Best option for sat nav on iPad

Gorse Hill

Gorse Hill

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Anybody know the best sat nav system installed on iPad and a suitable in car bracket/holder , hopefully allowing me to download all routes so I don't have to use a data sim whilst on the move
Any help will be appreciated
Thks
 
Most iPads don't have gps , mine doesn't anyway, and will not work as a satnav with anything.
 
We have TomTom installed on our ipad & ipad mini and both iphones- one fee (about £79 i think) and you can install it on all your devices and you don't need to be connected to the internet to use it. You can also download POI - campsites, Aires etc but I havent managed to figure out how yet. You never have to pay for updates and it's big enough for even hubby to see!!!
We have used it all round Europe and has been good apart from the odd times it tries to send us down lanes that seem only wide enough for a bicycle but you do have to use a bit of common sense.........
Apparently tomtom do a system for large vehicles which may be better but its not avaliable as app at the moment.
 
andrewjw said:
We use http://copilotgps.com/us/ on our i pad....easy to use , accurate and crucially doesn't need an internet connection to work..
Click to expand...
Just had a look at Co-Pilot. I like it, maybe funsters who use it could tell me:
1) is it better to get the truck version? Thinking about MH dimensions input?
2) do we download maps? Eg. Ireland, UK, France?

Any other info ?
 
As a lorry delivery driver we have Tom tom at work and I had 2 Tom toms at home. But when we got our first motorhome in sept I started to look around for the best options because of the size of the van.
Tom Tom camper is very expensive and to be honest Tom tom is very overrated. Not very good write ups for Garmin either
I decided that the better option was to look in a different way at what was required. Having just bought our euro tunnel frequent traveller I needed to get online for info in when in France this year on holiday so I bought an iPad mini with cellular £319 refurbished from Apple so I have gps to use the apps and then purchased the copilot app for £29 full European cover and free map updates and a motor home option and traffic.
So far I've used the copilot alongside my work Tom tom and after many years a Tom tom user I much prefer the copilot. Easier to use,better routing and options and I still have the iPad to use at the end of the day. Rather than the extortionate amount Tom tom charge. I took the advise on here and bought the 12g data card from Three that lasts for 12 months and I'm online in Europe as well. Happy days and I don't feel ripped off either. Hope this helps(y)
 
Standard European mate. Think the truck one was over £100. May yet upgrade if it has good reports. I'm still looking at the copilot against Tom tom at work just to see if it sends me down narrow lanes that are not required but so far so good.
 
Fragle said:
Standard European mate. Think the truck one was over £100. May yet upgrade if it has good reports. I'm still looking at the copilot against Tom tom at work just to see if it sends me down narrow lanes that are not required but so far so good.
Click to expand...
Excellent.
I have been using garmin up to now, but had a Tom tom in France recently and liked it.
But since getting the MH I have been researching sat nav's and co-pilot looks good.
Just downloaded the manuals and will have a look.
Can I ask you:
Have you imputed your vehicle dimensions yet ?, if so, how did you find the results?
Thanks again.

Jon

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As far as I see there is a motorhome option button. I've not seen an option to input size. I assume when to route with the motorhome it avoids small roads also all maps are downloaded on to the iPad so you need to check memory for space. I'll look to see about size input now.
 
Jonkil said:
Just had a look at Co-Pilot. I like it, maybe funsters who use it could tell me:
1) is it better to get the truck version? Thinking about MH dimensions input?
2) do we download maps? Eg. Ireland, UK, France?

Any other info ?
Click to expand...

We got the standard version...there is a motorhome option on that. You only need to download the maps for the areas you are going to visit...split into different areas of Europe in some cases....some of the areas covered use up a lot of space on the memory of your device. In the year we've used Co-Pilot we have had several free updates ...suggests they are keeping up to date.
 
chaser said:
Most iPads don't have gps , mine doesn't anyway, and will not work as a satnav with anything.
Click to expand...
Not quite true lots of iPads have GPS Google maps has a good sat Nav when you put in somewhere to go it will give you instruction just like a sat nav,

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I have a larger motorhome and think it is worth having the truck version of Co-Pilot. You can input dimensions and weight on that. I have not had any problems with it in just about a year of use and much prefer it to other sat navs I have used which includes TomTom. I especially like the alternative route feature which gives two alternative routes to choose from and the drag to change a route to your choice.
ezee
 
Yep, CoPilot for me too. I use it with an iPad mini. Big screen, so NO excuses for getting the route wrong! Looks the bizzo too!
I don't have an internet connection with the iPad; it's wi-fi only but I slave it by Bluetooth to a tiny external Garmin sat receiver (which I already had). Gives me 'real time' directions and lane-assist pictures etc.
As others have said, there is a Motorhome icon with the standard version, but unlike the trucker's version, you can't enter the vehicle's dimensions with the standard one. Anyway, so far, it hasn't sent me down any roads where I needed to breath in! As with all of these things, I also use my filbert when navigating and chuck in a bit of common sense.

There's no need to download that whole Europe map. It will take forever and you won't need most of them (assuming you're not going to Croatia or beyond!) I've just selected/downloaded France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Italy. Does me!

Cost me £34. Great product.
 
TomTom on iPad working with camper contact, gets us everywhere. But, your iPad does need to have GPS..
 
I think I am the only one on here who uses Sygic............. I like it and it's a good price too. I have used it for the last two years and apart from the odd hiccup it works very well. As with all GPS nav systems you still need to have an idea of where you want to go (have a map handy) otherwise they all have the capacity to send you on a merry go round :eek:

A link to Sygic here (y)

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I used the standard version of copilot on my iPad mini when we were in Spain and France last year. Including the uk legs we covered over 4000 miles. I found the sat nav to be excellent but although you can tell it you are in your mh rather than car, m/cycle, bike or walking and you can set different preferences for each mode it doesn't adjust the route to suit your vehicle. This was usually ok but if I managed to miss the turn or took the wrong exit off a roundabout the suggestions for turn arounds were often nothing more than farm tracks! Being 8m+ and towing 4m trailer I preferred to find my own route back - after all it was my mistake!

I liked to use mine in conjunction with the Aires Campingcar app and the Motorhomes Parking app. I would plan my route the night before and choose suitable aire/supermarket car park. It's not always easy to find an aire that can take the trailer as well. Then I can save the stops on copilot. I usually prepare everything in advance such as fuel stops or LPG. My co driver is my mum who is 92 and although she passed her test at the second attempt at the age of 72 in SE London when my father was no longer able to drive, her main experience is as a passenger.

I downloaded all of the Europe maps to my iPad and have found this has put a strain on the storage capacity as it's only 16gb. The two apps I use are on my smartphone but it would be helpful to add the poi's to copilot.

I have now purchased a Hudl to use in the mh and will get the copilot truck version. I've read some very good reviews of it including some on a truckers forum. I decided on using an android tablet as any apps can also be duplicated on my android phone so I have a back up. Also maps and data can be stored on the sd card - an option not available on iPad.

With regard to mounts, I previously used a windscreen mount but following the thread

http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum...at-nav-mount-modification.95726/#post-1173456

from the ever helpful Andy (Techno 100), I purchased one of these cd slot mounts

Broken Link Removed

And then found this mount for the iPad mini which fits it Broken Link Removed

I've subsequently found this vent-mount for tablet which will utilise the 17mm adaptor to enable me to mount the Hudl to the cd slot mount Broken Link Removed

As I've paid for the existing copilot I intend keeping it on my iPad mini and using this in the car (our toad car is a Fiat Panda).

I can recommend copilot from my knowledge of the standard version but would suggest you look at the truck version. Also as Techno 100 suggests it's a lot easier if your sat nav is not fixed to the windscreen when you stop at night and pull the blind down and it also doesn't obscure your view when driving.
 
chaser said:
Most iPads don't have gps , mine doesn't anyway, and will not work as a satnav with anything.
Click to expand...
Thks for the reply chaser, am I right in thinking that if you have the wifi/3G version then this is suitable to install a sat nav system
Thks
 
Gorse Hill said:
Thks for the reply chaser, am I right in thinking that if you have the wifi/3G version then this is suitable to install a sat nav system
Thks
Click to expand...
If it's 3 g , yes I would think so but might rack up some roaming on your data bill.
I havnt commented further because honestly I don't know enough about ipad sat nav as I always use my nokia windows phone for sat naving as it is brilliant and works absolutely off line.
 
chaser said:
If it's 3 g , yes I would think so but might rack up some roaming on your data bill.
I havnt commented further because honestly I don't know enough about ipad sat nav as I always use my nokia windows phone for sat naving as it is brilliant and works absolutely off line.
Click to expand...
I bought the cellular iPad. For use with copilot. It uses very little data as the maps are stored on the iPad and the only data used is for traffic updates. You can turn this off and use no data at all (y)

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chaser said:
If it's 3 g , yes I would think so but might rack up some roaming on your data bill.
I havnt commented further because honestly I don't know enough about ipad sat nav as I always use my nokia windows phone for sat naving as it is brilliant and works absolutely off line.
Click to expand...
To be honest that's what I've been doing using my iPhone, so hench my post regarding using the iPad (large display) where I can download all the info at home on wifi without incurring data charges, althou I do use 3 and if going to France or Spain it wouldn't be a problem but Thks for the input
 
Harrers said:
I used the standard version of copilot on my iPad mini when we were in Spain and France last year. Including the uk legs we covered over 4000 miles. I found the sat nav to be excellent but although you can tell it you are in your mh rather than car, m/cycle, bike or walking and you can set different preferences for each mode it doesn't adjust the route to suit your vehicle. This was usually ok but if I managed to miss the turn or took the wrong exit off a roundabout the suggestions for turn arounds were often nothing more than farm tracks! Being 8m+ and towing 4m trailer I preferred to find my own route back - after all it was my mistake!

I liked to use mine in conjunction with the Aires Campingcar app and the Motorhomes Parking app. I would plan my route the night before and choose suitable aire/supermarket car park. It's not always easy to find an aire that can take the trailer as well. Then I can save the stops on copilot. I usually prepare everything in advance such as fuel stops or LPG. My co driver is my mum who is 92 and although she passed her test at the second attempt at the age of 72 in SE London when my father was no longer able to drive, her main experience is as a passenger.

I downloaded all of the Europe maps to my iPad and have found this has put a strain on the storage capacity as it's only 16gb. The two apps I use are on my smartphone but it would be helpful to add the poi's to copilot.

I have now purchased a Hudl to use in the mh and will get the copilot truck version. I've read some very good reviews of it including some on a truckers forum. I decided on using an android tablet as any apps can also be duplicated on my android phone so I have a back up. Also maps and data can be stored on the sd card - an option not available on iPad.

With regard to mounts, I previously used a windscreen mount but following the thread

http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum...at-nav-mount-modification.95726/#post-1173456

from the ever helpful Andy (Techno 100), I purchased one of these cd slot mounts

Broken Link Removed

And then found this mount for the iPad mini which fits it Broken Link Removed

I've subsequently found this vent-mount for tablet which will utilise the 17mm adaptor to enable me to mount the Hudl to the cd slot mount Broken Link Removed

As I've paid for the existing copilot I intend keeping it on my iPad mini and using this in the car (our toad car is a Fiat Panda).

I can recommend copilot from my knowledge of the standard version but would suggest you look at the truck version. Also as Techno 100 suggests it's a lot easier if your sat nav is not fixed to the windscreen when you stop at night and pull the blind down and it also doesn't obscure your view when driving.
Click to expand...
Very informative post, Thks for taking the time to reply
 
iPad using sat nav like TomTom isn't ON the internet !! Your normal sat navs arnt are they !!
 
You can buy the little "Gizmo" mentioned earlier and it will mate.. My friend uses one, he just switches it on and puts it in his pocket and that gives his iPad GPS.. Its only about the size of a memory stick..
Good luck..

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