow road.

After we get there, we hear that RVs aren’t supposed to take that route. In one case, we heard about how people had died on those curves and that one intersection was called Deadman’s Crossing!

Then there was the parkway where trucks were prohibited. We ended up driving in the center of the road to get through several arched overpasses before we could get off the parkway. We’ve heard horror stories of RVs ending up stuck in a low tunnel.

Missed Directions

If you miss a turn, all bets are off. In one case we were sent on a country road. We ended up having to ask permission to turn around in someone’s front yard when the road dead ended at their home.

The interesting part when the owner told us, "I’ve never seen such a large rig," given that we had only a 26-foot RV plus the car.

This is not a “big rig” but it is still hard to turn!

U-Turns and Sharp Turns

Sometimes GPS Lady tells us, "Please make a U-turn" to get to our destination. In one case, this was on a four-lane highway with a median. We ended up stuck in the middle of the opposing side of the highway when we couldn’t make the turn. This had to be our fastest separation of our RV and car as two lanes of traffic backed up to watch us finish the turn.

We know how to disconnect quickly.

In another instance, at least we were on a deserted road as we had to disconnect and even take the car off the dolly to completely turn around on a country road.

Updating the GPS

Another issue we found was when I tried to update a GPS while at the RV park. I started early in the morning using the park internet. Unfortunately, the upload took over four hours and we had to leave.

So, we ended up without a GPS that day. This was before we had our smartphones to show us the way, which meant we had to pull out the atlas until we reached our next stop.

Do you have a good story to share?