A Vehicle Routing Profile is a collection of vehicle dimensions and other routing options that ensure the routing algorithm knows the type of vehicle being driven so it can generate a safe, efficient, and legal route. You can use the default profiles included with PC*MILER or change settings in one of the default profiles to create a custom profile. 


A profile must be selected before adding stops to create a route in PC*MILER Web.


In this article:


Select a Vehicle Routing Profile 

A routing profile is selected in a drop-down in the route entry card at the time you add stops to build a route. There are two types of profiles:



Preset PC*Miler profiles

The preset profiles available in North America and Europe are detailed in the charts below. They can be used as is or as a starting point for creating a custom profile.


(Click on charts to enlarge)



Custom profiles

Custom profiles are created in the Vehicle Routing Profiles screen. Select Vehicle Routing Profiles tab in the left-side menu. 


Step 1: Name your profile

  • Select the Create Vehicle Routing Profile button at the top right of the screen.
  • The New Vehicle Routing Profile dialog loads. Enter a name in the Vehicle Routing Profile Name field. Note that this profile name will be visible under Custom Profiles in the route entry card. We recommend using a unique name to make it easier to select the correct profile.
  • Click the Save & Continue button. The Select Vehicle Type and Settings screen loads.


Step 2: Select a vehicle type and dimensions

  • Expand the Route Profile Template dropdown menu to select the general type of vehicle. This is the starting point for your new profile, and your selection automatically populates the Vehicle Type field. 
  • Under Profile Settings, expand the Vehicle Dimensions drop-down menu and edit the values as needed. See the table below for a description of each setting.


Step 3: Select Routing Preferences and Restrictions

  • Expand the Routing Preferences drop-down menu.
  • Set the options appropriately for the routing profile. Options include routing type, ability to use toll roads and ferries, allowing border crossings, and more. See the table below for a description of each setting.
  • Select Restrictions to expand the restrictions drop-down menu.
  • Use the dropdown menus to choose the appropriate Hazmat designations, if any, and to enable or disable the Display Restrictions on Map setting. See the table below for a description of each setting.
  • Click the Save & Continue button.


Select a default profile

You can set either a default Trimble Maps profile or a Custom Profile as the default profile to be applied in the route entry card for every newly created route. To do this:

  1. Select the Routing Profiles tab. On the Routing Profile screen, select either Default Profiles or My Custom Profiles to display a list of available profiles.
  2. In the Use for New Routes column, check the box next to the profile you want to set as your default profile each time you open an new route entry card.
  3. The default profile will appear in the profile field each time you open a new route.


Routing profile and Route Options settings

After selecting your vehicle type in the Select Vehicle Profile drop-down, you can customize the preset Profile Settings. Choose the options grouped under Vehicle Dimensions, Routing Preferences and Restrictions.


Vehicle Dimensions
Maximum Width
Maximum Width of combined vehicle including trailer

The industry standard limit for width is 102". Anything over 96" will force routing on the National Network + State Extensions to be legal in the U.S. The groupings should be 102" or 96", lower widths will not impact routing.
Total Weight
Weight of combined vehicle including trailer

Input the truck/tractor's GVWR (gross vehicle weight registration) as authorities are concerned about GVWR and not the actual loaded weight.
Maximum Height
Maximum Height of combined vehicle including trailer

The industry standard limit for height is 13'6". To simplify the creation of profiles, please note that every 6" is significant. For example, all trailers at 12'1", 12'3", 12'6" should be assigned a profile with 12'6".
Total Length
Length of straight Truck/Van or a combined vehicle’s trailer

  • 53' trailer is the industry standard and forces National Network + State Extensions. Anything over 48' will force routing on the National Network + State Extensions to be legal. (Note: 20 states currently do not enforce).  

  • More than just a legal setting, PC*MILER calculates turning radius using the maximum straight length to see if the driver can make the turn (especially considering U-turns).  

  • You do not need to include the tractor's length in this value for tractor/trailer. If you have straight trucks, then the full length is important for calculating safe turning radii. Likewise, for length, every 6 feet is important and profiles can be grouped accordingly (e.g. straight trucks 26', 28', 30' should be grouped in 30').


Total Weight Per Axle
Maximum weight per group of axles. (e.g. 34,000 lbs. for tandem axles)
Total AxlesThe total number of axles on the vehicle, with a possible range of 2 to 12. This setting is only used to calculate toll costs. 
State + National Network(U.S. Only) Check to set whether routes should favor using the U.S. Federally designated National Network.

Note: In PC*Miler 38 and higher, this checkbox will be selected automatically based on vehicle dimensions.
Routing Preferences
Routing Type
Set the routing algorithm - Practical, Shortest, or Fastest.

Note: Practical will generate a route with an effort to reduce the number of stops, turns and avoid traffic. Shortest will generate a route with the shortest distance but may take longer due to more stops, turns, and traffic. Fastest uses day of the week or time of day information in conjunction with real-time or historical traffic data to calculate the quickest route to the trip’s destination. Actual mileage may be longer than a Practical route. (Fastest routing should only be used with Auto routing profiles.)
Toll RoadsSet toll preference:
  • Use - A toll road will be used when it is the quicker or shorter route. This is the default setting.
  • Avoid If Possible - PC*MILER will try to avoid the road unless the route becomes significantly longer in time, distance, or both.
  • Avoid Always - PC*MILER will attempt to block all access to this road in route calculations. The road may only be used in exceptional circumstances, where there is no other option but to use it.
FerriesAllow or Discourage using Ferries along the route.
Apply Governor Speed to ETAsCheck the box to use a maximum road speed in route travel time calculations, and then enter a custom value or use the 55 mph default.
Allow Intl. Border Crossing
Uncheck to minimize the number of international border crossings, unless they are necessary to reach all of the stops on a route. For example, if all your stops are in the “lower 48” United States, the resulting route will stay in the United States even if the most practical or shortest route would normally involve some Canadian mileage. If you leave the box checked, the routing algorithm will ignore international boundaries in generating the best route.
Discourage Elevation Routing AboveCheck the box and then enter an elevation in feet to set a customized limit on the elevation of the roads a route will use. Elevations at or above this height will be avoided on a route unless 1) it is extremely impractical to do so; or 2) a stop or destination on the route is located at the higher elevation.  
Side of Street AdherenceHow strict to be in order to avoid the destination being on the opposite side of the street.
Use SitesCheck this box to include Site information, such as entry and exit gates, when calculating distances, travel times, and driving directions. A Site extends a location from just a name and address to include a boundary polygon around its perimeter, entry and exit points (gates), and other valuable information. For example, a Site could be a warehouse, a shopping mall, a distribution center, a yard, a business park, and more. Sites are created in Content Tools and shared with PC*MILER for use in route planning. Use Sites is turned on by default when creating a new profile. It must be added to an existing profile.
Highway OnlyThe Highway Only option calculates routes using an air distance from the midpoint of the truck-usable highway segment that is nearest to the destination postal code or city/state. Routes to stops that include a street-level address are calculated to the truck-usable highway-level road that is closest to the entered address. This setting is intended only for generating distances between cities or postal codes. Highway Only is turned off by default.
Hub RoutingHub Routing generates routes from a single starting place (origin) to multiple destinations. Hub Routing is turned off by default.
Restrictions
Hazmat
Avoid roads with the selected Hazmat restrictions.
Display Restrictions on Map
Display road restrictions on the PC*MILER Web map.
Prohibited Tunnel Categories(Europe only) Select tunnel codes to determine which tunnels can be driven through based on the types of hazardous goods the vehicle carries. 
Congestion Zones(Europe only) Sets whether the routing algorithm should allow, avoid or warn about routes that pass through Congestion charge zones.
Environmental Zones(Europe only) Sets whether the routing algorithm should allow, avoid or warn about routes that pass through Environmental zones.