Do I need a sat nav?? (1 Viewer)

[Louiemole]

Hi, my wife and I are new to this and being Scottish I finally parted with some cash to become a member and have already ordered my sticker:thumb:

We have just come back from a week touring the North of Northern Ireland and into the north of Ireland down to Sligo. Whilst we never got lost and used a very basic map I was wondering do I need a Sat Nav and if so which are the best??

Many thanks in advance,

Jase 'n Lou.

 

[beachcaster]

Makes life easier for me

There are many opinions on which is the best...I like tomtom.
But I have never had anything else.

I bought one because being a male I see looking at a map as a sort of weakness a bit like instructions on flat pack furniture.
On the other hand when SWMBO reads a map it tended to lead to a row She might as well be looking a plate of spaghetti
combined with the fact she has no basic idea of direction and is incapable of making swift decisions.
( She does have other good qualities )

So we got a tom tom for domestic bliss..........never a crossed word has passed
regarding map reading skills since we had it .

Has to be worth it .it does make life a lot easier...and has saved me a lot of fuel

barry

 

[Boater]

tomtom for me have tried a snooper but gone back to tomtom.

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[laneside]

Only ever tried Tom Tom and it works quite well

The main advantage is that Lynda still prefers to map read so now she shouts at Tom Tom and tells him he is wrong and I get left in peace.:thumb::thumb:

 

[jonandshell]

We miss the arguments over each other's map reading ability now we have a satnav!:Sad:

 

[pappajohn]

hi jase 'n lou and welcome.

simple answer is no....you dont need a satnav, but it sure makes life a whole lot easier if you have one.

i've only ever had two....a navman and a tomtom.

tomtom is, by far, the best of the two and i wont have any other now.

tip.....always carry a paper map just in case anything goes wrong with your satnav.

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[scotjimland]

Whilst we never got lost and used a very basic map I was wondering do I need a Sat Nav and if so which are the best??


Jase 'n Lou.

Short answer no, but once you buy one you will wonder how you managed without ..

You can load it up with your favourite POIs .. camp sites, aires, CLs , Club sites etc etc .. makes routing a doddle ... and driving more relaxed. You can also add low bridges, narrow roads and weight limits, but it won't route around them ..

I have a TomTom One XL European maps.. now four years old and have used it all over Europe .. but NO sat nav is infallible. and I include the so called Truck sat navs in this statement so if you drive a large motorhome it is advisable to check the route it plots BEFORE setting off ..

My buying advice is to keep it simple.. whether it's Garmin, Navman or TomTom buy a sat nav, not an in-car entertainment center.

Another point is map updates, check the cost .. TT updates are expensive

So, summing up, a great asset to navigation and 'in cab harmony' .. but don't let it replace your paper maps and never think it can't / won't make mistakes... they do.

One example where the council have errected a sign .... but there are many other unmarked traps for the unwary sat nav user ..


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[hilldweller]

do I need a Sat Nav
Many thanks in advance,
Jase 'n Lou.

Not if you can read a map, but, when it comes to driving through a strange town, especially abroad, then it can be a godsend.

The essential thing is map first, get the big picture then if the satnav tries to ruin you life, as they do, you'll spot it.

My solution is Copilot Live on my mobile phone.

 

[DESCO]

I would say you don't need a sat nav, but they can sure be a help.
I would say check route to make sure it is going the way you want, and don't follow blindly, and always keep a paper map handy. One of the few times I just followed was on the Black Isle in Scotland, and got to the end of a road and sat nav. announced board ferry. It was obvious from the state of the jetty that boats had ceased long since, so be warned. Apart from that in large towns and cities they can be a godsend you can give full attention to the traffic while the route through is taken care of.
I have tried a few but now use Tom Tom as it came with the MH. but all seem to work OK. but each has some problems that you learn to live with.

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[aba]

hi and welcome.
i find that it helps to look at the display approaching junctions etc as they can be a little slow in telling you where to turn on/off.

i once had one tell me to turn right off a main road on to a side road and as i looked it was just cutting a corner and saving about 100 yards needless to say on that occasion i ignored it.

i also find that the height / width restrictions you can set on them are little more than a sales gimmick.

if you use your head and look at where its trying to take you you wont go far wrong.

the people that said the sat nav said turn left and i drove off the end of the pier obviously don't look any further than the end of their bonnets.

 

[simsy56]

l like maps. My wife is an excellent map reader too. But, GPS is amazing.

l wouldn't follow a GPS blindly, and l wouldn't use one from beginning to the end of a journey. For pinpointing a location near the end of your journey they are a godsend. l like to look at maps, take the best route to my destination, and then use the sat-nav for the last part of the trip if l do not know where my destination address is.
l once left Nottingham to travel to Liverpool to catch the ferry home, a journey l have done many times. My son-in-law left before us and he followed his sat-nav faithfully. We arrived well before him and he said he was held up in traffic in the middle of............ WAKEFIELD!
Go have a look at a map and tell me where Wakefield comes into it.
For general travelling, no thanks. For pinpoint accuracy on arrival, yes please.

Craig

 

[Glynn]

Tomtom All day long.

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[lorger]

Hi Lou

Firstly nice to see another scot join Fun, i am just down the road from you in Dumfries so if your ever stuck and i can help feel free to ask.

We have the Garmin satnav we tend to have it on all the time but dont always put destination in, you will think thats daft but it lets us know where we are at all times and we have all the campsites stored in it so at anytime we can click on sites and it gives us all the sites with in so many miles or so. Also if in a strange place it has petrol stations and other useful stuff so can save some time looking for things.

Gerry

 

[Munchie]

Like Papa I had a Navman...crap.
Now on Tom Tom and it is the dogs whatsits. :thumb:

 

[yorkshirepudding]

a mix of common sense, maps and sat-nav got us around Italy and France last year. My wife is an excellent map reader but I must confess makes more errors than does the TomTom. Sat-nav wins every time in strange cities.

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[catspyjamas]

If you ever drive on your own you'll find a satnav invaluable.

I have a Garmin which works fine. It's fantastic for when you're trying to find out of the way CLs or trying to navigate through a city. Before I got the satnav I had to pull up at every other road junction to try and work out where I was going!

 

[frogijock]

We use both paper maps and sat nav, usually plan route on paper map and then refer to sat nav when close to destination for finding aire/campsite etc

 

[jhorsf]

I always used a map until going somewhere one day my brother said how do you find anywhere like that, here borrow my satnav, I said i do not need one thanks, but he insisted and showed me in a couple of mins how it worked.Was I impressed ? well I bought my own TomTom the very next day and as long as you are aware of what you are doing they are great,buy one you will be glad you did

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[wivvy's dad]

You don't NEED one




You WANT one

 

[WynandJean]

I think they are an incredible invention. I have a Garmin and am continuously amazed at how clever it is. Obviously, as with any system, you have to be sensible and not follow it blindly but once accostomed to it you'll wonder how you ever managed without.
Wyn