frenchman Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 We have a autotrail 632 which we love. The problem being the sat nav, I e-mailed autotrail yesterday asking how to change settings so that it knows its a van. Their answer? " Sorry it does not have that facility!" What is the point of having a built in sat nav if the naffing thing thinks its a car! Grrrr! Waste of time and money. Thank you all i feel better now i've vented my spleen 8o| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I expect that thinking falls into the same category as the over complicated Media Package that so many have difficulties with. Long on theory but falls short in practice. Prefer a stand alone dedicated device myself (and in the Tv/sat area too) as these can be repaired/replaced individually should the need arise. Also, i expect updating this with new maps or adding POIs might prove awkward re access to a PC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Dwight Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Why is it so many people knock the Sat nav fitted in Autotrails? We use ours and have found no problems with it over the last year of use. Like all sat navs you need to use an element of common sense, a piece of electronic gear is not going to work the same a s a Human brain, thank god. Sat nav should used in conjunction with a good Paper map. It will be interesting to see what this sat nav the Russians have brought out, using a heads up display on the windscreen available on I phones at the present and for Android devices next Feb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 David, wasnt criticising the Autotrail unit per se, my comments about dash mounted units apply to all of these, including those in cars. Updating and fault finding, along with adding personal data in the form of POIs is, without doubt, much easier on a small stand alone device on a computer. Taking the horse to water is usually the best way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchman Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 Latest update! Phoned my local main Fiat dealer, they are going to reprogram sat nav so that it will recognise a motorhome. I know you should'nt rely soley on sat nav, but, it would be nice to know if a low bridge is around the next bend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 After programming our Tomtom, using 'fasted route' to avoid those small lanes favoured by 'shortest route', i look at the route planned, check it against any known or mapped obstacles prior to departure. Many users dont have a clue what route is in store for them till they start driving and then complain afterwards. I posed this question to a pal of ours and he sais his device, cant remember the brand - navman?, and he said it didnt have any sort of preview facility! I said how do know where youre going, he replied oh we just do what we are instructed.......needless to say, hes always late to arrive at the site and usually has a tale to tell about the 'interesting' places they have visited on route. Yes, a brain and a map are still allowed in this techy world of ours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leake Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I use our TomTom sat nav in conjunction with my wife. Sat nav tells me to turn down a road so I do. After turning down said road my wife tells me she wouldn't have turned down said road. She's invariably right but I do wish we could get rid of the time delay problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will86 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 A fitted satnav, never thankyou ! Have one that's moblie so you can sit in the house and programme your route, much better, and easier ! Ours is a Navman 15 years old and works well, never been updated so we often drive across fields before joining the route again. Take it with you when parked in a town and you will always find the way back again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Will85 - 2013-11-05 4:16 PM we often drive across fields before joining the route again. Do you have 4 wheel drive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 frenchman - 2013-11-05 3:29 PM Latest update! Phoned my local main Fiat dealer, they are going to reprogram sat nav so that it will recognise a motorhome. I know you should'nt rely soley on sat nav, but, it would be nice to know if a low bridge is around the next bend! I have the 'media pack' Autotrail Sat-nav, which to me is about as good as a 'Chocolate Fireguard' , I even Installed 'naviextra's toolbox' onto my computer and keep the 'SD' card the sat Nav is on, up to date , BUT it is still rubbish compared to my old Tom Tom, AND even the latest updates from their website doesn't allow the input of differant vehicle types. (which my new Tom tom 'Camper' does). SO, I don't know where the Dealer is going to update yours from ? perhaps Autotrail have changed their 'Media Pack' supplier since last year ? possibly. I only got the media pack because it was already fitted to my van, when I bought it new off of the forecourt. Like others, I would have prefered a 'Decent' fitted car radio, an Avtex TV, and a reversing camera that I could have on ALL the time, as a rear view aid (my Savannah has no through vision). Instead I have a system that 'Tries to do everything' but does 'Not one thing, WELL'. IMHO a waste of £999, But then mine was part of the 'deal'. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Dwight Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Chris, I just use the SD card for POIs. Must admit I have not updated the maps yet via PC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Brown Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 If you have an ipad either large or mini, download Igo maps. They are extremely good for UK, France, Spain and Portugal. I can tell you that from experience, elsewhere I would expect the same but have not yet tried them. They do not have facility for motorhome size but as has been said above, plot your route then check against paper map. I have mine set to lorry and do fine tuning if I want to stray from the given route. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanS Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 We have an AutoTrail with the media pack complete with Satnav and at first thought the satnav not very good. On our holiday to France in September I wasn't confident about the inbuilt satnav so took my trusty Garmin used side by side, so to speak. The inbuilt satnav has a lot of settings including types of vehicle and has at least 3, namely car, taxi, bus and I think emergency vehicle too, but not caravan or motorhome. You can alter the settings by going into Settings - Route Planning - Vehicle. There is one setting where you can see all 4 different routes between the start and the destination you have set, i.e. Fast, Short, Economical, Easy, in a linear format. This is good if you use it in conjunction with a map before actually setting off to see what suits you best. The more I used it the better I liked the unit and your confidence in it grows. Unfortunately unless you use your motorhome a lot you forget where the settings you want are - it is a bit like if you frequently use your car with TomTom or Garmin you soon get used to setting it and finding you way around it. What you need to do is practice and persevere with it - I personally think it is better than Garmin, Tomtom and I hate to say my old trusty Navman which I have had for years. If you google iGO Limousine R3 user manual - you can download the user manual in PDF format for the software. It is not the latest info but will tell you all about the Satnav and its settings. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leake Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Rayjsj - 2013-11-05 8:24 PM frenchman - 2013-11-05 3:29 PM Latest update! Phoned my local main Fiat dealer, they are going to reprogram sat nav so that it will recognise a motorhome. I know you should'nt rely soley on sat nav, but, it would be nice to know if a low bridge is around the next bend! I have the 'media pack' Autotrail Sat-nav, which to me is about as good as a 'Chocolate Fireguard' , I even Installed 'naviextra's toolbox' onto my computer and keep the 'SD' card the sat Nav is on, up to date , BUT it is still rubbish compared to my old Tom Tom, AND even the latest updates from their website doesn't allow the input of differant vehicle types. (which my new Tom tom 'Camper' does). SO, I don't know where the Dealer is going to update yours from ? perhaps Autotrail have changed their 'Media Pack' supplier since last year ? possibly. I only got the media pack because it was already fitted to my van, when I bought it new off of the forecourt. Like others, I would have prefered a 'Decent' fitted car radio, an Avtex TV, and a reversing camera that I could have on ALL the time, as a rear view aid (my Savannah has no through vision). Instead I have a system that 'Tries to do everything' but does 'Not one thing, WELL'. IMHO a waste of £999, But then mine was part of the 'deal'. Ray I agree with you we have the media pack in an AutoTrail Apache 632. Love the motorhome but the media pack is rubbish. Had I known its limitations I would never have specified it. We have an Avtex in the back and have wired a coax socket to the front so that when the media pack fails we can use the Avtex on the small table in the front. AutoTrail know this unit has serious limitations and have done so for some time. In my opinion they should either fix it or stop selling it and just offer a simple drop down TV perhaps with a built in CD player plus a rear view camera with a separate monitor where the rear view mirror would be so that it can be run all the time to make up for the lack of through vision. We are thinking of upgrading to the same new Tom Tom that you have . How do you find it and is it any better than the standard Tom Tom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenchman Posted November 6, 2013 Author Share Posted November 6, 2013 Three motorhomes ago (long story) i bought a snooper sat nav, brilliant! you can input exactly what size motorhome you have, and its preloaded with about 6000 campsites all over europe. Used it this year when we went to Dordogne, went round Paris using it, not a problem, never let us down once. Wish autotrail would install this instead of the dodgy one they use! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 We are thinking of upgrading to the same new Tom Tom that you have . How do you find it and is it any better than the standard Tom Tom? We have a Tom Tom 1005 camper version, it is quite expensive, we got it cheaper through a 'Caravan Club special deal' for a bit cheaper but still expensive. Some features are annoying (like predictive text when you are entering an address, makes me swear at it). You CAN enter a vehicle type, Motorhome or Towing a Caravan, or car or truck. BUT it doesn't 'know' the width of the road, it only has data of low bridges, restricted legal limits (like 6' 6") width limits and such, there has been NO 'google style' mass laser measurement of all roads (as I naively thought !) SO, you can still get into trouble in places like Cornwall if you are not careful. Some features that I was 'used to' on my old Tom tom one, are no longer there, like Itinery listing, which annoyed me a bit. But i was able to download all of my existing POI's from the 'One' and I am slowly getting used to it. Was it 'worth it' over the Tom Tom one ? probably not, and you DO still need to check your route with a paper map. perhaps 'one day' they will get it right. But ONLY with laser road measurement mapping technology (which exists, but is costly, but if Google can do it ?). Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motobanker Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 We too have a new autotrail and MBH actually likes the functionality of the media lack sat nav better than the standalone tom tom we used previously - agree that the more you use it the more comfortable you get ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motobanker Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 Would be interested to hear how the reprogram went and what advantages you now have please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crbtaylor Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 Do any of you people know where I can get an instruction book for the media. Centre. Can't find mine ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leake Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 No but it won't help you even if you do find one as it's as useless as the media pack. If you let me have your address I'll copy ours and send it to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crbtaylor Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 i seem to remember on a previousthread that there was a link to a page with the full detailed instructions, but I cant find it. I have pm my email address Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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