Satnav again... (1 Viewer)

[Jac Sprat]

Sorry to start a new thread but i have limited wifi and there's so much under the search button on this .. ...
What is the general consensus on the best one?
Disappointed with our Garmin camper which persists in taking us the most direct route resulting in some epic hilltop squeezes through tiny streets in Tuscany and Sicily. Also we have had 3-4 loop experiences where it wouldn't get us out of a spot but kept looping back.
A fellow camper and ex truck driver swears by the old tom tom caravan camper one but i understand they are out of production now?
What is the current favourite? Gone right off garmin.
(Dont say buy a map cos they only have lousy ones here in sicily!)

 

[Jac Sprat]

We prefer going a longer but wider way.
Should we buy a trucking one ?

 

[Mel]

I have used a Snooper since 2010
I love it but some dont
Mine is the old 7000 camper model

Mel

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[chaser]

Havnt had a dedicated sat na for about ten years now but use the mapping things on smart phones, but on them in the settings there is a place to alter the settings to either, fastest, shortest , or one called economic or easy or something, and find if you set it to shortest it will take you up any old lane , fastest will probably take as many motorways it can find but we usually use the mid setting and find it fine.

 

[Gellyneck]

Sorry to start a new thread but i have limited wifi and there's so much under the search button on this .. ...
What is the general consensus on the best one?
Disappointed with our Garmin camper which persists in taking us the most direct route resulting in some epic hilltop squeezes through tiny streets in Tuscany and Sicily. Also we have had 3-4 loop experiences where it wouldn't get us out of a spot but kept looping back.
A fellow camper and ex truck driver swears by the old tom tom caravan camper one but i understand they are out of production now?
What is the current favourite? Gone right off garmin.
(Dont say buy a map cos they only have lousy ones here in sicily!)

We use a Garmin 760 along with Garmin BaseCamp on pc and have never had a problem with it however understand "what's good for one may not be for another".
Just to confirm, you do have the routing option set up as Fastest and not Shortest on the unit?
Apart from that, if Garmin ain't for you, couldn't really add further as now on my fourth Garmin unit (all of which are still working well [one with battery replaced] however only two with up to date maps).

 

[138go]

Did you realise that touching your Sat / Nav PHONE while driving could cost you 6 points and a £200 fine .. It's not a joke or April 1st. Law states that if you use a phone ie. touch it while driving you are committing an offence ..

Think what you have to do is look at the route before you go. Try putting in some via places along the route and forcing the sat nav to take you the way you want to go. Bit more difficult than just putting in the destination as you also need a map.

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[chaser]

We use a Garmin 760 along with Garmin BaseCamp on pc and have never had a problem with it however understand "what's good for one may not be for another".
Just to confirm, you do have the routing option set up as Fastest and not Shortest on the unit?
Apart from that, if Garmin ain't for you, couldn't really add further as now on my fourth Garmin unit (all of which are still working well [one with battery replaced] however only two with up to date maps).

The maps on phones are continually updated without you even knowing , no hooking up to computers and stuff, always the latest maps, with all the shops and filling stations and stuff right there in one unit

 

[chaser]

Did you realise that touching your Sat / Nav PHONE while driving could cost you 6 points and a £200 fine .. It's not a joke or April 1st. Law states that if you use a phone ie. touch it while driving you are committing an offence ..

Think what you have to do is look at the route before you go. Try putting in some via places along the route and forcing the sat nav to take you the way you want to go. Bit more difficult than just putting in the destination as you also need a map.

What would you want to touch it for anymore than a satnav?

 

[Gellyneck]

The maps on phones are continually updated without you even knowing , no hooking up to computers and stuff, always the latest maps, with all the shops and filling stations and stuff right there in one unit

Don't disagree with you on that (and I have a mobi with Here Maps on it) but not best option for me.

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[Jac Sprat]

But the phone goes black after a minute surely?
In one plAce we had to flag down a car to drive us out. There was one normal size road out of that village but garmin sat nav couldnt find it.
Yes set on fastest not shortest

 

[Jac Sprat]

You touch phone screen to keep it open

 

[Jac Sprat]

Also thr phone (maps) cant choose the widest road for you can it?

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[138go]

You miss the point .. YOU TOUCH THE SCREEN ON A PHONE WHILE DRIVING and it's SIX points ..

 

[138go]

The map compilers don't know the width of every road. They are getting better but it take time and the software gets more and more complicated which is why some of the newer one's with vehicle widths can finish up taking you miles out of your way. The free ones like Google and Here don't let you set widths and rely on you having a phone signal to download maps as you go.

 

[maison]

I am surprised by your experience with the Garmin Camper.

We use one and, so far, have never been taken into an awkward situation.

My "problem" with it is that it tends to be over-cautious if anything. On returning to our home from the M4 Motorway it tells us to take a route that adds 9 miles to our journey, rather than come through the village. Although they are typical village roads they are quite suitable for vehicles to pass. The SatNav keeps us on a major A road, then doubles back to enter the village from our end.

Because we know the area we ignore it but, if in an unknown area I would rather cover the miles than get stuck.

Hope you get a resolution, it can be annoying, I know.

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[chaser]

The map compilers don't know the width of every road. They are getting better but it take time and the software gets more and more complicated which is why some of the newer one's with vehicle widths can finish up taking you miles out of your way. The free ones like Google and Here don't let you set widths and rely on you having a phone signal to download maps as you go.

No they don't rely on a phone signal, you can download the maps to your phone and then they work compleatly independant, just on gps like a dedicated sat nav.
There are others that you can put widths in but they are called truck not motorhome.
And also , no the picture doesn't go off.

 

[chaser]

By the way , I agree normal google maps does need signal , but if you download another app bizarrely just called 'gps' it uses the google mapping but on gps.

 

[Langtoftlad]

I would imagine your Garmin difficulties are due to the mapping information about Sicilian roads being incomplete rather than a generic Garmin issue.
The only way to be sure would be to do a comparison test with another make, or even Google Maps.

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[glenn2926]

Have you put the weight into the Garmin? You need to put your weight in as more than 3.5t to get the Garmin to recognise it is in a large vehicle. Other wise it thinks it is in a car.

 

[JeanLuc]

Well, I use a Garmin Dezl 560 LMT which is an earlier truck version, but the underlying 'gubbins' is the same as the camper version. It is not always logical but then I don't know of any SatNav that is - certainly not the one installed in my car as original equipment. We normally check what it is doing against a map and ignore the SatNav if that seems more sensible; it catches up again later.
I think that in an area like central Italy, particularly in the hill regions like Tuscany and Umbria, you have to accept that the roads are narrow and twisting. I bet the local refuse and delivery lorries get up and down them without batting an eye-lid!

 

[GeriatricWanderer]

Map, key roads/towns on a crib note on the dash, sat nav to assist with distance to junction and roundabout exits etc.
Never "been taken" down an unexpected road.

If you only use a sat nav, any sat nav/phone, you can be sure to be "taken" to someplace you really don't want to be.

I use Garmin - as good as most and better than some.

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[sallylillian]

CoPilot Truck on any Android Tablet.

 

[Camping Gaza]

Co Pilot or Sygic Both have free versions for download to android tablet or phone. Co pilot's pretty good.

I would never buy a dedicated sat nav again. I have a built in tom tom in the dash with the radio. absolute pile of sh!t. Takes me off motorways, around the roundabout and back on the same exit over and over. And under bridges that a car can just about get under.

 

[Khizzie]

But the phone goes black after a minute surely?
In one plAce we had to flag down a car to drive us out. There was one normal size road out of that village but garmin sat nav couldnt find it.
Yes set on fastest not shortest

That's very strange..i have a garmin camper version satnav and its set on fastest route plus slightly bigger vehicle dimensions and its been very good. Don't use it much these days as prefer my snooper Ventura camper model and the aguri rv700 camper model as these two I can be fairly certain of. Roy

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[Khizzie]

Lots of people use co pilot on their phones but not for me as picture too small and the screen goes into stand by .so you lose driving concentration at sometimes a critical place to refresh screen, no not for me..

 

[Langtoftlad]

Lots of people use co pilot on their phones but not for me as picture too small and the screen goes into stand by .so you lose driving concentration at sometimes a critical place to refresh screen, no not for me..

I use the Waze app on my phone [now a google company] - and you can choose the screen to remain on in settings

 

[chaser]

The problem with sat nav on phone is that people just don't believe what they can do and I know loads who have been walking round with smart phones for a couple of years and don't even know that there is a basic sat nav on every one, if you have a smart phone with a four and half or five inch screen they are just as big as a satnav, they do NOT go off but obviously they have to be plugged in or they will only last about half an hour, if you go to the google play store and put in navigation there are dozens of sat nav apps that work without any wifi or phone signal whatever as long as you download the maps first, the whole world is available, free on most, and it takes about five minutes to download somewhere the size of France , and once it's in you don't need to update it or anything , it is permanently updating its self when on wifi.
We have been all round Europe with nothing but "here maps" but recently I have changed to sygic , not because there was anything wrong with here, but there are more settings on sygic such as showing what lane to be in .
Please anyone who has or are thinking of getting a smart phone, give these apps a good go before spending money on a dedicated sat nav.

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[Gellyneck]

@chaser "walking round with smart phones for a couple of years and don't even know that there is a basic sat nav"
That's what I use the mobi maps for but prefer the 7" screen on the Garmin Sat Nav when in motorhome. In built Here Maps on the car Sat Nav though but sometimes use the 760 as car manufacturer only updates around about every year and has to be done at dealer (when being serviced).

 

[chaser]

This is the one to make Google maps work off line

 

[Spanda]

You miss the point .. YOU TOUCH THE SCREEN ON A PHONE WHILE DRIVING and it's SIX points ..

I must be lucky. My steam-driven Samsung Galaxy II over-rides the powersave mode when it is in map mode so the screen stays on. It needs to be plugged in to the 12v socket as it gobbles up battery but it works quite well as a back-up to a proper sat nav.

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