Autotrail TomTom

[Robinhood]

If you have a suction mount, then a small square of perspex or similar, clipped under the notepad holder on the top of the dash, can provide a decent and removable mount for a satnav.

 

I successfully used the detached transparent half of a CD case for a few years on the Rapido in such a manner, though eventually the suction does cause fatigue cracks in the hard plastic these cases use, so something more "bespoke" might be better.

[colin]

I have a via125 TT which I mount in the bottom righthand side of screen, ok still have to remove when parked up, but get no problems reading it in strong sun.

I also have a 3rd party cd slot mount that I use in car, it's the one with round sticky pad, didn't like the sticky pad so keep the plastic on this and either use the TT sucker or if using phone in 'wallet case' a strong bulldog clip, works quite well.

I've found TT customer service to be poor, if AT are worse...

[cleddytanhouse]

I have added comment on this tread earlier and I still think that we have been "short changed" with what we paid for the tech pack from Autotrail.

However, I have a new Range Rover and the sat nav is only marginally better than the Fiat one.

My daughter also has a new Discovery and when she went to France in the summer, she used her trusty stand alone Tom Tom fixed to the screen.

Perhaps we expect too much!!

[Geeco]

Derek, thanks for your feedback on the CD Slot device. Prior to finding this unit I did find a similar CD bracket from a Chinese supplier. That is currently in transit and when it arrives I will see how firstly it suits and secondly if the vibrations are too great. It does not concern me to remove it each night to close the blinds however the sun glare during the day is a pain. I have tried brackets utilising the clip board area but none suit my Tom Tom due to the position of the suction cup bracket. from a resale perspective I do not want to drill holes in the dash that is why I felt the CD slot bracket system might work. I will report on my findings when the Chinese version arrives. We are away for a month at the end of next week so it might be a few weeks before I can offer feedback.

Cheers Gary.

[Derek Uzzell]

I notice that the GO60 device seems to come as standard with TomTom’s own “Easymount” fitting, so it may well be less straightforward to attach this to the dashboard as I’ve done.

 

My Garmin Nuvi 2559 has the common-or-garden type of suction cup mounting-bracket as shown here http://tiny.cc/gi6l3x and my experience is that this won’t adhere reliably long-term to any surface (glass, plastic, whatever).

 

I was similarly reluctant to drill holes in the dashboard, hence I used a black ‘rubber’ adhesive (“Master Seal”) to stick the base of the bracket to the top of the book-rest. This adhesive grips well but can be removed without too much difficulty.

 

I did purchase a Garmin adhesive mounting disk of the type I used on my previous motorhome, but chose not to use this as I’d still face the mounting-bracket’s suction-cup detaching itself when I least wanted it to.

 

[Deesider]

We have a 2013 AT Apache with the naviextra satnav system which was initially difficult to come to grips with, but once mastered is very good. The only downside is the cost of map upgrades which we have not yet done. When we saw that newer versions had TT we thought that that would have free updates but from the foregoing it seems that by going TT it is a retrograde step. Re contact with AT with queries etc we have found them to be generally quite helpful apart from problems with their overlocker Leds which were not up to standard of replacements we obtained Led hut.

[cdlmotoring]

Answering the original question od the maps are not specific for motorhomes

 

I'm having the same dilemma so if anyone has an answer I would love to hear it, I have a 2015 AT at 8.7M unfortunately the SAT nav managed to lead me down the narrowest and tightest lanes of Devon, I know the more experienced (Which I profess not to be) would say use a map, but surely in the day and age of technology with specialist sat nav for large vehicles why would you fit a Sat nav that isn't of use.

 

I survived but don't really want to be put in the same position.

 

All of the initial feedback say (in addition to read an atlas) but a specialist to which Snooper seem to be the most popular.

 

I am going to make some calls through the week to see if it possible to update the current system if not then I will look to buy a separate unit but seems such a waste.

 

I've purchased 2 new Autotrail in 2 years (2014 Delaware previously) and think next time I will be looking for an alternative, AT just don't seem to cut it, being new to this I was told they were the best but from my personal experiences I've had I find it hard to believe.

 

Back to the Tom Tom if anyone has an answer on how to make this useable in a large vehicle (that doesn't involve an atlas) please let me know

 

 

 

 

[Derek Uzzell]

I’m doubtful that any motorhome manufacturer offers a sat-nav as standard that allows the vehicle’s dimensions to be input.

 

It seems to be commonplace for current Fiat-based motorhome models (not just Auto-Trails) to be fitted as standard with the Uconnect 5 audio device that includes a TomTom navigation capability and is integrated into the dashboard, but this unit cannot be updated to accept vehicle dimensions and (so it would seem) neither can its maps be updated at present.

 

What does Auto-Trail say about this? I could understand that standardising on an ‘ordinary’ sat-nav that cannot accept a motorhome’s dimensions might be considered acceptable (it wouldn’t much bother me), but not being able to update the mapping is something else.

[Rayjsj]

I have an Autotrail that had the original 'Media centre' sat nav in 2012, never could get on with it, and eventually bought a standalone Go live 1005 camper Tom Tom, with lifetime UK map updates.

Would not buy ANY 'inbuilt' sat-navs, as they are out of date, before the vehicle leaves the dealers, a waste of money. Buy the latest 'Standalone' Sat Nav, and try to get lifetime map updates.

By the way, the Caravan Club no longer recommends the Snooper, instead it now recommends the Garmin with all the CC poi's etc., Think the Snoopers were too unreliable ? from all the forums I read .

[Brian Kirby]

cdlmotoring - 2015-11-02 9:47 PM

 

Answering the original question od the maps are not specific for motorhomes

 

I'm having the same dilemma so if anyone has an answer I would love to hear it, I have a 2015 AT at 8.7M unfortunately the SAT nav managed to lead me down the narrowest and tightest lanes of Devon, I know the more experienced (Which I profess not to be) would say use a map, but surely in the day and age of technology with specialist sat nav for large vehicles why would you fit a Sat nav that isn't of use...........................................

Electronic mapping does not yet include road width data. All it includes is data on legal width restrictions, but not all sat-navs use that data, presumably because they are mainly aimed at car users. Those sat-navs that do allow the vehicle dimensions to be entered may still route you down narrow roads, if the road is not subject to a width restriction. Normally, this is avoided by the manufacturers by prioritising routing via main roads, which are generally free from width, weight, and height restrictions (but if your destination is on a narrow road, the last part of your route will be down that road). A consequence of this work-around is that many perfectly navigable secondary roads will be avoided (on a "just in case" basis), and routes may be longer as a result.

 

Garmin and TomTom both produce sat navs which allow vehicle dimensions to be added. They also make it reasonably easy to add POIs (points of interest) to the data stored one the device, so you can build (or download) your own store of campsites, aires, supermarkets, etc etc. Snooper lacks this latter facility, which many find restricts its usefulness.

 

Your van is particularly large, and you are hitting the limitations on journey planning that its size imposes. Maps will be of some help, but you will need to choose carefully, as some maps show differing road widths as a way of depicting the relative importance of a road, and not its physical width on the ground. My suggestion would be to do a "dummy run" on your sat nav, then check its proposed route on a map, and then insert waypoints (or via points) on the sat nav, to steer it away from roads you don't like to look of. It takes a bit longer, but it does help to avoid nasty surprises. You may find that setting destinations in sections helps so, on a days drive, setting a destination for a lunch break as the first section, and the ultimate destination as the second, can be used to pull the sat nav onto suitable roads.

 

The reason such basic devices are installed by manufacturers is presumably cost. Given the cost of a motorhome, this seems mean, but most companies are heavily influenced by accountants and their preoccupations with cost. If the sat nav doesn't include free map up-dates, see if you can buy the mapset with lifetime map updates either as a download or on SD card. Haven't checked recently, but Garmin used to do this. Still costs money, but a lot cheaper than buying a new sat-nav. Whatever you get, they all seem to have quirks, and may at any time throw you a googly. It just depends on the routing logic of the machine you get, and on the quality and detail of the underlying mapping. Ultimately, they are just dumb, blind, machines - with apparently magical powers! :-D

[cleddytanhouse]

Thanks Brian for you usual clear explanation. Given the amount of data available to sat nav companies, it is astounding how different they can be.

I still rate my TomTom go live 1005 with the camper update the best available.

It is frustrating that whilst I could add the camper facility to my standard go live 1005, the Built in Tomtom in my Autotrail cannot be updated or upgraded.

Perhaps Tomtom just want to still sell more stand alone devices!!!

[Derek Uzzell]

I notice that there are some recent additions to this Tom-Tom forum discussion (referred to on this thread’s first page)

 

https://en.discussions.tomtom.com/built-car-navigation-25/uconnect-tomtom-radiosat-nav-map-update-issue-on-new-march-2015-fiat-ducato-based-motorhome-976503

 

and these other links are worth reading

 

https://en.discussions.tomtom.com/built-car-navigation-25/ducato-uconnect-5-tomtom-map-update-guarantee-problem-990451/index1.html#post1034237

 

https://en.discussions.tomtom.com/built-car-navigation-25/fiat-ducato-motorhome-with-tomtom-connect-5-990843/index1.html#post1037728

 

The last link mentions (user-name ‘eon’) that a mapping update became available last month but the update's release-date was December 2014.

 

There’s an overview of the UConnect 5” radio/Nav here

 

http://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/in-dash-navigation/uconnect-radio-nav/

 

The device is fully integrated into a Ducato’s dashboard and replacing it with an alternative that offered the ability to input vehicle-size data (eg. Pioneer’s “Navi-Truck” system) might be tricky, never mind being hugely expensive.

 

Realistically the choices for someone buying a motorhome with the UConnect sat/nav unit will be to obtain the most recent mapping update - hopefully at no cost - and then live with that (many people comfortably use elderly maps and/or sat-navs with years-old mapping), or just treat the UConnect unit as an audio system and purchase a stand-alone sat-nav device where map updating is unlikely to be problematical and (if it’s felt necessary) a ‘vehicle-size’ input facility is available.

[Colin Leake]

We had a Lexus with built in sat nav. Rubbish it was you could not input a full UK 7 digit postcode which was a right pain in the but because it ment you needed to input a full address. Even when this was possible it still used to get the route wrong. We used to,use a TomTom stuck on the windscreen.