Avtex Garmin Camper Club Edition 660LMT-D (1 Viewer)

Jan 13, 2014
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Starting again with buying a new Sat-Nav so going through the Sar Nav Saga! Having looked at past posts and online reviews it's coming down to the Axtex Garmin or TomTom 6100.

I would appreciate any guidance from users of either of the two.

Many Thanks.
 

GJH

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Aug 20, 2007
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Don't touch the TomTom with a barge pole, at least without checking all the threads of complaint in their forum (especially where lack of POI support is concerned).

With the Garmin, check the prices of the Avtex edition against the standard one as most of the "extras" (POIs &c) can be downloaded for free anyway.

My notes Here.
 
Feb 22, 2008
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We have the Avtex Garmin CClub edition, no problems but as @GJH posted watch price. I paid CClub price but still happy with product at that.

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DJA

Mar 5, 2011
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Hi Littlewheels

Firstly the 2 GPS models you have listed are very different in what they offer.

The Garmin is a model designed with Caravanning/Motorhoming in mind and recently the non Avtex 660LMT-D has been available from Aldi for as little as £139.95 and the additional features on the Avtex version of it are purely additional POI files which you can get freely elsewhere. The unit has Lifetime European Maps and traffic but Speed camera data is an additional cost

The Tomtom unit is for cars and does not have the facility to input vehicle dimensions as the Garmin so that approriate routing is suggested for caravans or motorhomes. The units have Lifetime World Maps, Traffic and Speed Camera data and as the latter 2 features are managed for you via the inbuilt Sim there is no additonal cost throughout Europe. Elsewhere in the world where available there is an extra cost

Regarding the comment re the lack of POI support on the Tomtom it should be noted that you can add your own or 3rd Party POI files and search for the POI's in them either Near Me, Along Route, In Town or City, or Near destination and display the listed POI's found in the search on the map and select them to see if there is any additional information like telephone numbers for the POI. What you cannot do is display all or some of the POI's on the map with their own identifiable icon whilst you are travelling which was a feature on the older units.

I have experience of the non Avtex Garmin and the GO5000 which is similar to the 6100. The Garmin is easy to operate however I have real concerns about its routing which I have annotated elsewhere on here and as that is what we buy the units for that is a worry. The Traffic seems better on the Tomtom. If you do go down the GO6110 route you will need to get a 16gb SD card to add to the unit as the internal memory will not take all the maps.

Regarding support with the Garmin the occasion I had to contact them they were quick and efficient. Re Tomtom I have generally had good responses from them with them even phoning from Holland on one occasion to try and sort out a problem which turned out to be an anomaly in the software in the recent update which they are seeking to resolve in the meantime an interim solution was given.

I recently travelled to the New Forest and back using the Garmin and it was okay. I did note however that when I asked the Garmin and Tomtom to calculate a route for me between Fordingbridge and Lyminton the Garmins route was 6 miles longer. I cannot see any reason why the Garmin should not be able to suggest the same route as I would happily have driven our motorhome on the Tomtom suggested route. Hope this helps and if yoiu have any questions do not hesitate to ask and I shall try to answer them.

Doug
 
Jan 3, 2008
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I bought a Garmin Drivelux in February and used it on our first two month trip through Germany and France. I found all the information and ready installed POI information very useful, there is lots of it in many categories. I also like the "Up ahead" feature that lets you know what services etc are in front as you travel I also installed my own POI, the usual suspects like Campercontact, CC Infos, Bordatlas, ACSI etc. I found routing to be fine and I usually looked at the alternative routes it suggested. I found route planning fast and easy but I do look at a physical map on longish trips just to ensure I am routed in a way that suits me. Sometimes I create my own routes by adding waypoints. The only criticism I have is that it will sometimes want to take shortcuts where I would not be happy to take a motorhome, but this is only occasionally and I get around it by just ignoring directions if I don't like the look of things. It very quickly re routes, a matter of seconds only. The Garmin has a large memory and I haven't found I need a micro sd card.

All in all I found it vastly superior to my previous sat navs which were Tom-toms, and I had been a fan of them for years. I think Tom-tom might just have the edge on live traffic but not by much and the Garmin has identified congestion and routed around it satisfactorily.

Why not go to Halfords and have a play.
 

GJH

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Aug 20, 2007
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I recently travelled to the New Forest and back using the Garmin and it was okay. I did note however that when I asked the Garmin and Tomtom to calculate a route for me between Fordingbridge and Lyminton the Garmins route was 6 miles longer. I cannot see any reason why the Garmin should not be able to suggest the same route as I would happily have driven our motorhome on the Tomtom suggested route. Hope this helps and if yoiu have any questions do not hesitate to ask and I shall try to answer them.
That's interesting Doug. I've been doing a (non-scientific) comparison of the Garmin 760 with a TomTom Pro 5150 (and a Mio unit as well) - Notes Here - and found that they all have imperfections (which arise from necessarily constrained programming rather than having the benefit of a brain) when it comes to routing and each beats the other on different occasions. We were very surprised at the response of the TomTom when driving to Dalkeith last month (described at the foot of my notes).
I have 2 years traffic subscription on the TomTom (came with it) but won't bother renewing it at the end of that time.

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Littlewheels
Jan 13, 2014
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Leeds - Yorkshire
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I have to say what an excellent response, the in depth reports were all enlightening and the Garmin appears to be the best choice.

I will go and have a good look at the options in Halfords and hope that Lidl might have another promotion coming along.

Brian.
 

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