Avoiding all narrow lanes (1 Viewer)

Tincataylor

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Never leave a campsite with your clothes line tied to a lamp post.
Learn to live with the odd scratch, chill out, and enjoy our lovely countryside. If this does not work for you then stay away from Cornwall....................

The Tincas
 

JeanLuc

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Can anyone name me a 'normal' type paper map that shows narrow lanes with hedges or low tree that may scratch you motorhome ?
OS 1:25000 series gives the most detail but not the height of trees etc. Also, you would need a lot of sheets to cover a typical journey.
Perhaps the best, but very tedious, option is to use Google Maps then 'walk' your planned route using StreetView. I guess you might need a few days to do this before a trip!!!!!!!

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Dave K

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Exactly. Last year in North Devon they shut the link road due to an accident & everyone was routed down what was the old road. Barely room for 2 to pass in the old days but now without much hedge trimming & many people unused to having to drag one side of any vehicle , let alone a motorhome, down the hedge most of the time it is a nightmare.Then you get the ones who have no idea what a "passing place " is or in a narrow one way section they are completely oblivious to the width of there own vehicle .

We got caught up in that on the way to Coombe Martin, fortunately us locals do our apprenticeship driving around Devon and Cornwall so we're well prepared :D
 

scotjimland

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Garmin 660 camper and set at wider and longer and works a treat. Even set it to artic with 14' 6'' height , 55' long and 9' wide and 44 tonnes and works 100%. The only other sat Nav that worked as good was a Chinese one but its too big. I've tried Tom Tom and snooper and garmin are far better (Hello!!!!! In my opinion) and apparently can be obtained at £139.99 at Aldi but I paid £199.99 and with the results I've had and accuracy, I'd have happily paid Garmins price (which weirdly enough is cheaper than Amazon)


I was dragged into Aldi last night and then mugged by an assistant.. walked back to the car and found I had bought one.. :LOL:

good buy at that price.. and it was the last one in that store..

Now busy updating and adding all my favourite POIs.. looks good... the larger screen will be good in the motorhome..

My other Garmin has been demoted to car duties.. and replaces an old TT One XL bought in 2006 ..
 

scotjimland

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I've seen a few still on sale in local stores - but still at £199.99 (which is a good price anyway) and not reduced as mentioned in some posts.

It's a 30ml round trip to our nearest Aldi, so before going I called customer services to check stock, they said they had three in that branch.. .. it was late evening when we went and there was only one left .. at £139.99

I've always found Aldi customer services quick to get through to.. and always helpful.
 
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GJH

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It's a 30ml round trip to our nearest Aldi, so before going I called customer services to check stock, they said they had three in that branch.. .. it was late evening when we went and there was only one left .. at £139.99

I've always found Aldi customer services quick to get through to.. and always helpful.
Heck of a bargain at that price Jim (y)
 
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Just to prove that a truck satnav does not always get it right, our Garmin chose a wholly inappropriate route a few months ago to get us from Llandovery to the C&CC site just to the north. It was a cheek-clenching half-hour as we negotiated what seemed like miles of single-track roads with steep inclines and a railway viaduct under repair! There was a perfectly good alternative that, for some reason, it ignored completely. It was my fault - I should have turned back as soon as I sensed we were going in the wrong direction.
https://goo.gl/maps/gDqie6yFzDr
We live on roads like that, so don't have a lot of choice:(

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roadster55

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I've got that particular motorhome satnav from Garmin because not only is it programmable to the size of your own motorhome (daft question but you did input the measurements of your motorhome didn't you?), but also I find the 7" screen greatly advantageous to smaller screens as windcscreens seem so far away these days. I bought it for the hire of a Chausson Flash and obviously couldn't screw it into the dashboard! I found it worked ok for a trip down to Italy.
Now I've decided to go down the compact van route it still will come in handy re. the height of my vehicle and also avoiding the mountain goat tracks that my previous car satnav was want to take me!!
It's difficult for a lone driver to use maps on the go IMO for safety reasons, and you can't always find somewhere to pull over when you need to. Bad enough in a car but with a motorhome a bit dodgy to say the least. What I used to do before satnavs was to pre-plan my route the night before and write it all down on a A4 piece of stiff card like you get when you buy shirts, and clip it onto the dash board. I also tried recording instructions on a tape but this wasn't ideal either!
 
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Nothing to do with the actual thread, but shows how people have different standards from where you where brought up, around here you won't have a new vehicle two months before its covered in scratches and dents , which is probably why you see so many old vehicles about in the country but if you are from towns a scratch can be the end of the world, and body places and polish salesmen have a field day, a motor is to get you where you want to be, not something to put on a pedestal to be looked at, go out , enjoy(y):)
 

PhilG

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If only there was some kind of book that had pictures in it that showed where everywhere was, imagine how many you could sell.

SatNav is useless for anything other than motorways, IMO, it helps at junctions , but that's it, I have lost count of the number of times it has tried to send me on wild goose chases locally , which means its doing the same for places you don't know too. 10 minutes with a map, and go , turn it on 5 minutes away if its a specific place you have found before.

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scotjimland

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If only there was some kind of book that had pictures in it that showed where everywhere was, imagine how many you could sell.

Road Atlas ?

:LOL:

I'd be lost literally without mine.. used one since they came out .. best invention since road maps.. my wife loves it more than me.. before we had one we were nearly at the divorce court.. several times..

not perfect but they have come a long way since they first came out at the turn of the century.. my first one was a Magellan.. with 2" hard drive.. IIRC it cost about £600 :eek:..

I still have it somewhere .. may come in handy one day :LOL:

I still love and use paper maps.. can't beat them for browsing and planning
 

Movinon

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I have a Garmin 760 camper. I programmed in very oversized dimensions but it didn't make any difference - it still suggested inappropriate routes. These things are only as good as the (third party) databases they buy in. However, using the fastest route setting helps and setting the weight to be greater than 3500kg makes a big difference especially in towns. It seems the 3500kg database is more accurate than anything else due no doubt to the possible legal implications of getting it wrong. As always, a liberal application of commonsense and a somewhat cynical approach to road suitability based on hard experience also reap benefits.
 

scotjimland

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However, using the fastest route setting helps and setting the weight to be greater than 3500kg makes a big difference especially in towns.

I think this is where the OP went wrong.. the fastest route is always the preferable route for a large vehicle.. wouldn't think of using the shortest.. that's just asking for trouble

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You miss out on some stunning roads if you insist on avoiding the narrow roads. I see it as a challenge to take my van any where and every where. The near side mirror sometimes takes a wacking but it a small price to pay - I'll buy some protectors one day!
All the parcel vans seem to manage it on a daily basis.
Also you don't have to to listen to it, I will avoid going down farm tracks and the sat nav will always find an alternative.

Stunning mountain road in Ireland last year.

DSC00384.JPG
 

MicknPat

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OS 1:25000 series gives the most detail but not the height of trees etc. Also, you would need a lot of sheets to cover a typical journey.
Perhaps the best, but very tedious, option is to use Google Maps then 'walk' your planned route using StreetView. I guess you might need a few days to do this before a trip!!!!!!!

Good idea, but even then some of the street views can be several years old. :(

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GJH

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Good idea, but even then some of the street views can be several years old. :(
And sometimes they are a combination of pictures taken several years apart. There was a thread about a car park some time ago where Street View showed different signage in one part depending on which direction one "approached" from. See for screenshots.
 

roadster55

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This thread illustrates very well the old conflict that all motorhomers/campervanners have, and which perhaps some don't always take into proper consideration when they buy a nice, shiny new one, with all mod cons, at a show or on the forecourt of a dealership that is often big enough to park a jumbo jet on - namely "where can I go in it"?
It's about striking a balance. Obviously if you're a family with children or multiple dogs then you need space. But you'd be amazed at how many couples, or even singles you see with motorhomes that were really designed for a family, and in some cases a large family sleeping 6+.
I sometimes wonder whether they take turns using the overcab bed and the downstairs beds on alternate nights! Yes it gives you more room and yes the overcab bed is good for storage, but what isn't so good is that the van is very much more limited in where it can go. For me the whole point of this type of adventure is to explore lovely places and for the most part they ain't on A roads, usually the opposite - that's why they're still nice!
It's a conflict only you can solve because you know how much space you need. One point worth making in my experience, and I've tried both sides owning and hiring vehicles of various sizes, is that width of vehicle is often the most important feature when exploring out of the way places far from the madding crowd. Campervans ie. van conversions like the VW transporters, Peugeot Boxer or my own Ford Transit Leisuredrive, are much easier to tour in than a coachbuilt which is obviously wider than the base van due to the "caravan" stuck on the back. In a campervan you can't really annoy anybody down any type of road, because chances are they've had deliveries or tradesmen in just the type of van you're driving!!
 

Theonlysue

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Not long enough!
Of you set for fastest roads, you may have a problem in Ireland.
Some dual carriageways are 40 mph, and single track roads 50 mph, as I found out last year lol

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I am very grateful to the Funster who drew attention to the Aldi special offer last year, enabling me to get the Garmin 760 Camper for such a bargain price. Getting sent down single track lanes isn't such a big deal for my VW but I am learning to ignore the silliest short cuts and stick to the main roads. Overall it is a brilliant piece of kit.
PS I love my maps too.
 

roadster55

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Once you've set your vehicle size in the Garmin 760 the map image/readout should only show the roads that are suitable for your vehicle size.
 

Movinon

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Once you've set your vehicle size in the Garmin 760 the map image/readout should only show the roads that are suitable for your vehicle size.
That's right, it should. Unfortunately I can assure you that what it should do and what it actually does are two different things. As I said, they're only as good as the databases they use.

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roadster55

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Mine's been ok so far. Have you updated it?

Have you tried turning "her inside" off and just relying on just the visuals?
 

Movinon

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Mine's been ok so far. Have you updated it?

Have you tried turning "her inside" off and just relying on just the visuals?
I'm not sure what you mean but I have been using the 760 for two years now and know it inside out. It is updated before each trip. The database used to determine the road suitability may be OK in theory, but I have often thought that it is more suited to delivery vans, which must have access, than to motorhomers who are just wandering along and looking for a stress-free existence, despite Garmin calling it the 760 Camper. After all, I may fit in a single lane road but what if there are not enough passing places or badly parked vehicles? My Garmin thinks I am 10ft wide but if the road is 11ft wide then that's where it may choose to try to send me. Likewise, low bridges, lower than my motorhome, are not always avoided. Again, it's down to the database.
 
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And sometimes they are a combination of pictures taken several years apart. There was a thread about a car park some time ago where Street View showed different signage in one part depending on which direction one "approached" from. See for screenshots.
we had that with street views of our house one way showed my old van and when you approached fro the other way my new van
 
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Sat nav???

I got a mcnav!

Never ever ever put me wrong! The really old fashioned thing she use's is called a MAP.

They come in this thing called a "ROAD ATLAS!"

No plugging in, no bulldust with selecting Wide roads, M/Ways W H Y etc

She also does a brilliant Reversing Camera
-
-
-
-
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AND! You ain't got enough money to buy her from me
 
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Movinon

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Sat nav???

I got a mcnav!

Never ever ever put me wrong! The really old fashioned thing she use's is called a MAP.

They come in this thing called a "ROAD ATLAS!"

No plugging in, no bulldust with selecting Wide roads, M/Ways W H Y etc

She also does a brilliant Reversing Camera
-
-
-
-
-
AND! You ain't got enough money to buy her from me
No accurate ETA, no distance to destination, no upcoming fuel stops, no distance to nearest Aires, no directions to unknown supermarkets, no traffic hazard alerts etc etc. You do, however, get to massively increase your stress level, particularly when you have to turn around because you missed your turnoff.

When I start out the day in a new place I can enter, in my Garmin, my destination, a named fuel stop along the route avoiding in advance any that may have access issues, a branded supermarket for shopping on the route and an Aire for getting water or dumping. I don't have to have been to any of these places before and yet I know exactly when they will be reached and where they are.

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