Snooper Venture Pro S8000 (1 Viewer)

[Armytwowheels]

Has anyone got one of these? If you have would you recommend it? Seems expensive but includes a lot of useful stuff for travelling around Europe in the MoHo. Would be great to hear from someone who has used this version.
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[Phill D]

i have had the S5000 which is basically the same except for the screen size, for around 4 1/2 years now and i like it a lot. did have an issue with the screen fading on one side after about 18 months and snooper replaced it free of charge by return of post.

check the latest deals with performance products as you can get the latest model with built in dash cam and lifetime maps for the similar price.

 

[kelv]

I have the caravan club edition snooper great bit of kit all acsi and caravan club sites pre loaded it's around the same price

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[mikekaren2]

Hi, I bought mine (The SNOOPER DB8500 VENTURA PRO SOUND)
just over 12 months ago, I did some research I have owned Garmin & TomTom so I can compare against them. Firstly what sold the Snooper is the large screen size & the free map & poi updates, I took my first trip abroad to France, Luxembourg & Belgium & it didn't let me down. I have a Hymer (like you) & preloaded the MH sizes & despite reading some reviews of the Snooper it never lead me to any low bridges or narrow roads. Having the built in TV & radio is a bonus. The only negative thing that I found is that the internal speaker isn't very loud but there is a external speaker socket which can be used.
I did read that someone returned there unit & they had a new (louder) speaker fitted, not sure if this is true but now we're not using the MH till February/March I will contact them to see if they are updating the speaker.
If they do I will post a update on the forum.

Hope this helps,
Mike

 

[davidbaldam]

Sandra, I have the Chinese 7" cheapie which does the job and some very kind Funster put all the Aires and ASCI sites and more on it for me at Peterborough and it work really well in France this year. You pays your money and you take you chance.

 

[Armytwowheels]

Thanks for your comments guys. We are currently looking at the DB8500 but just dithering because of the price. I like the idea of having all the camperstops pre-loaded.

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[Armytwowheels]

Hi, I bought mine (The SNOOPER DB8500 VENTURA PRO SOUND)
just over 12 months ago, I did some research I have owned Garmin & TomTom so I can compare against them. Firstly what sold the Snooper is the large screen size & the free map & poi updates, I took my first trip abroad to France, Luxembourg & Belgium & it didn't let me down. I have a Hymer (like you) & preloaded the MH sizes & despite reading some reviews of the Snooper it never lead me to any low bridges or narrow roads. Having the built in TV & radio is a bonus. The only negative thing that I found is that the internal speaker isn't very loud but there is a external speaker socket which can be used.
I did read that someone returned there unit & they had a new (louder) speaker fitted, not sure if this is true but now we're not using the MH till February/March I will contact them to see if they are updating the speaker.
If they do I will post a update on the forum.

Hope this helps,
Mike

Mike, when you are searching for an Aire on the
Snooper does the little review that you get in the book come up or is it just the coordinates?

 

[joncris]

I have a Chinese Sat Nav with bluetooth and many other apps internet browser etc. The Screen is 7" and it performs really well. It also has a selection of European Languages It cost £70 of ebay 3 years ago

 

[joncris]

Has anyone got one of these? If you have would you recommend it? Seems expensive but includes a lot of useful stuff for travelling around Europe in the MoHo. Would be great to hear from someone who has used this version.
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£400 squid Not for me

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[TheDogMan]

I have a ventura and I don't like it I love it, had others in the past but this is the best and a decent size screen and I have used the TV when we have been at a one day event without the moho, BUT , if you can afford it buy it, if not there are cheaper options

 

[TheCaller]

We are currently looking at the DB8500 but just dithering because of the price

Expensive for a Sat Nav, but that's not what you're buying when you go for the DB8500.

Sat Nav, TV, DAB Radio, Bluetooth connectivity, rear view camera monitor, 'Safety' camera warnings (+£29.99 per year for updates), free map updates for the lifetime the unit, free Traffic info, MP3 player.

As a Sat Nav, it's one of the better ones. Lane guidance, proper postcode search & of course all those campsites preloaded, together with petrol stations, banks, museums, pretty much anything you are likely to want. The only downside is that it's not as straightforward as some if you want to load your own POI files - you have to send the file to them to get it converted into their format.

The DB8500 is only worth it if you have a need for all the other things it does. I needed a small TV & a DAB radio & I wanted a better hands free system for my phone. I also wanted a reversing camera & didn't want yet another separate screen on the dash. I was looking at things like the Pioneer & Blaupunkt in-dash units as alternatives, so it was a cheap option in that company.

You can have the sound played out through your existing FM radio & speakers. That works very well, but may not suit everyone. I don't generally have the radio on while I'm driving, so I can dedicate the existing radio to the DB8500. On the rare occasions that I do want to listen to something, I just take the directions from the screen. When I am listening to the radio, I don't want the Sat Nav talking over it anyway. I haven't tried tuning the Sat Nav to the same frequency as an active radio station, so I can't tell you if you can combine them or not. You can play your own music at the same time, via the inbuilt MP3 player.

Also remember that whichever model you go for, you can have Johns Cross's level of customer service together with Funster discount.

We all want everything to be perfect first time, but you only find out how good a company is when things go wrong. My unit had a faulty rechargeable battery, or charger. Don't know which, but it would only work when plugged into the 12v supply (which was 98% of the time anyway, but sometimes it useful to use it disconnected). Because it was acting as my reversing camera monitor, I didn't want to be without it for long - where my van is parked it's almost impossible to get the van in on your own without a camera. Performance Products replaced it without question & Dan at Johns Cross went to great trouble to organise the logistics to fit the exchange into a tight slot between my trips.

 

[Armytwowheels]

Thanks TheCaller, that's a great help. We need to replace our old black and white reversing camera as it is getting a bit temperamental so this new unit would solve that particular problem too. We had a
TomTom last year when we went to France but it was company owned and Colin had to give it back when he left. We currently don't have a dedicated satnav and just use a free app on my phone.

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[TheCaller]

We need to replace our old black and white reversing camera as it is getting a bit temperamental so this new unit would solve that particular problem too.

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You can add these to a Johns Cross order for the Sat Nav.

I don't think you are obliged to use a camera supplied by Performance Products, but with anything else, you have the hassle of ensuring that all the connections match up. AFAIK the power for the camera comes from the DB8500 too, which is one less thing to worry about. I didn't fit my camera - Dave Newell did, but I don't think he had to run a separate power supply. There is a power cable & an AV cable comes from the camera & they go through a short adapter into a single multi-ring 'Video In' jack socket on the unit.