Googlemaps vs Mapquest. Which is better/accurate? They give crazy different results

[kmcintyre]

Wow. You think that two apps would give you the same results when you want fastest routes or even if you force them to be the same route.

We're going from Boise, ID to Tonopah, NV.

Googlemaps:
7hrs, 52mins and 505 miles via Elko, NV (this route in mapquest is 9hrs, 1 min and 572 miles)

Mapquest:
8hrs, 5 mins and 530 miles via Jackpot, NV (this route in googlemaps is 8hrs 28min, 505 miles)

There's another route via Winnemucca too which gives yet a different answer.

So, who do you believe and what gives? They are quite different.

Kevin

 

[Foy]

What I believe is that you've discovered that much of what road trip mapping and travel time software provides is junk. That said, I an very surprised at the differences in distance--I'd have thought the distances over exactly the same route would be quite close. I really don't know what to say about that other than with only ID and NV involved, it should be a cinch to roll out your old but trusty Rand McNally atlas and sum up the intervals between towns and road junctions.

What I find consistently absurd are the travel times suggested on Mapquest and Google Maps. For long, mostly Interstate, all west of the Missouri River travel, they'll each suggest travel at the rate of 65+ mph over the whole trip. Even on a stripped-down speed run, my experience is that I've got to run 82-85 mph for practically every minute of driving AND seriously economize on stops (by combining bathroom, fuel, and food stops and by minimizing them all) in order to average over 65 mph from the start of a day until the end of the same day.

I do my own travel time estimates based on towing or not, driving my car vs my truck, in a hurry vs not. On our last big road trip, from NC to Montana and back, I used 55 mph as the average for driving our truck, and towing our camper trailer, and that turned out very close to dead on the spot. I had to run 68-72 mph most everywhere in order to hit that daily average over the 5,000 mile round trip.

Foy

 

[Vic Harder]

Foy is right on. After many road trips from Calgary to Utah in speedy little sports cars, the idea of averaging 65 mph is nuts. I'm very old fashioned and use paper maps and MS Streets and Trips (love it for many reasons.... so sad they stopped making it) for trip planning, and develop a detailed spreadsheet with distances covered, length of stops, places to eat and sleep and make sure I achieve an average of no more than 52 mph.

And Foy is right, you STILL have to drive at 70+ MPH to hit that average.

 

[ski3pin]

Although the route down to Elko, Eureka, and Big Smoky Valley is shortest, it is not the fastest or one to consider in marginal weather. Most folks I know do the highway 95 route through Winnemucca and Fallon if they want to make time.

 

[kmcintyre]

Although the route down to Elko, Eureka, and Big Smoky Valley is shortest, it is not the fastest or one to consider in marginal weather. Most folks I know do the highway 95 route through Winnemucca and Fallon if they want to make time.

That's kind of what we are thinking but will check the weather in the morning before departure. We know where all the stops are via Winnemucca and know we can get diesel, etc.

The biggest issue is that we have to cut a corner through Oregon and they have crazy low speed limits so that slows you down. Once you hit NV though....