What's the thinking about Satnavs

[ColinM50]

I've got an old Garmin that haven't used for a few years, mainly 'cos I know where we're going and the charger doesn't work too well. I also sometimes use the satnav on my phone which is OK but the screen switches off after a few mins so it's sound only, bit like when I do something SWMBO disapproves of - sound no vision. Which is OK but I'd really like a proper satnav.

 

Any suggestions please chaps and chapesses? Has to plug into the ciggie lighter socket and be mountable on the dash via a suction fitting.

 

So what do you recommend

[laimeduck]

You should be able to tell your phone to keep the screen live. Somewhere in settings I guess depending on what phone you have.

Personally I won't be buying another satnav - I'll use an app on my phone.

[stevec176]

I wouldn't use my phone as a sat nav when in my van, not unless I like going down unsuitable roads. If you use a sat nav it must be suitable for guiding your van therefore you must be able to enter the vans dimensions. There are several good ones on the market and no doubt you'll get various opinions to chose from.

[Keithl]

stevec176 - 2021-09-03 5:02 PM

 

If you use a sat nav it must be suitable for guiding your van therefore you must be able to enter the vans dimensions.

Sorry Steve but I totally disagree with you there for two reasons.

 

The first reason is the Sat Nav is only as good as the mapping and if a road does not have a width restriction posted on it the Sat Nav may still send you down it. Not all roads have width restrictions so accidents will happen!

 

Second, I have read that these 'large vehicle' setting may change the algorithm used to plot the route and try to take you the shortest route to get onto a major road even if this means travelling in the opposite direction. Likewise at the end of a journey, they aim to minimise time on small and un-classified roads at the expense of overall travel time. Perhaps someone who regularly uses such a Sat Nav can comment on what I have read please.

 

Finally, IMO, there is NO substitute for common sense. Basically if a road looks unsuitable then DO NOT take it! This has served me well for my twenty plus years of Sat Nav use with large folding campers and the MH.

 

Final comment is I usually study a paper map and/or use Google maps to get an idea of where I am going before committing to the Sat Nav. That way I get a feel for whether the Sat Nav is doing what I expect.

 

Keith.

[stevec176]

Quite agree with all you've said Keith but I only use my phone for the car and Co-Pilot on my tablet for the van and I regularly get differing routes, so far always longer for the van. Like everything it is an aid and so is a map which needs to be read, not easy on the move. Co-Pilot has taken me along some dubious routes but has always got me to my destination. My phone has also taken me along dubious routes and some of them I'd have been in real trouble had I been in the van. So, is a sat nav designed specifically for the van a good idea, I think it is.

[colin]

I've used TomTom for a number of years, always pays to check the route before setting off as it can sometimes get it wrong and try and send you down a byway or as this morning a road that hasn't yet been opened!

Agree with above, you should be able to keep screen on esp if plugged in, there is a TomTom app for phones if you want it in place of google/apple maps.

[Derek Uzzell]

ColinM50 - 2021-09-03 2:51 PM

 

...Any suggestions please chaps and chapesses? Has to plug into the ciggie lighter socket and be mountable on the dash via a suction fitting...

 

Depends on how many ‘bells and whistles’ you want and how much you are prepared to pay.

 

I have a few-years-old 5”-screen Garmin Nuvi 2559LM that I’m happy enough with and that I can keep updated easily. It’s not a ‘motorhome’ sat-nav, but that doesn’t bother me and it doesn’t attempt to send me on daft routes. I’d probably opt for a 7” screen, but the 5” screen is OK.

 

(If you are Garmin literate, choosing another Garmin would make some sense.)

[Brian Kirby]

ColinM50 - 2021-09-03 2:51 PM

I've got an old Garmin that haven't used for a few years, mainly 'cos I know where we're going and the charger doesn't work too well. I also sometimes use the satnav on my phone which is OK but the screen switches off after a few mins so it's sound only, bit like when I do something SWMBO disapproves of - sound no vision. Which is OK but I'd really like a proper satnav.

Any suggestions please chaps and chapesses? Has to plug into the ciggie lighter socket and be mountable on the dash via a suction fitting.

So what do you recommend

This is a very open ended question, and much depends on how you might use the sat nav. If, as you imply, you tend to stick with the familiar, why would you need one? After all, you seem largely to have got by without up until now, so has something changed that is making you think that greater use of a device would be desirable?

 

I have only had Garmin, and am now on our third. I use it extensively when in the van, and occasionally when in the car if in "foreign" territory. I have a series of data sets for campsites, aires etc. supermarkets, filling stations, and other "Points of Interest" (POI) on the computer, which I keep updated as and when likely to be used, that are loaded from the computer onto the sat-nav and used as navigation points for routing. I have the sat nav mapping on the computer, which makes checking the accuracy of these POIs via Google Earth fairly straightforward.

 

We all do things differently. I plan our trips in advance (meaning the whole trip, including overnight and longer stays etc.) in AutoRoute (sadly no longer available) so that we have a skeleton itinerary on the computer before we leave. I then re-create the stages of this on the sat-nav using its "Trip Planner" facility, which stores them in succession for use as the trip progresses. So we start off for however many weeks away fully planned. Then, if places or the weather disappoint, I simply vary the skeleton as we go, and vary the stored sat-nav trips accordingly.

 

I gain the impression that in doing the above I may be unique :-D, as few others seem to pre-plan to the same extent. Many seem to just pick a road and drive down it until late afternoon, and then start looking for places to stop pretty much at random.

 

I would find it extremely difficult to travel as we do without a sat nav, and rather doubt that those who travel unplanned have any real need for one.

 

So ultimately, it seems to me, what will best meet your needs will depend on whether your preference is for pre-planned, or serendipity, travel. :-)

[costaexpress]

Can only add my two penny worth. I have an all singing Garmin for Motorhome and I can programme the length and width and weight of the van. Unless a road has a weight limit, a bridge with a width or height limit then as far as the computer chip in the sat nav is concerned its a road and the only deviation will be whether I set fast, slow or direct route (can't remember the options). Most of the time I'm not bothered, however, if I am in Cornwall, Ireland for example, I cant trust it as far as I can throw it and always plan my route on google maps and adjust the Garmin route to the one i have hand picked. For me the best solution would have been Google Maps on an 8 inch tablet.

[laimeduck]

Brian Kirby - 2021-09-04 10:10 AM

 

ColinM50 - 2021-09-03 2:51 PM

I've got an old Garmin that haven't used for a few years, mainly 'cos I know where we're going and the charger doesn't work too well. I also sometimes use the satnav on my phone which is OK but the screen switches off after a few mins so it's sound only, bit like when I do something SWMBO disapproves of - sound no vision. Which is OK but I'd really like a proper satnav.

Any suggestions please chaps and chapesses? Has to plug into the ciggie lighter socket and be mountable on the dash via a suction fitting.

So what do you recommend

 

I gain the impression that in doing the above I may be unique :-D, as few others seem to pre-plan to the same extent. Many seem to just pick a road and drive down it until late afternoon, and then start looking for places to stop pretty much at random.

 

I would find it extremely difficult to travel as we do without a sat nav, and rather doubt that those who travel unplanned have any real need for one.

 

So ultimately, it seems to me, what will best meet your needs will depend on whether your preference is for pre-planned, or serendipity, travel. :-)

 

You are not unique Brian! I too plan in advance and have a list of co-ordinates written and plumbed into my aging garmin. I get the co-ordinates from Bing maps. (In fact I have 2 old Garmin Nuvi's with full European maps, one of 2008 vintage still working perfectly)

If the satnag tells us to go down a silly little road we ignore and let it catch up - it's usually simply trying to take a local shortcut.

Also I always mute the verbal instructions so that I gave to make the decisions. (If I'm bored I might listen to them in Mabdarin or Magyar!)

For me the planning stage is very much an enjoyable part of the journey.

We can do this because we are never in a rush so rarely use motorways. Usually try to use D roads in France or B roads in UK - so rarely get involved in Jams with all the others slavishly following their Satnags like sheep! Tee hee

 

Jeremy

[whatsupdoc]

Brian Kirby - 2021-09-04 10:10 AM

 

...

 

I have the sat nav mapping on the computer, which makes checking the accuracy of these POIs via Google Earth fairly straightforward.

 

...

 

 

Hi Brian - I wonder if you wouldn't mind expanding on this. I have aTomTom (each to his own!) and it would be nice to be able to do that.

[ColinM50]

What prompted the post is that in July we went to Burgh Castle campsite near Gt Yarmouth using the phone for the last five miles or so and it took me through a housing estate with a width restriction of eight feet and my M/H is eight feet so a bit testing. Ended up driving up the kerb and the chappie behind thought he'd try to overtake. hence thoughts of a new satnav

[Derek Uzzell]

I don't think any sat-nav - however smart - would have helped you in that scenario.

[stevec176]

If you use a normal sat nav, designed for cars, then that is going to happen which is why there are specific sat navs for van and lorries. The only problem is if your end point is down a narrow road and there's no other access route then the sat nav will guide you down it but it should give a warning. A sat nav is to guide you and if you don't like where it's taking you then don't follow it. Several years ago my Toyota had a built in sat nav and I decided to follow it whatever, as long as safe to do so, and it took me around a field but all the way it was showing the name of a road I was suppose to be on where in fact I was in a field. So use a sat nav but for guidance, your driving.

[malc d]

stevec176 - 2021-09-04 2:38 PM

 

So use a sat nav but for guidance, your driving.

Hearing stories of sat navs ' taking ' people into streams, narrow alleys, fields, etc - makes me wonder how things will be when all cars are driverless.

 

;-)

[Brian Kirby]

whatsupdoc - 2021-09-04 11:32 AM

Brian Kirby - 2021-09-04 10:10 AM

I have the sat nav mapping on the computer, which makes checking the accuracy of these POIs via Google Earth fairly straightforward.

Hi Brian - I wonder if you wouldn't mind expanding on this. I have aTomTom (each to his own!) and it would be nice to be able to do that.

AFAIK, this option is not available with TomTom. But, as I said, I have no experience with TomTom. Possibly a TomTommer will be able to clarify?

[Derek Uzzell]

This link may be of interest

 

https://www.hortoncommon.co.uk/sat-navs-for-caravans-and-motorhomes/

 

[MikeTyke]

We use CoPilot as an App on the phone. Allows dimensions to be entered as well as all coordinate formats. Avoids narrow roads well and Europe country maps can be downloaded in advance. Costs £25.99

[Bulletguy]

ColinM50 - 2021-09-03 2:51 PM

 

I'd really like a proper satnav.

 

Any suggestions please chaps and chapesses? Has to plug into the ciggie lighter socket and be mountable on the dash via a suction fitting.

 

So what do you recommend

I had a Garmin 750 LMT-D Camper I bought new when Aldi had them on offer at £199 which at the time was £100 off retail price so it was too good an opportunity to pass up. I used it for touring. It came with full ACSI campsites plus other (non ACSI) sites already loaded and the menu was very easy to navigate. The audio was excellent compared to other satnavs i've owned.

 

Every coordinate I put in, no matter where I was it got me to the exact spot every time. It also came with lifetime free mapping updates.

[ColinM50]

Thanks all, esp bulletguy. Just had a search on Aldi website and put in Satnav as a search phrase and it's come back with four choices. Two different wines, a pair of pillows and a jug fountain. So I guess they've not got it anymore 8-) :-D

[motoringabout]

I recently bought a Garmin Camper 780 sat nav before going on a UK roadtrip in our old 'van. I bought it because it has campsites stored in it as well as fuel stations - not just motorway services which saved us £££, and the live traffic feature works very well. Live traffic info comes in either via bluetooth to your phone or via the charger cable which picks it up via DAB radio.

 

The garmin drive app also lets you search for places on your phone and send the location to the sat nav which is really handy.

 

The campsites database was priceless when we were in the peak district and needed somewhere to stay, we tend to wing it and stop off at places that look nice.

 

only bad bit is that i still haven't worked out where the volume control is! LOL

[Bulletguy]

ColinM50 - 2021-09-06 9:10 AM

 

Thanks all, esp bulletguy. Just had a search on Aldi website and put in Satnav as a search phrase and it's come back with four choices. Two different wines, a pair of pillows and a jug fountain. So I guess they've not got it anymore 8-) :-D

No it was an offer from a few years ago and typically a few weeks after I bought mine, an OAL fm posted he'd just bought one from his local Aldi who had them priced at £150! I wasn't too miffed as I knew the one i'd bought was the last they had in my local store.

 

You can still buy new ones if you Google search Garmin 760 LMT-D Camper but the only way you'll get one cheaper now is buying a used one off ebay.

 

https://tinyurl.com/2zzsutxz