Copilot (1 Viewer)

Feb 22, 2011
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Newcastle under Lyme
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Hymer B544 A Class
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Morning, has anyone had recent experience of copilot app ?
Looks like my tomtom has expired a few days before leaving for our first long trip !
I've got maps.me on tablet which looks good but never used it for navigation.
Considering buying copilot but is it going to be up to the job ?
I could buy a new Tomtom but to be honest the one I've got is so slow / unresponsive using the touch screen, I'm reluctant to go down that route.
Any experience advice or recommendations appreciated
 
Dec 16, 2015
81
118
Suffolk, UK
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40,733
MH
Van Conversion
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10 years
I have the caravan version of copilot. On an Android phone (Moto g3) I found it kept hanging - so had to separately buy the IOS version.
I put in dimensions slightly larger than my van. On an Ipad and Iphone it works pretty well and takes me on less narrow road shortcuts than TomTom - it does however still take me down some fairly hairy roads - like the Winnats pass near Castleton.

I preferred the user interface of TomTom - especially on the ipad - because the Copilot maps are quite small sometimes.

Overall I am happy with Copilot and now use it exclusively in both car and van.
 
Nov 4, 2011
5,887
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Uk
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18,763
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A class
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2001
I use Copilot (the normal one not caravan) on my phone and am pleased with it.
So we sold our Garmin as the Copilot made it feel clunky.

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Apr 9, 2014
1,304
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2012
Use Caravan version on cheap Android spare phone alongside another Sat Nav. The routing around traffic is very good with the ActiveTraffic, much better than anything relying on TMC. Main annoyance is the POI handling not as easy as maps.me
 
Feb 16, 2013
19,505
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uttoxeter
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ambulance conversion
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before you lay out any money, check out "here maps" cant put in dimensions but the directions are second to none and its compleatly free , no adverts , no paid for version, uses the same maps as high end cars use in their incar satnavs.
 

Ebby

Free Member
Apr 21, 2015
91
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I've got the CoPilot caravan version on my phone,I find it excellent,I keep my old TomTom in the van only as a spare.Just be aware that CoPilot uses 2.48gb of storage.

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OP
OP
Figaro
Feb 22, 2011
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Humm, just put copilot on my android phone to trial it and it seems only UK map is free, other euro msps have to be paid for as does voice guidance after 7 day free trial.
Might have a look at here maps @chaser
PS don't mind paying if it works
 
Feb 16, 2013
19,505
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uttoxeter
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Humm, just put copilot on my android phone to trial it and it seems only UK map is free, other euro msps have to be paid for as does voice guidance after 7 day free trial.
Might have a look at here maps @chaser
we have honestly been all over europe with this you download free maps and then it is all offline, never led us astray(y):)
 

Vanman

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Aug 12, 2016
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We have used Copilot for years and love it. Yes, it uses space but that's because the maps are available off-line. There is a free version you can use with a basic Caravan option that chooses wider roads, no free spoken directions though. I've downloaded POI's with no problem, I think that is/was an IOS problem, not Android.

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May 7, 2016
7,187
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I have CoPilot Caravan. It has some nice features but I find it a bit awkward in some respects and it has sent me down some ridiculous roads even though it knows I am bigger than a car. I have dropped the traffic subscription because that was worse than useless, like routing me down a closed motorway (more than once). When I sought help about the traffic they said that it was a third party suppliers fault and then did the sloping shoulders bit.

I use Google maps most of the time, it is free, doesn’t use much data, and you can download maps for offline use. The maps are updated regularly and the traffic information is good.
 

Popeye

Deceased RIP
Sep 5, 2011
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I had co-pilot on my iPad courtesy of a well known funster, I was extremelly happy with it as my New Mercedes comes with sat-nag already in the ice/radio/rear view etc.

I read about the Caravan version and downloaded (cheap / not free) and input my height at over 3.05 Metres.

I then set a course for Salisbury, my home town with many low bridges heading towards the old goods yard and railway station.

Not only did it guide me around those bridges it showed up all the low bridges in the vicinity NOT just on route, so I was mightily impressed and will stick with it.

I to have several free map services and if free is more important to you than the ability to input dimension data then go Free, otherwise get co-pilot.
 
OP
OP
Figaro
Feb 22, 2011
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@chaser does here maps have voice guidance, come to think of it, does Google maps and maps.me ? Never noticed it.

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Feb 16, 2013
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uttoxeter
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Here maps says "contains ads".
the offline version doesnt, got voice guidence, if anyone has any douts just download it and give it a try, no cost no agro , if you dont like it just remove it, nothing to lose(y)

edit , come to that , yes google maps does as well, but on that you have to download your actual route , if you leave it , its lost:(
 

Camdoon

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Sep 22, 2012
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Having used most systems, the best app/system was the lifetime TomTom for iPhone/Ipad - if only you had been able to set dimensions, if TT had not decided a lifetime was shorter than Fat Eck Salmond's concept of lifetime and they had not replaced it with an abysmal offering. Will not use TT again.
Been using Co-pilot for a year and it has not taken me anywhere too extreme (Garmin had me trying to cross a 2m wide bridge and having to take a corner which was impossible to save 30 yd). Only issue I have had was in centralish Paris where there was a choice of 3 roads and I went round in circles then stopped and still could not work out which road it wanted me to take.
I used an app called Waze on my last trip to France on my phone alongside my tablet - very good about telling you about broken down cars and other obstruction etc - saves paying for any traffic subscriptions. No POIs but free so only for traffic feature.

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Mack100

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Jul 27, 2013
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I've gone over to Copilot in the past few days mainly because my TomTom Start 25 unit took ages to acquire satellites despite being updated regularly. The satellite acquisition on modern smart phones is streets ahead of dedicated units. Certainly the interface takes some getting used to, I've been an early adopter of TomTom software since I first installed it on a Dell Axim Pocket PC back in the stone age.

Some of the routing is a little odd, despite it being set up for fastest routes it seems to want to route me for longer journeys on routes I already know well. Setting it up on an Android phone is easy, downloaded Poi's are simple to install.

I thought I'd load it onto a redundant iphone, such hard work having to use bl@@dy Itunes! I gave up and put the iphone back in the cupboard.
I'm now going to look for suitable dashboard mount.
 
OP
OP
Figaro
Feb 22, 2011
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Tomtom has actually sprung back to life, I think it was a duff charger lead.
But I'm going to go down the copilot route as well for back up and if I like it the Tomtom can go and be unresponsive in a cupboard !

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Oct 30, 2010
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I use Co-Pilot Caravan on an iPad as well as a Garmin 760 Camper version.
Co-Pilot is very good and sorts the route out in milliseconds while the cogs in the Garmin are still grinding away. Garmin was about £300 I think when I bought it, the Co-Pilot nearer £30.
Routes can be odd at times on both systems so I always review then first. It is much quicker to amend the route on Co-Pilot.
They are both good systems as long as you check the routing and change it if they want to take you round the sun to meet the moon.

Richard.
 

Mack100

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Jul 27, 2013
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Is it worthwhile buying the caravan version then? The TomTom we've used is the standard one and we've never had any problems with that as far as bridges go.

Well that's if you don't include the 2.8 metre low bridge that left me stranded in a one way system in the middle of Basingstoke. It wasn't really that embarrassing to have to call out the police and have them close the access road so I could drive up it the wrong way to escape :oops:

The only thing in my favour is that the council refuse to put up a low bridge warning sign and the police are called out once a week to sort out people like me!
 
Oct 30, 2010
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Is it worthwhile buying the caravan version then?
Yes.
More expensive but might just keep you out of that sort of difficult situation.
The standard Co-Plot tried to take us under a very low bridge to save a couple of hundred yards the Caravan version hasn't compromised us.......................yet.

Richard.

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hilldweller

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Dec 5, 2008
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Morning, has anyone had recent experience of copilot app ?

Was using it all day today as I have off and on for 20 years. It's proper job professional and I've had it on many phones/tablets without complaint, even with two on the go at once.
 
Nov 7, 2015
496
466
Newport, Shropshire
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40,071
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Autosleeper Broadway
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since 2015 previously caravaning 25 years
Was using it all day today as I have off and on for 20 years. It's proper job professional and I've had it on many phones/tablets without complaint, even with two on the go at once.

I’m considering buying Copilot Caravan and a Lenovo Tab 3 7 inch tablet (£69 from Tesco) When I spoke to the Lenovo customer helpline the chap told me that at the start of every route I’d have to be connected to the internet for the map to load (I had explained to him that Copilot works offline) his opinion doesn’t sound right, any thoughts ?

Chris
 

Mack100

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Jul 27, 2013
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Doesn’t sound right at all. As long as the map data is installed on your device then all you need is GPS capability to get going.
I just put my phone in flight mode and turned off wifi and I was able to start navigation to some random campsite in Sussex.
In other words the only connectivity I had was to receive GPS signals.

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Clickem

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May 20, 2014
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I’m considering buying Copilot Caravan and a Lenovo Tab 3 7 inch tablet (£69 from Tesco) When I spoke to the Lenovo customer helpline the chap told me that at the start of every route I’d have to be connected to the internet for the map to load (I had explained to him that Copilot works offline) his opinion doesn’t sound right, any thoughts ?

Chris

Not all tablets have GPS built in. IPad which takes a data SIM card has GPS, the cheaper version without SIM card does not have GPS and relies on Internet to establish location
 
May 7, 2016
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You can turn cellular data off within the app. You will lose traffic updates but I don’t trust them anyway.
 
Sep 1, 2017
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I'm currently using it and it's fine.
Discounted to £34.99 on playstore at the moment.

I lowered the cost further by purchasing discounted Google playstore vouchers off eBay (approx £20 for £17).

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Oct 30, 2010
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Co-Pilot works completely off-line, apart from the optional traffic updates.
All the maps are downloaded and stored on your device. I have Western Europe maps and the whole app takes 3.11GB of space on my iPad.
You must have GPS to use any navigation system, otherwise how will the device know where it is with any degree of accuracy?
Many cheaper tablets don't have inbuilt GPS and neither do the cheaper versions of iPad, only those with mobile data sims.
There are external GPS receivers available that can be plugged into the tablet.
Before you rush into buying a tablet and the app just check out these points to save wasting money on something that won't work.

Richard.
 

hilldweller

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Dec 5, 2008
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his opinion doesn’t sound right, any thoughts ?

Chris

He's an incompetent moron. I download the eastern Europe map set and that's it. I had it running on a 7 inch Android for a season or two and it really is great at that size. I fed the sound into the van radio for good volume and quality. I have it running on a Chinese waterproof bike satnav now for the bike. The satnav came with a poor quality nav program but since it was Android I uninstalled it and installed Copilot.

I had it on phone and tablet at one stage, Copilot did not object.
 

Clickem

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May 20, 2014
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According to this link, this particular model of Lenovo does have GPS

Broken Link Removed

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